Bob Raissman over at the Daily News takes a look at Lee Mazzilla as he begins his career as the in-studio analysts over at SNY. According to Raissman, Maz looks to his hometown roots to help him at the job.  From the article:

“I want the guy who is watching in Brooklyn or Queens, sitting on the
couch, to know they are always going to get something from me.  Those are the fans I want to relate to.”

Mazzilli, a Brooklyn native, was drafted by the Mets in 1973, and was extremely popular primarily due to his NYC roots. Maz was oddly enough traded for fellow SNY employee Ron Darling,  though he resigned by the Mets during the 86 WS run.  He played 9 of his 14 seasons with the Mets.

I'm sure it'll take some time, but hopefully Maz will get into a good groove in his SNY gig. The Mets have always seemed to have that one hometown NY guy (John Franco, Paulie Lo Duca) and that was Mazzilli in the late 70s. His popularity wasn't always justified by his performance, but the fans still loved him, not just for his local roots, but because he was always out there putting in the extra effort. 

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