Play Ball! East Side LL Kicks Off Season with Parade that Draws Gooden and Franco
The Peter Stuyvesant Little League catchment area has expanded over the years stretching as far south as E. 10th Street and as far north as E. 72nd St. and from Fifth Ave. to the East River. Most games are played at historic Con Ed field on E. 16th St. and Ave. C.
Under blue sky’s and and a brisk wind, the Peter Stuyvesant Little League (PSLL) kicked off their regular season on April 6 with its traditional parade led by bagpipers and joined this year by two Mets greats, John Franco and Dwight “Doc” Gooden as well as the MLB team mascots for the Mets, Mr. Met and Lady Met.
League president Nick McKeon said there were about 550 registrants in the league this year, which meant it was holding its own from last year, although still down from its pre-pandemic years when it routinely drew 700+ registrants.
Although there are other leagues on East side, such as uptown’s popular Yorkville Youth Athletic Association which offers baseball, basketball and flag football, the PSLL is one that is officially affiliated with the Little League in Williamsport, Pa., which stages the Little League World Series tournament each summer.
Most of the games are played at historic Con Ed field, a field adjacent to the E. 15th st. power plant that Con Ed spent $1 million converting from grass to an artificial turf field a number of years ago, making it easier to get the fields in playing shape after a rain.
Younger kids who had in years past played on Tim McGinn Field inside the Murphy’s Brother’s Playground on Ave. C and E. 18th St. are going to have to wait a bit longer before they can return to their traditional field. The NYC Parks Department, which originally said the renovation that began at the end of the 2022 season would be done by the start of the 2024 are obviously way behind schedule. Parks department officials did not respond to calls from Our Town as to when exactly the much delayed renovation would be completed. The field is being used as a staging area for some of the East Side Resiliency Project which is still underway on the East River.
League President Nick McKeon said the field is going to be ready “supposedly for next spring, but we have no real update.” T-ball has moved to Playground #1 within Stuyvesant Town, the eight year olds are now playing at Con Ed field and the AA division, which is 6 and 7 year olds are playing at Peters Field on Second Ave. and E. 20th St, McKeon said.
After the PSLL Parade but before the League games, the PSLL had the assembled crowd recite our National Anthem and the Little League Pledge. Next up was Commissioner McKeon introducing the Leagues special Guests: Kimberly Williams (ConEd Community Affairs Dir.), Alex Boras (Assembly), Keith Powers (Councilmember), Mark Levine (Manhattan Borough President), NY State Senator Kristen Gonzalez and Assemblyman Harvey Epstein. With most of the crowd consisting of kids + parents, the politicians were savvy enough to keep their speech short and sweet and heavily promoting their allegiance to their favorite team-either Mets or Yankees.
Assemblyman Bores, who acknowledged he was a Yankee fan who played his youth baseball uptown in a CYO league, stirred some good natured controversy when he asked the kids who were Yankees fans “like me” to make some noise. That elicited cheers from the Yankees fans, but some good natured razzberries from the Mets faithful. He next asked the Mets fans to make some noise, which they did, to accompanying boos from Yankee fans.
What team received the loudest ovation? Well, it was close but if you had to choose, I would say the Mets by a small margin, no doubt helped by the presence of Mets team mascots Mr. Met and Lady Met who joined in the parade led by two bagpipers that started on E. 20th St. and First Ave and wound its way through Stuyvesant Town.
When Manhattan borough president Mark Levine took the mic, he could not help ribbing Assemblyman Bores. “I’m not going to make the same mistake as Assemblyman Bores,” he said noting the Mets/Yankees divisions. “That’s too controversial.” Levine instead asked how many were rooting for the NY Knicks and Rangers and seemed to get near unanimous support.
Keith Powers had a home field advantage since he told the crowd he actually played in the league as a youngster.
Speaking of the Mets, the PSLL Commissioner McKeon saved his lasts two special guests for last, New York Met legends John Franco and Dwight “Doc” Gooden. Both players had distinguished careers as Pitchers for the Mets and played on their last World Series championship team in 1986. The young crowd may not have known of Franco and Doc but they stood at attention when both guests spoke. When speaking, Franco underscored the importance of being a good teammate as well as making schoolwork a top priority. Doc also mentioned the importance of being a good teammate but added it’s ‘not cool to argue with the umpire’. The crowd applauded respectively, but a few ‘Boos’ could be heard regarding Doc’s stand on the umpire. That said, it’s good to know the game of baseball has not changed much in one hundred years.
Although the season has just begun you can check the website (PSLL.org) if your son or daughter might be interested in getting in on all the action. The League offers many levels of play for kids, including a Challenger Division where volunteer kids and adults help special needs kids enjoy the game. In other divisions kids from five to sixteen can play in divisions that include instructional, soft ball for all ages, as well as seven and eight year-old divisions a minors division of nine- and ten-year-olds and what is considered the traditional heart of Little League play, the 11-and 12-year old division known as “the majors.” There are also divisions including the juniors and seniors for kids over 12