Hello Mets faithful! It’s almost here! Opening Day is just a day away! The bulk of the Mets’ staff have left Port St. Lucie for the long drive back to Queens while the Mets play their last spring training game. We’ve been waiting what seems like forever for Opening Day, and there will be plenty going on at CitiField on Monday.
Mets’ Hall of Famer and fan favorite Rusty Staub, Le Grande Orange himself, will be on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Not only will he be throwing out the first pitch, but Monday is also his 69th birthday! It’s also Daniel Murphy’s (#imwith) 28th birthday as well. Rusty Staub was one of the beloved members of the 1973 NL Champion Mets team, hitting 3 home runs in that year’s NLCS vs. Cincinnati. He also batted .423 and had 6 RBI’s in the World Series against Oakland. This year celebrates the 40th anniversary of that Mets team. In addition to being on of the all-time Mets’ greats, Staub also established the New York Police and Fire Widows and Children’s Benefit Fund in 1986 which has raised over $150 million. He also has his own charity, the Rusty Staub Foundation, which assists many charities in the tri-state area.
New York native Emmy Rossum (Showtime’s “Shameless”, Phantom of the Opera) will perform the National Anthem, backed up by the Scholars’ Academy School Chorus from the Rockaways. This ties in to the overall theme of the day, which will focus on saluting Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, of which there will be an on-field ceremony before the game. In this ceremony, the Mets will honor heroes and volunteers who have donated countless hours to Hurricane Sandy relief. More than 500 first responders will be involved, and the Mets have also donated 1,000 tickets to heroic citizens as well as those affected by the storm.
But wait! That’s not all! Keith Carradine, Allison Case, Kathleen Monteleone and David Larsen — the cast of the popular Broadway show “Hands on a Hardbody” — will perform God Bless America. The popular show opened on March 21 and is based on the 1997 documentary of 10 hard-luck Texas who fight to keep one hand on a brand-new truck in order to win it.
Standing Room Only tickets start at $45 and are on sale at Mets.com; by phone at (718) 507-TIXX and at the Citi Field Ticket Windows. The Mets encourage fans to take mass transit to Opening Day at Citi Field. For more details visit www.mta.info.
The game will be shown on SNY, and broadcast on WFAN 660AM and 101.9 FM. Be sure to follow @MetsWFAN, @dailystache and @Meriwyn on twitter, as well as the rest of the Stache staff for updates and all around fun.
PLAY BALL!
