Tag Archives: New York Mets

Met joins PSLL on opening day

Mets player Jerry Blevins joined the Peter Stuyvesant Little League at Con Ed Field on Saturday morning for a ceremony following an annual parade through Stuyvesant Town. (Pictured) Blevins with girls from one of the league’s two district teams (Photos by Sabina Mollot)

By Sabina Mollot

On the sunniest opening day the Little Leagues of New York City have seen in years, the Peter Stuyvesant Little League, celebrating recent district-wide wins, marched triumphantly through Stuyvesant Town, circling the Oval and then heading onto Con Ed Field on Avenue C.

The annual parade and kickoff celebration took place on Saturday morning, with the PSLL also celebrating another coup — the first-ever visit from an active member of Major League Baseball, the Mets’ Jerry Blevins.

For the past decade, the league has had a tradition of having a former player come to the field to give the kids a pep talk. Previous guests have included Dwight Gooden, Keith Hernandez and Mookie Wilson.

Seth Coren, the league’s new president, introduced Blevins as “the most reliable pitcher in the bullpen, contributing to a historic 11-1 season.” He also joked that Blevins was also “an internet sensation” for stirring up some controversy when he said “Field of Dreams” wasn’t among the top 10 baseball movies of all time.

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PSLL celebrates big wins and new division

The PSLL girls’ championship team members wear celebratory jackets at Con Ed Field. (Pictured) Olivia Sheh, Julianna Fabrizio, Sarah Acocelli, Camile Bernard, Dorie Levine, Amanda Haspel and Jordan Hayduk (Photos by Sabina Mollot)

By Sabina Mollot

By Saturday morning, a downpour that had gone on throughout the night cleared up just in time for one of Stuyvesant Town’s most important annual traditions, the Peter Stuyvesant Little League Parade.

Hundreds of kids, clad in their new, colorful uniforms, marched alongside former Mets player and coach Mookie Wilson from First Avenue to Con Ed Field, where they got a pep talk from Wilson and a ceremony highlighting the league’s recent victories.

Jeff Ourvan, the league’s president, discussed the $16,000 the PSLL just received as a result of the “Roberts v. Tishman Speyer” lawsuit settlement. Ourvan said the funds, which came from unclaimed checks from the settlement, would be spent on batting cages as well as turf repairs.

Ourvan also praised players who last season, he noted, took home some impressive tournament wins.

Of a 13 and 14-year-old girls’ softball team, Ourvan said, “It was the first time in PSLL history we went on to play a state tournament.” The nine and 10-year-old baseball team and the 11 and 12-year-old team also each won a Manhattan championship.

“It shows you the quality of our league is improving,” he added.

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Former Mets GM Bobby Valentine offers words of wisdom to PSLL

League celebrates 60th anniversary and district win

Bobby Valentine threw the first pitch of PSLL’s season on Saturday, which was caught by a mustache-wearing Alex Ramirez. Ramirez was one of several players wearing mustaches in Valentine’s honor. (Photos by Sabina Mollot)

Bobby Valentine threw the first pitch of PSLL’s season on Saturday, which was caught by a mustache-wearing Alex Ramirez. Ramirez was one of several players wearing mustaches in Valentine’s honor. (Photos by Sabina Mollot)

By Sabina Mollot

The cold and wind that had been accurately predicted for Saturday morning was no match for the 700-plus members of the Peter Stuyvesant Little League, many of whom celebrated the league’s 60th anniversary with a parade and ceremony.

The parade, an annual event, was attended this year by Bobby Valentine, former general manager to the Mets and Red Sox as well as a former pro player. Following a pair of bagpipers, Valentine marched with the kids, who resembled a moving rainbow in their new uniforms and colorful team banners, through Stuyvesant Town and then on to Con Ed Field.

At the field, Valentine offered the players a pep talk, telling them they should feel sorry for anyone there who wasn’t in uniform, “because if they could, they would trade places with you.”

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Former Mets GM Bobby Valentine to attend PSLL Parade on April 9

Mar31 Bobby_Valentine.jpg

Bobby Valentine

 

On April 9, Bobby Valentine, who’s managed the Mets and the Red Sox, will be attending the Peter Stuyvesant Little League’s annual parade and ceremony. Valentine has also played for several teams, including the Mets, in the 1970s. He later went on to manage teams, and has also worked as a baseball analyst for ESPN. He is currently the athletic director at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut.

The parade on April 9 will have a ceremony afterwards which also celebrates the league’s 60th year in youth sports.

Participating players and their families will line up at 8:15 a.m. at First Avenue and 20th Street in front of Hane restaurant before marching through Stuyvesant Town and heading to Con Ed Field at East 16th Street and Avenue C. The brief ceremony will be from 9-9:30 a.m.