Last Game at Shea Stadium
Queens, NY
Florida Marlins at New York Mets
September 28, 2008
By
Ken Schlapp
2008 was the Mets last season at Shea
Stadium, which was my home away from home for so many years. I
wanted to see as much of Shea as I could in that final season, so I
bought season tickets and managed to show up for 73 out of the 81
home games. Many people did not think too highly of Shea, but I
loved the place. I have nothing but great memories there, well,
maybe a few heartbreaking losses too, but knowing that it would be
torn down soon was tough for me to take.
I was there for
 opening
day, and I would be there for the last game, which ended in true
Mets fashion, with a loss that would cause them to miss the
playoffs. Regardless of the heartbreak at the end, I was still
happy to spend as much time as possible in my beloved stadium in
2008. My seats were in the upper deck in Box 747C, which was right
behind home plate. Even though they were up high, I still had a
good view, and was quite happy to see the game from up on my perch.
Half of the fun of having those seats was the fact that I bought 2
tickets for each game, so I could share the last season with many
different friends and family members.
During that whole season, and during
2007 (when I attended many games as well), I got to watch the
transformation of the parking lot behind the outfield fences turn
into a new stadium, which oddly enough would be a tribute to the
Brooklyn Dodgers. First thing to change, was the entrance to the 7
train station, which used to jut across the right field line over
Roosevelt Avenue. From this extended platform, my friends (and
others) would sometimes stand upon it to watch the game from a
distance while listening to the game on the radio to the sounds of
Bob Murphy, hoping for a happy recap. Now, that was no longer an
option, there is now a stairway right on the edge of Roosevelt
Avenue. Then slowly over these 2 seasons, I watch this new Dodger
Stadium slowly evolve from a flat parking lot to a larger and larger
redbrick stadium.
It was definitely fun to watch the new
stadium evolve, but continually in the back of my mind, I knew this
meant the end of Shea was near. Towards the middle of the season,
the Mets were offering virtual tours of the upcoming CitiField
within the confines of Shea Stadium. Of course, I had to take the
tour. I got to see how the new stadium would look like the Dodgers
old home in Brooklyn, Ebbets Field, and would have the Jackie
Robinson Rotunda at the main entrance. There would be several other
features referencing old Dodgers as well. Conspicuously missing,
was any reference to the Mets history, which at this point
 was
almost 50 years. You would think they would have tributes to the
Mets history and not the Dodgers, but Wilpon grew up a Dodger fan
and wanted to bring his youth as a Dodger fan back to New York. My
theory on this is that the Dodgers abandoned New York over 50 years
ago, so screw them. I could not restrain myself from asking the
tour guide whether the Mets would wear Dodger uniforms in the new
stadium or stick to the traditional blue and orange. He was annoyed
by my question, but did indicate that many Mets fans have asked the
same question, indicating, once again, how clueless the Mets
leadership is.
So again, I soaked up all that I could
in this last season of Shea, and incidentally, my first, and only,
season as a season ticket-holder at Shea. During this time, I
really began to understand how badly the Mets organization
understands their fans. Before this time, I had season tickets for
the Brooklyn Cyclones and the New York Knicks. Since that time, I
have had season tickets for the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles
Clippers. My experience as a season ticket-holder for every
organization, but the Mets has been exceptional. I have gotten to
meet many current and former players, was given many gifts, upgrades
and perks, and generally given the Royal treatment. All of those
organizations charged season ticket-holders significantly less than
face value for the tickets, while the Mets charged the same price to
season ticket-holders and for individual tickets purchased during
the season. Never once, was I given the opportunity for anything
special other than to pay full price for my ticket. What makes
matters even worse is that I know that the Yankees even charge
season ticket-holders a discounted price!
Although I grew to despise the Mets’
cheap owners (The Wilpons or Coupons, take your pick), I still loved
the Mets and w ould
continue to sink or swim with them as a die-hard fan. Like in 2007,
the Mets would play well and stay ahead of the Phillies for much of
the season, and would even hold a significant lead throughout
September, but again started to crumble at the end of the year.
Going into the last game of the season, the Mets had fallen behind
the Phillies and were tied with the Brewers for the wild card spot,
meaning that they absolutely had to win the game.
As I said earlier, during this last
season, I only missed 8 games, and two of them were games 79 and 80,
because I had to go to Florida for an Officers Meeting for my
company, which I was quite pissed about. I had no choice and had to
go. What made it even worse was that I had to be at a company
function on Saturday night, so I could not fly back until Sunday
morning for the 1 PM last game at Shea. Bad weather could destroy
my plans to be at the last game, so I took a 6 AM flight to give me
as much of a chance as possible to make the game. As Murphy’s Law
would have it, there was bad weather and a rain delay for the game,
but I did manage to land at LaGuardia with plenty of time for the
game…, which of course was delayed as well, but I would be there!
Coincidentally, the Yankees were also
playing their final season in Yankee Stadium II (opened in 1976),
but as opposed to the Mets, the Yankees were out of the playoff
running at the time of their final game, while the Mets were still
in it until the final game. The fortunate thing for the Yankees and
their fans, was that for their final game, there was no pressure of
making the playoffs. Their only worry was to make sure the
celebration of their historic stadium would be top shelf…and it
was. They had a tribute to the past feats and players prior to the
game, with many past greats on the field to celebrate the history of
the soon-to-be demolished stadium with the utmost grace and
dignity. It was an amazing event. The Mets, on the other hand,
scheduled the closing ceremony of Shea Stadium for after the final
game, which would end in catastrophic fashion.
I was able to watch Johan Santana’s
masterpiece on the penultimate game of Shea’s history in a bar in
Florida, which kept the Mets in the playoff hunt, but was still very
upset I was not there in person. As I mentioned earlier, I did make
it in time to sit through a rain delay prior to that final game with
a bunch of my friends from the Atlantic Base Ball Club. However, I
had to finish my experience at Shea, the way I started it. That
would be with my brother Steve. He took me to my first game on
April 28, 1976, when Dave Kingman hit a 3-run home run in the first
inning and Craig Swan pitched a 3-0 shutout over the Braves. I paid
him back on this final game, but not to quite as positive results.
Before I go on with this last game I
will reminisce by listing some of my greatest in-person memories at
Shea:
That first game in 1976 with my
brother
The game in the 70s when my dad fell
asleep during extra innings and woke up yelling “Home Run!” when
Mike Jorgensen had only hit a single
The many other games my Mom and Dad
took me to, even though my Dad was not a sports fan, but my Mom
loves the Mets
The Game Mark Klesin and I bought
general admission tickets and managed to watch from the two seats in
the first row right next to the Mets dugout. That day, Wallace
Johnson of the Expos joked with us through batting practice and
ended up tossing a ball our way. At that time, I had a longer reach
and caught the ball. Wallace then came over and signed it for me
(he also signed Mark’s scorecard). I will never forget his kindness.
The game Gooden struck out Tony Pena
(and 15 other Pirates) to break the rookie strikeout record
Another game against the Pirates when
Gooden went 4-5 with a homer, 5 RBI, and a 12-1 victory
Gooden’s one-hitter
Terry Pendleton’s HR that broke our
hearts in 1987
Bobby Bonilla hitting a homer high up
on the Budweiser sign
Benny Agbayani hitting a 14th
inning home run to beat the Giants in the 2000 playoffs. I missed a
big birthday bash for Aunt Kitty that my mom was upset about, but it
was worth it
The day after when Bobby Jones pitched
a one-hitter to clinch the Division series in 2000
Mike Piazza’s post-9/11Home Run on
September 21, 2001 against the Braves
Carlos Beltran’s caught looking to end
the 2006 season in the NLCS. Immediately after that game, I
cancelled my hotel reservations, car rental, and flight to Detroit
for the World Series. It is hard to forgive Carlos for that one,
regardless of how great a curve ball Wainwright threw.
Back to this final game. I tried to
soak up as much as I could on this day while trying not to get
soaked. During the rain delay, I hung out with the Atlantics under
cover, but by the time the game started, I met up with my brother
and headed to my seats in the upper deck. I could not help but
stare at my favorite scoreboard for the last time. The ever-present
lineups and out-of-town scores were perfect. As much as I dislike
Budweiser, the giant sign on the scoreboard was as much a part of
Shea as anything else, so I cherished it for that. I stared at the
big black Hat hoping the Magic would be back and that the apple
would pop up repeatedly during the game with Mets Home Runs. I
gazed at the bullpens wondering if a relief pitcher would enter the
game in the team-specific baseball cap car, although that was long
in the past. I at least knew that I would get to see Mr. Met at
some point during the game.
I waxed nostalgic throughout the game,
while the Mets turned into wax. Since the game started late, we
were able to scoreboard watch from the beginning to see if the
Brewers would lose and make it easier for the Mets. Unfortunately,
the Brewers did not comply, and the Mets needed to win the game. At
least we had Oliver Perez starting the game, so we were pretty
confident (note that may be this New Yorker’s most sarcastic
statement ever). Perez, however, did hold the Marlins scoreless for
the first 5 innings. The only problem was that the Marlins’ Scott
Olsen did the same. Things only went down from there.
 Cameron
Maybin led off the top of the 6th with a ground-rule
double and scored the game’s first run on a single by John Baker. A
single by Jorge Cantu, a fly out by Mike Jacobs and an intentional
walk to Dan Uggla would end Perez’ night. Joe Smith replaced him
and promptly walked Josh Willingham with the bases loaded to
increase the Marlins lead to 2-0.
Our spirits rose up in the bottom of
the inning though, when Carlos Beltran hit a 2-run homer to tie the
game up! Neither team would score in the 7th, but the
Marlins did not greet Scott Schoeneweis kindly in the 8th.
Wes Helms homered off him to give the Marlins a 3-2 lead. The Mets
then brought in Luis Ayala to face Dan Uggla, but the result would
be no different, he homered too. The Mets would threaten in their
half inning with 2 outs. Reyes it a ground rule double, followed by
a walk to Beltran, but the inning would end when Carlos Delgado
lined out to left field. Three Mets pitchers held the Marlins
scoreless in the top of the 9th, leaving the Mets one
last chance to extend Shea Stadium’s history with a victory.
Ex-Met Matt Lindstrom came in to close
the game for the Marlins in the bottom of the 9th. Things looked
bleak at Shea and the fans were as glum as could be with only a
glimmer of hope. David Wright led off, but he popped up to 2nd
base. Endy Chavez then grounded out back to the pitcher, leaving
Shea Stadium down to one more out. Damien Easley came to the plate,
which left some hope considering he had a knack for late-game
heroics with the Mets, and he came through to an extent by walking
to bring up the tying run in the form of Ryan Church. Let it be
stated here, that Shea Stadium was closed and put to bed by a
Church. Ryan Church flew out to center to end the game and Shea
Stadium’s vaunted history. At that moment it felt like I was at a
funeral, and in fact I was.
 After
the loss, which officially ended the Mets season and Baseball at
Shea, the crowd was so desolate, that I really felt like I was at
the morgue, but we still had a closing ceremony to watch. As I said
above, the Closing of Yankee Stadium II was a happy celebration of
the stadium’s past, while the closing of Shea was as depressing as
could be. I will again blame the Mets organization for blundering
this event by having the celebration after a game in which the Mets
Season could brutally end. Do it before the game and the
celebration would be special and happy, while after the game it was
sad and depressing.
The Funeral started with Mr. Met
tearing down the final number on the center field wall, which was at
81 at the beginning of the season. The grounds crew brought out
giant placards with photos of the Mets greatest moments throughout
the outfield grass. The Mets then brought out a procession of their
past players one-by-one to circle around the infield. Each of those
former stars paid their final tribute by stepping on home plate on
their way off the field. Yogi Berra, who was a
 former
player, coach, and manager of the Mets, but more famous for his long
career as a Yankee (and his Yogisms) was the last player to step on
home plate. However, the final pitch would be made by Tom
Terrific (Seaver or The Franchise), who would go down as the Mets
Greatest pitcher and Hall of Famer. He would of course throw that
final pitch to Mike Piazza, who was arguably the best position
player in Mets history, and likely the best hitting catcher of all
time. Based on the way the Mets history generally goes, we expected
the pitch to be in the dirt and get by Piazza, but at least that did
not happen. It was not the best pitch, but it was good enough for
Piazza to catch and end the Funeral and all the good and bad times
at Shea.
At the end of that funeral procession,
my brother and I were about as sad as you could be over a sporting
event. The Mets squandered a big lead for two consecutive
Septembers, and ended Shea’s history in squalor. We sat and stared
out at the field for the last time, before making our way down the
ramps to exit Shea for the last time. You could not help, but
notice all of the signs with Mr. Met along the way down. The ones
we saw as follows left a lasting final memory for me:
“Mets Fans – the BEST fans”
“See You Soon”
“It Was great to see You!”
“Please Drive Home Safely!”
That was it; I would never see those
signs or a game at Shea again. What a miserable end to my home away
from home. It took me a while to get over that…or maybe I never
have. There was an impromptu fan gathering/celebration a few months
later when the final pieces of Shea came down, but I could not bear
to go see that, so this was my last memory of Shea.
Bottom line – Shea was my second home
that I have so many good and bad memories from, but none that I will
ever forget. It was a dump to many, but a palace of memories to
me. Shea, you will not be forgotten! My mother made sure I had
something left of the Shea when she bought me two seats from the
Upper Deck for my 40th Birthday. Thank You Mom!
Basic trip facts:
-Stadium - N/A (still at 36)
-Old Stadium Sites visited – None (Total – 38)
-Under construction Stadium Sites visited – CitiField (Total –
3)Miles traveled – 18 via Driving (Totals: Driving – 19,849, Subway
- 38, Amtrak – 460, Air - 18,028, Total – 38,375)
-States, provinces, Districts and/or commonwealths passed through –
New York (Totals: States – 48, Provinces – 2, Districts – 1,
Commonwealths - 1)
-Seats – Upper Deck, Box 747 C, Seats 3 & 4
-Prices: Parking – $18 (but I took subway), Beer – $7, Hot Dogs –
$5.25, Program (including pencil) – $8, Souvenir Soda Cup – None
-Credit Card giveaway – None
-First Pitch - 3:04 PM
-Results – Marlins 4, Mets 2, W – Joe Nelson, L – Scott Schoeneweis,
S – Matt Lindstrom
-Home team record to date – 24 wins, 19 losses
-Record of “team I was routing for” to date – 19 wins, 24 losses
-Attendance – 56,059
-Lodging – Home - Manhattan
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