On Saturday, July 21, more than 60 young athletes from neighborhoods and community organizations around the area, including athletes from Farmingdale, were selected to take part in an on-field baseball clinic with some of the New York Mets coaches and team players.
This year, the kids, ranging in age from 7 to 12, were from the Hempstead Boys & Girls Club, the South Queens Boys & Girls Club, Hispanic Counseling Center of Hempstead, and Island Harvest. Farmingdale was well represented by its Little Leaguers, including Nick Brannick, Nicholas DiSanti, Anthony Battaglia, James DiSanti, Robby Keane, Steve Pantano, Matthew DiSanti and Matt Gonzalez.
“I had a lot of fun; it was cool to play baseball on Citi Field,” James DiSanti said. The youth athletes received baseball pointers, including base-running tips from the Mets players.
Pitcher Pedro Beato and infielder Jordany Valdespin were two of the Mets players on hand to help with the hitting, fielding, and throwing instruction for the kids.
“The players were nice to us, I had fun with my brothers,” said Nicholas DiSanti.
Dave Hudges, the Mets hitting coach, helped the kids with their swings and Dan Warthen, the pitching coach, helped the kids with their throwing skills.
“Citi Field is really big,” Matthew DiSanti told the Tribune. “I liked catching pop-ups, like on TV.”
After the clinic the kids and their guests enjoyed refreshments and had a chance to take pictures with the teammates and staff, before enjoying the Mets game versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. Dodgers took the win that day, 8-5. Verizon sponsored the annual event at Citi Field in Flushing, as they have over the last three years.
