The Mets may be struggling with the bats lately (last night’s dramatic win notwithstanding), but their pitching and their early season success has drawn the attention of a group of celebrities who might just think what’s going on with Terry Collins‘s crew is no laughing matter, despite their day jobs.
Last Monday night at Citi Field, Larry David and the cast of the hit Broadway play “Fish In The Dark” took in the game and batting practice, filling in the spot usually reserved for longtime Mets fan and suiteholder Jerry Seinfeld. While David pretty much stayed away from the media he joked around behind the batting cage with Mets great Mookie Wilson, trading one-liners at batting stances as they awaited Matt Harvey’s performance against the Cardinals.
Not far from where David was holding court last Monday, another cast of actors in a Broadway comedy were also taking in the pregame activities, as former “Sopranos” cast member Ray Abbruzzo, along with Dan Lauria and Richie Zavaglia, all on stage at the Acorn Theater in the show “Dinner With The Boys” were also swapping stories about their love of baseball on their night off.
“I remember when my mother worked at The World’s Fair and we would come over here and go in and watch the Mets when they first came to Shea,” Abbruzzo, a Queens native and longtime Mets fan, said as he stood by the first base dugout. “Our support never wavered no matter how bad it got, and later on with Rusty Staub, Jerry Grote and those guys, it was so much fun to sneak in and sit in the bright orange seats as a kid.”
Abbruzzo was making only his second trip to Citi Field and it paid off with a 14 inning win over St. Louis, while Lauria, a longtime friend of Mets favorite and now Yankees advisor Lee Mazzilli, talked about his trips to Shea when living on Long Island.
“We were pretty much a Yankees house since my dad grew up with Phil Rizutto, but I helped Lee get into acting and we have stayed friends, and anything that makes New York baseball better, especially the young guys that the Mets have right now, is great for all of us fans,” the former star of “The Wonder Years” and “Lombardi” added.
Not to be outdone this week, another Mets fan turned comedian will make his way back to Citifield for the second time this year, with a baseball and a comedy special in tow. Former Saturday Night Live cast member, Long Island native and comedian Jim Breuer will make his way back to Queens to throw the first pitch Friday in advance of his EPIX Comedy special “Comic Frenzy” which airs Friday night at 10.
Breuer has expanded his fandom this year with a series of videos talking about the Amazins, as well as some guest appearances on SNY while still maintaining the crazed schedule that comic performers need to keep the beat going. Despite the recent downturn on the field and his busy schedule, Bruer remains bullish on his favorite team.
“I go back to Bud Harrelson getting beat up by Pete Rose during the 1973 NLCS so I know all about patience, pain and suffering as a Mets fan, so I know enough not to be too optimistic, but I really feel we have a young core that we need to stick to right now,” Breuer added during a break from the road. “It’s easy for people to make fun of us from where we were over the years, but I love watching and being around these guys and maybe, just maybe we are turning the corner if we can just get healthy.”
Even with the recent slide, it does appear that at least on the celebrity side (New York had Dave Goldberg out for some pregame fun last week as well), the team is holding their own more than they have been in years.