Mayor de Blasio successfully avoided the likelihood of striking out with the press again on Sunday — swiftly cancelling a long-planned softball scrimmage against City Hall reporters after a brief shower moistened the Prospect Park Parade Grounds.
“No softball,” declared de Blasio spokeswoman Karen Hinton. “It rained. The field was muddy. We will try again next weekend.”
But the washout was no impediment to real gamers.
“This field is great. In fact, conditions couldn’t be better,” declared Dimitri Bazin, 47, who tossed a Frisbee near where Hizzoner was expected to step up to the plate. “There is no dust getting blown up and the ground is nice and soft. It’s perfect. No puddles, no mud.”
Sam Szuflita, 22, said the rain lasted about half an hour, stopping by 2:30 p.m.
De Blasio and his son, Dante, planned to lead his administration’s inaugural softball showdown with the media at around 5 p.m., the first of a two-game series.
Staffers have been practicing for several weeks and the mayor spent Friday morning exercising at the Park Slope Y in preparation for the big match-up.
It’s not the first time de Blasio has backed out of a game — he vetoed an October match because he said he was busy readying health officials to handle the Ebola virus.