The Mets suffered the largest attendance drop by percentage in the entire Grapefruit League this spring, according to figures released today by The Sports Business Daily. The Mets’ were hit with a 16.3 percent plunge at the turnstiles in Port St. Lucie as total attendance for the 16-game schedule at Tradition Field came in at 82,017. That was an average of 5,126 tickets per game compared to 2008’s average of 6,121.

The Yankees, by contrast, saw attendance fall just 1.6 percent to 168,905 tickets for their 16-game schedule.

Teams in the Cactus League in Arizona suffered far worse drops, however. The Padres’ attendance fell a whopping 30.8 percent, while Texas dropped 26.2 percent and the Angels 25.1 percent.