Let's Play Six!

Melissa Hughes

My Mission: After consulting my schedule, I notice that the Mets are due to play seven games in five days due to rainouts earlier in the season. A twin bill of twin bills on Thursday and Friday, August 20 and 21, plus single games on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, before they head to the West Coast. I cannot attend on Sunday due to previous social commitments, but dare I try to take in six games in five days? Of course I will, I decided, and began carbo-loading. Below is as faithful an account of the events that followed as sleep deprivation will allow.

(Note: The Mets also played a doubleheader at Colorado on Tuesday, August 18, for a total of ten games played in seven days.)

Day One - August 20, 1998
Mets vs. Cardinals, Game 1

Weather: 77 degrees, sunny.

1:32 - Depart for Shea.
2:46 - Mets batting practice.
3:12 - McGwire takes field to thunderous applause.
3:14 - Piazza, sensing that McGwire is about to put on a show, steps into the batters box and gets a little showy himself. Photographers jockey into position behind the batting cage. Piazza practices his home run swing. It is wildly successful. He retreats into the dugout to something that is unusual for Piazza - applause.
3:31 - Mets BP ends.
3:43 - I turn around and notice crowd is three times its normal size for BP before a weekday game.
3:45 - McGwire signs autographs, media follows.
3:49 - McGwire steps into cage to more applause than I've heard for the entire Mets organization at any time this season. The other Cards scurry off the field as if heading for a bomb shelter. Bleacher Brats are busy, as McGwire slugs away to the strains of "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond. I am convinced that this a distraction conspiracy on the part of the Shea Stadium DJ. It doesn't work. BP is on the DiamondVision for the first time.
3:52 - McGwire's BP ends, media vanishes.
4:28 - I purchase and consume a knish, which tastes like a gym sock filled with sawdust.
5:00 - Upper deck rowdies begin chanting "SO-sa, SO-sa" but are quickly silenced by irate McGwire fans.
5:01 - Child screams, "Mike, my mom loves you!" to Piazza as he takes his place behind the dish.
5:13 - Willie Blair strikes out McGwire for the third out in the top of the first.
5:24 - Applause as Todd Hundley catches Willie McGee fly to left.
5:29 - Piazza's first at-bat. Fans cheer like mad as he approaches the plate, and don't boo when he flies to center.
6:07 - Piazza strikes out, with only mild booing.
6:10 - DiamondVision reveals that Isaac Hayes and Robert Plant are celebrating birthdays today.
6:37 - Piazza's second strikeout of the game - boos increase.
6:40 - Brian Jordan homers.
6:43 - McGwire homers for the 50th time this season, becoming the first man in major league history to hit 50 or more home runs in three consecutive seasons. I watch the ball as it screams toward New Hampshire. It is a remarkable shot to left.
7:06 - Season ticket holder Jerry Seinfeld arrives, provoking chaos in left field stands.
7:10 - Top of the ninth; several Cards step out of the dugout to look at Seinfeld.
7:17 - McGwire flies to center, accompanied by the sparkle of thousands of flashbulbs.
7:22 - McGwire catches Piazza's foul fly for first out in bottom of the ninth and Piazza is subjected to abusive booing.
7:26 - Final score: Mets 0, Cardinals 2.

Between games, I am hassled by drunks sitting behind me, questioning me about my sexual preferences. I switch seats.

Mets vs. Cardinals, Game 2

Weather: 74 degrees, clear.

7:55 - Game starts.
8:00 - I am watching the top of the first inning on a monitor at the concession stand, where I am attempting to purchase a chicken sandwich. McGwire steps to the plate and I comfort myself by saying, "I won't miss anything. He just homered. He can't hit one every time..."
8:01 - McGwire hits his 51st homer. I announce the ball's time of death as 8:01 P.M. as it goes shuttling beyond the picnic area in left. I comfort myself by remembering that I've got at least 12 more hours of baseball to watch, which at this rate means I could see Mac break Maris' record before the night is over.
8:24 - More Piazza, more people, more booing.
8:26 - Foul ball bounces off a railing in my section, hitting the head of a small child. Someone snatches the ball, but the EMS crew who rushed to the scene procure a ball and hand it to the child, who looks disoriented and sleep-deprived.
8:45 - I'm a little tipsy from Rheingold beer and abandon all thoughts of scorekeeping.
8:55 - With help from the scoreboard, Mark asks Trisha to marry him. She says yes.
8:58 - The fans must be getting sleepy, because they accidentally forget to boo Piazza as he approaches the plate. He responds by hitting a 464-ft. homer to left, and he receives more cheering than I've heard him get all season.
9:39 - The fans, apparently awake enough to remember his last at-bat, cheer Piazza as he approaches the plate.
9:55 - Rey Ordonez ties the game with a double in the bottom of the seventh. I gasp for breath.
10:00 - Fan holds up a sign which reads "Monica gives good head."
10:06 - With the game on the line, fans boo McGwire for the first time all evening as he steps to the plate.
10:10 - Turk Wendell strikes out McGwire to insane cheering.
10:17 - Piazza grounds to short. People cheer anyway.
10:27 - Mets win 5-4.

Total playing time: 4 Hours, 33 Minutes
Total time spent at Shea: 7 Hours, 44 Minutes

Day Two - August 21, 1998
Mets vs. Cardinals, Game 1

Weather: 84 degrees and sunny.

12:23 - I go to Penn Station to pick up my favorite companion for a Mets game - my cousin Janine. At the station, I see many people wearing Mets hats and other merchandise. Janine missed her train and informs my answering machine that she will be late.
1:40 - Janine arrives at train station breathless, but ready for baseball.
3:19 - Arrival at Shea.
3:54 - McGwire BP. 12 HR in 14 attempts, 15 pitches (first pitch is bunted, crowd groans in frustration).
4:00 - Child holds up sign: "Mr. McGwire, today is my birthday, could I please have a homer?"
5:05 - We notice a sign: "We'll take a Piazza with everything...hold the Big Mac!"
5:08 - Strange, bluesy "Nomo song" begins to play as Hideo Nomo warms up on the mound.
5:25 - John Mabry starts the game at first base for the Cards and is booed vehemently during his first at-bat.
5:31 - Crowd chants "We want McGwire!"
6:10 - James asks for Alexandra's hand with the help of the scoreboard. She says yes, but looks pissed about it.
6:17 - We are informed via the DiamondVision that Kenny Rogers and Kim Cattrall are celebrating birthdays.
6:28 - I purchase and consume a Sam Adams and a sausage sandwich with fried green peppers and onions. It is delectable as usual, and fortifies me for the long evening of baseball ahead.
6:53 - Nomo leaves the game after giving up four earned runs, including one home run, and six bases on balls in five innings of work.
7:33 - Todd Hundley pinches for Nomo to thunderous applause, even though he strikes out.
8:18 - Crowd erupts into a chant of "Rojas Sucks!" as he goes on to pitch two innings, giving up five earned runs.
8:22 - McGwire steps to the plate to supernatural applause. I am predicting the distance of this shot in miles, but McGwire is granted a ground rule double, due to fan interference in foul territory.
8:38 - Final score: Mets 5, Cardinals 10.

- It gets better when sleep deprivation sets in. Check it out. -