No one wants to miss one of Yoenis Cespedes’ at-bats, no matter the species.
The Mets’ newest slugger made a new friend Wednesday night at Citi Field, twice accompanied to the plate by a neon yellow parakeet, who may have been attracted to Cespedes’ similarly colored armband.
Announcers first noticed the bird watching Cespedes’ at-bat from behind home plate in the fourth inning.
“Where do you belong, little parakeet?” play-by-play man Gary Cohen said. “I’m just afraid if somebody hits a foul ball back in the screen, the parakeet might be in trouble.”
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In the eighth inning, the bird was back and still intact, with the ball soon traveling far from view.
Providing the charm of a certain black cat circa 1969, Cespedes, who had gone homer-less in his first 43 at-bats with the Mets, hit his first home run with the team, his 19th of the season.
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The Cuban star joked afterward that he wore the sleeve just to be like the bird.
“I see other people using it, a different color,’’ Cespedes said. “I just used it because I know there was a bird in the field and I just wanted to look like the bird, and it would bring me some luck.’’
