JAMESTOWN, NY – Jamestown is, according to Mayor Sam Teresi, traditionally a Yankee town. But that didn’t stop its baseball fans from coming out to the park to check out the Brooklyn Cyclones, an affiliate of the New York Mets.
"It’s big news around here," said Teresi, who showed up at Russell Deithrick Park Tuesday night to throw out the first pitch of his Jamestown Jammers’ new season along with Dodger-great Carl Erskine. "The fans and the town are really excited. Just take a look around the stadium."
The 60-year-old field is just what you’d expect from a town that has hosted a minor league team for that long – nestled beneath the hills of the farthest western reaches of New York State, the 3,200-seat park, which has a grassy knoll over the left field fence and a mini-forest beyond the right field scoreboard, was packed with excited fans ready to root on their Jammers, as well as a certain team from Brooklyn.
"This is part of history," said Ron Andezelik, who purchased a Cyclones cap at the game. "Everybody around here knows a team hasn’t played in Brooklyn for over 40 years. So we’ve come to see them play."
According to Teresi, when it comes to the major leagues the Jamestown residents’ allegiance has always leaned toward the Bronx Bombers – and that would translate at the gate when a Yankees affiliate comes to town. But now, with a Mets affiliate coming from Brooklyn, things might be a bit different.
"I’m a Met fan, so I like to watch the Mets’ teams play," said Mike Peters who took his 3-year-old son Carson to the game. "But we all know the history. So that makes it extra special."
Expecting an especially large crowd during their home opener, the Jammers front office took advantage of Brooklyn’s return to professional baseball by inviting Erskine to throw out the first pitch and printed up T-shirts commemorating the event – a dozen of which were sold.
A crowd of 2,174 turned out for the game, which not only featured Erskine taking part in the pre-game ceremonies, but also during an "eighth-inning stretch" when he played "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" on his harmonica from the press box. An earlier attempt to play it from the field had failed due to a faulty public address system.
"I guess it’s like they say: ‘Anything can happen in the minors,‘" Erskine said with a laugh after his rendition. "Not only was it the first time a team from Brooklyn has played a game in years, but it’s also the first night someone’s ever performed the seventh-inning stretch in the eighth inning."
The fans weren’t disappointed by the game either – a 2-1 Brooklyn victory that will go down as a "duel" between seven pitchers, four for the Jammers and three for the Cyclones.
It was a surprisingly well played game," said DUMBO Met fan Eric Bennett, who made the trip to Jamestown on Tuesday and was staying there through Wednesday night’s rematch. "I’m looking forward to their home opener next week."
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