Retired New York Mets All-Star first baseman
Keith Hernandez chaired the annual fundraiser for the Cobble
Hill Health Center on Tuesday – scoring another homerun in the
process. The World Series winner brought together dozens of famous
athletes from all over the country for his "Field of Dreams"
event, which in turn attracted hundreds of sports fans to the
$1,000-a-plate benefit.
"This event has become my third leg or middle arm,"
Hernandez told GO Brooklyn while signing baseballs proffered
by the crush of fans that encircled him. "It’s hard work,
but now it’s getting easier. People come and they have a good
time when they’re here, and they come back the next year."
For New York sports fans, the event was a night to remember.
The gala honored 1986 World Champion Mets Manager Davey Johnson,
the man who put that team together, former general manager Frank
Cashen, and Bank of America Executive Vice President Jeffrey
Barker.
Hernandez, who has helmed the fundraiser the last five years,
lost his mother, Jacquelyn Hernandez, to Alzheimer’s disease
in 1989. She was 59. The funds raised at the gala are earmarked
for a planned assisted living center for Alzheimer’s care at
the Cobble Hill Health Center.
"All the members of families of Alzheimer’s patients are
affected," said Hernandez. "Everybody’s involved somehow
with this disease. It touches everyone.
"We’re hoping to have raised $600,000 to $750,000 tonight,"
he added.
Said Cobble Hill Center CEO Olga Lipschitz, "Each year [Hernandez]
raises over a half-million dollars for us. It’s a beautiful thing
he’s doing."
Hernandez said he supports the Cobble Hill Health Center because
of the quality of its care, and because "they provide care
for people who can’t afford it – lower income families. I want
to make this type of care more accessible for people."
The master of ceremonies for the event was legendary sportscaster
Warner Wolf, who kept the mood light while diners supped at sparkling
green tables with centerpieces made of peanuts, gloves and baseballs.
At the podium, Davey Johnson thanked Frank Cashen for his help
assembling the world champion ’86 Mets, because "you don’t
usually say thanks in the heat of battle Maybe if I said it sooner,
you probably wouldn’t have fired me."
Cashen, wearing his signature bow tie, received a standing ovation
from the hundreds assembled in the New York Hilton ballroom.
"You gotta believe we’ll find a cure for this hideous disease
– this insideous disease," said Cashen.
Among the celebrities in the crowd were tennis great and cable
TV talk-show host John McEnroe; former New York Met and Yankee
slugger Darryl Strawberry; legendary New York Met Rusty "Le
Grand Orange" Staub; ’86 Mets hurler Ron Darling; former
New York Mets second baseman and former Brooklyn Cyclones manager
Tim Teufel; former Met and Yankee pitcher and former Brooklyn
Cyclones pitching coach Bobby Ojeda; Brooklyn’s own Lee Mazzilli,
manager of the Baltimore Orioles; New York Rangers hockey legend
Rod Gilbert; former Field of Dreams honoree – and Mets and Yankees
pitcher – David Cone; ’86 Met and former Cyclones manager Howard
Johnson; former Yankee and Met catcher Rick Cerrone; last year’s
Field of Dreams honoree and baseball hall of famer Gary Carter;
"Gong Show" creator-host and author Chuck Barris; former
Yankee and Met announcer Fran Healy; ’86 Mets shortstop Rafael
Santana; original New York Met Ed Kranepool; ’86 Met pitcher
Sid Fernandez; ’69 Met Art Shamsky; former Met manager and champion
shortstop Buddy Harrelson; ’69 Mets third baseman Ed Charles;
’86 Mets centerfielder Mookie Wilson; and artist Leroy Neiman.
Although Hernandez’s commitment to the Cobble Hill Health Center
stems from the loss of his mother after a nine-year struggle
with Alzheimer’s, this year’s Field of Dreams gala prompted a
happy announcement from Hernandez at the podium – his engagement
to his girlfriend of three years, Kai Thompson. She told GO Brooklyn
that a Valentine’s Day wedding on a beach in Florida is in the
works.
While sipping apple martinis and cosmos from beneath mermaid
ice sculptures hoisting baseballs, gala attendees bid on sports
and entertainment memorabilia at the silent auction.
The items ranged from "an actual piece of [Derek Jeter’s]
game-used jersey" framed with his rookie card, to Rusty
Staub wines, to a large framed photo of James Gandolfini of HBO’s
"The Sopranos" and film stills of Al Pacino in Brian
De Palma’s "Scarface" – including the bubble bath scene
(which Bobby Ojeda bid for).
Hernandez told GO Brooklyn that there’s no end in sight to his
support of the Cobble Hill Health Center, so if you missed this
year’s fete – wait ’til next year.
For more information about the Cobble Hill Health Center,
located at 380 Henry St. at Congress Street, call (718) 855-6789.
