I should have interviews with Matt Bouchard, Dylan Owen, Will Morgan and Dan McDonald up on the site over the next week or so. Let me just say that it was great talking to these guys this week and it seems like they’re all geared up for their first spring training.

Bouchard and Owen seem pretty poised and ready to rock and roll this season and I think McDonald and Morgan are extremely excited more than anything else. Regardless of how they felt about this season though, Morgan was the funniest and energetic. During my interview with him, he was talking about a new tattoo he got during the off season and what it was like working at a power plant to earn some extra money. He also talked about how the Mets wanted him to gain some weight, prompting him to eat 5-6 meals a day, with most of them containing some kind of combination of potatoes and rice. The other guys had some great things to say too and I’m sure that you guys will love reading what they had to say. However, until then, I figured I’d share a little video I made today for you guys.

I know it’s Valentine’s Day, but I figured this little gem from last season might put a smile on everyone’s face that doesn’t have anyone to share it with. This was the only article that I wrote last season that I didn’t get published. That’s not bad considering every journalist gets a piece bumped every once in a while. Nonetheless, I thought this was one of the funniest moments of the year and the fact that it was completely avoided by the rest of the press shocked me. Okay, no more talking…enjoy.

Crazed Fan Gives Cyclones a Laugh

The tension on the field during the Cyclones 2-1 extra-inning win on July 25 could have been cut with a knife.

That is until an inebriated fan ran on to the field in the top of the tenth inning and managed to get a laugh out of the entire Cyclones team and the 7,158 other fans in attendance.

Running from the left field stands to the center field wall, the fan originally tried to scale the center field fence in an effort to escape the wrath of Keyspan Park security. When that didn’t work, he made his way into the ‘Clones bullpen.

“I saw a really poor attempt to scale a wall,” said Brooklyn reliever Grady Hinchman. “Obviously in his preliminary plans, the guy forgot to take the height of the wall into consideration. We all thought it was all a skit at first, but when we saw him miss the jump, we saw security running after him and knew it was serious.”

Getting ready to make his warm-up tosses in the pen, Hinchman was thrust into action and with the help of his fellow relievers, a plan was concocted to take the crazed fan down.

“My initial plan was to throw him a right cross and take him down for the security guys,” he said. “But instead, we let him in and locked the gate leading to the clubhouse. Then security came and he gave up with no struggle. He had nowhere to go.”

Rather than hold any feelings of hostility against the fan, Hinchman believes that in his own way, he helped the Cyclones come out victorious that night.

“Something like that happening that late in the game, with the game tied like that was great comic relief,” said Hinchman. It allowed us to get our focus back and take a breath in a tight game.”

Photo for this piece was taken by Conroy Walker.

Valentine’s Day may be considered a holiday, but on the totem pole of festive occasions, it’s on the bottom, looking up. It’s a day where cheap chocolate, corny greeting cards and cuddly teddy bears try to make up for the busy nights and missed phone calls that accumulate throughout the year. However, there are some people that still take it extremely seriously.

Professional baseball players for instance, who start reporting to Spring Training on Valentine’s Day, use the holiday as a way to affirm their feelings to their spouses and loved ones, before dedicating the next eight months of their lives to the season ahead. Usually a holiday associated with puppy love and steamy make-out sessions, rather than the expression of more tender emotions, pro ball players have no problem buying their mothers and sisters flowers to let them know how much they love them.

Obviously not known to be trendsetters off the field, these usually low-key and laid back athletes, tend to avoid attention to their private lives. Nevertheless, they consider the holiday to be something special and have no problem going against the grain and making Valentine’s Day a memorable one.

“It’s a long grind over the course of the season and this time is great to let your family know that you care about them,” said shortstop Matt Bouchard, who played for the Brooklyn Cyclones last season and will be attending his first Spring Training with the Mets in a few days. “I’m a single guy, but I always make sure my mom and sisters taken care of on Valentine’s Day. I love surprising them with flowers.”

Dan McDonald, another prospect in the Mets organization, also understands how important it is to let his parents and family know how he feels about them and doesn’t think the holiday is all about commercialism.

“I haven’t had a girlfriend in almost two years, so my mom is my Valentine this year,” he said. “It’s the least I could do for all she’s done for me. I think it’s always good to let people know how you feel about them. I was lucky that last season I only played about an hour’s drive away my parents and they came to a lot of my games. I could only imagine how it was for the other guys.”

However, in spite of the majority of bachelors in professional baseball, who tend to let their families reap the benefits of their love, there are still plenty of attached ball players out there that appreciate the few tender moments they have during the season to spend with their special someone.

Mets farmhand Dylan Owen, who spent last season striking out hitters at will in Coney Island, is one of those guys. In a committed relationship for almost three years, Owen relishes the holiday and is looking forward to spending it with his girlfriend, Samantha.

“It is a pretty special one,” Owen, who won the Sterling Award as the Mets top player in the NY-Penn League last season, said. “Last year, she came to my apartment and cooked for me. It was great. We usually don’t go out too much because we’re both always busy. So this year, I want to do something really nice for her.”

Playing 76 games in 80 days last year in short season Single-A ball and dedicating the majority of the rest of the year to getting in shape for his first full season of pro ball after college, Owen knows that there aren’t many opportunities for him and his sweetheart to spend time together right now. With busier schedules and more games to come as he travels his way through the minor leagues, Owen appreciates what the holiday can provide him.

As a matter of fact, if the stocky, southern blonde right-hander has his way, it’ll be a day they won’t soon forget and should help quench the thirst their young, love-hungry hearts will develop over the course of the long season.

“We both know that I’m going to be gone for a while and, so I’m going to make it as special as I can,” he said. “I’m going to rent out a nice hotel room and take her out to dinner. I also have more money than I had last year, so I’m pretty much going to get her whatever she wants.”

Now isn’t that better than a box of Russell Stover’s Chocolate and a Hallmark card?

Images for this article were taken by Patrick Hickey Jr. and Daniel Wos.

Hey guys, my name is Patrick Hickey Jr. and I’ve been covering the Cyclones for over two years for NY Sports Day and a host of other publications and websites. During that time I have had a blast and absolutely love covering this team and spending my summer every year in Coney Island. That’s one of the reasons why I decided to start this blog. However, there are a few other reasons as well.

My sole objective with this site will be for it to serve as a sort of supplement to my beat writing this season and should provide a front row seat to the action this season at Keyspan. I know the season doesn’t start until June, but I figured I’d get started now and have done interviews with several Mets prospects [who happen to be former Cyclones of course] and should have plenty of material to keep you guys busy until the season starts.

I’m sure many of you are still wondering why I would do this blog, so here’s another reason. It needed to be done. Over the past two years that I’ve covered this team, they’ve always needed more coverage and despite my writing of over 150 Cyclones-related pieces during that time, something more yearned to be done. I’d go on the various message boards that fans have set up and find out that they were grossly mis-educated on the team and didn’t know why players weren’t in the lineup or why someone wasn’t playing well. I would usually send those people e-mails and let them know why things were going down the way they were and would even talk to fans at the ballpark and on my way home from Keyspan, but that still wasn’t enough either. I think this blog has the potential to solve those problems.

On the site’s first day of existence, I figured that I’d just let you people know that I’m going to be doing everything in my power to make sure you all know what is going on with this team and that you have plenty of fun while you’re here. As a tribute to you guys and the team, here’s a video I made two seasons ago, showcasing some of those great players from my first year covering the team.