Slippery Elm
06-21-01, 07:38 PM
http://www.nypostonline.com/entertainment/33071.htm
By MICHAEL STARR
June 21, 2001 -- FORGET the Mets and Yankees - for one night, New York will be focused on the minor-league Brooklyn Cyclones.
The Cyclones' home opener this Monday night will air not on one station but on two - the Metro Ch. 70, Cablevision/Ch. 16) network (Time Warner/ and Ch. 13.
The expected audience could make it the most-watched minor league baseball game in history.
"I don't think there's any question about that," says Dave Sims, Metro's "GameFace" host who will provide play-by-play for the Cyclones.
"This is huge - it's a big piece of history," says Sims. "You always hear about people falling in love with minor-league baseball. This will give people the opportunity to really get on top of the ballfield - to see it, to smell it."
Metro will air 10 Cyclones games this season (Ch. 13 is airing only the opener), with ex-Met Ed Kranepool joining Sims to provide analysis. Metro's Bill Patrick will host pre-game segments.
Former "Good Morning America" co-host David Hartman, who tried out for the Dodgers as a 14-year-old high school first baseman from Pelham, will provide commentary for Ch. 13.
"I spent time in Durham, N.C. where the [minor league] Durham Bulls had just built a new stadium about four years ago," says Hartman. "It's beautiful and helps make minor league baseball wonderful family experience.
"I have a feeling the Cyclones will try to have the same family-type atmosphere in Brooklyn," says Hartman. "And I bet they will sell out the rest of the season."
The Cyclones are a Class A Mets farm team in the New York Penn League. They're the first professional baseball team in Brooklyn since "dem bums," the beloved Dodgers, fled to Los Angeles in 1957.
"When Brooklyn lost the Dodgers it was such a huge thing," says Hartman, who hosts "New York Walking Tours" for Ch. 13 and narrated Ch. 13's documentary, "Dem Bums: The Brooklyn Dodgers."
"To get a team back in Brooklyn is wonderful, especially since it's a minor league team," Hartman says.
"A lot of these guys [on the Cyclones] are probably scared to death because it's their first time in New York," says Sims.
"But it looks like a lot of the old-timers are welcoming them with open arms. To be a party to something like this is tremendous. I'm thrilled."
The Cyclones, who won their inaugural game 2-1 on Tuesday, are managed by Edgar Alfonzo, brother of Mets slugger Edgardo Alfonzo. The team also boasts former Mets stars Bob Ojeda and Howard Johnson as pitching coach and hitting coach, respectively.
The Cyclones will play their 38 home games in a new, 6,500-seat stadium located on Surf Avenue in Coney Island.
"These are all young guy who hope to one day make it to ‘the show,'" says Hartman. "The important thing, from the fans' point of view, is to go out and have a fun, family experience overlooking the ocean."
By MICHAEL STARR
June 21, 2001 -- FORGET the Mets and Yankees - for one night, New York will be focused on the minor-league Brooklyn Cyclones.
The Cyclones' home opener this Monday night will air not on one station but on two - the Metro Ch. 70, Cablevision/Ch. 16) network (Time Warner/ and Ch. 13.
The expected audience could make it the most-watched minor league baseball game in history.
"I don't think there's any question about that," says Dave Sims, Metro's "GameFace" host who will provide play-by-play for the Cyclones.
"This is huge - it's a big piece of history," says Sims. "You always hear about people falling in love with minor-league baseball. This will give people the opportunity to really get on top of the ballfield - to see it, to smell it."
Metro will air 10 Cyclones games this season (Ch. 13 is airing only the opener), with ex-Met Ed Kranepool joining Sims to provide analysis. Metro's Bill Patrick will host pre-game segments.
Former "Good Morning America" co-host David Hartman, who tried out for the Dodgers as a 14-year-old high school first baseman from Pelham, will provide commentary for Ch. 13.
"I spent time in Durham, N.C. where the [minor league] Durham Bulls had just built a new stadium about four years ago," says Hartman. "It's beautiful and helps make minor league baseball wonderful family experience.
"I have a feeling the Cyclones will try to have the same family-type atmosphere in Brooklyn," says Hartman. "And I bet they will sell out the rest of the season."
The Cyclones are a Class A Mets farm team in the New York Penn League. They're the first professional baseball team in Brooklyn since "dem bums," the beloved Dodgers, fled to Los Angeles in 1957.
"When Brooklyn lost the Dodgers it was such a huge thing," says Hartman, who hosts "New York Walking Tours" for Ch. 13 and narrated Ch. 13's documentary, "Dem Bums: The Brooklyn Dodgers."
"To get a team back in Brooklyn is wonderful, especially since it's a minor league team," Hartman says.
"A lot of these guys [on the Cyclones] are probably scared to death because it's their first time in New York," says Sims.
"But it looks like a lot of the old-timers are welcoming them with open arms. To be a party to something like this is tremendous. I'm thrilled."
The Cyclones, who won their inaugural game 2-1 on Tuesday, are managed by Edgar Alfonzo, brother of Mets slugger Edgardo Alfonzo. The team also boasts former Mets stars Bob Ojeda and Howard Johnson as pitching coach and hitting coach, respectively.
The Cyclones will play their 38 home games in a new, 6,500-seat stadium located on Surf Avenue in Coney Island.
"These are all young guy who hope to one day make it to ‘the show,'" says Hartman. "The important thing, from the fans' point of view, is to go out and have a fun, family experience overlooking the ocean."