At Keyspan Park, the party is over for Marty.
Marty Haber, known to Cyclones fans as “Party Marty,” has left the Cyclones to pursue a prospective career as a police officer, according to Cyclones spokesman Dave Campanaro.
Marty was a full-time Cyclone ticket account executive by day and the lively on-field master of ceremonies by night.
Haber ran contests, made announcements and interacted with fans for three years. But late last season, he was involved in a controversial incident in the nightly Nathan’s Hot Dog Race.
During one race, Haber tackled “Relish,” one of the three hot dogs running, preventing her from winning. Relish had to be taken to the hospital as a result of the incident, and Party Marty was not on the field for the next game. In the following game, Haber returned to his normal on-field duties, and he finished the season without any further incident.
Marty was always involved in baseball, from his days playing Little League at Marine Park to his playing for Madison High School to his college career as a pitcher for Hofstra University, and had worked for the Helena Brewers and the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. His dad, Bill Haber, was the statistician and historian for the Topps Baseball Card Company. Bill Haber also was one of five founding members of the Society for American Baseball Research, known as SABR.
As Party Marty, Haber had developed quite a following. During the home opener, some fans along the left field line were chanting, “We want Marty!”
“Marty always wanted to be a police officer,” said Campanaro. “He wants to attend the New York Police Department Academy.”
Party Marty’s on-field duties will be assumed by the “Beach Bums,” a group of six young male and female entertainers who can be identified by their red “Beach Bum” jerseys.
Welcome back, fans
During the home opener, the Cyclones players, manager Tony Tijerina and coach Mitchell Donovan were on the steps near the front gate of the ballpark. As fans entered the stadium, the Cyclones greeted the fans, signed autographs, posed for photos, and chatted with the early arrivals. Kudos to general manager Steve Cohen and the rest of the Cyclones staff for a great idea. It was run just right — it was organized, yet relaxed and fan friendly. There were no tables, no regimentation, just a warm, low-key way to let the fans and the Cyclones meet each other. Well done!
Sock hop
The Cyclones have been wearing the old-fashioned high socks — albeit sans stirrups — for all of their games. The team is uniformly in the high socks, red for most home dates and blue when playing on the road, and the look is both traditional and cool. There is a rumor that on Sunday, June 27, the Cyclones will do something special with the socks.
Stay tuned.
Fusselle on the town
Warner Fusselle, the Cyclones’ radio announcer, has climbed down from his perch in the Catbird Seat and “gone Brooklyn.” The Southern gentleman and long-time Manhattan resident was sighted recently spinning on the Wonder Wheel, riding the Cyclone roller coaster, and having a chocolate egg cream in a local diner — some things he’d never done before, even during his three years on the job with the Clones.
Alumni report
At Capital City, Brian Walker has an ERA of 0.00 in seven games, Shane Hawk has an ERA of 2.20, Evan MacLane is 5-2 with a 2.39 ERA. Greg Ramirez is 4-0 with a 1.69 ERA. At Port St. Lucie, Kevin Deaton is 4-1 with a 3.00 ERA, Luz Portobanco is 1-2 with a 2.66 ERA, Scott Kazmir is 0-2 with a 4.64 ERA. At Binghamton, Jason Scobie is 3-1 with a 2.93 ERA, Blake McGinley is 7-1 with an ERA of 2.87.
At Cap City, Ian Bladergroen is hitting .335 with 13 home runs, Shawn Bowman is at .274 with 10 homers, Ryan Harvey is at .351; David Reaver .286;
In St. Lucie, Aaron Baldiris is hitting .292, Jay Caligiuri is at .254 with 10 home runs, Ryan Harvey is at .360, David Reaver .286, Blake Whealy .266 with nine homers, Andy Wilson is at .277 with 10 home runs.
At Binghamton, David Bacani is at .319, Justin Huber is at .295 with seven homers, Wayne Lydon is at .264 with 42 stolen bases, Angel Pagan is hitting .315 with 25 steals. Joe Jiannetti recently joined the club and is 2 for 4.
At Norfolk, Danny Garcia is at .247 and Mike Jacobs is at .177.
June 26, 2004 issue
