26 years ago today my brother and I headed out to Shea for what was supposed to be a nice Sunday afternoon game against the Pirates. Some rookie named McDowell was starting, and the weather was a bit overcast, but we had great seats (Field Box 3rd base – who knows how I got them).
Almost 5 1/2 hours later we finally left after the Mets scored in the bottom of the 18th inning. Along the way
- Saw Keith Hernandez receive his Gold Glove (I was amazed – a Met was actually getting an award?)
- Witnessed Daryl Strawberry hit his first career grand slam,
- Chanted “Yogi” when we heard that he had been fired by the Yankees (around the third inning)
- Watched the Mets go hitless for 10 innings.
But the memory that stands out most for me was watching Rusty Staub play in the outfield. In the 12th inning, with nobody left on the bench, Davey Johnson was forced to use Staub in the field. For seven innings Rusty would play either RF or LF depending on the batter. He also ended up making the best defensive play of the game when he snowconed a soft liner hit by Pirates pitcher Rick Rhoden. I didn’t know it at the time but that was the last game Rusty would play in the field.
As luck would have it, this was the first game that I took pictures – if you scroll over each picture it will tell you what was specifically happening in each one.
