Aidan dropped me a note along with this picture:
"I realize that this is the foul pole an a necessary part of any baseball stadium but when I purchased these seats on the phone the day tix went on sale there was no mention that this could be an issue. To be honest this is (not) even the worst view as if you sat in the next seat over your view of homeplate was 100% obstructed. Now I'm not asking them to remove the foul pole but a little warning, disclaimer, or discount I think is not much to ask for. I'm curious what your thoughts are on this issue?"
For the answer, we seek the wisdom of Dave Howard who was once quoted by saying:
"The way we characterize “obstructed” is if you have an obstruction, something in front of you — a beam, a pillar, something that’s blocking your view."
So yes Aidan, this appears to be an obstructed view, even under David Howard's narrower-than-mine version of the term.
You have something in front of you, something that is blocking your view, such as a pillar or beam. My dictionary defines a pillar as
"a slender, freestanding vertical support; a column." Whereas I don't believe the foul pole supports anything, the secondary definition is "such a structure or one similar to it used for decoration." A decoration is "something that renders something more ornate" and something ornate is "flashy, showy" such as the only orange foul poles in major league baseball. In my opinion you have a pillar blocking your view, thus it is an obstructed view in the sense of the Howard Definition.
Do I think the Mets should label as such? Yes. I'm actually surprised at your suggestion that they don't and am not sure they they don't. I know in the old Yankee Stadium (1976 version) I sat in seats that were called limited or obstructed or such. I don't remember about Shea and I don't know about Citi.
Do I think they should discount it? Yes.
Do I think this is a big deal? No. It's a foul pole at a baseball game. Just warn the buyer.
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