NORTH HAVEN — Anthony DeSimone had a deep passion for the New York Yankees. Yet it’s the professional baseball team’s Subway Series rival, the New York Mets, that will display his photo on its big stadium screen this summer
DeSimone, a town firefighter who died unexpectedly last August at 50 following a 38-hour shift, is remembered as a pillar of his community who coached Little League baseball games on top of serving as a firefighter and raising his children.
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His unexpected death shocked many in the community, including fellow Little League coach Don Harger, who said he learned of DeSimone’s death as he was moving his son into his college dormitory.
From that pain came an idea: Harger said he knew DeSimone’s widow Pam is a fan of the Mets. When he reached someone, the Mets organization said there were too few games remaining in the 2023 season to recognize DeSimone and his family, but Harger remained in touch into the current season.
On July 10, DeSimone will be honored at a New York Mets game, with a discounted rate for tickets to those who book with the organization for DeSimone.
Pam DeSimone said she and her two children are looking forward to the experience of being treated to a free Mets game and the opportunity to meet the players at batting practice. She said she’s “already starstruck” by the knowledge that she can meet the players of her favorite team.
“We’re a family that loves baseball,” she said. “Baseball with me and Anthony was a strong part of our lives, even if we didn’t love the same teams.
It’s one of those things that’s special in our house,” Pam DeSimone said.
Pam DeSimone said that the time since her husband’s unexpected passing has been “hard, to say the least,” but she’s felt tremendously supported by her community and those who knew her husband in life, from the local baseball and firefighter community, as well as the local community of firefighters’ wives.
“I’m pushing for my kids,” she said. “I know Anthony would want them to have a really successful life, so I’m doing everything I can and they’re doing really well and it makes me happy.
