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It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

d'Kong76 Apr 09 2015 10:19 AM

Gary Carter taught the Mets to play... http://www.ultimatemets.com/gamedetail. ... 86&tabno=D

batmagadanleadoff Apr 09 2015 10:33 AM Re: It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

Oh for god's sake, enough already. Taught the Mets to play? I'm so sick of the last piece of the puzzle myth, I'm ready to start another thread that'll probably get ugly.

dgwphotography Apr 09 2015 10:34 AM Re: It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

d'Kong76 wrote: Gary Carter taught the Mets to play... http://www.ultimatemets.com/gamedetail. ... 86&tabno=D Nicely keeping with the tune, too..

d'Kong76 Apr 09 2015 10:35 AM Re: It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Oh for god's sake, enough already. Taught the Mets to play? I'm so sick of the last piece of the puzzle myth, I'm ready to start another thread that'll probably get ugly. Oh simmer down, just playin'...

batmagadanleadoff Apr 09 2015 10:40 AM Re: It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

d'Kong76 wrote: Oh for god's sake, enough already. Taught the Mets to play? I'm so sick of the last piece of the puzzle myth, I'm ready to start another thread that'll probably get ugly. Oh simmer down, just playin'... Me too. I'm also just playing. Like you. Hey: You taught me how to play.

d'Kong76 Apr 09 2015 10:45 AM Re: It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

It's a nice memory, not going to let you ruin for me. We've talked about this day a number of times, many here were there. I sat in the last row of the upper decks with that wind whipping on the back of our heads through that steal mesh stuff, it was so f'n cold. The Shea Faithful walking down the ramps shouting Gary Gary Gary is one of my top ten Mets's memories of all time.

dgwphotography Apr 09 2015 10:50 AM Re: It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

d'Kong76 wrote: It's a nice memory, not going to let you ruin for me. We've talked about this day a number of times, many here were there. I sat in the last row of the upper decks with that wind whipping on the back of our heads through that steal mesh stuff, it was so f'n cold. The Shea Faithful walking down the ramps shouting Gary Gary Gary is one of my top ten Mets's memories of all time. We were sitting in the loge, underneath the overhang. I took pity on the not-yet-Mrs. DGW, and left because it was so freaking cold. We were going over the Whitestone when Kid's homer landed in the bullpen.

Edgy MD Apr 09 2015 10:54 AM Re: It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

Lost the home-opener 10-0 the year before to a Montreal team that featured a Gary Carter grand slam. That trade turned into an five-run turnaround, with regard to home openers.

Mets – Willets Point Apr 09 2015 11:11 AM Re: It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

Important day in my Mets fandom. I was a Mets fan before, and you've probably heard me go on about how I attended the Steve Henderson Game, but all the same I was very casually interested in baseball. I remember the excitement about the 1984 Mets and Dr. K and the 1984 World Series was the first one I watched. But Opening Day 1985 kicked things up a notch. It was a cold, wet day so we had an indoor recess at school. Some of the boys took out a tv monitor in our classroom and were able to tune it into to WOR. I was an extremely unpopular 6th grader, but I started watching and asking questions and the other boys were telling me all about the game and actually felt like I belonged for once. And the game was really exciting, in a way I'd never felt about baseball before. I remember rushing home after school and flipping on the tv in time to catch the winning home run (or maybe just replays of the home run) and then watching Gary Carter interviewed on Kiner's Korner. I was hooked. I became an obsessive Mets fan and watched every game I could. 1985 remains one of my favorite Mets seasons of all time.

d'Kong76 Apr 09 2015 11:48 AM Re: It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

Gary adds an interesting (amazing) factoid: he was first player in history to hit a walk-off home run in his first game on any of the New York teams ever. Hard to believe with the Yanks, Giants, Dodgers and Mets all on that list it took until 1985 for it to happen.

Zvon Apr 09 2015 12:10 PM Re: It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

d'Kong76 wrote: Gary adds an interesting (amazing) factoid: he was first player in history to hit a walk-off home run in his first game on any of the New York teams ever. Hard to believe with the Yanks, Giants, Dodgers and Mets all on that list it took until 1985 for it to happen. I had never heard that before. Amazin'.

d'Kong76 Apr 09 2015 12:14 PM Re: It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

You're in good company, he said he only just recently learned that.

d'Kong76 Apr 09 2015 02:05 PM Re: It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

GARY CARTER PUTS HEROIC CAP ON METS' 6-5 OPENING VICTORY By JOSEPH DURSO - The New York Times April 10, 1985 New York gave baseball a roaring welcome back to town yesterday as Vice President Bush, Mayor Koch and a sellout crowd of 46,781 made their way to Shea Stadium to open the season. The Mets responded by beating the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-5, on a 10th-inning home run by Gary Carter, the all-star catcher making his debut with the Mets. It was cold, it was festive and it was almost regretful for the Mets because they lost a 5-2 lead in the late innings and surrendered the tying run in the ninth on a walk with the bases loaded. But they survived when Carter went to bat with one out in the bottom of the 10th and hit the second pitch thrown to him by Neil Allen into the left-field bullpen to end 3 hours 42 minutes of storybook baseball. ''It was a storybook ending, all right,'' said Dave Johnson, the manager of the Mets. ''Losing the lead and then coming back to win is certainly dramatic.'' Walking the Tightrope ''But,'' he added, sounding like a man who had grown weary of adventure after one summer on the job, ''Gary Carter doesn't have to prove to me that he's a heck of a player by hitting a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning. And I'd rather have seen us keep our lead and win it in the ninth.'' Instead, the Mets opened their season by demonstrating their historic talent for walking the tightrope and living to tell about it. They also opened it with six innings of stout pitching by Dwight Gooden, the 20- year-old prodigy who became the youngest man in this century to pitch an opening game in the big leagues. He gave up six hits, two walks and three earned runs and struck out six batters. All of this came on a chilly but clamorous afternoon, with the temperature standing at 42 degrees at game time when Vice President Bush strode to the pitcher's mound to throw out the ceremonial first ball. Mr. Bush, who played first base for Yale in 1948, was wearing a blue Mets' windbreaker. He paused at the mound to shake hands with Gooden, who already had warmed up for his labors. ''He told me who he was,'' Gooden reported later. ''Then he told me to go out and have a good game.'' A good game is what they had, with five pitchers working for the Cardinals, four for the Mets and three pitches clearing the fences. The Mets took a 2-0 lead in the first inning against Joaquin Andujar, the only 20-game winner in the National League last season. The Cardinals drew close in the second when Gooden was nailed for a home run by Jack Clark, another traded star who was making his debut for St. Louis. Then George Foster cleared the center-field fence for the Mets in the third, and they later nudged the lead to 5-2 going into the seventh. By then, Andujar was gone, and Gooden was not far behind. The young right-hander from Tampa, Fla., the rookie of the year last year, when he struck out 276 batters, gave up two leadoff hits in the seventh and was gone. He was replaced by Doug Sisk, who gave up the hit that scored both runners. Then, in the ninth, Sisk walked Clark with two down and the bases loaded, and the Mets' lead was suddenly gone. Not a Great Game, So Far But the stage was set for Carter, who was not having a great time of it. Twice, he was struck by pitched balls, and his left elbow was still numb from the ball that hit him in the first inning. Once, he struck out. Once, he committed a passed ball that let a run score. Once, Andujar even stole second base on him. But then he got his chance, facing Allen in the 10th, the new Met hitting against the former Met. He took a breaking ball for strike one. He looked for a breaking ball again, got it, and hit it. ''There aren't enough words to describe what I feel,'' Carter said later, showing some of the emotion that marked him and even embroiled him during his 10 years with the Montreal Expos. ''Opening day in New York, my wife here, friends from California, my new teammates. It makes me proud.'' Allen, the volatile Kansan who is trying to replace Bruce Sutter as the ''stopper'' of the Cardinals' bullpen, was proud himself, in a way. His Best Pitch ''It was the best pitch I threw,'' he said. ''A breaking pitch, what I wanted to throw, where I wanted to throw it. You have to give the man credit. That's why they pay him $2 million a year.'' The Mets never should have let it come to one pitch. They scored two runs the first time they batted, but left the bases loaded in that inning and also in the eighth and the ninth. In fact, they left 15 men on base as they squandered their lead. They got off to a fast start when Mookie Wilson singled with one down in the first inning, stole second and scored on the first of three singles by Keith Hernandez. Carter was then struck on the left elbow, which remained numb most of the game, and Darryl Strawberry walked to load the bases. Then, with two out, Howard Johnson walked to force in another run. Gooden gave back half his lead in the second when Clark cleared the fence in left-center on a two-strike pitch. The Cardinals tied it in the third when Lonnie Smith singled, Tommy Herr doubled and Carter let a pitch get past him for a passed ball. Foster Hits Home Run But Foster put the Mets back in front in the third when he cleared the fence in center. Gooden led off with a single in the fourth, Wally Backman outran a bunt and Hernandez singled for a 4-2 lead. And, when Foster singled and Rafael Santana doubled in the fifth, the Mets led by three. But Gooden was cold, circling the mound and blowing on his fingers. ''It was tough gripping the ball,'' he said. ''When Davey took me out, it was a great move.'' The great move came in the seventh after Andy Van Slyke and Ozzie Smith led off with singles. Gooden was gone, Sisk came in and, with two down, Herr lined a single to center for two runs and the Mets now led by only 5-4. The Mets also lost Strawberry for the rest of the game when he bruised a tendon in his right wrist diving for Smith's single. Worse for Sisk, in the ninth, Willie McGee pinch-hit a single, Lonnie Smith was struck by a pitch and Herr singled to left to load the bases. Terry Pendleton struck out for the third time but, with two out, Clark walked on the 3-and-1 pitch, the lead was gone and the Mets looked for the theatrical ending. Still Opening Well The Mets remain very big on opening day. They lost the first eight openers in their history, starting in 1962, but more recently won nine straight before losing in Cincinnati last year. So, they now have won 10 of their last 11 openers. . . . The stadium was sold out in mid-March for yesterday's game, but the paid attendance did not reflect that fact. Guest tickets brought the total to 48,863 in the house, but there were still empty seats, meaning that several thousand persons who had bought tickets were no-shows.

Frayed Knot Apr 09 2015 04:13 PM Re: It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

d'Kong76 wrote: Gary adds an interesting (amazing) factoid: he was first player in history to hit a walk-off home run in his first game on any of the New York teams ever. Hard to believe with the Yanks, Giants, Dodgers and Mets all on that list it took until 1985 for it to happen. Nuh-uh, Jeter hit a walk-off HR on the first day with his team TWICE!!!!

Mets – Willets Point Apr 19 2015 08:07 PM Re: It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

Holy crap! The things I find on YouTube when I'm looking for something else. [youtube:214g3lsd]LFsfeaPTPSA[/youtube:214g3lsd]

Zvon Apr 19 2015 10:09 PM Re: It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

That's great^ lol. @ 3:48 Timmy Mac: "And I guarantee ya the Cardinals, when they face Dwight Gooden, they do not see balls that look that big."

Mets – Willets Point Apr 20 2015 08:24 AM Re: It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

Ralph interviews VP George Bush around 13:00 and I guffawed to see Bush making the hand gestures that would later become famous in Dana Carvey's impersonation.

Edgy MD Apr 20 2015 08:40 AM Re: It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

That's a great interview. If I was a-working for the Mets, I'd be diving into the archives looking for footage of Bush at the ballpark in 1971 or 1972, just 'cuz. Maybe he's just keyed up for opening day, but it's notable how fast Gary Carter is working to keep his pitcher in a groove, turning quickly to the ump after a foul asking for a new ball, and then pumping it back to his pitcher and jumping into his crouch.