Delegates Treated to a Day at Shea Stadium

Delegates to the Republican National Convention got to do something yesterday that few New Yorkers have ever been able to experience: step onto the field at Shea Stadium and take a little batting practice with the players.The trip was part of Mayor Bloomberg’s “Experience NYC” program, which each day lines up New York activities for the RNC delegates that are in town. Monday was fashion day, yesterday was sports day, and music and history days are upcoming.“Taking batting practice and joining the New York Mets for a barbecue at Shea Stadium is a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Mr. Bloomberg told reporters in the infield yesterday. “Delegates and guests at the convention are enjoying the best the city has to offer this week.”Mets pitcher Al Leiter made clear that he has already made up his mind. He is a Republican and is voting for the president.For Jerry Collins, a delegate from Marietta, Ga., the crack of the bat was especially sweet as he hit one out of the park. (An umpire may have called it a foul, but because he was a guest of the city, everyone watching decided to call it fair.)“This is my first major league field,” Mr. Collins told the throng of reporters who threw elbows to get close to the man who appeared to be the delegates’ only ringer. He did allow that he played baseball as a child, and said he was having a great time during his stay in New York, even though his spending was limited to cab fares and dinners.Georgia delegation members John and Sheila Beatty came to meet the Mets, including pitcher Tom Glavine, recently transplanted from the Atlanta Braves. Mr. Beatty, an Army journalist who was mobilized after September 11, hit a series of fly balls into left field. Politically, he said, he is focused on what President Bush had done for America’s troops. That alone could be enough to win his vote for the president, he said.“He gave us raises and he’s really taken care of the troops,” Mr. Beatty said, adding that while he was there representing the Georgia delegation he still considered himself one of those key swing voters the presidential candidates are trying to woo. “I still have things I want to hear from Kerry,” he said. “Like what will he do for the troops?”Mets pitcher Al Leiter made clear that he has already made up his mind. He is a Republican and is voting for Mr. Bush. He met with the delegates at Shea yesterday and ate a barbecue lunch with them.Mr. Bloomberg passed up the opportunity to take any swings at baseballs. He told a radio station before going to the stadium that he had more sense than to give the camera crews an opportunity to see him strike out.

Delegates Treated to a Day at Shea Stadium

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