For once, these politicians played ball — literally.
It was softball politics at its finest in Coney Island last week as members of the Council stomped the Mayor’s Office 17–13 in a softball game at MCU Park on Sept. 17.
One Brooklyn councilman who was integral to the win said he put down his bat and glove a decade ago, but picking them back up was a cinch.
“It’s like swimming — some things you don’t forget,” said Councilman Chaim Deutsch (D–Sheepshead Bay), who batted in a run and relieved Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito on the mound.
The freshman legislator also caught a pop fly from the mound and threw out mayoral advisor Avi Fink at first base on what Deutsch called a “cheap grounder.”
Other lawmakers representing the borough included Antonio Reynoso (D–Williamsburg), Rafael Espinal (D–Bushwick), Brad Lander (D–Park Slope), and home-field heavy-hitter Mark Treyger (D–Coney Island).
Former Borough President Marty Markowitz provided color commentary, giving players nicknames like “10-cent Lander” — for his support of a plastic bag tax — and “The Chaiminator” for Deutsch’s tenacity.
Teams had just one week to get ready for the field.
Mayor DeBlasio challenged Mark-Viverito on Sept. 10, tweeting “I challenge @NYCCouncil to a #NYCSoftball game. The date is set — 9/17. Your move, @MMViverito.”
And the smack-talking didn’t stop there. In DeBlasio’s Sept. 17 public schedule, the Mayor’s Office wrote “In the evening, the Mayor and First Lady Chirlane McCray will join City Hall staff in crushing the City Council in the Mayor’s Office vs. City Council Softball Game at MCU Park.”
But Hizzoner’s squad couldn’t back up the boast, and DeBlasio pulled himself out of the game after just two at-bats.
“I pulled a muscle,” the mayor told our photographer. “I’m getting too old for this.”
