PDA

View Full Version : Mr. Met vs. The Taliban


Nanner
04-22-2002, 10:07 AM
This was in the NY Post today. Mr. Met in army fatigues is also very hot!!!:uhoh: :biggrin:

http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/46110.htm


MR. MET VS. TALIBAN

By LORETTA GRANTHAM
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.nypost.com/photos/web04220203a.jpg

DOUBLE DUTY:
Lee Reynolds (above), a major in the Army Reserves stationed at Camp X-Ray, is taking a break from his job as Mr. Met, the beloved Shea Stadium crowd-pleaser.
- Katy Jones/Newsweek

April 22, 2002 -- GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - He's not just a giant baseball, he's also a patriot.
Mr. Met, Shea Stadium's orb-headed icon, has swapped his blue and orange togs for soldier's fatigues in America's war on terrorism.

Lee Reynolds, a major in the Army Reserves who has shared the role of Mr. Met for three years, arrived at Gitmo this month to serve in the public-affairs office of Joint Task Force 160, which oversees Taliban and al Qaeda detainees at Camp X-Ray.

He jokes that Bat Day at Shea - when fans want to smash their souvenir miniature bats into his foamboard head - has been more harrowing than his military career.

"We like to call it 'Hit Mr. Met in the Head Day,' " he says, wincing. "But the Mets are smart. Now, they hand out bats at the end of the game."

Reynolds' double life was revealed during a media tour of the military base when a reporter hopped aboard the bus wearing a Yankee cap.

"Them's fightin' words," Reynolds said.

He's quick to point out, though, that "Mr. Met has no enemies."

"Rudy Giuliani, who's a big Yankee fan, said during World Series 2000 that when he came to Shea Stadium, he never got treated very well except by Mr. Met," Reynolds says.

"I'd hug him and dance and goof around. Mr. Met loves Rudy."

Reynolds, 38, is the same age as Mr. Met, who became baseball's first live mascot in 1964.

The mascot had started out as a cartoon two years earlier.

Reynolds is stationed in Cuba for at least six months as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

"Reserve soldiers come from all walks of life, and right now, I'm here serving my country and serving my state after 9/11," he says.

"I'm very proud to be here, in spite of having to miss the entire baseball season, and the Mets have always been 100 percent supportive. They've said the door is always open for me."

And a very wide door it must be.

Cyberlibrarian
04-22-2002, 01:33 PM
Wally Matthews of the Post was very mean to Mr. Met last week in a column. How can you be mean to Mr. Met? Especially if he's out there serving his country?

Nanner
04-22-2002, 01:41 PM
Originally posted by LeiterFan
Wally Matthews of the Post was very mean to Mr. Met last week in a column. How can you be mean to Mr. Met? Especially if he's out there serving his country?

I heard about that.

:angry:

Wallace Matthews <----- :eviltongu