METS FANS SHARE THEIR MEMORIES OF THE JUNE 23, 1990 GAME:
Bryan Hoch
July 16, 2001
The one that started it all for me. I was eight years old, and my dad finagled two box seats by the first base dugout for this gem, a three-hit shutout by Dwight Gooden over Pat Combs. I was too young to appreciate Gooden's overwhelming power pitching, and actually at one point was whining, "Why won't the Phillies score runs?" Or so I'm told. Darryl Strawberry hit a monstrous home run to right field that I never actually saw leave the yard, my vision blocked by all those standing adults. Lenny Dykstra played in this one for the Phillies and received a warm ovation from the Shea crowd. Except from me, who didn't understand why Dykstra's '89 Topps card showed him with the Mets, and now he wasn't. I booed the "traitor", only to be quietly informed of the Juan Samuel trade and the way baseball worked. Everyone's gotta start somewhere.
Mark Scarola
October 14, 2006
I remember this one well. In his second at-bat, Von Hayes was way late on a Gooden fastball and struck a screaming liner into the loge off the third baseline. I caught it. The first and only foul ball I've ever caught (or even had the chance to catch). That Gooden went on to pitch the complete game shutout just made it that much more special.
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