Mets rising stars visit Fort Hamilton

BY JAIME DEJESUS
jdejesus@homereporter.com

From the diamond to the alley: On September 15, seven of the Mets’ top minor league players along with General Manager Sandy Alderson visited troops at the Community  Activities Center at U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hamilton for an afternoon of bowling, lunch and conversing. Soldiers posed with the franchise’s top prospects as well as discussed the base and their hardships.

“We got some of our best young players in the Mets organization here,” said Alderson, a former Marine. “This is special for me. I’m an Air Force brat. I grew up in military bases around the world. This is part of our effort to recognize everything all of you do who are in the military, the burdens you shoulder from us, the benefits we derive from your service. We just want to recognize it and thank you for it.”
The troops were glad to take a few minutes to try their hand at bowling with the ballplayers. “It’s very exciting to meet these guys. Hopefully I’ll be able to see them on the major league field soon,” said Staff Sergeant Ricardo Ortego, who admits to being a Tampa Bay Rays fan.

“We work hard. Having a minute to come and talk to people you see on TV means a lot,” added Staff Sergeant Fernando Abreu.

The players had just as much fun spending time with the heroes and knocking down a few pins during some competitive bowling. “It’s great to be here,” said outfielder and top prospect Brandon Nimmo. “You can’t even imagine the kind of sacrifice that they make for us. We’re so thankful for their service. Any way I can help, that’s what I want to do.”

During lunch, the players sat with the military personnel to discuss their experiences on tour. “We were talking to them earlier about some of their trips over to Iraq,” said top Mets catching prospect Kevin Plawecki. “It’s kind of mind-blowing and it puts things in perspective. We think we’re having a tough day on the field or something like that. We have no idea what some of these guys are going through and it means a lot just to sit down and talk to these guys and have fun today.”

The Mets and the soldiers laughed and cheered when they displayed their bowling skills. Tickets to a future Mets game and t-shirts were given out to the troops.

“It is a great honor. We have access to a lot of great things being in New York City, one of them being our sports teams, and of course the Mets are near and dear here,” said Colonel Joe Davidson, the base commander.