Shea Stadium?

Two things about driving to the game:

(1) Traffic has been horrendous around gametime, forever.

(2) A new stadium is being built in the parking lot right now, so parking is even MORE horrendous than it always has been.

So, you have a few options:

-You can park along the Metro-North Railroad somewhere, take a train to Grand Central Terminal, and take the #7 subway to Shea. From farther upstate, this might be your best bet.

-You can go over the Whitestone or Throgs Neck Bridge, find parking along the Port Washington line of the Long Island Rail Road, and take the LIRR to and from Shea. If you do this, get there early; many of the station lots are rather small. Douglaston or Little Neck might be good options, though. They're also pretty safe areas.

-You can try to find street parking near the stadium, try to get into Shea's alternate lot, or park out near the Hall of Science and walk through Flushing Meadows Park to Shea.

Personally, I like the LIRR option. For you, the Metro-North option might be best, given where you're coming from.

As for the games, you never know what you're going to get. If you're a baseball fan, you'll take just about any game. I personally find the Mets to be an exciting club; a nice mix of veterans and enthusiastic young players. They started the season slowly, but they're really coming around over the last week or two, playing like the team they should be. They've got their hitting shoes on lately.

Enjoy it, and please save yourself a major headache and take the train to the game. No matter where you park, you won't be more than half an hour from Shea on the train.

EDIT: Amtrak to Penn Station might be worth a look as well; they run with decent frequency, but not sure if they run them late enough to make it worth your while.

Shea Stadium is in Queens, not Manhattan and is not in a "crowded" area at all. It is really the best to park your car there at the stadium. You can find a lot in Flushing and take the 7 train one stop, but it is not really worth it. Going the other way takes you closer to Manhattan and it is just harder to park.

Mets games are fun! Especially if they win - I always seem to end up at games with extra innings. Also, the food is kind of expensive, but not any more so than at other stadiums or arenas you would go to.

Why don't you take a train to Grand Central Station?

.....and then take the #7 train from there to Shea.

That way, you don't have to screw around with any traffic and any delays on the GW or Tappan Zee Bridges....

Mets' games are never boring...you'll have a great time.