‘Worst time of life’ for Pin Man

In the span of a week, Nick Giampietro lost his mother to COVID-19, his father landed in the hospital and he tested positive for the virus. He stopped working.

“It’s just been the worst time of my life,” said Giampietro, the Mets superfan from Howard Beach known as The Pin Man. “I was just down in the dumps.”

His mother, Margaret, passed away at the age of 87 on April 6. She had been dealing with dementia. A memorial is planned in the coming weeks to properly remember her, since only a small funeral procession for immediate family was allowed at the time due to safety regulations.

Fortunately his father, Anthony, survived after spending 62 days in the hospital. There was a time Nick didn’t think he would see his father again. Anthony had complications from the virus and texted his children “goodbye” at one point.

“He thought he wasn’t going to make it,” the 62-year-old Giampietro said.

Giampietro never went to the hospital himself. He dealt with chest pains and respiratory problems for a month, but he has since recovered. He hasn’t returned to his job at Andy’s Delicatessen in Middle Village for fear of getting the coronavirus again.

With all the down time, there’s nothing more he would like than to have the Mets back and watch a game with his dad.

“A couple of months ago I didn’t think it would be possible for two reasons: One, my dad not being here, and two, not having a baseball season,” he said. “But to have both of them would bring something nice in a totally bad year so far.”

His father is the reason Giampietro became a Mets fan. He took him to his first game in 1968, when Jerry Koosman shut out the Giants, and they would frequently sit behind home plate. In 2006, Giampietro became The Pin Man. At one point, he would wear as many as 300 pins on his Mets jersey. That has lessened as he’s grown older. But his appearances at Mets games haven’t. Giampietro has remained a fixture, attending at least 70 games a season and taking thousands of pictures with fans as he roots on his favorite team.

“I live for baseball,” he said. “I can’t wait for the season to start every year. There’s nothing like going to a game in the summertime. I get there three hours early and I’m the last one to leave, too.”