Chester Twp.’s Jim Breuer the voice of Mets fans

CHESTER TWP.  - Jim Breuer has been a welcome face to Mets fans during the 2015 regular season and playoff run.

Maybe not as welcome as pitcher Jacob deGrom is on the mound, but pretty darn close, because if they see his face on their Facebook news feeds, it probably means a victory for the boys from Queens.

The stand-up comedian and former “Saturday Night Live” star has become the face of Mets fandom this year - surpassing other famous fans including Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock and Kevin James – by posting video recaps to his Facebook page immediately after every Mets game.

Breuer records the videos on his cellphone, whether he’s in his own home or straight from his seats at Citi Field. He also hosts a “Mets and More” podcast and appeared this week on SNY to talk about the team. For the World Series run, he’s positing his recaps on Rolling Stone’s website.

On  Wednesday afternoon, Breuer still was shaking off the five-hour, 14-inning Game 1 loss. He posted his recap about 2 a.m. Wednesday , whispering so not to wake up his family.

“I can’t shake the loss,” Breuer said. “I shouldn’t feel this way from a baseball game, but I feel the way it looks outside right now (raining), and it’s driving me nuts. But if anyone can heal me, it’s deGrom in Game 2, because he’s our ace.”

The early morning Wednesday  loss capped a long, Mets-centered day for Breuer, who started in New York City talking about the team – even getting a traffic ticket for doing a radio interview while driving, which he posted on his Facebook page – before returning home to watch them lose in the middle of the night.

“It’s been crazy,” Breuer said. “If you told me this was going to happen during that first game of the season, that 162 games would turn into this, I couldn’t foresee it. But I’m having a great time, enjoying what I’m doing.”

The videos began after Breuer decided to start posting more videos on his Facebook page, and his wife suggested he start talking about his favorite team.

“The Mets season started and she said ‘this is what you should be doing, talking from the fans’ perspective,’” Breuer said. “I thought, ‘that’s freaking brilliant.’ So it all started with my family, and then I caught lightning in a bottle with this Mets season.”

Breuer said he hasn’t missed a game this year, even stopping in the middle of stand-up routines to shoot and post a quick video. He said the hardest games to stick with the routine came in the middle of the season when the team played on the West Coast - because the games ended late and the stakes weren’t as high - but he still powered through each one.

His two playoff series-clinching videos have been some of his most popular. When the Mets beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Divisional Series, Breuer still was heated from Chase Utley sliding into Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada and breaking his leg.

“I look back on that one, and there was anger there,” Breuer said. The video has been viewed more than 1.8 million times on his page.

When they clinched against the Chicago Cubs, Breuer was more respectful toward the opposing team, but that didn’t stop him from throwing his own in-house champagne celebration for the video. That one has been viewed 1.2 million times so far.

“I think the fans are attracted to the passion. Celebrity or not, it’s refreshing to see,” Breuer said. “They connect with the real life of it, which is what I do in my stand-up, too.”

While Breuer likes to wing it with the recaps, he does have something big planned if the Mets win it all. He’s been working on a music project, and one of the songs - “Nobody’s Better” – will be the ideal Mets victory anthem, he said.

“This was written as a song for people who are down to be positive, a fun celebration of life. I wrote it last February on a plane, but looking at it now, I swear I wrote it for the Mets,” Breuer said. “If they win, it’ll be like I caught lightning in a bottle. I’ll drop the song and then include other fans celebrations to make a video.”

Breuer said he has more fans than ever approach him now at games, and he enjoys interacting with them.

“I feel like I’m becoming Mets royalty, kind of getting pushed to the forefront,” Breuer said. “I think it’s because there are diehard fans as big as or bigger than me and now they have a face to look at. They consider me one of them and I’m enjoying the ride.”

For someone who has starred in TV shows and movies through his decades-long career, the videos are giving Breuer a whole new audience.

“I go to games now and kids will say ‘oh my God, it’s the Mets video guy!’” Breuer said. “And they’ll ask for an autograph, and I don’t know whether to sign my name or ‘Mets video guy’ because that’s what they know me by.”

Breuer said “hands down” he plans to do the recaps again next year and hopes to build his touring schedule around the team’s road games, traveling with the Mets fans’ 7 Line Army. During the offseason he plans to make more of his popular “Marriage Warrior” videos for his Facebook page, which focus on ways to be a good husband by relating marriage to war.

Breuer said he just got tickets for this Friday and Saturday’s home games, along the third base line.

For the weekend’s games, Breuer will join former Mets catcher Mike Piazza on the Delta Airline’s Amazin’ Mets Express, taking 80 fans each day on a water taxi from Manhattan’s East Side straight to the Citi Field in time for the game.

Fans with tickets can follow @Mets and @Delta on Twitter for details on how to win a seat on the shuttle.

“Let’s hope they win and we can all celebrate with the new Breuer song,” Breuer said. “Let’s go Mets!”

Staff Writer Michael Izzo: 973-428-6636; mizzo@GannettNJ.com