METS FANS SHARE THEIR MEMORIES OF THE JUNE 5, 1998 GAME:
revolve
February 8, 2002
Two friends of mine from college--one a Met fan, the other a Sox fan--made the trip up to Boston to catch the first of the three game set. This was the first time I had seen a Met game outside of Shea, and it was also the first time I got to see Piazza in a Met uniform, as my previous trip to a Met game had been the day he was traded, and thus not in the lineup. Of course, I really didn't get the chance to see Piazza hit, as Pedro Martinez broke his hand with an inside heater (I've heard rumors that Pedro's brother Ramon had some ill feelings toward Mike left over from their days in Dodgerland). The three of us thought we had great seats-- much like Bob Uecker in those old beer commercials--though it was the usher's mistake and by the 2nd inning, they unfortunately found our correct seats. Then again, there really isn't a bad seat in the house there. We expected it to be a great pitching match- up between Leiter and Pedro, but Pedro, instead of throwing gas, pitched like he had bad gas, and gave up home runs to the following Mets: Alberto Castillo, Luis Lopez, Bernard Gilkey and finally, John Olerud. Obviously Olerud's the black sheep here, I mean, in a quartet of sluggers that includes honored company like Castillo and Luis Lopez, one tends to omit Olerud's name from such an elite class. Future Met Mo Vaughn cranked one late, but by then the game was far out of reach, and Bobby V had brought in Brad Clontz of all people. The Sox fan in our group didn't have a great night, but got his revenge the following year...
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