Meet Mercedes.

When her grandfather came to Brooklyn from Puerto Rico, he became a Brooklyn Dodgers fan. Once the Dodgers left, the family then became a family of Mets fans.

Mercedes’s grandfather left Brooklyn when she was only seven years old, but the Mets helped keep them together. Here’s how.

Tell me your full story. 

My grandfather moved to Brooklyn from Puerto Rico and that’s where my mom was born. They were Brooklyn Dodger fans and when the Dodgers left no way were they going to root for the Yankees! So they became Mets fans in ’62 and never looked back.

My grandfather moved back to Puerto Rico when I was about 7 and we always talked on the phone after games. Unfortunately, I don’t have pictures of me and him together, as my aunt in Florida has them in storage and a lot were lost in Puerto Rico when he passed away. But I do have one of me, my mom, and my son at the ’69 Mets game last year holding his wedding picture with my grandma (shown above). 

It sounds like despite the distance of New York and Puerto Rico, the Mets were one of the things that kept you and your grandfather close! Would you agree?

Yes, the Mets kept us very close. I was the only grandchild who really followed baseball with him. Plus, I was the only granddaughter at the time so it made it very special for him.

That memory you have of calling him after the 1986 World Series is incredible (especially as you were only about 9!). It’s definitely a memory you will never forget. I know you said that it helped you get through his passing, but I’m going to assume it still helps you today, years later. Could you elaborate a bit?  

That memory has definitely helped me a lot over the years and it keeps his memory alive for me. I get very emotional on Opening Days thinking about him, and when special things happen, like Johan’s no hitter I always think about how he’s in heaven cheering along. It makes Mets baseball very special to me.

What is one specific Mets-related memory you have with your grandfather? 

I think the best Mets memory I have is when he moved back to Puerto Rico he sent me a Mets teddy bear to watch the games with. We would talk on the phone after games all the time. If they lost, it was him telling me in Spanish that they were horrible and he wasn’t watching anymore (lol!).

Do you continue the bond you and your grandfather had about the Mets with your son? (From the picture it looks like you do!).

That is one of the best bonds I have with my son. And it’s great that he also shares it with my mom. We took him to his first Opening Day when he was nine months old! We go to a few games a year, and he does the same thing I did, he’ll call his grandmother after games or when a trade or something happens to tell her. His dream is to play for the Mets one day.

Do you have a story you want to share about how the Mets helped you through a difficult time? We want to hear it – DM us on Twitter.