NEW YORK (AP) — Fenway Park has the Ted Williams seat. And now Citi Field has the Grimace seat.
The kid-friendly McDonald’s character made another appearance at the ballpark Monday, when the New York Mets unveiled a commemorative purple seat in section 302 to honor “his special connection to Mets fans.”
Wearing his pear-shaped purple costume and a baseball glove on backwards, Grimace threw out a funny-looking first pitch — as best he could with those furry fingers and short arms — before New York beat the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on June 12.
That victory began a seven-game winning streak, and Grimace the Mets' good-luck charm soon went viral, taking on a life of its own online.
New York is 53-31 since June 12, the best record in the majors during that span. The Mets were tied with rival Atlanta for the last National League playoff spot as they opened their final homestand of the season Monday night against Washington.
The new Grimace seat in the second deck in right field — located in row 6, seat 12 to signify 6/12 on the calendar — was brought into the Shannon Forde press conference room Monday afternoon. The character posed next to the chair and with fans who strolled into the room.
The seat is available for purchase for each of the Mets’ remaining home games.
“It’s been great to see how our fanbase created the Grimace phenomenon following his first pitch in June and in the months since,” Mets senior vice president of partnerships Brenden Mallette said in a news release. “As we explored how to further capture the magic of this moment and celebrate our new celebrity fan, installing a commemorative seat ahead of fan appreciation weekend felt like the perfect way to give something back to the fans in a fun and unique way."
Up in Boston, the famous Ted Williams seat is painted bright red among rows of green chairs deep in the right-field stands at Fenway Park to mark where a reported 502-foot homer hit by the Hall of Fame slugger landed in June 1946.
So, does this catapult Grimace into Splendid Splinter territory?
“I don’t know if we put him on the same level,” Mets executive vice president and chief marketing officer Andy Goldberg said with a grin.
“It’s just been a fun year, and at the same time, we’ve been playing great ball. Ever since the end of May, we have been crushing it,” he explained. “So I think that added to the mystique.”
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FILE - McDonald's character Grimace throws out a ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the Miami Marlins and the New York Mets, June 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz, File)
Kansas was picked first in the AP Top 25 preseason men’s basketball poll Monday, getting the No. 1 nod on half of the 60 ballots from a national media panel to start the season ahead of Alabama and two-time defending national champion UConn.
Kansas scooped up 30 first-place votes from the AP panel. The Crimson Tide, led by All-American guard Mark Sears and Jarin Stevenson, earned 14 first-place votes and UConn, which is trying to become the first school since John Wooden’s teams at UCLA to win three straight titles, received 11 first-place votes and is third.
Houston earned four first-place votes and is fourth ahead of Iowa State, which returns its top four scorers from a team that was a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga received one first-place vote and is the sixth.
Duke, led by consensus No. 1 recruit Cooper Flagg, is seventh ahead of Baylor, North Carolina and Arizona in the top 10.
The Jayhawks were preseason No. 1 a year ago, too, but the season hardly went as planned. They were dragged down by injuries and struggled in Big 12 play, and a team led by All-American center Hunter Dickinson ultimately was routed by Cincinnati in the conference tournament and Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Kansas coach Bill Self retooled in the offseason, landing one of the nation's top transfer classes. A.J. Storr of Wisconsin, South Dakota State guard Zeke Mayo and Rylan Griffen from Alabama are part of a versatile bunch joining Dickinson and fellow seniors Dajuan Harris Jr. and KJ Adams Jr. — both part of their 2022 national title squad — to form a deeper and more talented team.
“We welcome being No. 1, especially with our returning players like Hunter, Dajuan and KJ, and then you add the players we brought in,” Self said. “The goal is to be No. 1 at the end of the season, and though we welcome this, it is not the end goal.”
The new-look Big 12, which lost Oklahoma and Texas but welcomed Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado, has three of the top five and five of the top 10 in the preseason AP poll. The SEC leads the way with nine in the Top 25.
“To have three Big 12 teams in the top five and five in the top 10 just shows how competitive this league will be,” Self said. “Every year we talk about the Big 12 being the toughest conference in the nation and with the four additions it became even stronger.”
No. 11 Auburn, Tennessee and Texas A&M start off the second 10, followed by Purdue and Creighton. John Calipari has Arkansas at No. 16 with Indiana, Marquette, Texas and Cincinnati — making its first poll appearance since 2019 — in the top 20.
The Boilermakers are trying to win a third straight Big Ten title after the departure of AP player of the year Zach Edey.
“We have three starters back from a Final Four team. We have five freshmen. We have a lot of guys with experience outside of those three starters,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “We’re excited about it. We’re excited about this group.”
Florida, UCLA, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Rutgers round out the preseason Top 25.
“I’m excited about the expectations,” said Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell, whose team is ranked in the preseason poll for the first time since 1978. “We always had high expectations, and now in a league with 18 teams, you know, people are saying, ‘How good are you? There’s 18 teams. They’re great coaches.’ I don’t know where we sit. If you came to our practice yesterday, you would say, ‘Oh, boy.’ And if you came a couple of days earlier, you might think, ‘Hey, they’re going to be pretty good.'”
Illinois is tops among others receiving votes after reaching the Elite Eight. Rick Pitino has St. John's on the doorstep along with Xavier, Texas Tech and Wake Forest. The first regular-season poll is due out Nov. 11.
Four schools that have never appeared in the Top 25 received preseason votes, led by McNeese State, which went back to the NCAA Tournament last season. Little Rock, Grand Canyon and High Point also received votes.
Kansas is ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll for the fifth time, trailing only North Carolina (10), Duke (9) and UCLA (8) for the most since the preseason rankings debuted in 1962. ... Houston has the longest active Top 25 streak at 86 weeks. The Jayhawks are second at 65. ... Iowa State has its best preseason ranking in school history. Texas A&M matched its best. ... Kentucky is in the preseason poll for a record 57th time. The Tar Heels appear for the 55th time.
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Kansas tops AP Top 25 preseason men's basketball poll ahead of Alabama, defending champion UConn
Kansas tops AP Top 25 preseason men's basketball poll ahead of Alabama, defending champion UConn
FILE - Kansas center Hunter Dickinson (1) shoots as Gonzaga forward Braden Huff (34) defends during the first half of a second-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City, Saturday, March 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
