It's been long anticipated, but finally, here it is. My Top 5 All Time Personal Memories of Shea Stadium...
5) The Greatest Game I’ve Ever Seen: 1999 Subway Series, July 10, 1999, Mets vs. Yankees
Anyone who knows me and my baseball history knows about this game, another one addressed in a previous post:
In the greatest regular season game I have ever attended, the Yankees jumped all over starter Rick Reed scoring two in the first on a 2-run shot by Paul O’Neill. The Mets scored a run in each of the next two innings off of Andy Pettitte as Reed settled in. The Mets scored two more in the fourth on a Benny Agbayani single, a Robin Ventura RBI double and Rey Ordonez sac fly.
This only angered the Yankees as Reed served up back to back homeruns to Ricky Ledee and Jorge Posada. In the sixth, O’Neill blasted his second homerun of the game off of Greg McMichael to give the Yanks a 5-4 lead. McMichael wasn’t done as he allowed two more singles before Rigo Beltran bailed him out striking out Chad Curtis and Posada. The Yankees tacked on another run in the seventh on a Knoblauch homerun off of Beltran.
The Mets would not go away in the bottom half as Rickey Henderson doubled and with two outs, John Olerud walked bringing up Piazza who hit one of his tape measure homeruns off of the picnic tent. I can still hear Bob Murphy, “Hiiiiiiiiiiiigh flyyyyyyyyy ball deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep to left field….WAYYYY WAYY BACK! It's goingggggggggg! YEAAAAH! THERE IT GOOOOESSS! Mike PiAZZZAAAAAA!!! A THREEEEEE RUN HOMER! Where did that land?”
Then in the 8th, it was the Yankees turn as Scott Brosius walked and with one out Dennis Cook was the victim of another Posada homerun. 8-7 Yankees. But wait! We’re not done. Both teams do not score again until the bottom of the 9th, when the unhittable, unbeatable Mariano Rivera toed the rubber. McRae began the inning by grounding out.
This still lives as the greatest regular season game I’ve ever been to. It’s a game I will never forget, a game that made me start to believe, a game where the Mets said, hey, we don’t have a damn who you are, we’re not gonna just roll over on our home field because you’re the big bad New York Yankees. Wow, was I naïve.
4) Fireworks: June 30, 2000, Mets vs. Braves
Much like the summer of 1999, the summer of 2000 was a very memorable summer. It may actually be the most memorable summer of my life right up there with 1997, (Trips to
So I rounded up three fans: a Yankees fan, a Braves fan and an Orioles fan, all from
Hampton did not start off too hard giving up a couple of singles, a hit batsman and a bases loaded walk before inducing a ground ball double play to limit the damage in the first. His troubles would continue in the 3rd with 2 more singles and a walk before giving up a 2-run single, on which a third run would score on an error by Piazza, the third run scored by future Met and Met killer up until that point, Andres Galarraga.
Meanwhile, Millwood was cruising, not allowing his first hit until a leadoff double by Derek Bell to start the 4th inning. In typical Met fashion, Alfonzo flied out to center advancing
In the top of the 7th, the Braves extended their lead when career Met killer Brian Jordan doubled off
In the top of the 8th, Eric Cammack replaced
He still sucked as a pitcher. Despite striking out Rafael Furcal to start the inning, Cammack walked pinch hitter Wally Joyner then got Quilvio Veras to ground into a force out. What is it with Mets relievers? With two outs and a runner on first, you would think he could get out of the inning. Instead, Veras steals second and Cammack walks Andruw Jones setting up an RBI situation for Brian Jordan who predictably smokes one to left centerfield scornig Veras and Jones, giving the Braves an 8-1 lead, subsequently ruining my night as my buddy Pete mercilessly heckled me.
Or so I thought.
The next batter was Melvin Mora, who would walk on 6 pitches. 8-5 and Shea is starting to rock. Here comes Bobby Cox. It’s time. Bring it. The door opens. Out walked the left hander. From our vantage point, we can see a couple bottles thrown. These fans are ready to pounce. Wait, he’s jogging. He’s not sprinting like he always does. What the? “Your attention please, ladies and gentlemen. Now pitching for
Here come the “We Want Rock-Er!” chants. This place is a war zone. The Upper Deck is rumbling. Up comes Derek Bell, who hacks one foul on the first pitch. Mulholland then serves up four straight balls as Pete is losing his mind and the Braves are losing the lead 8-6, with the tying runs now in scoring position. That’s 4 straight walks, three with the bases loaded. In steps Fonzie who was 1 for 4. After falling behind 0-2, Fonzie took a ball then fought one off before slapping a seeing-eye single through the hole on the left side to tie the game and this place has gone bananas. 7 runs now in and Pete is threatening to leave.
Before we could even finish giving Fonzie his due cheer, Piazza took a mighty swing. I never saw the ball. I lost it in the crowd. The noise of the crowd went from “YEAHHHHHHH….uuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAHHH
HHHHHHH…………….YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!”
Suddenly the ball came out the other side and smacked off the wall above the outfield wall for a 3-run home run to give the Mets a 10-run inning and their first lead of the day. When I say it was bedlam in the Upper Deck, I mean it was BEDLAM. Mets fans were going crazy. It was one big party for us. Pete, on the other hand, was literally foaming at the mouth. “YEAH!! THAT’S GREAT!!! BRING IN MULHOLLAND!! NO WE DON’T NEED ROCKER!!!” It turns out that Rocker apparently had some sort of knee injury. (I’m gonna leave that one alone)
In comes Benitez, and of course, we all know this didn’t end easily. Javy Lopez fouled out to lead off the inning, but then Keith Lockhart singled. Following a strikeout, Furcal walked bringing the tying run in Joyner to the plate who would fly out to end it. Phew!!!! Everyone knows the 11-8 game against the Braves. Mets fans remember that 10-run inning. I can say I was there. After the game, we left and watched the fireworks from the car. While we were watching the ashes and pieces of shells came raining down on us. Pete decided to run after one that was landing and catch it. He burned his hand. It wasn’t a good night for him.
3) WE CLINCHED: September 18, 2006 Mets vs. Marlins
I had seen the Mets win games to make it to the playoffs, but never to clinch a division. On September 18, 2006, I finally had my chance. Here’s an edited version of another blogged game.
You know in the weeks leading up to the clincher, I really never gave it a thought that the Mets would have a chance to clinch at home. It just seemed as if everything would have to fall into place a certain way. I wouldn't say everything had to be perfect, because the Mets getting swept by the lowly Pirates is never my idea of perfect, but in the end, at least they got a chance to do it at home.
A week earlier, Paul LoDuca said on the WFAN that he would hate to clinch in
I, myself, swore that if I had a chance to see the Mets clinch the division at home, I would be there. The only problem was, there was no one who could go on such short notice. Insert, my good buddy, Joey on the Spot. Mr. “I’ll go,” himself. Joe and I have a history of coming up with random ideas of places to go, where one of us ultimately ends up saying, “I’ll go.” This has resulted in a couple of random Mets games, some already discussed in this post, despite the fact Joe is a Yankees fan, a Yankees fan who, as he puts it, respects, “what the Mets are doing this year.”
Joe, a teacher, called me on a free period, at which point I told him my plight and he responded with the typical, “I’ll go,” that all of a sudden changed the whole spectrum of my day. Before I knew what happened, I had 3 tickets in my email box, Mezzanine Section 22, Row E, Seats 17-19, (the third ticket was for Joe’s girlfriend, now fiancè, Jess, another Yankees fan who was, “excited to see the best team in baseball right now,” a perfect example of what this team was doing in 2006, exciting people.
So after a nearly perfect drive to the stadium, 40 minutes exactly, we made it to the
Walking into the stadium, besides the size of the crowd, there was something that was really electric about it. These fans knew what was coming. They were there to celebrate. Sure Steve Trachsel was on the mound. Sure the Mets just got swept by the lowly Pirates. Regardless of the circumstances, these fans came to party and nothing was getting in their way.
Along the way up to our seats, I recognized a fan, it was my cousin Bryan, who was the one who got me my ticket for opening day in 2006. Ironic that I bump into him on the night the Mets try to clinch at home.
When we sat down in our seats, the electricity in the crowd was so intense, it could light up the entire eastern seaboard. These fans were ready. And so was I…
1) Umm yeah, so our seats, an exact mirror image of the six pack seats that year. (This was really strange. Six Pack seats: Right Field, Section 23, Row E, Seats 1-4, Row D seats 1-4. Last night: Left Field, Section 22, Row E, Seats 17-19, the other end. It was Bizarro World at Shea)
2) No winners in the evening’s home run game as I had Wright, Joe had Lo Duca and Jess had Reyes. (It’s just not as exciting when 3 dollars are on the line.)
3) Speaking of Reyes, what a play he made in the top of the first on Ramirez. That set the tone. (You could see, he wanted this one bad)
4) Through the first two innings, neither Brian Mohler, nor Steve Trachsel had allowed a hit. (Whaaaaaa????)
5) Then I went to get a sausage sandwich, this is when I remembered, hey we’re going up against Brian Mohler, we can get this guy. (Shawn Green got hit by the next pitch)
6) As Bob Murphy used to say, “There goes the no-hitter, there goes the shut out.” The REAL comeback player of the year, Jose Valentin with a bomb. (HOLY $H#$^!! OMG!!! WHOOOOOOOO!!!!!)
7) Now this crowd is fired up. (Just as I get a text from my college roommate, Adam from the Upper Deck, “I was in the bathroom for the hr,” followed by, “I just felt the vibrations. Awesome.” Gotta love Shakin’ Shea.”
8) In the fourth, we were primed for the typical Steve-o giveback inning where the Mets score a run and Steve-o gives it right back. (Fortunately, this never happened as Willingham stood on second, former Met Mike Jacobs, struck out swinging to end the threat. Still 2-0 Mets.)
9) Phillies are down 3-0!!!! (Warm up the bus!!!)
10) After Beltran’s double in the fourth, you could really see the Mets were playing like a team that wanted it. (He didn’t score that inning, but you could just see the hunger.)
11) Okay, time for the Idiot Tally. Tonight, I have only four, (Because I was in too much of a good mood.) Our first award goes to the fat obnoxious Yankee fan (of course) in the 13 Rodriguez (FAKE, BOOTLEG, CHEAP!) jersey who yelled, “We’ll see you in the Subway Series.” Well, to see us, you have to get there, pal, and while you’re at it, get yourself a real Yankees jersey, clown. #2 goes to the two girls who could not find their seats and wondered around our section for an inning completely lost. #3 goes to one of the girls (this is her second nomination and second award of the evening) for wearing a David Wright t-shirt, a white Yankees hat with blue pinstripes and a Rodriguez 13 backpack. I’ll say that again….she wore a David Wright t-shirt, a white Yankees hat with blue pinstripes and a Rodriguez 13 backpack. I told Joe, if she had come near the Six Packers, she would have been heckled to the point of tears. (Mike agreed and said he would have felt no remorse, when I told him later. He actually referenced
12) In my book of Things I Did NOT Expect to Hear, this one gets a nomination: “Yeah, tomorrow I’m flying to KC for the Twins-Royals, Wednesday, I’m in
13) After Valentin’s second home run, a no-doubter, the sound of inevitability began to creep down the tracks. We were on our way. (And the Phillies were down 8-0).
14) Floyd’s RBI single in the 6th ended the Mets’ scoring and really gave the fans a good feeling.
15) Another guy I’m happy for was Steve-o. 6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB 3 K. (I’d been riding him all year, but he deserved this one. This guy has been to hell and back with this team and nobody deserved the success of the Mets more than he does. Steve Trachsel epitomizes the Mets success and lack there of from 2000 to 2006.)
16) Hahahaha, Marlins relief pitcher Chris Resop’s name spelt backwards is “Poser.” (I have problems.)
17) Just before the 8th, I went to pee. Now for those of you who have read this blog know my superstitions. I had a bad feeling, but I just couldn’t hold it. (Of course as soon as I return to my seat, Heilman gives up a single)
18) Then Delgado turns a Hernandez-esque double play, sending the crowd into a frenzie. (This game, this division is ours.)
19) The Mets at the time were playing “Sweet Caroline” sing-along in the 8th inning. (Now, this song holds a special place in my heart. My late grandmother’s name was Caroline and at every family party since the mid-90’s through now, my family would gather in a circle and sing it to her, even after she passed away in 2003. I love it. However, from a baseball fan perspective, the Red Sox did this first, so I couldn’t help but feel a little copycat-ish. However, they did in in 2004 when they one the World Series. Aw, hell…SO GOOD!!! SO GOOD!! SO GOOD!!)
20) Then Angry Face Aaron Heilman got mad and gassed Hanley Ramirez for the final out of the 8th.
21) In the bottom of the 8th, Wright singled with 2 outs with Floyd coming up. (Here’s where I thought to myself, just ground out Cliff, we all just wanna get this game over with and party now. Ground ball to second…thank YOU!)
22) Enter Sandman.
23) One out (Pop up to Valentin, let’s go!!)
24) Two Outs (THIS IS IT BABY!!)
25) YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!! WOOOOOHOOOO!!!! WE DID IT!!! WE MADE THE PLAYOFFS!!!! (How awesome is it that Cliff Floyd squeezed the last out. He, like Trachsel, had been to hell and back with this team and it was great for him to be a part of what was going on, at the time, regardless of capacity.)
26) Watching the Mets jump around the field as the crowd clapped along to “Takin Care of Business,” GREAT post-win song, I got chills. (I’ve now seen them clinch a Division title and an NLDS in person.)
27) Bryan and I kept playing phone tag on the way out. (This is what it’s all about, sharing the moment. I called my father and screamed in his ear for a good 30 seconds and
So to recap, we sat in mirror image seats, Steve Trachsel throws a gem (my God, is it me or does Steve Trachsel seem to be in too many of my top memories of Shea?), Jose Valentin hits 2 homeruns, and the Mets clinched the NL East Division title on the 20th Anniversary of the 1986 team accomplishing the same feat. It REALLY was Bizarro World, and these are the Bizarro Mets
Unfortunately, we all know how 2006 ended, but for me, I will never forget how awesome the 2006 season was and how close we came.
2) Bobby’s Gem: October 8, 2000 NLDS Game 4, October 8, 2000, Mets vs. Giants
And then there were two. Wouldn’t you know it? They came on back-to-back days of each other, exactly one year after Moment #20. As I have previously mentioned, the summers of 1999 and 2000 were amongst my all time most memorable for a variety of reasons and the Mets were right smack in the middle of it all.
I barely remember the 1986 World Series. So when the Mets made their run to the World Series in 2000, I was right there for every pitch and in the first round, I was there for both games. We’ll talk about Game 3 in a minute. The morning after Game 3, I woke up with a splitting headache. I was at Shea the night before and although I didn’t drink because I was underage, I felt like I had a hangover. I screamed so much, that I gave myself a hangover.
My mother came barging in the room at about 9:30 in the morning and said, “Cousin Bryan is on the phone. He has an extra ticket to today’s game, do you want to go.” There went my hangover. In a flash, I was up, showered, dressed and on my way to
We listened to the first inning on the radio as Bobby Jones set the Giants lineup down in order, including a strikeout of Barry Bonds. Mark Gardener returned the favor to the first two batters before walking Piazza and serving up a two-run homer to
We finally reached the stadium at the end of the 4th inning. As we were walking in, I remember hearing a groan come from the crowd followed by a standing ovation. That was the signal that the perfect game was gone. When we got to our seats, there was Jeff Kent standing on third, after a double and a fly out. Another reason for Mike to hate Jeff Kent. I considered going home or just waiting in the car out of fear that we were bad luck. Bobby would load the bases on a couple walks to J.T. Snow and Doug Mirabelli, but would get out of it by getting his counterpart Gardner to pop out to second. No harm, no foul.
Jones would help himself in the 5th by striking out on a wild pitch that allowed him to reach first. Timo Perez then doubled him to third and both would score on an Alfonzo double to make it 4-0 Mets. Neither team would score again.
Heading into the 9th, we knew the worst that could happen was that Bonds could get up with 2 runners on and only cut the lead to 4-3. That was the worst case scenario. Three more outs and the Mets were back to the NLCS for the second consecutive year, the only time that has ever happened in their history. Bobby got the first two batters and here was Bonds representing the last hope for the Giants’ season. At this point, Bobby had set down 12 in a row. One more and it would go down as the greatest pitching performance in Mets playoff history. “Here’s the pitch on the way to Bonds. And a fly ball well hit to centerfield, on the run Payton. MAKES THE CATCH! It’s all over the Mets win it! A 1-hit shutout for Bobby Jones!” (I still miss Bob Murphy) And then the party began, we were going back to the NLCS. That game is the reason I still have my Bobby Jones jersey.
1) Benny’s Blast: 2000 NLDS Game 3, October 7, 2000, Mets vs. Giants
And finally, the moment everyone has been waiting months for. The night before Bobby Jones’ gem, I went to Shea Stadium with the series tied at 1 game a piece. The Mets had looked shaky in the first two games, eeking out an extra inning win in Game 1, where Benitez blew a save, and getting blown out in Game 2. Regardless, the Shea faithful was fired up.
I still remember during the introductions, Derek Bell was out of the lineup with an ankle injury. When they announced his name, he came out in street clothes on crutches and the crowd went nuts. It was almost a Willis Reed moment, except for the fact that
In the first inning, each pitcher matched 1-2-3 performances. Reed was pitching well allowing a couple baserunners in the second and third before the Giants finally got to him with 2 in the fourth on four singles. Meanwhile, Ortiz had held the Mets hitless through the first 5 innings. Things weren’t looking good.
The Mets finally got to Ortiz in the 6th, when Mike Bordick (WHY WAS HE ON THE TEAM????) walked to lead off and Darryl Hamilton singled pinch hitting for Reed. With runners on first and second, Timo Perez drove Bordick home with a single to left. Fonzie grounded out to shortstop as both runners moved up. The Giants walked Piazza intentionally and that was the end of Ortiz’s night, leaving with a 2-1 lead and the bases loaded. Lefty Alan Embree came on and induced a double play from
Dennis Cook and Turk Wendell combined to pitch two scoreless innings, while Doug Henry pitched a perfect 7th. Trailing 2-1 heading into the 8th, the Mets were running out of outs. Leading off the 8th, Bordick was hit by a Henry pitch, but was erased from the basepaths on a Lenny Harris force out at second. Timo Perez popped out to short and Doug Henry’s night was done as the Giants went to Rob Nen to record the 4-out save. With Alfonzo at the plate, Harris stole second. All we needed was a single and the game was tied. Sitting in the Upper Deck in left field, I can still remember it perfectly. On a 1-1 pitch, Fonzie ripped one to left, it was falling fast, but from our angle, we couldn’t tell with Bonds charging in. Then it bounced about 5 feet in front of him down the line as Harris scampered home with the tying run. That stolen base was huge because he probably would not have scored if he were on first. It was a brand new ballgame and Shea was rocking.
For the top of the 9th, John Franco came out to face the top of the Giants lineup after a pinch hitter. That pinch hitter was none other than future Met, now current Met as of June 1, 2009, Ramon Martinez. Yes, THAT Ramon Martinez. Correction, he was brought in on a double switch, my bad. He singled to lead off the bottom of the 9th. (OH MY LORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD JOHNNY!!) He didn’t get very far as he was erased on a ground out. One out later, Bonds was at the plate, with the go ahead run on first. For the second time in the series, Johnny Franco struck out Bonds to end the threat.
In the bottom of the 9th, Jay Payton singled with two outs and stole second. Later in the at bat, Zeile walked, but it was all for naught as Bordick struck out swinging. As we headed to the top of the 10th, my hatred still had not really come to the surface yet, so I was cheering as Benitez entered the game. Mymando promptly gave up a single to
Felix Rodriguez set the Mets down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 10th, while Benitez returned the favor to the Giants in the 11th. On we went. In the bottom of the 11th, the Mets put together one of their biggest threats when Piazza singled to lead off, leaving the game for Super Joe McEwing as a pinch runner. Super Joe advanced to second on a single by
Rick White relieved Benitez to start the 12th and walked Bonds before striking out Kent and Burks back to back. White then walked Snow before getting Mirabelli to fly out to end the inning. In the bottom of the inning, Aaron Fultz relieved Rodriguez and induced two ground outs before Alfonzo singled. In a bizarre turn of events that I do not remember how this could have happened, Joe McEwing, batting in Piazza’s spot singled. According to baseball-reference.com, it doesn’t say the location of the single, but it does say that Alfonzo was out at second. The only thing that I can think of was that he beat out an infield single and Fonzie took a wide turn. They probably got him caught between second and third and nabbed him trying to get back to second. I’ll have to keep an eye out for this game, one that I don’t understand how it’s not an UltiMet Classic on SNY to begin with!
In the top of the 13th, White danced around a couple of singles, but got Bonds to pop out to 2nd with two runners on and two outs to keep the Giants from getting that elusive go ahead run. Robin Ventura led off the bottom of the 13th and grounded out to second. At this point, we had been sitting and watching baseball for about 5 hours and 20 minutes when Benny Agbayani stepped to the plate. I can remember thinking to myself, “Come on Benny, give it a ride. It’s time to go home.” On a 1-0 pitch, Benny swung and forever placed himself in my memory. The ball jumped off his bat like I had never seen before. I put my hand on my buddy’s shoulder as we watched it keep climbing. Bonds went back, but we all knew it was gone. It made its descent a finally landed deep in the bleacher seats. Shea exploded. It felt like we were going to fall from the Upper Deck. Complete strangers were hugging each other. It was utter madness as “Rock N Roll Part II” blasted from the loud speakers. I then stopped moving and felt something that I had never felt before in my life. The Upper Deck of Shea Stadium was moving. We were literally rocking a good inch or two up and down. I could not believe what was going on. I had never felt something like this in all my life. The Mets had finally given me my big moment. I will never forget this night until the day I die. I still have a recording of Joe Buck’s call of the home run. The crack of the bat is thunderous. The roar of the crowd is immeasurable. I still get tears and chills every time I hear it. That is why Benny Agbayani’s walk off home run in Game 3 of the 2000 National League Division Series is my all time greatest memory at Shea Stadium.
Well I know it took a lot longer than I had planned for, but there you have it. I can finally say that I have put Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium to rest. Thank you to both stadiums for all the memories, especially Shea. She might not have been the greatest to look at. Some might have called her a dump. But she was OUR dump. It wasn’t the looks that I’ll miss, it’s the experiences. It’s the memories. Well, there is one sight that I’ll miss. That’s the sight of the blue steeled beauty coming over the horizon in the distance as we passed LaGuardia. I hope Citi can give me that feeling Shea did EVERY SINGLE TIME I approached. It’s gonna take time, but I know I’ll get there. But there will never be another like Shea. So long old friend. I’ll always have my memories. Thank you.
