O, Say, Can You Sing?

By JONATHAN GOMEZ

When the  Subway Series between the Mets and the Bronx Bombers takes place next September it won’t be the Yankees hitting the first pitch at Citi Field.

It will be the winner of the Mets “National Anthem search” held on Tuesday at the Queens stadium.

More than 100 contestants came from all over the tri-state area to show their vocal talent by singing a capella, hoping to be selected to sing the national anthem for baseball fans.

“I’ve performed live before so I’m not really too nervous,” said April Evans, 28, from East Rutherford, New Jersey. “My dad is the biggest Met fan so this would be huge, I mean he would just love to see me perform at Citi Field.”

As their numbers were called one by one contestants, some who had been waiting in the biting cold since as early as six in the morning, performed songs ranging from show tunes to Latin ballads to soulful R&B hits and even that classic seventh inning stretch song.

“I thought singing ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ was a perfect song to audition with and my roommate gave me the idea to put a jazz take on it,” said Kalyn West, 25, a Utah native now residing in Astoria. “I would be thrilled if I got a call back, it’s overwhelming, but to sing the national anthem at a baseball game would be great.”

The auditions, which date back to the days of Shea stadium, brought out contestants of all ages and musicians with keyboards. guitars and an array of different instruments.

Some contestants took the day off from work and quite a few played hooky from school to participate.

“I didn’t tell any of my friends I was coming today, because I wanted to wait for when I won to tell them that I’m going to sing here,” said James Lamoth, 13, of Stamford Connecticut, who took the day off from school to audition. “I have been singing since I was 7 so I’m ready to perform in front of these judges.”

The auditions, were open to the public and judged by Z100’s Skeery Jones, SNY Anchor Gary Apple and Broadway actor Matthew Saldivar.

The first 100 contestants to arrive were guaranteed an audition and had about 60 seconds to sing any song except “The Star Spangled Banner”. Contestants selected on Tuesday will be asked to return at a later date for a second audition on the baseball diamond. Even if they are not chosen for the Subway Series some contestants may have the opportunity to sing during another game throughout the 2015 baseball season, Met officials said.

“Right now I just have my fingers crossed and hope that I get to the next part of the competition,” said West, who moved to New York pursuing a music and acting career.

One thing is for sure: the judges will have a tough time picking a winner as contestants hit plenty of pitches during their auditions.