SNY 'Kidcaster' Antonio Veneziano of Bethpage gets to spend an inning with his idols
SNY Kidcaster Antonio Veneziano with Mets broadcasters — and “really nice guys” — from left, Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling before Tuesday’s game. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Antonio Veneziano had known that this moment would come for almost three weeks.
The Mets fan from Bethpage was still starstruck when he stepped into the SNY broadcast booth at Citi Field and shook hands with the men that he’s listened to for most of his life.
Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling spent about 10 minutes with Veneziano and his parents, Mary and Lucian, ahead of the Mets’ Tuesday night tilt with the Angels, as the soon to be 12-year-old prepared to spend an inning in the booth with his idols.
“They’re honestly really nice guys,” Veneziano said. “Not all celebrities are nice when you finally meet them.”
Veneziano, who turns 12 on Thursday, was selected as the winner of SNY’s “Kidcaster” contest presented by HSS. SNY field reporter Steve Gelbs said the network received a record number of entries this year.
“I’m extremely happy for him,” Mary Veneziano said. “He said he was gonna enter the contest and I had my fingers crossed. When it happened, I was in shock, but he’s just got that personality.”
Gelbs revealed to Veneziano that he would be SNY’s “Kidcaster” during the Mets’ game against the Brewers on July 2. Veneziano’s reaction of genuine shock went viral. When he met with Cohen, Hernandez and Darling before the game, he gave them each a photo of his reaction with his autograph.
“I think it’ll be valuable in the future,” Veneziano said. “Who knows? Maybe tomorrow it’ll be worth something.”
Veneziano returned to the booth and took over play-by-duties in the bottom of the fourth while donning an SNY polo shirt. Despite a relatively quick inning, Veneziano’s personality shined.
He said his favorite player is Francisco Lindor and recalled that the shortstop calmly put his head down and rounded the bases when he hit a go-ahead grand slam in Game 4 of last year’s NLDS.
“It seems like Antonio is an old school kind of guy,” Cohen said.
Cohen called Veneziano’s performance “fantastic” before the broadcast went to a commercial break.
Veneziano talked about his interest in acting and discussed his favorite Broadway shows with Hernandez.
“I realized a little while ago that baseball wasn’t gonna be my career as a player,” Veneziano said earlier in the day. “I’ve been looking into plays and stuff like that. This is definitely in that category of stepping out of my comfort zone and doing things that I maybe wouldn’t have done two or three years ago.”
