NEW YORK -- Each November, a small army of Mets employees mobilizes, piling into trucks and fanning throughout the five boroughs.
Often, celebrity guests come along. This year, Sean Manaea showed up at the Child Development Support Corporation in Brooklyn to hand out Thanksgiving meals to local residents. At the same time, Mark Vientos was at the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation providing a similar service. Then he hopped into a car and made his way to Queensborough Community College in Bayside, where a long line of people had formed to accept the Mets’ generosity. Manaea, meanwhile, sped off to the Bronx.
At each stop, fans posed for selfies with the players. Even those who didn’t know Manaea by name marveled at his imposing stature -- “Must be a celebrity!” one person exclaimed.
“It’s amazing to be able to help the Amazin’ Mets Foundation,” Manaea said afterward. “I’m super happy to be giving back. For me and our family, it’s just something super simple we could do to help out the community.”
Charity events like these, Manaea said, hit different when they’re local. During his days pitching for the A’s and Giants, Manaea frequently involved himself in Bay Area initiatives. Since joining the Mets, he’s been one of the rare players to live full-time in Manhattan, giving him additional chances to interact with fellow New Yorkers. (Manaea is in the process of moving his home to Florida, however, making this one of his last opportunities to appear as a New York resident.)
Vientos, who spent a portion of his childhood in southern Connecticut, has likewise developed a stronger connection with the five boroughs since moving to New York. Like Manaea, who brought his wife and infant daughter to the Thanksgiving events, Vientos invited his girlfriend. The two laughed as Vientos joked around with Queens residents who had come to collect turkeys and other holiday staples.
“It’s awesome to interact with everybody in the community, especially in different areas,” Vientos said. “It just makes me more familiar with the city and makes it more comfortable. I’ve been here for a couple years now, and I think every year that I have played here, I’m getting more and more comfortable.”
The team’s annual turkey giveaway, which included stops in all five boroughs, is part of a five-pronged “MetsGiving” initiative that also features a food drive, an upcoming coat drive, a holiday dinner for local families and a holiday party for schoolchildren next month. Those events have the backing of owners Steve and Alex Cohen, who have overhauled the team’s foundation work over the past few years.
That matters, of course, to the New York City residents who benefit. And it matters to the players who take part, whether they’re honorary New Yorkers or full-time ones.
“Seeing people smile and enjoying it, I’m happy just to see them [and to] give out [food],” Vientos said. “Whether it’s apples, potatoes, turkeys -- everybody’s happy and having a good time. I think that’s the coolest part.”