By Merle Exit
Gov. AndrewCuomo and Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon have added their names to the list of those placing bets on the World Series. If the Mets win, Nixon will wear a Mets jersey to work for a full day. If the Royals win, Cuomo will wear a Royals jersey to the office for a day.
“From my hometown of Queens to stadiums across the country, this team has proven that they have what it takes to clinch the World Series, and I’m confident that is exactly what they will do,” said Cuomo. “I thank Nixon for his participation in this friendly wager and think he will look great in blue and orange.”
“The Royals have earned their second-consecutive berth in the Fall Classic through strong pitching, discipline at the plate, spectacular defense and a dedicated fan base that is second to none,” Nixon countered. “Good as the Mets have been in the postseason, I don’t see them overcoming this playoff-seasoned team.”
If the Mets win, Cuomo will receive the following from Nixon: a commemorative jersey from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (which is in Kansas City), a bag of 20th-anniversary platinum-edition-blend coffee from the city’s The Roasterie; world-famous barbecue ribs from Gates BBQ; and a FordF-150 baseball cap.
If the Royals win, Cuomo will send Nixon a hat from the Baseball Hall of Fame, bagels from Jr’s Bagel Factory in Queens, original Anchor Bar wing sauce from western New York, Gianelli’s hot Italian Sausage from Central New York and a sampling of regional wine and beer.
Another Kansas City-New York bet is on between Queens District Attorney Richard Brown and his Kansas City, Mo., counterpart, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.
Brown is putting up a homemade Italian hero from Mama’s of Corona. Baker is waging slabs of ribs from Gates.
“As the New York Mets chewed through their competition,” Brown said, “I am now anticipating chewing on some tasty Kansas City barbecue.”
“My Kansas City Royals play with grit and heart, and with the energy of an entire city behind them,” Baker shot back. “So I’d respectfully request that District Attorney Brown send some extra-spicy peppers on my hero sandwich.”
Is there a mayoral bet on? There is if you ask Kansas City Mayor Sly James.
“If the Mets win,” he said in a challenge to de Blasio, “I will go to the Kansas City School of Ballet. I will wear a Mets jersey and I will sing, ‘New York, New York’, or at least part of it. If you wind up having to pay this bet, then you will go to a similar school in New York City, wear a Royals jersey and sing ‘Kansas City’.”
For his part, de Blasio is wagering Junior’s cheesecake.
