Hey Maz- Thouroughly enjoyed reading your Game 6 ...

2009-11-15T11:37:09.722-05:00

Hey Maz-

Thouroughly enjoyed reading your Game 6 post.That was a very special time in my life, as I was living in Boston then. The company that I was working for had seats at Fenway,; they had a pair of tickets to each of the playoff and WS games to be held there, and held a raffle to see who would wind up with them. My girlfriend (who later became my wife) was a Mass gal, won a pair of tix for Game 5 and opted to take her dad, who being a lifelong Sox fan, had never been to a postseason game in his life. I couldn't be mad about it because a) we'd only been dating for a few months, and I'd be rooting for the Mets, and b) my sister spent a couple of hours on the phone and got some seats out in LF for Game 6 in NY. After watching the Mets go down in defeat in Game 5 (on TV), I hopped the train down to the city. I remember buying a couple of airplane bottles of Remy off some guy in the parking lot, and missing Sandra Santiago (of Miami Vice fame - she was kinda hot in that 80's sort of way) singing the National Anthem. After we got to our seats, we heard all this cheering which seemingly came out of nowhere: Because we were under the overhang, we didn't realize that the cheering was for the parachute jumper because we didn't see him until he was almost on the ground.

I remember the premature message flashing on the scoreboard in the 10th inning: New York Mets Congratulate the 1986 World Champion Boston Red Sox, and thinking that although I was kinda bummed, it wasn't so bad, because the Mets, with that team they had, would certainly be back. My most vivid memory of the evening was when Stanley came into the game after the Mets began their comeback. I saw him emerge from the pen and started jumping up and down with joy. The guy sitting next to me asked what the story was, and I said something like, "I live in Boston, I know this team really well, and that guy fucking sucks. He'll blow this game for sure!" After he did, I remember people going crazy, running up and down the ramps. Do you remember the cardboard cutouts of Carter and Gooden that were in the park that year? The ones that people used to take pictures with? Well there was a woman who must have weighed 300 lbs.; she was so happy the she was ready to strip naked and have her picture taken with them. Needless to say, we left the area; I didn't want to be a witness to that crime. My sister and I did have our picture taken with them (the cutouts, not the woman), I'll have to dig it out of that box in my garage one of these days.

The next day, as pre-arranged, my girlfriend picked me up at the train. I was determined not to gloat; as a Boston resident, I knew what those people were going through, and I have to admit that I felt sorry for them. There may have been a game left, but it was over, and those fans knew it. There was a sports talk radio guy in town who stayed on the air after the game taking calls until 3:00AM, talking people down.

Finally, I remember being surprised that Ray Knight wound up as the MVP; I always felt that Sid Fernandez' stellar relief appearance in Game 7 was what got them to the promised land.

Comments on centerfield maz: Game Six

Hey Maz- Thouroughly enjoyed reading your Game 6 ...