Shea-Hey Kids – Pair of friends experience quite a day of baseball in Flushing

Bennett Brown and Alex Miceli have experienced a lot together on a baseball diamond since they first met a dozen years ago.
They've learned the game, played Little League and summer ball in HBQVB Little League, went to Queens High School of Teaching, playing jayvee and varsity there, and grown up alongside one another - on the field and off. &#8220We're like brothers,” Brown said. &#8220We see each other like three or four times a week. We hang out a lot.”
But they couldn't have expected to see each other on perhaps their greatest day on a diamond. &#8220I was surprised when I found out,” said Brown, after playing in the Greater New York Sandlot Athletic Alliance 15-16-year-old All-Star game opposite Miceli at Shea Stadium last week.
The butterflies, the queasiness in their bellies and goose bumps that come with stepping on a major league field for the first time, they both felt as well. &#8220Before I got up it was hard to calm down,” Brown said. &#8220I was really nervous. I didn't want to look stupid in front of everybody and make an error.”
The game was part of a doubleheader that gives local stars from Long Island and the city's five boroughs a chance to play on a major league field. Past players have included such greats as Boston Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez, former Cy Young winner Frank Viola and New York Mets closer John Franco.
Though neither had a hit and each played sparingly amidst a light drizzle on an overcast morning, the experience, each agreed, would not be forgotten. &#8220It's an amazing thing to do,” Miceli said after playing the final two innings in right field. &#8220It's every kid's dream to play here. I've never felt like this before.”
The two 16-year-old Bellerose natives do differ in one aspect - their baseball loyalties. Miceli is a rarity in baseball-crazed New York. He roots for both the Mets and New York Yankees, although he attends many more games at Shea Stadium because of its close proximity. Brown's allegiances, meanwhile, are hardly disguised. The message on the lifelong baseball fan's answering machine is a Let's Go Mets slogan.
In fact, Brown, an ardent Mets fan, scooped up a handful of dirt behind home plate, carefully placing it in his back pocket as a keepsake. &#8220Shea's going to be demolished in a couple of years; it's not going to be here, so I took some dirt,” Brown said. &#8220I got a little history.”
They hope to make some more next spring when Brown and Miceli will likely start as Queens High School of Teaching makes their debut in the PSAL Class B division; the team has played in just the developmental league up to this point. &#8220We have a core of people and we can get a good squad together and win some games,” Bennett said. &#8220It's a solid program. We're small school, but we have a lot of good athletes and a lot of good baseball players.”
They helped the Tigers finish atop the developmental division with a 4-1 record. Miceli hit .273 with five RBIs in 11 at-bats and added four stolen bases, while Brown, a sweet-swinging utility-man who played everywhere from catcher to left field to second base, batted .667 with five runs scored, seven runs batted in, a homerun and three doubles in just nine official at-bats.