The Wall Street Journal has a pretty great writeup on journeyman pitcher Buddy Carlyle, who is now in his second season with the Mets. During batting practice before most road games, he picks a young fan out of the crowd in the bleachers or outfield seats and starts playing catch with them. Carlyle says he's been doing it since 2007 because it's an easy thing for him to do, and he figures it's a memory for life for the kids.The video above is from Friday, before the Mets game against the Phillies and the six-year-old he's playing with is named Vasili Dizes. Dizes and his father are from Philly, but his dad is Yankees fan, though maybe not for much longer. After playing catch, Vasili had other plans.
Carlyle only does it on the road because the Mets generally take batting practice before the park is open to the public, which somehow makes the experience even cooler. These kids have no idea who he is usually (even Dizes asks Carlyle what his name is at the end of the video) and it still makes them fans for life.[Wall Street Journal]"He said, 'Dad, we're going to cheer for the Mets now. That's going to be our team,'" Dizes recalled. "I said, 'What are you talking about?' He said, 'No, we're going to cheer for the Mets.'"