MIDTOWN — Baseball's biggest stars paraded down 42nd Street Tuesday afternoon, a pre-All-Star-Game "Red Carpet Show" celebration that delighted thousands of fans lining the route.
Mets ace David Wright and hurler Matt Harvey, and Bronx bombers Robinson Cano and legendary Yankees closer Mariano Rivera joined the other member of the 2013 National and American League All-Star teams in the parade as it wound from Sixth to Second avenues.
The players waved from the back of Chevy pick-up trucks and a double-decker bus as they drove atop an 80,000-feet-long red carpet.
"Can't miss this," said John Mauro, 27, an investor with Northwestern Mutual who ducked out of the office to catch a glimpse of Rivera. "Kind of have to keep it under wraps. But I got to see Mariano come by."
Upper East Side resident Leo Otero, 44, was serving jury duty, but used a lunch break to stop by the parade.
"I got to be back by 2," he said, clutching a baseball he hoped to get signed by Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper. "He's young, but he's got potential to be the greatest player who ever lived."
The players were driven along 42nd Street one-by-one, first the National League, and then the American, led by their respective managers and, in the case of the National League, the Mets' Harvey.
His teammate, Wright, rode atop of a Gray Line tour bus decorated in his honor, along with former Mets Al Leiter, Mike Piazza, Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry.
Along the way, fans, who added baseball caps to their suit-and-tie office attire or simply dressed head-to-toe in team apparel, waved and cheered — or jeered — as each player drove past.
"Thanks for the fantasy-team help this year, my man!" one fan shouted to Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez.
Mauro, the investor, focused his attention on the Baltimore Orioles' Manny Machado. "Don't hit so many doubles!" he yelled. "You're killing the Yankees, bro."
Players brought family and friends along for the ride, except for Texas Rangers closer Joe Nathan, who rode alone in the back of a pickup. As fans shouted their sympathy, he simply smiled and spread his arms wide.
"Solo's nice!" he yelled.
The parade lasted slightly more than an hour, and the Mets' Wright and Harvey, along with Yankees Rivera and Cano, received by far the loudest applause.
The parade will air on MLB Network and MLB.com at 7:30 p.m. The All-Star Game, taking place at Citi Field in Queens, starts at 8 p.m. It will be televised on Fox.
