Billy Crystal tells story about Robin Williams at Mets game during Emmys
By Mike Dyce
The 2014 Emmy Awards took place on Monday night, and to honor comedian Robin Williams, Billy Crystal recounted a story about a 1989 Mets game. Williams and Crystal attended a Reds-Mets game and joined Tim McCarver and Whoopi Goldberg in the broadcast booth.
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“Robin, Whoopi and I once were in Shea Stadium in the broadcast booth with the great Tim McCarver. It was “Comic Relief Day” for the New York Mets. Robin knew nothing about baseball. I asked him, “What’s your favorite team?” And he said, “The San Franciscos,” Crystal recounted, as transcribed by For The Win.
“So, he was a little lost in the conversation so I got an idea and I said, “Ya know, Tim, we’ve got a great Russian baseball player with us.” I looked over and his eyes got all bright, his ears perked up–it was like he was a little dog that was inside all day and the master came and said, “Hey, ya wanna go for a walk?
“So, I said, “What’s baseball like in Russia?” Without missing a beat he said, “Well, we only have one team … the Reds.” The next pitch, the batter fouled one back, it came screaming back at us. We ducked down, it slammed against the wall … Robin turned around, it bounced into his hands and he stood up and screamed, “I love America, I’m going to defect!”
Earlier this month Major League Baseball had posted video of this specific incident on their YouTube page, you can watch the scene which Crystal describes below.