Showing posts with label Mets Alumni Association. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mets Alumni Association. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Franco continues to represent as an ambassador for the New York Mets

John Franco is the epitome of New York baseball. Born and raised in Brooklyn, the Lafayette High School graduate went on to play at St. John's University in Queens before being drafted by the Dodgers in 1981. Little did he ever imagine that he would play 15 years in the major leagues with the New York Mets and earn a spot in their Hall of Fame. Earlier this year, Franco was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in a wonderful ceremony at Citi Field. A few months later, he’s still amazed at the honor.
John Franco Signing Autographs / N. Diunte
“If you would have told me as a kid growing up that I would be in the Mets Hall of Fame, I’d say you were crazy,” said Franco at his Tuesday afternoon appearance at Citibank in Tarrytown, N.Y. “It’s a great honor to be on that wall and [have] my plaque next to great players like Tom Seaver, Jerry Grote, Bud Harrelson, Tommie Agee, all my heroes growing up. ... It’s a great honor, I’m humbled and I’ll truly cherish it.”

The subject of the Hall of Fame this year for Franco is one that hits close to home, as his former Cincinnati Reds teammate Barry Larkin was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame a few weeks ago.

“Barry, you knew he was going to be something special when he came up to the big leagues early," Franco said. "He had a five tools [as a] player, speed, he could hit with power, a great fielder, great arm, and [was] very very smart. It was just an honor to play with Barry and I’m happy that he got into the Hall of Fame; he deserved it.”

Franco, like many of his Brooklyn brethren, honed his skills at the famous Parade Grounds. Even though the diamonds were a little rough, they still provide Franco with the opportunity to develop and mature as a player.

“Back then, the fields weren’t in great shape, but there were always games going on," he said. "There were seven or eight diamonds, and at every field, a game was going on. You’d start at nine in the morning and sometimes play until three in the afternoon. You’d go from field to field or play doubleheaders. It was a great experience, great baseball in the New York City area. We had some great teams from all over Brooklyn and it was very competitive.”

Currently, Franco works as an ambassador for the Mets and keeps busy by making appearances all over the city.

“This is my 3rd year with the Mets [as] one of their ambassadors," he said. "What I do, I go around to the various [Citi] branches … and they have these branches that myself and other veteran, retired players who are involved with the Mets go around and do some signings. I get to meet and greet the fans and talk a little bit about baseball. I go into the community, do some community service, some baseball stuff, some announcing, and some TV stuff; a little bit of everything.”

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

1973 NL champs Millan and Staub wax poetic about the current state of the Mets

The current saga of the New York Mets were on the minds of Felix Millan and Rusty Staub, two key players from their 1973 National League Championship team, as they interacted with fans on Tuesday afternoon as part of the Mets Alumni Association Presented by Citi and the Citi Tuesdays program.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Edgardo Alfonzo mulls a return to baseball in 2012

Edgardo Alfonzo was on hand Tuesday afternoon at Citibank in Manhattan, appearing as part of the outreach efforts of the New York Mets Alumni Association presented by Citi. Alfonzo beamed with pride while greeting the crowd of more than 200 people that came to visit the beloved infielder.

Edgardo Alfonzo / N. Diunte
“[I] always appreciate the Mets for having me involved in these activities, to [see] my people,” said Alfonzo. “My people [are] the fans who really supported me during my career in New York. One way to pay [them] back is to do this. I feel happy to do this, to be a part of the organization and to tell them what I’m doing right now.”

The 38-year-old former All-Star looked in good enough shape to take the field, due in part to his recent participation in the Venezuelan Winter League where he batted .267, playing on the same team as current Met infielder Ronny Cedeno. Alfonzo was often asked on Tuesday about a return to professional baseball. He left the door open about playing this season.

“I really enjoy playing baseball and that’s why I played winter ball this year. [I] had a good time over there. … I’ve been training and getting ready for [this season].”

Friday, April 6, 2012

Mets legend Edgardo Alfonzo to appear at Citibank in Manhattan on April 10th

Edgardo Alfonzo, the All-Star infielder for the New York Mets from 1995-2001, will be appearing as part of the New York Mets Alumni Association presented by Citi at the Citibank branch at 1155 Avenue of the Americas (between 44th and 45th streets) on Tuesday, April 10th from 12:00 to 1:30 pm.

The verstaile infielder played flawless defense at third base, second base and shortstop during his tenure with the Mets, earning a feature on the September 6th, 1999 cover of Sports Illustrated alongside teammates John Olerud, Rey Ordonez, and Robin Ventura with the title of, The Best Infield Ever. Alfonzo won a silver slugger award in 1999 and was named to the National League All-Star team in 2000.

Friday, February 24, 2012

New York Mets legend John Franco to appear at Citibank locations February 27th

John Franco with the Mets Alumni Association Presented by Citi
Soon-to-be minted New York Mets Hall of Famer John Franco will be appearing at two Citibank locations in Manhattan, as well as the Mets clubhouse shop on Monday February 27th to promote an exclusive opportunity for Citi credit and debit card holders to purchase single game tickets before they go on sale to the public.

The online presale will be available at www.Mets.com/CitiPresale.

The two-day promotion begins on Monday, February 27 at 10:00 AM and ends on Tuesday, February 28 at 11:59 PM. A Citi credit or debit card must be used for the online sale. Tickets will be available for both opening day (April 5th) and the Subway Series (June 22nd-24th).

Franco will be appearing along with Mr. Met at the following locations as part of the Mets Alumni Association Presented by Citi on February 27th.
·         10:00 AM to 11:00 AM – Citibank flagship branch in Union Square (52 E. 14th Street)
·         12:30 PM to 1:30 PM – Citibank branch on 42nd Street and Madison (330 Madison Avenue)
·         2:00 PM to 3:00 PM – New York Mets Clubhouse Shop (11 W. 42nd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues)

For further assistance, call the Mets Ticket Services team at (718) 507-TIXX.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez give an assist to Habitat for Humanity in Brooklyn

The New York Mets Alumni Association presented by Citi teamed up with Habitat for Humanity in Brooklyn earlier Friday for their “100 Homes in Brooklyn” project. Current SNY broadcasters and Mets alumni Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez represented the team at the Brownsville site. 


Both players address the media at the ceremony. Darling was grateful to be a part of the construction process.

“Both Keith and I are humbled by our opportunity to represent the Mets here,” Darling said. “For the Mets to include Keith and I with Habitat for Humanity and Citi, how great is that? To be able to put a roof over someone’s head, I don’t know if there is any better feeling you can have.”

Darling volunteered in New Orleans with his family in support of Habitat for Humanity. He enjoyed seeing his work come to fruition.

“I wasn’t down there volunteering as Ron Darling; I was just another guy with his family helping out. It was rewarding for the people that take part in it," he said. "The volunteers should be commended. At some point, your sweat equity and hard work will have someone indoors this winter.”

Josh Lockwood, the Executive Director of New York City’s Habitat for Humanity, discussed their valuable relationship with the New York Mets. He described how the relationship has grown over the past few years.

“This is the third year that the Mets alumni have been coming out to build with us,” Lockwood said. “It started a few years ago when the 1969 Mets completed our largest project ever. Last year and this year, we’ve had great philanthropically minded alumni coming out helping to build Habitat homes alongside the families that will live there.”

With the help of New York City officials, Habitat for Humanity has been able to acquire the land for basically free, providing they build affordable housing. The tremendous community interest in the dwellings has motivated them to work harder.

“We had a 41 home project a couple blocks away from here and that project had 10,000 applications for those homes,” he said. “It really inspired us to try and do more and build more. That’s led to an initiative to 100 homes in Brooklyn, and these 12 homes are going towards that.”

Georgette Lee, one of the people who was awarded one of the coveted homes, had a tremendous appreciation for the chance to have her part of the American dream. Today, it was a reality.

“I applied in March and was accepted April 1st,”  said Lee, who is looking forward to staying in the community where she was raised. “I met the income requirement, the credit check and I worked 200 sweat equity hours, which I did in five weeks.

“I think it is a wonderful opportunity because for years and years, I never thought I would be able to own anything in New York. To get the opportunity to not only own, but to help build and stay in the community where I was brought up is great.”