Over 2,500 ballplayers paraded through the streets of Park Slope on their way to Prospect Park for opening day of another season of co-ed baseball and girls softball.

At the Prospect Park Bandshell, they were greeted by park leaders and local elected officials, including City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

Markowitz stoked the Yankees-Mets rivalry during his remarks (he falls on the side of the Mets), before telling the crowd of players, coaches and parents that the game of baseball “will always be played in Brooklyn.”