Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg still a Mets fan

NEW YORK (AP) A decade after taking control of the Tampa Bay Rays, Stuart Sternberg remains a fan of the New York Mets.

Sternberg introduced Commissioner Rob Manfred on Wednesday at the 2015 Sports Diversity & Inclusion Symposium. Sternberg, who grew up in Brooklyn and currently lives in suburban Westchester County, heads the group that took over the Rays from founding owner Vincent Naimoli in 2005.

''As a Met fan growing up and all, it's wonderful to be here in September when things really do matter, and it's a very exciting time to be a Met fan,'' Sternberg told the audience at Citi Field. ''And I am still, as well, even though I've got the Tampa Bay Rays.''

Sternberg looked at the example of another owner when he took over the Rays.

''In Major League Baseball we try to have local ownership in places, but when we bought the team, George Steinbrenner was running the Yankees from Tampa,'' he said, ''so I figured I could run the Tampa Bay Rays from New York.''