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The New York Mets have a new left-handed reliever in the organization who’s familiar to the local area.
Daniel Zamora, a former pitcher at Stony Brook University, was traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Mets’ pitcher Josh Smoker and cash considerations.
“My mindset has to be that nothing changes but the jersey I wear,” Zamora told GreaterPortJeff this week. “But it is pretty cool to be with the Mets … I used to go to three to four games a year during my time at Stony Brook.”
The 24-year-old reliever, who was drafted by the Pirates in the 40th round in 2015, has already found success in the minor leagues. In 2017, the California native, played 37 games with the Single-A Bradenton Marauders, where he tossed 61 strikeouts and earned nine saves.
But it’s been no easy journey for Zamora.
As a senior at Amat High School in La Puente, Calif., he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays but decided to forgo his selection to play across the states at SBU.
He played as a true freshman his first year, but tore his labrum that summer and missed his sophomore season.
Since that injury, he hasn’t looked back.
“I didn’t know if I’d get that chance [of being drafted] again ,” he said. “And now I got that chance, I am taking full advantage of it.”
After recovering, he surged in his next season by winning 7-of-10 games with 80 strikeouts.
Fast forward to today, Zamora is playing in an organization whose big league team is just a short drive away from where he enjoyed his collegiate success.
In the meantime, he’s excited at the prospect of being close to some of his favorite grub spots from his college days, such as Se-Port Deli in East Setauket.
“I had at least a 100 sandwiches from Se-Port,” he said. “There is no better sandwich than that place.”
His favorite is the Gasm. For the uninitiated, that’s a garlic toasted hero filled with chicken cutlet, melted mozzarella, bacon with Russian dressing and cole slaw.
The folks at Se-Port Deli, known for naming heros after locally known people, told GreaterPortJeff they would be honored to name a sandwich after Zamora.
“That is great [that he is coming to the Mets],” said Se-Port owner Sam Dakwar.
Top: Daniel Zamora during his playing days as a Seawolf. (Courtesy photo.)
