July 13, 1963 - One of the most charming of all Met promotions preceded the club’s 14th straight loss to the Dodgers: a contest between teams composed of sons of Met players. On “Family Day,” the Met kiddies played two innings on a layout of Little League dimensions, and there was no accurate score because the umpire cheated. The umpire was one Jimmy Piersall, who was truly wonderful with the children today. Obviously, the man has experience. Piersall has eight children of his own. So, when little Richie Willey barely tapped the ball with his bat, Piersall rushed around in front of the catcher and kicked the ball out of reach, giving Richie a base hit. At other times, he held the bat and helped some of the smaller boys swing; he ran the bases with one of them on his shoulders; he blocked the catcher so a runner could score from third; he ran to first to get in the way of the first baseman. The kids, though, were the real stars. Kevin Snider (son of Duke) slammed two ground-rule doubles past the rope boundary in right. “Just like his old man,” observed Casey Stengel. “Look at that cut he takes, and look at him run.” Observing the Met sons, however, was the high point of Casey’s day. The Met fathers lost their game, 11-2.
