Sports
Douglaston Meets A Met
Legendary First Baseman Keith Hernandez Drops By Strawberry's Sports Grill
Douglaston got a glimpse of baseball stardom Saturday as Darryl Strawberry's sports grill hosted legendary Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez.
The restaurant was more bustling than usual as Hernandez signed autographs and took pictures with fans from all over the five boroughs. Every seat in the house was taken as fans anxiously waited in line for their chance to meet the baseball star.
Rich Von, a regular at Strawberry's Sports Grill and a loyal Met Fan, drove down from Long Island to meet one of his favorite players.
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"It is really nice that they brought a real Met here," Von said as he waited for his turn to sit with Hernandez. "It is such a nice place, an actual Met place."
The crowd continued to pile into the grill from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Some dedicated fans waited patiently outside in the cold winter night.
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Waitress Ilyse Davidson, who has been working for Starwberry's since they opened in August, busily ran around all night tending to customers.
"It has been a hectic night," she said. "But it is nice to see that we are so busy. It feels good."
According to General Manager Michael Strawberry, Darry's brother, the turnout was better than expected.
"It has exceeded my expectations - there are more people here than we anticipated," Michael Strawberry said.
Hernandez was first baseman for the 1986 World Series champions Mets, playing alongside Darryl Strawberry.
"I would do anything to help out my old buddy, Darryl," Hernandez said of his visit to the restaurant.
Raffle tickets were given out for visitors who stayed for dinner and purchased an entrée. The winning prize was a baseball glove personally signed by Hernandez.
Eytan Sugerman, co-owner of Strawberry's, was especially happy with the turnout.
"It is fantastic to see all of the people,"Sugerman said, "Queens people came out to see one of the greatest first baseman of all time."
Darryl Strawberry was not in attendance due to his prior engagements in St. Louis, where was attending a Toys for Tots charity event at his local church.