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METS FANS SHARE THEIR MEMORIES OF GAMES FROM THE 1998 SEASON

March 31, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 1, Philadelphia Phillies 0

Bryan Hoch
July 16, 2001
What a remarkable Opening Day at Shea. I cut school for this one, the sun was beaming down... it was 88 degrees on March 31st in Flushing, and I was in a field box behind the third base dugout.

Bobby Jones started against Curt Schilling, and the zeros piled up against each other on the scoreboard. Nine scoreless. Ten. Twelve. Fourteen. The Mets used six pitchers, including getting scoreless relief from Greg McMichael and Mel Rojas.

Finally, in the bottom of the fourteenth inning, light-hitting backup catcher Alberto "Bambino" Castillo singles home Brian McRae with the game winner off Ricky Bottalico to send everyone home happy, 4:35 and 428 pitches later.

Piazza wouldn't arrive until late May -- the Mets' Opening Day catcher was Tim Spehr, and Todd Pratt was in Norfolk.

This one ranks as one of my favorites ever. I went in to school the next day with a big ol' red sunburn, and everyone knew I hadn't really been sick the day before.


SCOTT R
March 1, 2006

I was at this game too. Me and my dad went. It was about 80-something degrees, a great day for March 31. Great pitchers duel until bases-loaded single by last man on bench in 13th inning Alberto Castillo.


Tom M.
July 28, 2006

First and only Mets home opener in the month of March and it was an unbelievably warm (88 degrees) day. Was also my two year old son's first Met game. He really doesn't remember it, but he loves telling people that we stayed for the entire 14 innings.


Ed K
March 13, 2008

As it turns out, Turk goes down in history as the last Met reliever to win a Season Opening Day at Shea.


Joseph Tyson
January 14, 2011

Sat in the upper deck in fair territory. Sunburnt and tired, I could hase kissed Castillo when he finally ended it.


Ed K
May 30, 2014

This was also the first regular season game ever played by the Mets in March. Expanding the MLB playoffs to three rounds forced the regular season to begin and end earlier.


Dave VW
November 16, 2023

Not only was this the Mets' first season-opener in March, as stated by a few commenters already, but this also tied their longest Opening Day game in franchise history. But instead of losing in 14 like they did at Colorado in 1995, this time they won in dramatic fashion. It also marked their fifth straight win over the Phillies in an Opening Day contest.

With Pedro Martinez now in Boston, the case could be made that Curt Schilling was now the most dominant pitcher in the NL. And he came roaring out of the gate in 1998, posting 8 shutout innings with 9 Ks, with the only 2 hits allowed being singles to journeyman catcher Tim Spehr. Thankfully, Bobby Jones and a very deep Mets bullpen matched zeroes, but operated under a much different "bend-but-don't-break" philosophy, stranding 13 Phillies runners on base, helped largely by holding Philly hitless in 9 ABs with RISP, along with some stellar Mets defense, particularly from usual webgemmers Rey Ordonez and Edgardo Alfonzo.

After getting the first 2 batters to reach in the 14th, the Mets looked ready to squander the opportunity when Alfonzo bunted too hard on a sacrifice attempt, resulting in the lead runner getting thrown out at 3rd. Bernard Gilkey followed with a single to LF but Brian McRae fell down rounding 3rd and had to retreat back to the base. It looked like he would have scored, too, because the throw to the plate from the leftfielder was up the first-base line. Luis Lopez then popped out after an 8-pitch AB, leaving it up to Castillo. After going down in the count 1-2, Alberto took some very close pitches for balls, then lashed a single to RF to send everyone home happy. It was actually his 2nd walk-off hit in the Mets' last 3 games, as he also had a walk-off RBI double in the Mets' 2nd to last game of the 1997 season vs. Atlanta!

All in all, there were 16 hits in the game, and all of them were singles. This was Jones' third and final Opening Day start for the Mets, and it was the first time the Mets ever won a game 1-0 on Opening Day; they've done it twice since, in 2012 and 2020, both times against the Braves. Also, this was the first regular season game broadcast on FSNY, formerly known as Sportschannel. During the broadcast, they periodically checked in on NY mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was in attendance, and wondered how long he'd stick around for, knowing he was delivering a speech in DC that evening. He actually didn't leave until midway through the 10th inning, which is better than what Howie and Fran had predicted in the booth.

April 3, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 2, Pittsburgh Pirates 1

Michael
October 2, 2023
The first game of the year on WWOR, in what would be its last season covering Mets games. This game was highlighted by great defense by both teams, as you could count at least 3 or 4 outstanding plays. Rick Reed proved that his 1997 breakout wasn't a fluke as he was fantastic on this night. The Mets won on a Pirates throwing error in the 9th

April 4, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 7, Pittsburgh Pirates 6

Mets2Moon
July 4, 2001
If memory serves, Rich Becker almost single-handedly won this game, hitting a HR and a 2B, and making a key run- saving catch. Probably his only shining moment in his far from memorable Mets career.


Bob P
October 3, 2003

In their fourth game, the Mets picked up their third win of the season, and all three wins came in their final at bat.


John K
April 9, 2004

A cold grey day at Shea. Becker hits a line drive into a stiff wind over the center field wall to win it. On WFAN after the game, one caller believes that Becker is going to be the valuable addition that helps the Mets make the playoffs.


Justin Zacek
May 28, 2010

This game was brutally cold. There could not have been more than a thousand fans in the park to witness the end. I remember going into the bathroom with my friends between innings so we could find some heat to endure to freeze. That was both of my friends' first Mets game and I don't think they've gone to another.


Dan the Man
April 15, 2011

Justin wasn't kidding when describing how cold this game was even though it was in April! I went to this very early game in the season with my father. The Mets offense was lifeless that day for the first 8 innings. In the bottom of the 8th the Mets were able to scratch one run in but left the bases loaded. My father and I left at that point figuring the Mets were dead and we didn't feel like sitting in the freezing cold anymore. When we got off the 7 train in Woodside someone who had headphones announced the Mets tied it at 6-6. Remember these were the days before cell phones/blackberrys so I honestly didn't believe the man. Now that I think about it those days were so much simpler/better but that's a whole other thing for another day! So I eventually got home and the game was still going on and I caught the winning hit in the 13th on TV. Never gave up on a Met game my whole life after that!


Shickhaus Franks
April 23, 2011

I was at this game with my friend Kathy and it was a chilly, gray Saturday afternoon tilt at Shea; a difference to when it was summer-like for the home opener a few days earlier. After Rich Becker won it in extra frames, the PA system played the then- popular "Tub-thumping" aka (I get knocked down but I get up again song) by Chumbawamba. There was an announced crowd of 17,633 (according to retrosheet.org)

April 5, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 7, Pittsburgh Pirates 0

Michael
April 1, 2020
Masato Yoshi's first start as a Met, and he was fantastic. 7 shutout innings. He would rarely be as great as he was on this day but he was a solid signing for the team for a few years.

April 7, 1998 Wrigley Field
Mets 3, Chicago Cubs 2

Michael
February 26, 2023
A poorley played game by the Mets, with multiple defensive miscues on a very cold and overcast day at Wrigley, not uncommon for April.

Al Leiter got his first win as a Met, he pitched better than his final line indicted as well.

April 11, 1998 County Stadium
Mets 2, Milwaukee Brewers 1

Dave VW
November 22, 2023
The Mets snap a 2-game losing streak as Rey Ordonez plays the hero with the go-ahead RBI single with 2 outs in the 9th inning in a game otherwise dominated by very strong pitching performances by Masato Yoshii and Cal Eldred.

Both starters were long gone by the 9th, however, when the Mets staged a rally against Milwaukee reliever Bob Wickman that featured some pivotal and somewhat unorthodox managerial decisions. After Butch Huskey hit a 1-out double, Carlos Baerga struck out to bring up Alberto Castillo. With the righty Wickman on the mound, the obvious move was to pinch hit with Matt Franco, which is what Bobby V did, but all that did was waste arguably the Mets' best bat off the bench, as, with 1st base open, it was an academic decision for Milwaukee to intentionally walk Franco to bring up Ordonez. If I were managing, I would have pinch hit with Luis Lopez instead, who was a switch-hitter and would allow the Mets to save Franco for later.

As it were, Valentine now had Lopez able to pinch hit for Ordonez, but he decided to stick with Rey out of some gut feeling. Down in the count 0-2, Ordonez miraculously comes through with a frozen rope to left-center field, scoring Huskey from second to break the deadlock. Bum extraordinaire Rich Becker strikes out to end the inning, but John Franco is able to keep the Brewers off the scoreboard in the bottom of the 9th to preserve the victory. That also made a winner of Dennis Cook, who picked up his first W as a Met.

Yoshii only allowed an unearned run (thanks to a Castillo throwing error) and began his Met career not allowing an earned run over his first 13 innings, as he shutout the Pirates over 7 innings in his first start. Barely 2 weeks into the season and it's already glaringly obvious the Mets catching situation without Todd Hundley is in dire straits. That Mike Piazza countdown clock can't expire soon enough.

April 12, 1998 County Stadium
Mets 6, Milwaukee Brewers 4

Dave VW
November 21, 2023
Brian Bohanon works 5 solid innings in an emergency start for Bobby Jones, who was scratched with back spasms, and John Olerud hits a clutch 2-run homer in the 7th off southpaw specialist Mike Myers, helping the Mets secure a series win in their first ever visit to County Stadium in Milwaukee.

Since Bohanon started the year in the bullpen, Bobby V didn't want to push him too far and decided to remove him after just 85 pitches. But Turk Wendell couldn't hold the 4-1 lead he was given, surrendering a 3-run homer to future Met Jose Valentin in the 6th. Brewers starter Paul Wagner, still in there in the 7th, struck out the first 2 he faced in the frame, but then Edgardo Alfonzo smacked a double, which was the first hit Wagner had given up since Butch Huskey's 2-run homer in the 3rd. Up to 123 pitches, Wagner was switched out for Myers to face Olerud, but John got the better of the matchup and put the Mets up to stay.

Even after giving up 3 runs, Wendell stayed in the game and worked a scoreless 7th, and then Mel Rojas recorded the final 6 outs to notch his first save of the season, and the second-to-last of his career. John Franco had pitched the previous day so I could only conclude Valentine wanted to avoid pitching his veterans on back-to-backs whenever possible. Given such a deep bullpen to play with in 1998, I can understand that philosophy.


NYB Buff
November 21, 2023

Dave VW, good and informative writing as usual. But you're off on one fact. This was not the Mets' first visit ever to Milwaukee's County Stadium. It was only their first series against the Brewers (who had just switched over to the National League) at that place. From 1962 to 1965, the Mets played road games at County Stadium against the Braves before they moved to Atlanta.


Dave VW
November 27, 2023

You are right, NYB Buff, thank you for correcting that! I still have a ways to go in brushing up on my Mets history!

April 14, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 6, Chicago Cubs 0

Anthony
June 10, 2003
Hey there. I remember I attended this game with my dad. I was in ninth grade and on spring break. My great grandma (who was also a big Met's fan) had just died and we had just finished the whole funeral thing. Anyway, it was a cold night. It was Al Leiter's third start as a Met. I remember "Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen was playing as he was warming up in the first inning. That is a cool song. I downloaded it. That song always reminds me of him as does any song by Bruce Springsteen. He pitched an awesome seven innings this game and the Mets went on to win 7- 0. It was Al Leiter's first win as a Met at Shea. I did not expect him to pitch as well as he has (especially in 1998) when they first got him.

April 15, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 2, Chicago Cubs 1

Shickhaus Franks
July 7, 2016
This was the 2nd game of the infamous day-night doubleheader where the Bronx Evils played the Angels in the 1st game at Shea due to the building troubles in the old Bronx Ballyard. For the record: The Evils-Angels game drew 40,000 where the Mets-Cubs drew only 16,000 tops!!!!!


Dave VW
November 27, 2023

Not gonna lie, Franks' "Bronx Evils" reference made me chuckle. I do take umbrage with the mention of the attendance juxtaposition, however. Remember, Yankees Stadium had been closed for 3 days prior to this date, and the team was honoring tickets to all 3 games that were cancelled. Not only that, but having them play a "home" game at Shea Stadium was quite the novelty that I'm sure attracted more fans than just your average Tuesday afternoon game would. So I don't see it as any major accomplishment the Yankees drew so many people, while the Mets drew less than half that for a mid-week game in chilly temperatures. I strongly believe if the circumstances were reversed and the Mets were going to play a home game in the Bronx while honoring 3 games worth of tickets, they easily would have drawn 40k+ as well.

In regard to the actual game, Rick Reed pretty much did it all, shutting out the Cubs over 7 innings and accounting for all the runs on offense by hitting the second (and last) home run of his career in the 2nd inning off future Mets punching bag Steve Trachsel. It was the only HR hit by a pitcher for the Mets in all of 1998. The rest of the Mets mustered only 4 other hits all game -- all singles -- but what do you expect from a lineup with a washed up Carlos Baerga, Tim Spehr catching, and Rey Ordonez leading off? That's right, Bobby V gave Rey his first ever start as the leadoff hitter for this contest, an experiment tried only one more time the remainder of Ordonez's career. Rey actually extended a hitting streak to 11 games with a 1st-inning single, but it would be snapped the next game.

Reed's outing was a significant improvement over his previous, which was in Chicago and saw him give up 7 runs over 3.2 innings in an 8-7 loss. They mentioned during the FSNY broadcast (the first to feature Keith Hernandez, btw) that Reed actually hadn't allowed a wild pitch since debuting in the bigs back in 1988. As luck would have it, Reed would commit his first wild pitch later in 1998 vs. the Giants in August.

Speaking of the broadcast, during the latter portion of the game Matt Loughlin interviewed a guy in the crowd who had a small child, and the kid was wearing a Yankee cap. Loughlin asked him what's up with the cap, and he said the Mets don't sell any caps that fit his son, so he has to wear the Yankee one. Smelling BS, Loughlin returned a short time later with a Mets kids cap for the son, and asked the guy if he'll switch caps now. But the guy was like, "Well, we'll see who makes the playoffs this year." I was like, you incredible ingrate! You're at a Mets game, the team is gifting you a cap for your kid, you're on live TV, and you won't even put it on? I was so angry ... but a short time later the camera panned to him again and the kid was wearing the Mets cap, so the story has a happy ending.

April 16, 1998 Shea Stadium
Chicago Cubs 8, Mets 4

Jim F
October 6, 2001
My son's first Met game. Carlos Baerga fouled one off and we got it. Henry Rodriguez hit a 3 run homer off of Wendell to seal the game.

April 19, 1998 Riverfront Stadium
Mets 14, Cincinnati Reds 0

Bob P
May 26, 2004
The Mets scored three runs in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings to coast to a 14-0 win, the most lopsided shutout win in team history.

Bernard Gilkey had three hits, three RBI, and scored five runs.


Ed K
April 6, 2008

This actually tied the record for most- lopsided shutout. Galen Cisco pitched a CG shutout on 7-29-65 that was also 14-0.

April 22, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 10, Houston Astros 7

Michael
January 16, 2024
Jim Tatum was brought in for the 98 season for his big power off the bench, and made the team based on a great spring training. Expecations for his bench production were high after this night, a game winning 3 run homer off former Met Doug Henry. Unfortunately, this was the lone highlight of Jim's Mets career, as he ended up doing nothing after this game and was released within 2 months.

April 25, 1998 Shea Stadium
Cincinnati Reds 2, Mets 0

Mario
December 31, 2004
Don't even remind me about this game. I was there at Shea that day, and what promotion happened to be occurring? You guessed it---Rey Ordonez highlight VHS giveaway day.

David Weathers, of all people, pitched an absolute gem for the Reds. Then again, just take a look at the Mets' lineup for this game, and you can see why.

This was right before the Amazins made the deal for Iron Mike Piazza, and it is no wonder why they pulled the trigger. To call the attendance sparse would be an overstatement, and I attribute it to the lineup that left a lot to be desired.

April 30, 1998 Shea Stadium
Colorado Rockies 4, Mets 0

Dave VW
December 3, 2023
The Mets lose for the 5th time in a row as the offense continues to sputter. Darryl Kile had a no-hitter going until Luis Lopez -- making his first career start in the outfield -- singled with 1 out in the 6th inning. They managed three more hits but no runs, giving Kile his only shutout while a member of the Rockies.

With Todd Hundley still out, Bernard Gilkey joining him on the DL, and players like Butch Huskey, Carlos Baerga and Brian McRae all slumping to start the season, there was just no one to turn to for offense. Their best chance came in the 8th when John Olerud led off with a double. Baerga followed with another double, but Olerud -- an already slow runner further slowed by a sore groin muscle -- could only make it the third base. McRae struck out next, and then Matt Franco drew a walk pinch-hitting for Tim Spehr. That gave Rey Ordonez a chance with the bases loaded, but a wild swing produced a 2-foot popup that landed in front of the plate, which Kile shoveled to the catcher for one out, who then threw to first to complete the inning-ending double play. Replays showed Ordonez was clearly safe at first, but the umps weren't willing to give the Mets any breaks on this night.

Bobby Jones started for the Mets and allowed an Ellis Burks opposite-field home run just over the outstretched glove of Rich Becker two batters into the game. With the way the Mets had been scoring recently, it felt like the game was pretty much over right then and there. It was beginning to look like, at this point, the team's 88-win season in 1997 was going to be some type of aberration, and they were about to fall right back into being the lovable losers we grew accustomed to throughout the decade. The Mets were at a crossroads, and could either accept their fate and keep rebuilding and playing second fiddle to the Yankees in New York, or they can take action and make a huge move that would show the fanbase they're serious about getting back to the top of the mountain.

Thankfully, we all know which direction they chose to go.

May 4, 1998 Shea Stadium
Arizona Diamondbacks 4, Mets 2

Joe W.
June 30, 2009
I found a video of this game on Super 8 film, with the first two innings and some fielding practice. It also includes the dulcet tones of Gary Cohen and Bob Murphy.

It is on YouTube, if you search 5/4/98.

May 8, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 9, St. Louis Cardinals 2

Bob P
March 7, 2004
Mark McGwire's 2-run homer (his 13th of the year) in the third inning is the 400th of his career.

McGwire became the 27th player to hit 400 homers and he did it in fewer at bats (4,726) than anyone else.

Brian McRae's three run homer in the fourth gave the Mets the lead and they coasted the rest of the way behind Rick Reed.

May 19, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 7, Cincinnati Reds 3

Eric Slater
August 5, 2002
Went to this game with my brother and caught my first foul ball ever -- went to my first Mets game in 1972 and have usually made at least one game every year. The ball was hit by Dmitri Young. We were sitting behind the third base dugout and the ball hit off of an empty seat and bounced right into my hands! It was all the more memorable for me as I had just finished law school and my daughter had been born that January and I plan on giving that ball to her when she's old enough to understand the joy of baseball!


Dave VW
December 6, 2023

Congrats Eric! We'd love to know if you ended up giving your daughter that ball after all.

The Mets began a doubleheader sweep of the Reds behind 8 strong innings from Bobby Jones and a key 5-run 5th inning, highlighted by a 3-run laser beam of a home run off the bat of Butch Huskey. Aside from that 5th inning, the Mets mustered just 3 other hits all game, but when you get them in bunches it all works out in the end. Jones himself only allowed 4 hits, although 2 of them were home runs. Jon Nunnally actually greeted him with a HR to lead off the game, which prompted more "here we go again" groans from me. It was the first of two times Nunnally led off a game with a homer, his other oddly enough coming as a member of the Mets in 2000. Before him, the last to lead off a game with a HR against the Mets was Deion Sanders back in 1995. This was the first time it happened to Jones, though he'd fall victim twice more during his career.

The sweep -- which gave the Mets 6 straight wins at home -- was badly needed as they had lost 5 of 7 on the West Coast beforehand, and didn't score more than 4 runs in any of those contests. With Edgardo Alfonzo seeing his first action since May 3 after a stint on the DL, this was the first time in quite a while the Mets sported what could be considered an "everyday lineup," even though they were still without Todd Hundley.

Speaking of Hundley, in between games they played an interview of Steve Phillips on FSNY during which he was asked if he had had any conversations with the Marlins regarding Mike Piazza, who had been traded to Florida 5 days prior. Though he admitted that he had, he said a trade for Piazza was unlikely because his addition would cause too many problems for the Mets. What do they do with Hundley when he comes back? Why give up valuable trade chips to get a player at a position they already have an All-Star at? Why weaken a strong defense by playing people out of position? So on and so on. Whether he truly felt this way and changed his mind, or if he was just playing coy for the cameras, the fact is Phillips brought Piazza on board just 3 days later in a trade that changed the course of the franchise and turned a so-so team into a legit contender for several years to come. But it sure was interesting listening to that interview knowing what we know now.

May 22, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 3, Milwaukee Brewers 2

Ira Klapper
May 2, 2002
The greatest day in Mets history. The buzz was unreal as the walk-up line was loaded with everybody discussing the catcher we just acquired from the Florida Marlins...Mike Piazza. I don't remember too much about the actual game except Cook picking off two guys in one inning of a one run game, and being one of the first in the park to realize that Franco was wearing #45, and giving up his number to Piazza, who would arrive the next day. You could just tell everybody knew it was a new era of Mets baseball


Stu Baron
May 22, 2008

I recall sitting at Shea in the eighth inning when the Mets made a pitching change. I know players' uni numbers, so I thought it strange when I saw "45 P" on the scoreboard. I had no idea who that was until John Franco was announced, and I realized that he already had switched from 31 to 45 in deference to newly acquired Mike Piazza. Needless to say, this was the beginning of the end of Alberto Castillo's Mets career!

May 23, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 3, Milwaukee Brewers 0

Mets2Moon
April 16, 2001
Credibility, excitement and most importantly, fans returned to Shea on this brilliant Saturday afternoon. All had come to see the New York debut of Mike Piazza that day, and he did not disappoint, slamming an RBI 2B off Jeff Juden in the 5th. 32,000 fans were on hand, giving Mike ovations from the moment he stepped onto the field before the game, to his first AB, and it reached a head when he got his first hit. The NY Times headline the following day read: "Piazza swings a bat and suddenly, it's the 80s again." How true it was. Oh, and Leiter was brilliant too, tossing a CGSHO to a catcher who was criticized by his former team of being a poor handler of pitchers. Didn't have any problems today, it seemed.


Stu Baron
May 22, 2008

I didn't attend, but on the occasion of Mike Piazza's retirement, I can recall the excitement I felt for his Mets debut just watching the game on TV at home in Hamden, CT.


Mark Heaney
November 15, 2011

I listened to this game on the radio laying on a blanket at Harbor Park in Mamaroneck on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. One of those great joyous memories - my Mets were back! Leiter throwing a shutout to MIKE PIAZZA! One of those memories to last a lifetime. I remember packing up and leaving late in the afternoon - I was in a great place in my life and my Mets were back. Life is good.


Dan the Man
November 17, 2011

I caught this game on SNY as a Mets classic last week. Being that except for the return of Beavis and Butthead I really can't stand anything on TV, I watched a good portion of it. Gotta say I was sucked right back in to the moment. When Mike Piazza got that double and ended up at third, I was as excited as I had been in five years watching/following this team. All in all it just seemed like a great day to be a Met fan. Hopefully, better days like this will be ahead.

May 24, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 8, Milwaukee Brewers 3

Dave VW
December 12, 2023
During the telecast on UPN, they announced this was the first sellout for a Mets game at Shea since Opening Day 1993. Far be it for me to rain on the parade, but there appeared to be plenty of empty seats upon watching this one back... but nonetheless, the level of exuberance the mere addition of Mike Piazza brought to the stadium was quite palpable, and it can certainly be said his presence alone brought thousands back to Queens.

As luck would have it, Piazza was the only member of the starting lineup (aside from the pitcher) who didn't record a run or an RBI. The Mets never looked back after a 5-run 4th inning, knocking around Brewers pitching for 8 extra-base hits, including 7 doubles -- one off tying the franchise record. They tallied 13 hits off Cal Eldred, the most he ever gave up in a start, and Carlos Baerga put the cherry on top by hitting a rare home run right-handed in the bottom of the 7th. All the offense helped Bobby Jones win his 3rd straight start and gave the Mets 10 wins in their last 11 home games.

On the topic of trades, the broadcast mentioned there were rumors flying around the Mets were also toying with the idea of dealing Baerga and John Olerud to Baltimore for Roberto Alomar and Rafael Palmeiro. As Mets fans, we inexcusably gag whenever hearing Alomar's name, but he was a much different playing in 1998 than when we got him in 2002. Ultimately, however, I'm glad it's a trade that never panned out, mostly because Alomar, Palmeiro and Piazza were all free agents at the end of the season, and there was no way the Mets were going to be able to bring them all back. It might have been fun to see what they all could have done together in 1998, but it would have been a very short-lived party.

Meanwhile, I stumbled across this article from 1998 when doing some additional research about this game: https://www.southcoasttoday.com/story/sports/1998/05/19/Piazza-should-have-to-serve/50562780007/

It's obviously from the point of view of a Dodgers journalist who was desperate to point blame at somebody for the team's lack of success during the 1990s, and saw Piazza as an easy scapegoat since he was already off the team and had declined a contract offer because he thought he could get more money on the open market. The writer knew it was absolute rubbish, too, because the byline simply says "Staff Writer" -- no moron would want his name attributed to such a steaming pile of garbage. It pretty much states the case that "Mikey" is greedy and selfish and can't catch worth a damn and deserves to toil on a losing team for the remainder of his career because he wasn't willing to give L.A. a hometown discount and never brought the team a World Series win. Forget all his hitting accolades, forget the Dodgers could have moved him to 1B if his defense at catcher was so bad, forget his work ethic and positive attitude and will to win (all of which were praised just weeks earlier when teammates came to his defense after Brett Butler took some cowardly and unprovoked post-retirement potshots at Piazza). It's all big words from a keyboard warrior, lashing out like some jilted lover who thinks everyone else is to blame for the problems of their own making. And so it greatly pleases me to know that Piazza came to a franchise where the fans truly appreciated and lauded him, and that he helped the Mets become one of the baseball's best in 1999 and 2000, while the Dodgers floundered in mediocrity for the next half dozen years.

May 26, 1998 Dolphin Stadium
Mets 10, Florida Marlins 6

Ed K
March 19, 2016
Butch Huskey had a unique feat in this game: driving in five runs in a inning with a pair of doubles when the Mets scored nine runs in the sixth inning.

May 31, 1998 Veterans Stadium
Mets 8, Philadelphia Phillies 6

Lee D
May 28, 2010
GF and I were there. Ungodly hot day. We had seats on the field level, so they had the temporary metal floor stands. Combined with the heat of the sun on the 90+ degree day, and the heat from the Astroturf, it made for major discomfort.

Mets take an early 5-1 lead. I'm cheering, quite happy that my Mets are doing so well. Some fat Phillies fan in back of me says something like, "Stop cheering against my team." I said, "I'm not, I'm cheering for my team." He said something like STFU. Phillies come back to take the lead 6-5. He starts getting overly obnoxious and in my face and stuff. I'm thinking, "Whatever." Mets then take the lead and wind up winning the game 8-6.

The gentleman, as the game is just about over, asked me, "If you're such a huge Mets fan (I guess he was calling me a bandwagoner or something), who was the manager before Davey Johnson?" I look at him dead in the eyes and say, "Frank Howard." He turns around in a huff and says, "smartass."


Dan the Man
April 28, 2011

Was at this game when I was just a freshman in high school. Really can't remember too much what happened in the actual game but I must be one of the few Met fans whose had nothing but positive experiences with the old Vet and the city of Philadelphia. Then again these were the days when the old Vet was at least half full of Met fans and the Phillies were always in last place. No one in Philly cared about the Phillies back then. I should have appreciated those times more as the roles between the Mets and Phillies has certainly changed since then.


Dave VW
January 11, 2024

I went to college at Rowan University in Gloucester County, NJ, which was only about a half hour drive from Philly. So I, too, went to many Mets/Phillies games at the Vet ... but not this one. I was still a junior in high school at the time up in Bergen County.

Bobby Jones had one of his worst starts in 1998, lasting just 4 innings and allowing all 6 Philly runs. Thankfully, the Mets had the better bullpen, as the combination of Brian Bohanon, Mel Rojas and John Franco threw 5 shutout innings, allowing just 2 hits. Meanwhile, Phillies pitching was downright awful, allowing the Mets to collect a season-high 19 hits. Mark Leiter -- Al's brother -- gave up a 2-run single to Bernard Gilkey as soon as he came into the game in the 8th, which proved to be the deciding blow. The win was the Mets 9th straight, which was their longest streak of the season, and the team's longest since 1991. It also gave the Mets their first 3-game sweep in Philadelphia since 1995.

June 1, 1998 Three Rivers Stadium
Pittsburgh Pirates 4, Mets 3

Ed Koch
September 23, 2005
Piazza's first Met homer came against Jason Schmidt in this game but Schmidt still won the game.

June 3, 1998 Three Rivers Stadium
Pittsburgh Pirates 3, Mets 0

Tom
May 31, 2006
Aramis Ramirez was 0-22 for his career(!) and hit a 2 run double in the 8th of McMichael, scoring Kendall and Young.

Arrgh.

June 5, 1998 Fenway Park
Mets 9, Boston Red Sox 2

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...


Dave VW
January 22, 2024

It's always fun to attend a game the Mets win in an opposing ballpark, so that must have been some experience revolve. Especially considering it was Fenway Park. Just to note: Piazza didn't actually break his hand when he was hit by Pedro's pitch, it was just a bruise and he was back in the lineup a couple games later.

A nice way to kick off interleague play in 1998, and a solid palette cleanser for the previous 3 games in Pittsburgh. After getting swept by the Pirates, scoring just 5 runs in those 3 games, and then losing Piazza in the 1st inning here, it's quite surprising the Mets had the outburst they did in this game, what with Pedro on the hill and all. But after starting the year 5-0 with a 1.74 ERA over his first 10 starts in 1998, Pedro hit a wall and allowed 23 runs over his next 24 innings, a span during which this game is included. The 4 home runs he allowed were tied for the most he ever gave up in a start; he actually gave up 4 more in his very next start at Atlanta. He also gave up 4 gopherballs as a member of the Mets vs. Philadelphia in 2005. Meanwhile, the 4 HRs were tied for the most the Mets would hit in a game in 1998.

Castillo and Olerud hit back-to-back blasts in the 3rd, something Pedro hadn't allowed since August of 1996. Castillo's homer was his last as a Met (though he only hit 2), and Gilkey's homer was his 2nd-to-last as a Met. At only 4 innings long, this was Pedro's shortest start in 1998, as well as his shortest out of 15 career starts vs. the Mets. What's really interesting is that Pedro didn't lose in any of his first 9 starts against the Mets, but has now lost each of his last 3. But in his 3 remaining starts vs. the Mets (1 with Boston, 2 with Philly) he wouldn't lose again.

This was also the first time Hideo Nomo was in a Mets uniform, just acquired along with Clontz the previous day. He sort of controversially chose to wear #16, making him the first player to wear it since Dwight Gooden left the team in 1994. Clontz made his Mets debut in the game, pitching a scoreless inning, but would be demoted to AAA Norfolk a short time later and wouldn't be back until September.

June 6, 1998 Fenway Park
Mets 1, Boston Red Sox 0

Greg Gentry
July 13, 2008
I was at this game with a friend in Boston, the only run scored was on a balk.

Incredible pitchers duel. Wakefield only gave up one hit through 8.

It was a game Wakefield should have won, but I was glad to see the Mets come out on top.


D.C.
August 14, 2013

My first Mets game courtesy of tickets from my uncle who lived in the Boston suburbs.

Strangely in a series that featured Al Leiter and Pedro during his peak pitch the night before, this game turned out the pitcher's duel of the three. I was only seven, but I do remember the Mets getting a run on a Wakefield balk and Bobby Jones making it stand for eight inning before ceding the game to John Franco for a rare non-ulcer inducing ninth.


Dave VW
December 13, 2023

One of 4 1-0 Mets wins in 1998, and the first since Opening Day, which Bobby Jones also started. The game featured just 6 hits, all singles, but I think it should have been 7 as the official scorer robbed John Olerud of a base hit in the 4th when he scalded a ball past Mo Vaughn at 1B.

It was indeed Brian McRae who scored on Tim Wakefield's balk in the 6th. He had led off with a walk, took second on a delayed steal, advanced to third on a groundout by Olerud, and scored when he made a fake-break towards home that momentarily broke Wakefield's concentration and caused the balk. The Mets' dugout erupted as if it was the biggest run they had scored all year, telling you how invested they had become in winning during this era. It was Wakefield's only balk in 216 innings pitched in 1998.

Jones was awesome, as he didn't give up another hit after Troy O'Leary singled to lead off the 2nd. He was already over 100 pitches when he was sent back out for the 8th inning, and I thought for sure his day was done when he walked Darren Bragg during a 10-pitch AB with 2 outs, but he stayed in there and got Darren Lewis to ground out on 1 pitch to get out of it.

The lack of offense for the Mets could somewhat be blamed on a lineup missing Mike Piazza, who was plunked on the hand with a pitch by Pedro Martinez the previous game. They told a story on FOX that Piazza, while waiting to get x-rayed at the hospital, was signing autographs with his hurt hand for the kids there. It's stories like that that explain why it was so easy for us to fall in love with the guy.

I also just learned Wakefield passed away this past October from brain cancer. Very sad.

June 7, 1998 Fenway Park
Boston Red Sox 5, Mets 0

Tim Stahlman
November 15, 2010
This was my first trip to Fenway park. I felt like I stepped through a portal into the past. I remember seeing dripping pipes in the concourse and being amazed by the lack of modern aesthetics in the ball park. I loved it for that very reason. My steak hoagie that I bought was far better than the Mets' bats. They were as rusty as the stains on the bare concrete walls. Mo Vaughn took a ball opposite field over the monster. You could C-it-go. Bad night for the Mets. Nice night for baseball.


Dave VW
December 18, 2023

It's nice you had a good time despite the final outcome and dreary, drizzly weather, Tim.

Second straight game with no Mike Piazza, and a second straight game with hardly any offense for the Mets. The team is quite Jekyl and Hyde depending on his presence in the lineup. They even made Steve Avery, who started the year relegated to bullpen duty as he was clearly washed up at this point in his career, look like a Cy Young candidate, despite not being able to break 85 MPH on the radar gun. I'm also totally over seeing Jim Tatum and Rich Becker continue to eat up roster spots. Benny Agbayani, Jay Payton and Todd Haney were all tearing it up at AAA, so it was clearly time to inject some new blood into this stale roster.

The offense wasn't the only thing to stink on this night, as Masato Yoshii had his worst start as a Met so far. I'm not expecting things to improve from here, either. Though he held a 2.33 ERA over his first 9 starts, he'd then go winless over his next 14, with a 5.03 ERA.

Even the ESPN broadcast team of John Miller and Joe Morgan stunk. During the game, Miller noted how both teams still have players wearing #42 (Butch Huskey and Mo Vaughn), even though the number had been retired throughout baseball to honor Jackie Robinson. He also said that they were the only 2 players still wearing #42, which was WAY WAY off. Later in the game, he sort-of corrected himself by saying Lenny Webster of the Orioles was also still wearing the number, but I was like, I'm pretty sure there's another really noteworthy player still wearing number #42: Mariano Rivera! And by the way, there were still 3 others on top of that: Scott Karl on Milwaukee, Jose Lima on Houston and Michael Jackson on Cleveland. Worldwide leader in sports by butt.

June 8, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 3, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 0

Mets2Moon
April 16, 2001
Reed's "Imperfect" game. In the wake of another perfect game thrown by a certain pitcher on a certain team occupying the same city, the Mets were completely squeezed out of the press. For 6 2/3 innings, however, Mets fans were given a teaser by Reed. I was at this game, and from the 4th inning forward, fans were up with every pitch he threw. McGriff smacked a shot up the middle leading off the 5th...right into Reed's glove. A PH (I forget who) slices a liner to right, and the crowd gasps as Butch Huskey lumbers toward it...dives...And the man caught it! And everyone there thought we were destined to witness history. Finally, it caught up with Reed on a 3-2 pitch to Boggs in the 7th. Doubled to center, out of McRae's reach. Undaunted, Reed did complete the game, K'd a then- career-high 10, and had his first CGSHO. As an added bonus, Piazza chimed in with his 1st Mets HR at Shea in the 4th. A wonderful game thrown by Reed. The man was absolutely unhittable that night.


Michael
October 29, 2010

THIS would be a great game to show on SNY classics instead of the same games they always air. Reed's best game as a Met (besides his October 2, 1999 game) AND Piazza's first Shea homer. I remember this one well.


Anthony Ventarola
October 21, 2015

I remember the excitement that night at Shea. Invariably we knew somehow it wasn't to be, but nice while it lasted. I did not realize until the prior comment that this was Piazza's first Shea home run.

June 9, 1998 Shea Stadium
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 5, Mets 4

Jon
August 26, 2002
This was Hideo Nomo's frst game with the Mets (and, I think, Rich Becker's last). Lots of excitement at Shea. I sat field level near the RF corner and caught a foul ball thrown into the stands by the Devil Ray right fielder. When I leaned forward to reach for it, I aggravated an achilles tendon tear which would eventually require surgery. Nomo didn't pitch very well, and the Mets lost in the 10th as a result of John Hudek's sorry relief and an error by Luis Lopez.

At least I got a ball.

June 10, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 3, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 2

Michael
February 27, 2023
Recently watched this one on the old tape. A sunny day at Shea for the Rays first ever trip to Shea. This game was also a 3 man booth with McCarver, Kiner and Keith Hernandez. The booth worked wonderfully, as all 3 were swapping funny stories while still giving excellent analysis of the game. Honestly, this may have been the only time that the 3 of them worked together. Keith was rarely doing games in the late 90's and McCarver was gone from the Mets after the 1998 season. A shame, as that booth could have been golden if things worked out differently.

Mel Rojas secured a rare save on this day, as he was still in the good graces of the bullpen (though not for long).


Dave VW
December 20, 2023

To continue Michael's thought, Rojas was definitely off to a great start in 1998, holding a 1.95 ERA at this point in the season. This was his second save of the year, prompted due to John Franco having pitched 2 innings the night before in the Mets' extra-inning loss to Tampa. However, it would also be his last of 126 career saves, as from here on out he'd arguably be the worst reliever in baseball. Over his remaining 25 appearances of the season, he would hold a 9.79 ERA. His collapse truly came fast and hard.

Al Leiter was also off to a great start, as his outing here lowered his season ERA to 1.70 and gave him his fourth win in as many starts.

This turned out to be another typical game for the Mets during the first half of 1998: stellar pitching and defense, and just enough offense to squeak out a win. They took an early lead in the bottom of the first despite not getting a hit, as future Met Rick White walked 5 batters to force home 2 runs. After Leiter gave a run back in the 4th, Butch Huskey drilled an opposite field homer in the 6th, which proved to be a huge insurance run as Rojas allowed a run in the 9th before getting another future Met, Miguel Cairo, to fly out to end the game.

This was White's final start of his career, outside of an emergency start he'd make in 1999. He walked 6 in the game, a career high, but only allowed 2 hits, helping to keep the Rays within striking distance. Meanwhile, Mets pitching tallied 14 strikeouts (including Bobby Smith 4 times), which was the most they'd rack up during a non-extra-inning game in 1998.

This game also thankfully marked the last we'd ever see of Rich Becker. I thought it made sense to acquire him from Minnesota for Alex Ochoa at the start of the season, as it gave a right-hand heavy OF a lefty bat, and Ochoa seemed to have lost all his momentum during a dismal 1997. But Becker completely forgot how to hit in 2+ months with NY, and was waived after the game to make room for Wayne Kirby, who was hitting .282 for the Cardinals' AAA team at the time.

June 17, 1998 Olympic Stadium
Montreal Expos 5, Mets 4

Jon
November 8, 2001
Benny Agbayani made his Major League debut in this game. He struck out vs. Ugeth Urbina in the 9th.

June 19, 1998 Shea Stadium
Florida Marlins 3, Mets 2

Jim Johnson
February 13, 2008
I was at this game back when I was in like fourth grade. Rick Reed had a perfect game going in the seventh when he had two strikes on Edgar Renteria. A questionable call evened up the count and Renteria eventually delivered a single between short and third. While he was later thrown out stealing, the Marlins continued to hit Reed, and Floyd's three run homer put them ahead. John Olerud struck out with men on base to end the game.

June 21, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 3, Florida Marlins 2

JR
July 6, 2012
It was Father's day! All the dads in attendance recieved white floppy Mets hats!

June 22, 1998 Camden Yards
Baltimore Orioles 7, Mets 2

Mookie
June 7, 2003
I was at this game in '98 and have been thinking about it on and off ever since. In this game, Mike Mussina of the Orioles pitched a perfect game, except for back to back home runs in the 2nd inning to Brian McRae and Butch Huskey. A PERFECT GAME! As rare as that feat is in baseball, it was quite a unique pitching performance that I witnessed. However, I don't recall hearing anything about the significance or lack thereof of such a feat. You'd have to think that someone in the back rooms of ESPN would have come up with an obscure stat pertaining to this! To show how rare I think this accomplishment is, can anyone recall a similar situation happening since this game in '98? Surely it would have been news worthy if it had been done, if only for the similar novelty of the event that I have never forgotten.

Oh well, it was a cool game, it wasn't a four hour snorer and, if you've never seen a Maddox, Ryan or Clemens just take over a ball game and spit out hitters, this was the next best thing on this day.


Anthony V
October 21, 2015

I do remember this game as well. I was supposed to be there, but did not go. They talked about it somewhat when it happened and that was it.

I can think of one other similar "almost-perfect" game on the Yankee end. Pedro Martinez perfected the Yankees except for a Chili Davis HR, in 1999 in September. I was at that game, working.

June 24, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 6, Baltimore Orioles 3

revolve
February 8, 2002
I had a 6-pack of tickets that year and had bought the particular pack I did because it contained tickets to one of the Met-Yankee tilts at Shea. It also included this ho-hum affair against Baltimore. Some might find the chance to see Cal Ripken Jr. as exciting, but I cannot respect a man who stayed in a different hotel than his team did during road trips. In any event, the three things I remember about this game are: 1. The Mets winning it impressively, 2. the return to Shea of two prior Met failures in Pete Smith and Rich Becker (who fittingly, struck out) and 3. the girl fight two sections over. Since this game took place two nights before the first Met-Yankee game, tensions were bubbling to the point of boiling over. Even on Opening Day, after the Mets won, various "Yankees Suck!" chants would erupt. They were more persistent on this night, despite the stadium being half- empty. Anyway, somewhere in the middle of the game--maybe the 3rd or 4th inning, all I remember was that it was still twilight--a "Yankees Suck!' chant gained momentum to the right of where I was sitting in the Mezzannine by 1st base. Looking over, I saw two girls--one in Met colors, the other in Yankee colors--get in each other's face and commence to jaw at each other and then finally...trade blows. A few left hooks later,and one of them tumbled down into the next row. A few fans cheered--I'm assuming the Met girl won, since the Yankee fans were silent--and that was that. I don't even think the police were involved. In fact, I don't even think I saw an officer the whole night. Fortunately their presence was much more evident 2 nights later...


Sha-Le
January 23, 2013

This was the first Mets game I ever went to with my dad when I was 7 years old and in 2nd grade. After looking at the starting lineup for that night, I now realize even more why I feel a particular attachment as a fan to mediocre players like Baerga, McRae, Gilkey and Huskey. It's because they were some of the first players I saw for myself and that's why I remember some of the 1998 Mets so well.

June 25, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 3, Baltimore Orioles 2

Michael
May 5, 2020
The Mets won this in the 9th off of future Met Armando Benitez, as Carlos Baerga got the game winning single.


Dave VW
December 28, 2023

How ironic for Benitez to take a walk-off loss in his last appearance against the Mets before the team traded for him in the offseason. This was Baerga's last of 3 walk-off RBI for the Mets, with 2 being hits and another being a walk.

This also marked the first time the Mets won with Hideo Nomo starting. From what I remember about Nomo's brief time on the Mets, it seemed like he'd alternate between looking completely hopeless one start, to looking dominant in his next. Luckily, we got the dominate Nomo here. He didn't get the win though, as the Mets once again had a tough time scoring (they got exactly 1 hit in every inning of this game). After going down 2-0, Matt Franco got a run back with an RBI triple in the 5th, then Mike Piazza tied it up with an RBI sac fly in the 7th. In the 9th, Benitez walked two and struck out two before he gave up the hit to Baerga, which was a no-doubt frozen rope to center field and gave the Mets 4 wins out of their last 5 as they headed into a big weekend series vs. the Yankees.

In something I considered to be an odd occurrence, Roberto Alomar hit cleanup for Baltimore, one of only 11 times in his career he started a game hitting 4th. He actually hit a homer, which was the only one he ever recorded as a cleanup hitter. Along with Franco, Wayne Kirby also tripled for the Mets. Sadly, however, it was actually the second to last hit of his major league career.

June 26, 1998 Shea Stadium
New York Yankees 8, Mets 4

Mets2Moon
April 28, 2004
Mel's Massacre.

The First ever Mets/Yankees game at Shea brought, shockingly, a sellout crowd (me in attendance), and saw Irabu and Leiter duke it out. Yanks scored their runs by running on CF McRae and his awful throwing arm. They must have scored 3 runs on singles with runners on second.

Rey Ordonez made an amazing grab of a Chad Curtis liner in the 2nd with the bases loaded and nearly turned it into a triple play. Posada just barely beat the relay to 1st.

Alfonzo and McRae homered off Hideki in the 5th, and the Mets led 4-3 into the 7th.

Then it happened.

Jeter dragged a bunt to the right side with a man on. Leiter, as best he could, pounced off the mound and got it, fell awkwardly, and couldn't get the throw off.

Leiter ended up injuring his knee and had to come out of the game (and on the DL with a strained patella tendon).

In comes the great, amazing Mel Rojas to pitch to O'Neill.

We all know what happened next.

1st pitch - BOOM. 6-4 Yanks.

Goodnight.


djh
April 23, 2011

I had a Boy Scout function at age 8 and when I got back home the game was underway. Key thing about this game is of course the Leiter knee injury. Up to this point he was maybe the first half front-runner for NL Cy Young. After suffering the injury he wouldn't be the same until 2000.

Mets also, if I remember correctly, took the names off of the back of their jerseys for this series, foreshadowing 1999.


Dave VW
January 2, 2024

Having just watched this game back, I'd like to address the previous commenters:

Mets2Moon: On paper, it certainly looked like an Irabu vs. Leiter matchup would be a good one, as both led their respective leagues in ERA (with Leiter leading the majors). Unfortunately, neither were particularly sharp in this one, as Irabu failed to get out of the 6th inning, and Leiter gave up 5 runs, the most he allowed all season. But I do need to clear a few things up. First, on the Ordonez diving catch, Baerga never threw to first as Posada had already made it back to the base, so there was no relay for him to beat. Second, I don't blame McRae for any of the runners scoring from second base because I don't think anyone would have been able to throw them out. Most of the singles were softly hit, and the runners were already halfway home by the time McRae even got to the ball. Third, Jeter didn't drag a bunt, he got jammed and grounded a dribbler down the 1B line, and Leiter never fell down but twisted his knee trying to get off the mound to cover first base.

djh: I agree Leiter was likely among the Cy Young leaders at this point in the year. However, he was still very good after he returned from the injury, as he went 8-2 with a 3.15 ERA. But the time he missed likely cost him in the end, as he finished 6th in the Cy Young vote at season's end, with 20-game winner Tom Glavine winning the prize. And you are correct about this being the first time the Mets used jerseys without the names on the back. I HATED this look. It's like we were trying to copy the Yankees and got lazy with trying to identify our own players.

This game really tells you how talented the Yankees were this season, as they sported a starting lineup with no Tino Martinez, Bernie Williams or Darryl Strawberry, had Tim Raines getting his first start in the cleanup spot since 1989, and had Jorge Posada making his first start as a pro at 1B, and they STILL put up 8 runs. Jeter, who turned 24 on this day, had the pivotal play when he beat out his infield single in the 7th, which knocked Leiter out of the game. Leiter was at 110 pitches but likely would have stayed in for one more batter, as the lefty Paul O'Neill was up next. For some reason, despite also having lefty Brian Bohanon warming in the bullpen, Bobby V opted to go with Mel Rojas to face O'Neill. On the first pitch, O'Neill tagged one over the LF wall for a 3-run homer, and that was that. Terrible bullpen management by an otherwise reliable Valentine.

Bohanon wound up coming in for an ineffective John Hudek in the 8th, but was just as ineffective, giving up a walk and 2 run-scoring hits before getting relieved by Bill Pulsipher (who it was nice to see back in a Mets uniform again). Rojas' demise in 1998 is well documented, but Bohanon was right there with him, as in June he held a 7.84 ERA over 9 appearances. Thankfully, neither Hudek or Bohanon would be sticking around much longer as the Mets trade parade would really start to pick up in July.

The Mets had their chances, but in typical 1998 fashion they just couldn't find the big hit. They loaded the bases with nobody out in the 1st but only scored one run. They had first and third with none out in the 6th but again only scored once. They also loaded the bases in the 9th but didn't score. Their lack of clutch hitting, coupled with a suddenly struggling bullpen and the absence of Al Leiter for the next 3 weeks, made it seem like the season was on the brink of crashing down. And you could almost taste the sweep at the hands of the Yankees coming.

June 27, 1998 Shea Stadium
New York Yankees 7, Mets 2

Mike
February 4, 2003
I know it's kind of blasphemous for a Yankees fan to be posting on a Mets page, but this was the first Yankees game I ever attended. On the train I got a horrible headache, but I decided to continue to the game instead of heading back home. It was all worth it. I remember leaving the stadium amid cheers of "Let's Go Yankees!", louder than the home team's cheers. Needless to say, I joined them. Talk about visitor's advantage!


Dave VW
January 4, 2024

Mike, you had plenty to cheer about after this one, that's for sure. This game really boiled down to two key innings.

In the 4th, Bobby Jones was in control with a 1-0 lead and had retired Derek Jeter on a pop up for the first out. Paul O'Neill then hit one up the middle that Rey Ordonez snagged on the RF side of 2B, but John Olerud uncharacteristically dropped his throw to first, allowing O'Neill to reach. And in 1998, the Yankees capitalized on every mistake by the opposition. Sure enough, Darryl Strawberry hit a single next, and then Tino Martinez drilled a homer over the RF wall, making it 3-1.

Jones then retired 8 in a row before Tino led off the 7th with a double. Jorge Posada followed with a surprise bunt single, putting runners on the corners with no one out. Next was Chad Curtis, who crushed a pitch that had home run distance to LF but went foul by about 6 inches. He instead hit a sac fly to RF to score Tino, bringing up Scott Brosius in the key AB of the game. He grounded one to Ordonez at SS, and Rey decided to try to cut down Posada going to third. Instead, he threw the ball directly into Jorge's back and everyone was safe. Andy Pettitte was up next, and even though he was at 111 pitches, he stayed in and promptly struck out in a weird move by Joe Torre. Still, with this being the Yankees, bad moves never seemed to matter. Jones gave up a terrible walk to Chuck Knoblauch, loading the bases for Jeter. Naturally, Jeter dunked one into CF for a 2-run single, and at this point we all knew there was no coming back. Bill Pulsipher came in for Jones to face O'Neill but another single brought in a 4th run in the inning.

Somehow, the Yankees turned an Olerud missed catch and a poor decision by Ordonez into 7 runs. Meanwhile, Pettitte struck out a season-high 9, as Edgardo Alfonzo, Mike Piazza and Olerud combined to go 0-for-11. The Mets are choking in their biggest series at home of the decade, and leave it up to Masato Yoshii, who's 0-2 with a 7.29 ERA over his previous 5 starts, to prevent the sweep. Color me pessimistic.

June 28, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 2, New York Yankees 1

i miss straw
October 10, 2004
What a wild game. Well pitched which was rare of Yoshii. I went to the game to see Strawberry who was awful. The ending was chaotic. I believe it was first and 3rd one out in the 9th for the Mets and some Met hit a fly ball to O'Neill for the 2nd out. O'Neill threw it in and I believe McRae was on 1st and Baerga on third. The ball came into first to try to double off McRae who must've been sleeping on the basepaths. The 1st base umpire called out, the home plate umpire called safe. Chaos ensued. The Mets fans went wild, when Baerga was called safe, then the Yankee fans went wild when McRae was called out, then Valentine came out argued the call and the umpires called Baerga safe and the Mets won and the crowd was crazy with cheers and boos. Fun ending.


Even Stephen
October 4, 2004

I remember watching this game on pins and needles. Hoping and praying the Mets would win. I just kept thinking there was no way we could get swept at home by the Yankees. To make things worse, the Mets were being no hit. But that old Met Magic prevailed and the Mets won it in the bottom of the 9th.


Dave VW
January 6, 2024

A previous poster wrote the ending to this game was chaotic, and I couldn't agree more. With the score tied at 1-1, Baerga led off the bottom of the 9th with a double that bounced just over Tino Martinez's head down the 1B line. Butch Huskey was then instructed to bunt Baerga to 3rd, which I thought was a risky move considering Huskey was not a proficient bunter, and all the Mets needed was a single out of one of their next 3 batters to win it. But Bobby V wanted the runner on 3rd to set up a sac fly situation, which I can also understand considering there were only 5 hits combined between the two teams all game.

Huskey got the job done, and Joe Torre opted to intentionally walk McRae to bring up Rey Ordonez, a ground ball away from turning a double play and forcing extra innings. Valentine countered by bringing up Luis Lopez for Rey, and Lopez smacked one to RF plenty deep enough to score Baerga and win it. But, for someone unknown reason, McRae didn't just hold his ground at 1B (considering his run didn't matter whatsoever) and instead starting rounding the bases, then desperately needed to sprint back to first when the ball came back into the infield. Baerga scored well before McRae could have been ruled out, but I guess in this situation the runner must get back to his base if he didn't tag up, or else the run won't count. And while the throw to 1B would have beaten McRae, it was wild, causing Tino to miss the base and for McRae to arrive safely.

However, 1B umpire Bruce Dreckman called McRae out anyway, and for a minute the Yankees thought they avoided the loss. The Mets went nuts on the field in protest, and after the umps got together, they ruled the run counted and the game was over. Even something as simple as a sacrifice fly has to be difficult for the Mets!

Yoshii probably pitched his best game as a Met, which came out of nowhere considering he had been awful in the month of June. He struck out a career-high 10 and gave up just 2 hits. But one was a home run by Scott Brosius, and the Mets barely did anything against Orlando Hernandez, so unfortunately Yoshii was denied a much-deserved win. Neither starter gave up a hit through the first 4 innings, as the Yankees go their first hit with a single by Jeter in the 5th, while Olerud had the Mets first hit with a single in the 6th. Baerga, who scored the winning run, also knocked in the Mets first run with a single just after Olerud, driving in Piazza, who had reached on a wild pitch after a strikeout.

This game is tied with 2 others for fewest hits allowed by Mets pitching in 1998, and is also tied for the fewest hits the Yankees collected in a game in 1998. While it was nice to avoid the sweep, the Mets were honestly lucky to win this one and still look far from any type of serious playoff contender or a team worthy of earning New York City bragging rights.

July 1, 1998 Skydome
Toronto Blue Jays 15, Mets 10

Chris Creamer
February 10, 2002
This was a great game for me! I'm a Jays fan, but I came to see the Mets for the first time that we could here in Toronto, and it turned out great for me!

During batting practice I caught a Rey Ordonez 'homer', a pretty awesome catch too! I just stuck my glove out in between two big guys and I felt a smack in the glove, got a nice round of applause from the SkyDome faithful.

Hideo left this game early due to some sort of injury, I can't recall what it was.

A Canada Day Classic! Fireworks after the game, 25 runs, and my first MLB Baseball!!


Phil Thiegou
April 22, 2010

WHOA!!! Where do I start? July lst is Canada Day in Canada (our 4th of July) so it was a holiday matinee so they opened the roof of the Sky Dome on this beautiful sunny day. Key word in that sentence is sunny. More on that later.

This was the beginning of the end for the brief and pathetic Mets careers of Hideo Nomo and Mel Rojas. Nomo got shelled in his brief outing. The Mets managed to get back in the game to take the lead. However Mel Rojas came in relief and stunk up the joint. He was so bad, after he hit a batter, me and a bunch of other Mets fans yelled at the umpire for not ejecting him for intentionally hitting him.

This game was one of the longest 9 inning games in MLB history, lasting almost 4 and a half hours, thus leaving me to bake in the Canadian sun for 4 l/2 hours. After the game was over, they closed the roof for a fireworks display. Then they re-opened the roof and you had the sun shining on the smoke left by the fireworks, so you felt like you were in a war zone, not a friendly baseball game.

When I left the Sky Dome, I noticed that I was bright pink from all that sun. When I got back home, everyone was wondering where I got so much sun. Miami? The Caribbean? Hawaii? No, Toronto, Canada. So Hideo Nomo, Mel Rojas and I got royally burnt that day.

July 2, 1998 Skydome
Mets 9, Toronto Blue Jays 1

John Douglas
July 4, 2004
As a Met fan living smack in the middle of Jay-land, this game was the first live Met victory I'd seen after the first two in this series ending up losses. Because of my work schedule, I considered skipping the game but eventually decided to go to Skydome and made it just as the anthems wrapped up.

The extra bonus as a Toronto person was seeing Dave Stieb make his first appearance in Toronto during his 1998 comeback.

July 5, 1998 Turner Field
Atlanta Braves 3, Mets 2

Michael SanPietro
October 12, 2006
Michael Tucker was out - he never touched the plate. I was at the game sitting in the outfield on a 90 degree high humdity day and left after 9 with the score 2-2 and got home to watch the replay.


Michael
April 30, 2020

Probably the most angry that I've ever seen Mike Piazza and John Franco. As a blown call in the 11th loses the game for the Mets. Michael Tucker was clearly out on the play. Not shockingly, the home plate ump was Angel Hernandez.


Dave VW
January 10, 2024

One of many times Angel Hernandez screwed the Mets, and one of a million times he's blown a call over his career. Quite easily the worst umpire the game has ever seen.

The Mets limp into the All-Star break having been swept by the division-leading Braves, scoring just 5 runs in 3 games. They've also lost 5 of their last 6 and are a dreadful 13-19 since June 1 -- which coincidentally ended a 9-game winning streak. Will they use the ending of this game as fodder to play with some anger and passion once the 2nd half begins, or will they continue to slump and fall farther out of the playoff race?

July 10, 1998 Shea Stadium
Montreal Expos 8, Mets 6

Lee
May 9, 2005
There were two sad seasons that I can remember vividly where the Mets couldn't make the playoffs because of blown saves by one guy in the bullpen: in 2001, of course, there was Armando Benitez who ruined their almost-perfect September, and, in 1998, there was John Franco. I don't remember this night too well except I remember that I was there and John Franco lost his third consecutive game for the Mets and this was against the Expos; he had a 6-5 lead going into the ninth, and he lost it.

July 11, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 8, Montreal Expos 4

Mets2Moon
April 16, 2001
As out of place as Todd Hundley looked in LF that night, it was just great to see him back in the lineup.


straightjacketk
August 18, 2002

At this game, Mezzanine to the right of homeplate. Hundley back in the lineup, so it was a glorious (and fleeting) day for us Hundley fans. Everytime he caught a fly ball he got a huge ovation, and you could see him smiling on the Diamond Vision.


DC
April 19, 2010

First ever Met game as an 8 year old, and I distinctly remember it was gym bag night because I toted that damn thing around for the rest of grammar school.

Olerud goes deep twice as the Mets take it to young Carl Pavano in Hundley's first game back.


Michael
March 30, 2020

A weird game for sure. Todd Hundley made his season debut in LF, a position he would try to play for a while the rest of the season, unsuccessfully. Still, at the time it was just great seeing him back in the lineup. As Mets fans, we knew that Piazza was better and when push came to shove, he was the much better option for 1998 and beyond. But Todd was ours, being there in the down years.

July 12, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 5, Montreal Expos 2

Peter
March 13, 2008
This was my first baseball game as a 10 year old. I was sitting with my parents in the left field mezzanine. I remember it was incredibly hot that day, and the sun was scorching. We had bought some ice cream and it was all melted in just a few minutes.

I remember my father telling me about how they had just acquired Mike Piazza, and how he was a big star in Los Angeles. Anyway, I don't remember too much about the game, but I'll never forget the moment Brian McRae hit a monster home run over the center field wall. I just watched the ball sail across the stadium. It was an incredible moment, and I'll always remember seeing the apple come out of the top hat.

July 14, 1998 Shea Stadium
Atlanta Braves 4, Mets 2

Dave VW
January 16, 2024
After the offense started to show signs of life in the previous series vs. Montreal, the Mets fall right back into a coma against the Braves in losing their 4th out of 4 games vs. Atlanta so far in 1998.

Todd Hundley, in just his 3rd game back from elbow surgery, knocked in his first 2 RBI of the season with a 2-run single in the 3rd, and that would be all the Mets would muster against John Smoltz. Actually, Andruw Jones had caught Hundley's shallow flyball on a diving attempt, but when he landed the ball came out of his glove. If he held on to the ball, the Mets get shutout.

The Mets did, like always, have additional chances to score but came up short. In the 7th, Rey Ordonez led off with a single and Lenny Harris walked as a pinch-hitter for Bobby Jones. Bobby V then had Edgardo Alfonzo bunting to sacrifice the runners over, but Fonzie couldn't get the job done, ultimately striking out on a foul bunt attempt instead of swinging away with 2 strikes. He went back to the dugout visibly upset, something you rarely saw out of him, and even went down the tunnel with a bat to take out some frustrations off-camera. The Braves had John Rocker ready in the bullpen to face the lefty John Olerud next, but they opted to stick with Smoltz, and he got Olerud to fly out to LF. That left it up to Mike Piazza, who took a few mighty hacks but ultimately grounded out weakly to the pitcher to end the inning. The crowd booed as loud as I could remember thus far into the 1998 season, probably both in combination of Piazza's failed effort to come up clutch, and the team's group effort in coming up empty with 2 on and none out.

Ordonez's hit was the only one the two teams would get over the final 4 innings, with the Mets having their last 9 retired in order. Taking a peak at the next game's final score, it looks like things would get much worse from here. At this point in time, I'd be very tempted as the Mets GM to pull the plug on this season, trade away any impending free agents (including Piazza), and start over in 1999. Nothing over the course of the previous month and a half has convinced me this team has any chance at competing for a playoff spot.

July 18, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 7, Philadelphia Phillies 0

Mets2Moon
June 16, 2005
On Beach Towel day (whatever happened to Beach Towel day? I loved that promotion), a gorgeous afternoon to be at Shea, Mike Piazza belted 2 HRs.

This was, if I am not mistaken, the first of many multi-HR games Mike would have with the Mets.

July 19, 1998 Shea Stadium
Philadelphia Phillies 7, Mets 6

Sha-Le
February 26, 2013
The second game I ever went to and despite a Mets loss, this apparently was quite a unique game. (I don't remember it too vividly because I was 7 years old at the time, but I do have the scorecard)

Bernard Gilkey hit his last homer as a Met in this game and Todd Pratt made the first of just four appearances at 1B as a Met.

July 21, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 4, Pittsburgh Pirates 0

Shickhaus Franks
October 12, 2006
Sat in the picnic area bleachers for the first and only time ever on this night. A friend of mine nicknamed Bunny, btw his real first name was John, but everyone who knew him called him Bunny, got the 4 seats from another person who had won 'em on the late WCBS-FM 101.1. Talk about uncomfortable, I wish the bleachers had backs on them but me, Bunny, another friend Mickey and his brother Billy stuck it out until the final out in a game that saw Todd Hundley playing LF, Mike Piazza didn't play at all (Todd Pratt started at C) and Rick Reed pitching 8 shutout innings and striking out 9. It was also Queens Night and whenever a Mets player got up to bat, they would play the rumbling sound of the 7 train for some reason.


Dave VW
January 18, 2024

The Mets end a disappointing 12-game homestand with an upbeat win, propelled by a 4-run 3rd inning and a terrific outing by Reed. This win snapped a 5-game losing streak to the hapless Pirates, who actually swept the Mets in Pittsburgh back in early June.

Some awful infield defense helped the Mets do all their damage in the 3rd. After Todd Pratt led off with a double, Rey Ordonez tried bunting him to 3rd but the ball slipped past pitcher Jason Schmidt, and then 2B Tony Womack slipped trying to throw to first. With runners on the corners, Reed was up next and he swung away, bouncing one to Womack. Ordonez crossed his path and distracted him for a moment, allowing the ball to go under his glove into RF. After Brian McRae flew out, Edgardo Alfonzo hit one just fair down the 3B line to score two, and then John Olerud grounded one to SS, where Lou Collier misplayed a high bounce. That was ruled a hit but probably should have been an error. Todd Hundley then delivered his first extra-base hit of the year with a booming double to LF to score Alfonzo.

Butch Huskey was up next and he took a couple questionable pitches and struck out looking, and was clearly displeased with home plate ump Bob Davidson. He made it to the dugout, but Davidson heard someone chirping and yelled "Hey Butch! Take a hike!" and threw him out. Butch came sprinting out of the dugout and looked like he would have strangled Davidson if not for Bobby V and Cookie Rojas holding him back. Apparently Butch wasn't the one chirping and was quite angry for being thrown out unjustifiably. It all made for a very eventful inning.

Aside from the 3rd inning, the Mets managed just 1 other hit all game, so it was a good thing Reed was in control. I think he easily could have gone for a complete game shutout too, but Valentine wanted to get John Franco some work before the team headed out on an important road trip. Meanwhile, Schmidt's bad luck continued. He started the year 8-1 but lost his 6th straight decision with this defeat.

Hundley also contributed with his first career outfield assist in this game, throwing out Collier at 3B after the runner rounded the bag too far and got gunned out to end the 5th inning. Very nice to get a victory without Mike Piazza in the lineup, but the win only improved the Mets to 5-7 on their elongated homestand. They've also dropped to 3rd in the NL East and have a tough upcoming road trip in which they play 7 games in 5 days because of two scheduled doubleheaders. It's safe to say, with the trade deadline fast approaching, the next week will make or break the 1998 season.

July 22, 1998 County Stadium
Mets 7, Milwaukee Brewers 5

Michael
May 8, 2020
The Mets scored 3 in the 9th off closer Bob Wickman to pull this one out in an eventual doubleheader sweep. After the game was tied, Alfonzo hit the game winning double to put the Mets ahead for good.

This day was one of 4 separate doubleheader sweeps for the Mets in 1998. Due to a lot of early season rain, they had to play numerous DH's throughout the year and they handled it unbelievably well.

July 24, 1998 Wrigley Field
Mets 7, Chicago Cubs 3

Richard Anderson
January 26, 2002
Well, both Game 1 and 2 were probably close to the most memorable regular season games I've attended--I was sitting 6 rows back between 3rd base and shallow left, my first trip to Wrigley with my travel contingent (brother, brother's brother-in-law (Doc), and Stu (heretofore refered to as Spammy)...A noon doubleheader, beautiful sunshine, AND A MET SWEEP-- Good natured ribbing of Todd Hundley as he mascaraded as a major league leftfielder...significant beer consumption, great conversation in the stands with "Darned nice Mid-westerners"..a kid grabbed a foul ball next to us in his first baseball game..Doc needed one as he got some sunburn-- Poisonous Sunburn, and thus was moving kind of slow due to it..but the best part was post game festivities...A trip across the street to the famed "Pink House"...The 4 of us bought out Juan the icecream cart vendor for $50, and was our ticket to a keg party upstairs...Grooving to the sound of "Smack my bitch up" by Prodigy, watching my bro holding court with recent college grads on a lounge chair with perfect view of homeplate...watching the groundscrew manicure the magic of Wrigley as the sun set...the walk over to Slugger's for more cocktails ..A Perfect Baseball Day...Unfortunately the hangover lasted 2 days with both Met losses Sat./Sun....good matchup on the Sunday though...Kerry Wood vs. Rick Reed! Wrigley is the best ballpark, BAR NONE!

July 25, 1998 Wrigley Field
Chicago Cubs 3, Mets 2

Michael
October 4, 2023
The Mets came into this FOX Game of the Week with a 6 game winning streak, and should have made it 7. But in the bottom of the 8th, John Franco nemisis, Glenallen Hill, hit a go ahead bomb off of him to give the Cubs the win. A tough loss, made even tougher a few months from this date when the Cubs finished a single game in front of the Mets.

July 26, 1998 Wrigley Field
Chicago Cubs 3, Mets 1

Dave VW
January 25, 2024
The Mets' first time facing Kerry Wood, and they fared about as well as everyone else did during his Rookie of the Year campaign in 1998. Brian McRae accounted for all the scoring with a solo home run in the 3rd, which Rick Reed protected until he allowed Sammy Sosa to blast his 38th dinger in the 6th, a 2-run shot that gave the Cubs a lead they'd never relinquish.

With Wood removed in the 8th, the Mets did attempt a rally. After Bernard Gilkey struck out to lead off, John Olerud and Mike Piazza followed with back-to-back walks. Edgardo Alfonzo moved the runners along by grounding out to second to bring up Carlos Baerga, a notorious bum vs. left-hand pitching. With lefty Tony Fossas ready in the bullpen, the Cubs instead stuck with righty Terry Adams, spurning the statistics and going on gut instinct. And gut instinct prevailed, as Baerga disappointingly grounded out to end the threat.

After the Cubs tacked on another run in the bottom of the 8th, the Mets were at it again against closer Rod Beck, getting back-to-back 1-out singles from Luis Lopez and Matt Franco. But the red hot McRae, who hit safely in all 7 games of the road trip, grounded out to 1B, and Gilkey whiffed again to end the game. Gilkey was an absolute lost cause at this point. He started just once during the road trip and has 1 hit over his last 15 ABs. His end is nigh.

Still, the Mets salvaged the season by going 5-2 on the trip, pulling to 3 1/2 games behind the Cubs for the NL wildcard spot. And they're headed back to NY for another long homestand against the West Coast teams. If they can win 7 or more out of the next 10, things are going to get interesting -- especially if they pull the trigger on some trade deadline deals.

July 29, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 7, San Diego Padres 6

Mets2Moon
September 27, 2001
Mel Rojas won this game, huh? Well, let me tell you this. I was at this game and the only reason Mel Rojas won this game was because Luis Lopez hit a sac fly in the last of the 7th after Smell had BLOWN A 4-RUN LEAD!!!


Dave VW
January 27, 2024

I'm certainly no Mel Rojas advocate, but I don't think it's very fair he gets all the blame for blowing the lead in this game. Al Leiter put 2 runners on base with 1 out in the 7th before departing in favor of Greg McMichael, who gave up an RBI single to Greg Vaughn and a walk to Jim Leyritz without retiring a batter, making it 6-3. The bases now loaded, that's when the Mets went with Rojas to face a bunch of left-hand hitters, as Rojas, despite being a righty, had very strong numbers vs. lefties. But Mel walked Wally Joyner to force in a run, now 6-4. He did get Steve Finley to pop out next, but then Greg Myers laced a double into the RF corner to score 2 and tie the game before Rojas got out of it. All the runs were charged to Leiter and McMichael. Still, that didn't save Rojas from getting unmercifully booed as he walked back to the dugout.

Thankfully, the Mets offense was in a comeback mood on this night. After a Joyner 2-run homer made the score 3-2 in the 6th, the Mets came right back with 3 of their own in the bottom half of the inning, when the first 5 hitters each put the first pitch of their at-bat in play. And, like Mets2Moon mentioned, Lopez delivered an RBI sac fly in the bottom of the 7th after Carlos Baerga and Bernard Gilkey hit back-to-back 1-out singles to put the Mets right back in front. Bill Pulsipher (making his final appearance as a Met) and John Franco held San Diego at bay from there, with Franco getting a huge strikeout of Vaughn with a runner on 2nd base to get out of the 8th, and then inducing a game-ending double play in the 9th after the Padres put 2 on with a single and an error. That made an unlikely winner out of Rojas, which would be the second-to-last win of his career.

I watched the replay of this game from an old ESPN broadcast with Chris Berman in the booth, which meant there were plenty of name puns going on. Of note: Jim "Frito" Leyritz, Mike "Pepperoni" Piazza, Carlos "one if by land, two if by sea, three if" Baerga, and Bernard "Innocent until Proven" Gilkey. Leyritz made an ultra-rare start at 3B in this game, his only one in 1998 and first since being with the Yankees in 1996. And Gilkey's 7th-inning single was his last hit as a Met. He went hitless in 1 more game for the team before getting traded to Arizona.

Getting charged with 4 runs over 6.1 innings, this was the first time Leiter saw his season ERA rise to over 2.00 since April. His counterpart, Joey Hamilton, got lit up for 10 hits, tied for the most he'd allow in 1998. There were also a total of 10 doubles between the 2 teams, 3 by Tony Gwynn alone. Brian McRae led the Mets with 2 and also tallied 4 hits total, tied for the most he'd get in a Mets uniform. John Franco also got a rare at-bat in this game -- his first since 1996 -- and struck out swinging, looking like he had never held a bat in his life. Why John was even swinging at all is beyond me. Just stand there and watch next time, please.

August 1, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 2, Los Angeles Dodgers 1

Mets2Moon
March 10, 2004
Remember games like this in 98 and 99, and even into 2000, when Rick Reed would absolutely pitch his heart out and end up on the short end of the stick?

This shaped up like one of those games. Scoreless in the 8th, Lopez made an error which allowed the Dodgers to take a 1-0 lead.

LA brought in closer Jeff Shaw to pitch the 9th. It was Hispanic night or Asian night, I forget which, but the stadium was absolutely packed for this one.

With 1 out, Matt Franco pinch hit for Ordonez and absolutely blasted one high and deep and into the RF bullpen to tie the game 1-1. Everyone went totally nuts.

Hundley pinch-hit for Reed and walked and was sacrificed to 2nd. Alfonzo ripped a 2B deep into the gap in left center, Hundley scored and the crowd was damn near ready to rush the field.

And, guess who the winning pitcher was...

RICK REED!

Great game, great win. One of the best games I've ever been to.


Jesse
January 10, 2005

I grew up in South Florida, and this summer, this was the only game I was able to get to at Shea when we were visiting family in NY. Usually I had gotten to two or three games, but this was my one in '98. And what a game to be at. Mets2Moon describes it perfectly, and I just remember going crazy. It was also nice because I still remember feeling bad for Hundley at the time, with all the Piazza stuff, and it was cool to have him involved in the win. Great game. Fun game. Shea was packed--awesome memory.

August 2, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 9, Los Angeles Dodgers 3

Dave VW
January 31, 2024
Some sloppy Dodgers defense helped the Mets score 5 unearned runs, leading to an easy win. Most of the damage was done in the 3rd inning, when Armando Reynoso led off reaching on an Adrian Beltre error. After Tony Phillips walked, Edgardo Alfonzo hit a deep drive to center that Raul Mondesi had lined up but dropped to load the bases. John Olerud followed with an RBI sac fly, and after Mike Piazza grounded out to move the runners up, Brian McRae hit a 2-run single, and then Butch Huskey slammed a 2-run homer (his second-to-last homer as a Met).

Reynoso was terrific, allowing just 2 hits over 7 innings. But even a game with so many positives had some lowlights. Piazza was actually booed a couple times in the game, first after striking out to lead off the 5th, and then again after grounding out with 2 on to end the 8th. Though his numbers were good to this point as a Met, it kinda seemed like he only got his hits in low-pressure situations, either with no one on base or with a game's outcome already determined. Hence, fans were getting antsy for Mike to get the big hits he was renowned for. Though Piazza would re-sign with the Mets during the offseason, the chances of that happening looked pretty grim at this moment. Also, Huskey pulled his hamstring after trying to leg out an infield single in the 5th and would be out for a month. It was particularly bad timing as the Mets had just traded Bernard Gilkey two days earlier, so a once crowded OF has now become quite thin.

August 4, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 7, San Francisco Giants 6

Mets2Moon
June 16, 2005
File this one as another of the wild and wacky 1998 Mets games.

Giants take a 4-0 lead on Leiter. But the Mets battled back in the 6th. Todd Pratt drilled a 2-run single, followed by an RBI single from Tony Phillips and an RBI groundout by Alfonzo. Luis Lopez doubled home a run in the 7th, and the Mets took a 6-4 lead into the 9th.

Except that it was another one of those John Franco 9ths. He gives up a quick run and has the tying run on base. 2 outs, 2 strikes on Bonds, you know he's going to turn over that changeup and try to drop it in on the inside corner.

Bonds lined it into RF for the tying hit. Franco was mercilessly booed as the inning ended.

In the 10th, Jose Mesa came in for the Giants and loaded the bases with nobody out. Piazza hit a shot, but right at Aurilia at SS, who threw home for the force. 1 out.

Brian McRae chopped one out to Snow at 1B. He threw home for the force. 2 out.

It came down to Lenny Harris. Harris worked the count full, then fouled off several borderline pitches from Mesa. Trying to get one he could hit. Waiting for Mesa to miss.

Finally, Mesa threw one in the dirt. Harris trotted to first, Olerud trotted home and the Mets took home a W.


Michael
April 15, 2019

Just watched this broadcast. A few corrections to the fan above me. Piazza hit a lazy chopper to the SS in the 10th inning for a force out, not a line drive. And Lenny Harris didn't foul any pitches off before his game winning walk. It was a 6-pitch at bat, 4 balls, 2 looking strikes. Lenny never actually swung the bat.

Great game and an important win in the wild card chase at the time. But it's a reminder that 1998 was really Franco's worst season as a Met. He had so many of these kind of appearances.


Dave VW
February 12, 2024

Thank you to Michael for making those corrections. There's a couple other things to clarify on top of what you pointed out. Phillips' hit in the 7th was a double, not a single. Bonds' game-tying single was a looper to CF, not a liner to RF. And Mesa had actually come in to pitch the 9th for the Giants, and then stayed in to pitch the 10th as well.

Franco was downright awful during this period in time. This was his third blown save in his last four chances. He had also just gone the month of July with a 9.00 ERA over 11 appearances, and certainly didn't start August any better. I'm surprised neither of the previous commenters brought up the Ordonez error in the 9th, though. With Shawon Dunston on first and 2 out, Franco threw to first and had Dunston picked off. The runner took off for second and Olerud threw to Ordonez covering, but Rey straight up missed the catch and Dunston was safe. That extended the inning, and after walking Ellis Burks, Franco gave up the single to Bonds to force extras. I don't know why, but it seemed like John always had the worst luck behind him, either with bad defense or whacky bounces or something strange. Still, his days of being a capable closer are over, and thankfully the Mets realized that when they traded for Armando Benitez during the offseason.

Speaking of Dunston, he was making his first ever start in CF in this game, so the Mets weren't the only team playing people out of position in the OF. Of course, I'm speaking of the Todd Hundley experiment. Hundley actually collected an OF assist in this one, throwing out Rich Aurilia trying to stretch a single into a double in the 6th inning. Todd also got his only hit of the season as a right-handed batter in the game, collecting a single off Rich Rodriguez in the 7th. For the year, Todd was 1 for 17 with 14 strikeouts as a right-handed batter. Yuck.

There were also bases loaded opportunities galore in this game. Bonds hit with the bases juiced in the 3rd and delivered with a 2-run single. The Mets then had the bases loaded in the 4th with 1 out but failed to score when Luis Lopez popped out and Al Leiter struck out. They had the same situation in the 6th but this time came through for 4 runs, with Pratt getting the big pinch-hit single. And they then loaded the bases with no one out in the 10th which led to the eventual walkoff win. But amongst their walkoff wins in 1998, I'd say this one ranks pretty low, only because both Piazza and McRae came up woefully empty, and Harris was either going to walk or strike out looking vs. Jose Mesa. He had no intention of swinging at all. His was the Mets' first walkoff walk since August of the previous season. As luck would have it, they'd get another walkoff walk in the series finale vs. San Fran, this time Luis Lopez playing the hero with Mesa again playing the culprit.

It was also perhaps time to start worrying about Leiter. After beginning the season not allowing 4 runs in any of his first 14 starts, he's now allowed 4 runs in 4 of his last 5. He was a mess in this game, allowing at least 1 baserunner every inning, walking 5 (one intentionally), hitting a batter, and only striking out 2. Starting to wonder if maybe he did indeed come back too fast from the knee injury he suffered against the Yankees in late June, because something just doesn't seem right.

August 5, 1998 Shea Stadium
San Francisco Giants 6, Mets 4

Zach
November 24, 2004
First Met game in 5 years. Was a little disapointing with a 6-4 loss, but I remember Olerud throwing home to get Bonds on a triple play, and then Bonds got robbed of a home run by Brian McRae. The boo birds were out for him.

August 6, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 9, San Francisco Giants 8

Michael
March 24, 2020
A wild afternoon game as the Giants scored 6 in the 8th to take the lead. But their bullpen couldn't hold the lead and for the 2nd time in 3 days, the Mets win the game on a walk.

August 10, 1998 Busch Stadium
Mets 4, St. Louis Cardinals 2

Dave VW
February 18, 2024
Todd Hundley hit his first home run since rejoining the Mets from the disabled list, a 2-run moonshot in the 3rd inning that landed in the luxury suites in between the lower and upper decks of Busch Stadium. The Mets were shut down from there but Al Leiter, Dennis Cook, Turk Wendell and John Franco held the Cardinals scoreless the rest of the way as well to secure the win.

Mark McGwire just missed bashing his 47 homer of the season when he turned on an inside fastball in the first inning, yanking it foul down the LF line by about 6 feet. He walked during that at-bat, then struck out three times in a row, including against Wendell when he represented the tying run with a man on base in the 8th. Leiter also saved a run in the 7th when he blindly caught a screaming liner off the bat of Fernando Tatis with a runner on 2nd and no one out. You could see him mouthing the words "I didn't even see it" after he made the catch. He then struck out the next two batters to get out of the jam.

Speaking of Tatis, he made his first appearance as a pro at shortstop in this game. Also, this was Tom Pagnozzi's last career start. He had been with the Cardinals since 1987 and would be released in 6 days. Meanwhile, the Mets acquired Jermaine Allensworth from the Royals for cash on this day. Seemed like a nice under-the-radar move to shore up what had become a lefty-heavy OF since Butch Huskey went down with injury.

August 12, 1998 Busch Stadium
St. Louis Cardinals 5, Mets 4

Mike A.
June 1, 2008
Weird that this loss sticks out so vividly in my mind watching it on TV.

Probably because Mike Piazza hit a mammoth HR that almost went into the upper deck of Busch Stadium, almost rivaled many of McGwire's moonshots that year.

Also one of the last games of the year (...and ten seasons since then!!) that the Mets wore their blue caps on the road.

Please, Omar Minaya and/or Charlie Samuels...ditch the black and bring back the BLUE!!


Dave VW
February 4, 2024

With the Mets down to their last out in the 9th inning, Carlos Baerga hit his third straight single in an attempt to spark a rally. Up next was Jorge Fabregas, who was making his first start as a Met, and though pinch-hitting extraordinaire Lenny Harris was available, Bobby V stuck with Fabregas, and the catcher delivered with his only home run as a Met to make the score 4-3. Now representing the tying run, Mike Piazza pinch hit for Rey Ordonez and, after nearly striking out, cranked one over the center field wall to tie the game. Easily his biggest hit thus far as a Met, and he rode the momentum from this blast the rest of 1998. From here until season's end, he hit .371 with 11 HR and 41 RBI in 41 games, convincing the Mets he was worth mega-star money, and convincing Piazza he could thrive in New York.

Unfortunately, though, this story doesn't have a happy ending, as the Mets were shutout over the next 5 innings, allowing the Cardinals to walk off in the bottom of the 14th. John Franco, who lost for the 6th time over his last 15 appearances, had put runners on first and second with 1 out and Ray Lankford coming up. He got out of a previous jam by inducing a double play out of Lankford, and naturally was hoping for the same outcome here. In the middle of the at-bat, Lankford lifted a fly ball down the LF line that Tony Phillips dropped entering foul territory. That would have been the second out and brought up the weak-hitting Tom Lampkin, but instead it gave Lankford another chance, and he eventually lined a single up the middle to score Brian Jordan and give St. Louis the win.

This was the first time Valentine went with a starting lineup that didn't include either John Olerud or Piazza since the two became teammates, so it's no big surprise the Mets had trouble scoring runs in this one. This was also the longest game for the Mets in 1998 at 4 hours and 42 minutes, and tied for the longest in length at 14 innings.

August 15, 1998 Bank One Ballpark
Mets 5, Arizona Diamondbacks 4

Dave VW
February 7, 2024
John Olerud supplied 3 runs thanks to a 1st-inning 2-run homer and a 3rd-inning RBI single, and Armando Reynoso threw shutout baseball for the first 5 innings. But it all unraveled in the 6th, as 4 singles, a Reynoso throwing error on a pickoff attempt, and a balk allowed Arizona to take a 4-3 lead.

But the Mets came right back in the 7th, as Carlos Baerga led off with a double and moved to third on a sac bunt by Rey Ordonez. Matt Franco pinch hit for Reynoso next, and he slapped a single to knock in Baerga and tie the score. Then Tony Phillips drove a double into the LF gap to score Franco, and the Mets went right back in front. Edgardo Alfonzo followed with a single, but Phillips could only make it to third. Olerud then lined one destined for the LF corner but Matt Williams made a great leaping catch, and Mike Piazza (facing lefty Alan Embree in a juicy matchup), fouled one down the RF line that had HR distance but was way foul. He then grounded out to third to end the inning.

Greg McMichael, Mel Rojas and John Franco kept the D'backs off the scoreboard from there, as the Mets would win to regain control of the wildcard lead and go 12 games over .500 for the first time all season.

August 18, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 6, Colorado Rockies 2

David M.
February 4, 2002
I was not at this game but on vacation in Colorado at the time. I watched this game at a bar/grill/restaurant in Colorado and drove the Rockies fan insane! Great game. We also won the back end of the double header too.


Dave VW
February 14, 2024

This was the first of 7 games over a 4-day period for the Mets, as they had 3 doubleheaders scheduled over that brutal span. They got off on the right foot with this win, highlighted by tying their season high with 4 home runs. All 4 were given up by Pedro Astacio, who set a Rockies record that still stands by allowing 39 HRs in 1998. Coincidentally, the Mets also hit 4 HRs against another Pedro during this season -- Pedro Martinez in a win at Boston back in June. The 4 HRs Astacio allowed also tied the most he ever surrendered in a game, and tied the most a pitcher ever gave up in a game at Shea Stadium.

One of the Mets homers was by Todd Hundley, which was his second-to-last as a member of the team. It was a classic Hundley blast, as he turned on an inside hanging slider and pounded it way beyond the RF wall. Although, he also dropped a flyball in this game for his 5th error of the season.

On the whole, despite committing 2 errors (Edgardo Alfonzo had the other one), the Mets played some of the season's best defense in this game. Lenny Harris made a great catch while slipping and falling down on the wet outfield grass, Luis Lopez made several marvelous plays at 2B spelling Carlos Baerga, and Alfonzo retired Neifi Perez on screaming line drives 3 separate times. They needed it as Al Leiter once again put tons of runners on base. Despite eclipsing 100 pitches by the 6th inning, Leiter pitched through 8 innings as Bobby V wanted to save his bullpen bullets knowing the Mets would be playing so many games over such a short period of time. Turk Wendell then held the opposition scoreless for the 17th time in his last 18 appearances, and 27th time in his last 29 appearances, to close out the game. His emergence as a dependable lockdown reliever may be the most underappreciated story of the 1998 season.

August 18, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 6, Colorado Rockies 3

Mets2Moon
March 10, 2004
Mets were stifled by John Thomson, then a rookie, in this game, into the 7th. Piazza came off the bench, Mets were down 3-1, was booed (as was the norm back in these days) for some ungodly reason, with the bases loaded, and he slammed (and I mean SLAMMED) a 3-run 2B to give the Mets the lead. Lenny Harris hit a HR in the 8th to ice a great comeback win.

August 20, 1998 Shea Stadium
St. Louis Cardinals 2, Mets 0

Mets2Moon
September 27, 2001
The Home Run Chase brings a sellout crowd (myself included) to Shea. McGwire is cheered when he comes to bat, cheered when he strikes out, and cheered when he hits a solo HR in the 7th off Willie Blair. A towering blast into the LF bleachers. That HR happened to be his 50th on the season, on his way to what may very well be the former record of 70.


Dave VW
February 21, 2024

Brian Jordan and McGwire go yard back-to-back to lead off the 7th inning, giving Donovan Osborne all the run support he'd need as the Mets are shut out for the first time since June 7.

Willie Blair, in his first start as a Met, was pitching a gem up to that point, too, holding St. Louis to just 1 hit over the first 6 innings. He retired 15 in a row until Jordan clubbed a 2-0 meatball over the LF wall. After that, as Mets2Moon mentioned, McGwire hit #50, making him the first in MLB history to hit 50 HRs in 3 consecutive seasons. He'd make it a 4th in 1999, a record that has only been tied by Sammy Sosa. It's really something that, for as much credit as McGwire and Sosa get for making baseball popular again in 1998, that neither one has even come close to going into the Hall of Fame. I understand why that is, but it seems a bit ironic that they've been shunned for doing what helped save the sport.

The Mets offense looked lethargic, perhaps a byproduct of all the doubleheaders they've been playing. They didn't get their first hit until the 6th, and none of their 4 hits were for extra bases. It didn't help that Valentine benched John Olerud and Brian McRae, two of the team's hottest hitters, for Game 1. Olerud had a big chance to come through as a pinch-hitter in the 7th, batting with 2 on and 2 out. But he grounded out to first to end the threat, and the Mets went 6 up and 6 down after that.

August 20, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 5, St. Louis Cardinals 4

David Lynch
November 18, 2004
This game and double header is one that I will never forget so long as I live. I was 18 years old and my parents got me tickets to see the game because I wanted so badly to see Mark McGwire on his quest to break Maris' record.

They got me field level seats on the first base side and boy was I in for a treat. McGwire hit numbers 50 and 51 and I can still see him rounding first base after he hit number 50, pumping his right fist in the air as he ran by. He knew (at the time) that he was the first player in MLB history to hit 50 or more home runs in 3 consecutive seasons.

When I meet fellow Mets fans who say they were at this game though, there is always something that they seem to forget. Mike Piazza gave McGwire a moment for pause as if to say, ya, well I can hit 'em out too. Piazza had a MONSTER shot in the second game of the double header past the visitor's bullpen in left field that went over the trees behind the dugout. I can't remember if it left the stadium, but it was certainly the closest I've ever seen anyone do it at Shea Stadium. I remember thinking to myself, "Ya, eat some humble pie Mark, you're not quite there yet."


murphy
August 18, 2005

I traded in a ticket from a previous rain-out to see this double header. The Mets and Cards were playing back-to-back double headers on Thursday and Friday. Most will remember Game 1 as McGwire hit his 50th and Willie Blair had his best game as a Met.

However, I remember Game 2 more clearly for 2 reasons:
1. After a horrendous start to the game, including serving up a monster blast to McGwire right down the left-field line, Rick Reed battled the Cards and refused to lose. He gave the Mets offense a chance to get the win instead of collapsing, which he easily could have done. Reed was a warrior that day.

2. Piazza's monster of a home run over the bleachers in left. It was one of the most majestic shots I've ever seen (only his shot off of Mike Hampton at Shea which hit the top of the TV camera stand in center sticks in my mind as a more beautiful home run).


Dave VW
February 24, 2024

Thanks to David and murphy for sharing those stories. Indeed, Reed looked like he was headed for an early exit, allowing 4 runs -- including 2 homers -- over the first 3 innings. The 2nd inning was particularly painful, as the Cardinals had runners on 1st and 3rd with 1 out and pitcher Darren Oliver at the plate in a bunting situation. On a failed bunt attempt, Piazza caught Fernando Tatis trying to steal home, but for some reason chose to chase him all the way back to 3B instead of throwing to Alfonzo covering. Tatis was safe, and the runner on 1st moved up to 2nd on the play. Then, after Oliver struck out, Placido Polanco hit a sinking liner to LF that Tony Phillips appeared to catch, but Angel Hernandez, umpiring at third, called it a trap and 2 runs scored. To my shock, replays showed Angel got the call right. I guess even a blind mouse finds a piece of cheese from time to time.

Piazza brought the Mets to within a run with the aforementioned monstrous 2-run home run in the 4th that cleared the visitors' bullpen. He was booed pretty noticeably after grounding out in his first at-bat, so I'm sure he put some extra mustard on the swing to try to silence the critics in the crowd. I have to say, the fans were very fickle towards Mike around this time, booing him after every out but going bonkers when he got a hit or came to the plate in a big spot. Unfortunately, that's the type of treatment reserved only for those who can meet the greatest of expectations.

Outside of a walk to McGwire in the 5th, Reed retired the final 15 batters he faced. Then a Rey Ordonez RBI double and a Phillips RBI groundout gave the Mets the lead in the 7th. Turk Wendell retired all 6 batters he faced across the 8th and 9th innings to pick up his second save of the year.

As a sidenote, McGwire's HR in this game was also the 400th of his career. And he also stole his only base of the season in this game too.

August 21, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 1, St. Louis Cardinals 0

Greg
September 17, 2002
McGwire Fever! Poor sports, my pal and I booed him while everyone else cheered. Nothing against Big Mac, we were just concerned that our team, the home team, won and hung in in the very sweaty wild card race. A really drunk, really large guy sitting in front of us, wearing a McGwire batting practice jersey (haven't seen any of them lately, surprising considering it wasn't all that long ago and they must be pretty expensive) cursed us out. "Who do the Mets have?" he demanded. "Rusty Staub?" The great moment of this game was Turk striking out McGwire with runners on. The Wild Card dream would torture us right to the end of this mixed bag season, but at least we won this battle.


Steve Rogers
June 9, 2004

I'm at this game against the Cardinals in 1998 and every time McGwire gets up these kids who are wearing Cardinal McGwire 25 shirts who wouldn't know who holds the record for most HRs in a rookie season (hint, its Mark McGwire) all cheering and going nuts for McGwire and I'm muttering to myself "I'd really would love to flip these kids a double bird and tell them to **** off." Well when Reynoso struck him out I muttered, "I think Reynoso did it for me!"


Steve Sullivan
December 18, 2007

I remember sitting in the last row of the upper deck. This is what baseball is all about, 1-0 game, any swing can win or tie the game. Unfortunately half the fans missed the end because they all left after McGwire's last at bat.


Michael
May 11, 2020

The last game in the stretch were the Mets played an insane 3 doubleheaders in 4 days, due to early season rainouts. I remember well, going into these games, the talk was that this stretch would make or break the team. They ended up going 5-2 in the 7 games and truly solidified themselves as a one of the best teams in the NL.

As for the game, Alfonzo's 1st inning homer held up in the 1-0 win. Armando Reynoso (a pretty underrated pitcher in team history) was fantastic for 7 shutout innings.


Dave VW
February 28, 2024

Greg may be confusing this game for another, because all 3 of McGwire's strikeouts in this game came against Reynoso. Wendell never faced him.

This was a nice bounceback win for the Mets, who got doubled up in Game 1, 10-5. Reynoso got outs when they mattered but I thought he was far from dominant, despite 7 strikeouts. He tied a career high with 6 walks, which included John Mabry twice. That deserves attention because he was batting second ahead of McGwire, so twice Reynoso put a man on base with Big Mac representing the go-ahead run. Luckily for Armando, he owned McGwire throughout his career, striking him out 4 times over 6 ABs while not allowing a hit.

Reynoso also snuck out of a 2nd and 3rd, 1 out jam on the 6th, when Tom Lampkin hit one right back at him, causing the runner at third to get tagged out in a rundown. After a walk to Willie McGee, he then got Placido Polanco (in a spot where I thought the Cardinals should have used Brian Jordan as a pinch hitter) to ground out to end the threat. At 108 pitches, Reynoso's spot in the order came up in the bottom of the 6th with runners on 1st and 3rd and 2 out, and I thought for sure we'd see Matt Franco pinch hit. But Reynoso stayed in, perhaps because Bobby V was conserving his bullpen, and he grounded out.

The Mets also loaded the bases with nobody out in the 8th, only to fail to score again. It was always precarious to give John Franco a 1-run lead to protect in the 9th, by Johnny mowed the Cardinals down 1-2-3 to give the Mets their 3rd of four 1-0 wins of the season.

August 22, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 9, Arizona Diamondbacks 4

NYB Buff
September 11, 2023
Mike Piazza hit a grand slam in the second inning to put the Mets ahead to stay in this game. It was the first of six slams that Piazza would have as a Met to establish a team record.


Dave VW
March 4, 2024

To build off NYB Buff's post, Piazza's grand slam would be the only one the Mets hit in all of 1998. However, it was Piazza's 4th -- his other 3 came with the Dodgers. The 6-run explosion in the bottom of the 2nd was particularly nice to see as the D'backs had just gone up 4-0 in the top of the inning. But Bobby Jones only allowed 3 more hits the rest of the day, and Dennis Cook capped off the win with 2 hitless innings of relief.

Pitching on 3 days rest, Jones went 7 innings to get the victory. Sadly, though, it was his last win of the season. Over his remaining 5 starts he went 0-2, though he didn't pitch poorly with a 4.09 ERA. He just didn't get much run support.

On the other side, this was Andy Benes' worst of 24 career starts against the Mets. Though while he looked like toast, the crazy thing is he was phenomenal over the rest of 1998, allowing just 3 runs total over his 6 remaining starts.

Back to Piazza, he also made a fantastic catch on a foul pop up in the 3rd when he slid on his knees and had his momentum carry him into the Arizona dugout, where he crashed off the steps and onto the floor. Luckily, he was all right, but I hope Valentine planned to give him the next day off to allow his body to recuperate.

This win brought the Mets to 15 games over .500 for the first time all season. A Cubs loss to Randy Johnson and the Astros this afternoon also put the Mets all alone in the wildcard lead.

August 23, 1998 Shea Stadium
Arizona Diamondbacks 4, Mets 3

Lee
May 20, 2005
I was at this game on a hot, sticky, summer day at Shea and they were facing the Arizona Diamondbacks. Though I had known Bernard Gilkey had been traded to the Diamondbacks, it really felt weird seeing him playing in a D-Backs uniform just a month after I had watched him play in a Mets uniform and just two days after I had first seen the movie Men in Black where he appears in a Mets uniform when he is hit in the head with a batted ball.

It seemed like one of those easy days because our ace Al Leiter was facing Brian Anderson, a guy who one season gave up more homers than any other pitcher in baseball. However, despite a homer by Alfonzo, Anderson pitched well, Leiter didn't pitch as well, and the Mets lost 4-3.


D.C.
September 26, 2013

Second game at Shea for me, went with my father and my friend's family.

I remember it being obnoxiously hot and an odd series because it was a three-gamer that started on a Saturday and ended on Monday. Just a bad loss to a bad team which culminated in a series loss the following day.

August 26, 1998 Candlestick Park
Mets 4, San Francisco Giants 1

Michael
March 24, 2020
One of the few bright spots in Hideo Nomo's Mets career as he threw a complete game win and ended the team's 3 game losing streak.

Also noteworthy, this was the last weekday afternoon game ever shown on WWOR channel 9 for the Mets. The rest of the schedule was weekend broadcasts.

August 29, 1998 Dodger Stadium
Mets 4, Los Angeles Dodgers 3

David M.
February 4, 2002
What a topsy-turvy game! I remember watching this game from a cheap hotel in Kingman, AZ(where it was at least 105 degrees at that day) on my way to Los Angeles for the Sunday and Monday games. It was FOX's Saturday Game of the Week. I remember being nervous as Franco put men on base in the 9th inning. I was worried he'd blow. But in Franco fashion, he pulled it together and the Mets won!! I was excited for the Mets playoff hopes on this night.

August 31, 1998 Dodger Stadium
Mets 8, Los Angeles Dodgers 3

Dave VW
March 13, 2024
The Mets keep pace with the Cubs atop the wildcard standings by beating Chan Ho Park and the injury-riddled Dodgers, in doing so taking 3 out of 4 games in the series.

Every Mets starter had a hit. Piazza was ferociously booed every time he came to the plate but he seemed to feed off the negative energy, hitting two singles and a double while driving in two.

Rick Reed got the win, which would be his career-high 16th. However, it would be his last of 1998. Over his final 4 starts he was 0-3 with a 5.04 ERA. He allowed a ton of hard-hit balls against L.A. and it appeared like the magic he found throughout 1997 and the first half of 1998 was all but gone.

September 1, 1998 Jack Murphy Stadium
San Diego Padres 9, Mets 8

Jon
March 15, 2002
This game was memorable for a couple reasons: We overcame a 6-1 deficit with a 7-run 7th inning highlighted by Piazza's 3-run bomb. Wendell and Cook summarily blew the lead and we lost the game, and ground in the wild card race. Real gut-punch. The other interesting thing was that this game was Jay Payton's long-awaited major league debut. He went 2-for-2 with 2 singles.


Dave VW
March 13, 2024

Definitely a heartbreaking loss. To rally for 7 runs in the 7th inning to take a 2-run lead over a Padres team that was bound for the World Series, only to have Turk Wendell and Dennis Cook -- the two most reliable bullpen pitchers all season -- blow the lead in the bottom of the inning really hurt.

Stan Spencer was only making his second career start at the Major League level and largely held the Mets in check. He didn't allow a hit until Lenny Harris singled with 1 out in the 5th (which Tim McCarver deserves credit for as he jinxed the no-hitter by mentioning it mere seconds before Harris got his single). But then Edgardo Alfonzo homered off him in the 6th, and Brian McRae led off the 7th with another homer. Harris followed with a double, and that brought in Dan Miceli from the pen.

Miceli got 2 quick outs but then the Mets went on a roll, as Matt Franco (who questionably came in for John Olerud during a double switch very early on) hit an RBI single, Jay Payton singled on the first pitch he saw as a big-leaguer, and Alfonzo walked, loading the bases for pinch-hitter Jorge Fabregas. Fabregas knocked in 2 with a single (his last hit as a Met it would turn out), and Piazza followed with a 3-run homer to RF. The comeback complete, turning a 6-1 deficit into an 8-6 lead.

But the usually ultra-reliable Wendell couldn't hold it, as he allowed a single to Greg Vaughn and a 2-run homer to Steve Finley. Wendell had just tied a Mets record by appearing in 17 games in August, and was obviously showing signs of overuse. After the homer, he put 2 more on base with one out before giving way to Cook. Dennis' first pitch hit Jim Leyritz to load the bases, and he then walked Quilvio Veras to force in the go-ahead run. The Padres didn't have another baserunner the rest of the game, but the damage was done. Donne Wall struck out the side in the 8th, and Trevor Hoffman got Alfonzo to ground into a double play to end the game for his 45th save of the season, which set a new single-season record for the Padres.

Hideo Nomo, who turned 30 the day before, was coming off his only complete game as a Met vs. the Giants his last time out. But he was hideous in this one, giving up 2 bombs to Vaughn and lasted only 4 innings. It would be his second-to-last start as a Met, as his inconsistency would banish him from the rotation for most of September. Along with Payton, Rigo Beltran made his Mets debut as well, tossing a scoreless inning in relief. Mel Rojas also pitched in this one and characteristically allowed a run in his one inning of work, although he was ironically lined up to get the win as he was still the pitcher of record when the Mets had their 7-run rally. This would be Rojas' second-to-last appearance with the team as well.

Wendell took the loss, which was his first as a member of the Mets -- a span of 64 appearances. He wouldn't lose again until July of the following season. Former Met Randy Myers, who recorded the final out of the 7th inning, got the win for San Diego. It would be the last of his career, as he'd suffer a shoulder injury and be forced to retire a few years later after numerous comeback attempts.

September 2, 1998 Jack Murphy Stadium
Mets 4, San Diego Padres 1

Dave VW
March 13, 2024
After losing a heartbreaker the previous night, the Mets come right back with a strong win to finish their West Coast road trip 5-4. It was their first successful west coast trip since 1994.

The Mets did all their scoring on home runs by Lenny Harris, Edgardo Alfonzo and Mike Piazza. The 3 HRs allowed were the most by All-Star Andy Ashby all year. Meanwhile, Armando Reynoso continued his fantastic 2nd half by going 8 strong, and only looked to be getting stronger the longer the game went. His only blemish was a 1st-inning home run by Tony Gwynn.

September 4, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 2, Atlanta Braves 1

Bobby
October 13, 2005
When I was only 6 years old, I distinctly remember being at the game on Mike Piazza's birthday in which he hit a towering home run into the left field bleachers. As a small child, a home run was an amazing thing to see. I will remember this day for my entire life. Thanks for the memories, Mike.


Putbeds 1986
April 1, 2006

I remember watching this game but only the last few innings because we had just come back from the 2nd night of my mother's wake (She was buried the next day). It was Piazza's 30th birthday and after the booing he had to put up with, it was sweet validation that he would be a Met in 1999. Looking at the boxscore just now is a treat in itself with the Braves having Ozzie Guillen (Current WS champion manager) lead off and play SS and a then unknown "inbred" named John Rocker pitching a scoreless 8th on the mound in his "favorite" ballpark. It was a classic Glavine vs Leiter matchup. One more thing, if the new SNY channel shows Mets classic games, lets hope they put this one on down the road.

September 5, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 5, Atlanta Braves 4

John K
April 9, 2004
A beautiful late summer day. Tony Phillip's high point as a Met. He hit a late inning homer to lead the Mets to victory. If Tony Phillips can hit a homer off a tough lefty (O. Perez?) to win a game, then justice can prevail.


Dave VW
March 17, 2024

To correct John, Phillips' home run was actually hit off a tough righty in Rudy Seanez, but I do agree that justice prevailed on this day. Seanez only allowed 2 HRs over 34 appearances for the Braves in 1998 (the other by future Met Shawn Green), so it was really quite the surprise that Phillips hit one out against him.

In that 8th inning, Seanez needed just 3 pitches to get the first 2 outs, but then he walked Matt Franco, which seemed innocent until Phillips smoked one over the wall in right-center field. The Mets came pouring out of the dugout to congratulate Tony in what must have been his biggest hit during his short tenure on the team. His longball also gave Seanez his only loss of the season.

That clutch homer was particularly nice to see after the Mets loaded the bases in both the 4th and 6th innings but failed to score both times. Though Mike Piazza only went 1-for-4 with a harmless single in the game, he deserves huge credit for breaking up a double play that would have ended the 7th inning. Instead, John Olerud was able to score on the play, which put the Mets within distance to take the lead on Phillips' eventual home run. It's those little things that it seemed like the Braves always did to win games during this era, so it was nice to see the Mets give them some of their own medicine.

On a final note, I watched this game back on a FOX telecast, and I was so annoyed they decided to completely leave the game and go to the Cardinals/Reds game every time Mark McGwire had an at-bat. That did allow the audience to see Big Mac hit his 60th home run, but I would have much preferred them split screen the at-bats so we can still see what's going on in the Mets game. As it was, they wound up completely missing a Willie Mays-esque catch by Brian McRae that saved a run in the 5th inning, all to see McGwire strike out on 3 pitches.

September 6, 1998 Shea Stadium
Atlanta Braves 4, Mets 0

Bob P
July 13, 2004
Andruw Jones homered in the seventh inning off Rick Reed, giving him 27 for the season and 50 for his career. Jones became the third-youngest player to reach 50 career homers. Only Mel Ott and Tony Conigliaro were younger when they hit their 50th career home run.

John Smoltz pitched a complete game three-hitter, striking out twelve.

September 7, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 8, Atlanta Braves 7

john foster
April 10, 2003
I remember this was the day Mark McGuire tied Maris's record and the game was delayed by a wicked blowing rainstorm that brought Bobby Valentine out to hold down the tarp. Also it was a day game and the sky turned jet black during the delay.


Michael
April 30, 2020

Labor Day 1998. I remember watching this one on TV as in the middle innings, a huge storm came and at 3PM it basically looked like midnight. Truly a weird feeling. Also a great game, as Alfonzo hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 8th to put the Mets ahead 8-7. Franco saved it and the Mets had an important win in the wild card race.

September 8, 1998 Veterans Stadium
Philadelphia Phillies 16, Mets 4

Bob P
March 7, 2004
Maybe some strange things happening because of the date (9-8-98)?

The Phillies hit a team-record seven home runs in this game. Two came off starter Hideo Nomo and three more came off Mel Rojas.

One of the homers Rojas allows is a pinch-homer by Marlon Anderson, which comes in Anderson's first major league at bat.


Shickhaus Franks
January 24, 2007

What is it about the Mets getting blown out at the old Vet? (A 26-7 blowout in June '85) come to mind. However, I was going back & forth between this blowout & Mark "I'm not here to talk about the past" McGuire breaking Roger Maris single season HR record on this Tuesday Night.

September 13, 1998 Olympic Stadium
Mets 1, Montreal Expos 0

John K
April 9, 2004
Watched this game on TV. The Mets had a slim lead in the wild card race. Willie Blair was tremendous for the Mets. Expos' pitcher was equally tough. Mets took a one-zip lead in the 8th. Game ends as Brian McRae playing CF throws a bullet to Hundley, who tags out the potential tying run in a bang-bang play the the plate. Mets win 1-0. Maybe the last high point of Hundley's Mets' career.

September 14, 1998 Astrodome
Mets 7, Houston Astros 4

Mark
October 13, 2005
WOW! Did the Mets really use 25 players in this game? I guess this could only happen in September after the rosters are expanded.


Ed K
October 12, 2007

Using 25 players set a Met record later tied on 9-19-00 against the Braves in Atlanta.

September 16, 1998 Astrodome
Mets 4, Houston Astros 3

skarz
December 25, 2001
I thought the Mets were going to the playoffs after this game. With Piazza tying it in the 9th, then Hundley's most important Mets homer (and sadly his last), I thought the 10-year playoff drought would finally be ending. Instead, I remember it as the last time my favorite player would win a game for my favorite team.


Jimmy D.
April 25, 2003

Deep to right. Hidalgo looks up..and it's outta here!! Great Piazza HR to tie game and great call by Gary Cohen on the radio.


Jon
September 23, 2005

Many people overlook, what I feel, is one of the greatest all time regular season series in Mets history. The Mets were in the heat of the wild card hunt in late September of '98, while the Astros were looking to officially win the division. Both teams played their hearts out in a four game series (featuring one double header) at the Astrodome. The Mets took three of four in dramatic fashion with I believe three of the games going to extra innings. This game featured one of Piazza's amazing clutch opposite field homers against flame thrower Billy Wagner. This was a good time to be a Met fan with the unforgettable '99 season a year away and the World Series 2000 team to follow. We were on the verge of something.


Gregory Gewirtz
November 8, 2006

Cohen's radio call was replayed during the opening for WFAN Mets games throughout much of the 1999 season. It was something to the effect of "Swing and a drive deep towards the gap in right center field, looking up Hidalgo, IT'S OUTA HERE! PIAZZA GOES DEEP! A THREE-RUN HOMER IN THE NINTH OFF BILLY WAGNER! AND THE METS LEAD IT 3 TO 2!" It was a very long call, mentioning also that it was Piazza's 200th career homer, and the biggest hit of the year thus far for the Mets.

When you listen to Rose's TV call ("High fly ball, deep right field - that will be OUTTA HERE! HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT? MIKE PIAZZA GIVES THE METS THE LEAD!!"), you can hear Cohen screaming from the next booth. Cohen and Rose were yelling as loud and as emotionally as you have ever heard them, playoffs included.


vinny
October 4, 2006

I was at this game in Houston. One of the best games ever with one of the most clutch at-bats by Piazza off Wagner to give the Mets the lead inthe ninth.


JFK
February 2, 2007

I agree with Jon; this was one of the greatest regular season series I ever saw. Every time the Mets needed an out, there was Turk Wendell.


Michael
February 13, 2008

Absolutely the great regular season series in our history. I ran across the house when Piazza went deep.


Jon
October 29, 2010

I actually would love to hear Gary Cohen talk about this series one day during a Mets game. Knowing him I actually believe he would agree that this is one of the all-time great regular season series in Mets history.


Ed Zupan
February 13, 2014

I live in NY and have been a lifelong Met fan. I was at the game with a co-worker; we drove from Austin that night. My one-and-only game in the Astrodome. It was great when Piazza homered in the ninth off Wagner. I still have the ticket stub and came across it last night. I believe this is the only game when Piazza and Hundley homered for the Mets in the same game.

September 18, 1998 Shea Stadium
Florida Marlins 7, Mets 6

Jon
September 21, 2000
This won't be remembred as well as any of the final 5 chokes in '98, but I almost knew we lost it on this night, a Friday with a full house at Shea. I sat there in the Mezz above the auxilary scoreboard and watched Franco cough up a 3(?) run lead in a game we absolutely HAD to win... Brant Brown had dropped a flyball sparking a total Cubs giveaway earlier that day in Chicago (we were in a 3-team race for the WC with the Giants and Cubs and every game counted). That long post-game walk down the ramps at Shea that night was the ugliest I've ever seen Shea. That's saying something!


Jon
January 29, 2001

I've been informed this wasn't the same day as the Brant Brown goof... ooops. Everything else was true I swear.


Lee
June 23, 2004

I went to this game and sat behind home plate on the first base side and the Mets were winning 6-4 but in came Franco, Mr. Blow-it-All, and definitely not Mr. Reliable, and he gave up 3 runs and totally blew the game. After this loss, I was really angry because, once the Mets lost this game, I knew that they weren't going to get by the Giants and the Cubs in the playoff race. We came out of the stadium and everyone was chanting "Let's Go Yankees" and I joined in. That's how mad I was.


Michael
March 18, 2008

The forgotten game that really killed our chances in the 98 wild card race.


Shickhaus Franks
March 28, 2008

According to retrosheet.org; 34,862 attended this game and I was there with my 2 nephews who had gotten the tickets through a family friend. A tough loss for the Amazins and if you look at the lineup for this game for the '98 Marlins (who were somewhat depleted after Mr. Blockbuster Huizenga's fire sale) you will see 2 future Mets: Cliff Floyd (who homered) and Luis Castillo.

September 19, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 4, Florida Marlins 3

Michael
March 21, 2016
Franco was booed mercilessly as he came into this game due to blowing the game the night before. And he came very, very close to letting this one get away too. Johnny loaded the bases with 2 outs and a 3-2 count with a one-run lead before finally getting the K to end the game. At that point in his Mets career, that was probably the biggest out he ever got, in a game the Mets absolutely had to win. (obviously before 99 and 2000).

September 20, 1998 Shea Stadium
Mets 5, Florida Marlins 0

Michael
April 27, 2019
I was in attendance for this game, which turned out to be the last win of the season, sadly. John Olerud was as hot as could be, breaking the Mets record for consecutive times on base over a 4 game stretch. Al Leiter was dominant and walking out of the stadium that day, we truly believed that the Mets were going to win the wildcard.

Another note on this game, it was the last WWOR Mets broadcast in team history (Sept 25th was scheduled to be, but a late season schedule change proved it not to be). Truly the end of an era in Mets history, as Channel 9 was with the team since 1962. Generations of Mets fans grew up with the team on WOR Channel 9 (later WWOR), and that ended on this day.

September 23, 1998 Shea Stadium
Montreal Expos 3, Mets 0

Mike
June 18, 2009
Although we blew it against the Braves the last series of the season, I really feel it was the two games at home against the Expos that ruined the season. I still remember Todd Pratt striking out to end the game...

September 25, 1998 Turner Field
Atlanta Braves 6, Mets 5

Charlie
December 11, 2001
This was the game where Jay Payton got a case of mistaken identity: he thought his name was "WALTER" Payton and -- while representing the tying run -- was gunned down trying to go 1st to 3rd on a shallow base hit.


Shickhaus Franks
September 28, 2010

A very bittersweet game for the Amazin's, not only they lost; it was also the last Mets game to be telecast on WWOR-TV (Channel 9) after 37 wonderful seasons. After the '98 season all local over-the-air (aka non-cable) games have wound up on WPIX (Channel 11). As the legendary rocker Chrissy Hynde once sang "Part of my childhood was gone". Speaking of rocker; the then-quiet John Rocker got the save for Atlanta but that Macon redneck would NOT be quiet for long.


Michael
April 27, 2019

I'll never forget that image of Jay Payton, running to 3rd base, out by 20 feet... while Mike Piazza stood in the on deck circle. A mistake of epic proportions.

Also, a note about the comment above mine. This was not the last WWOR telecast in Mets history. It was supposed to be, as it was originally scheduled as a WWOR game, but a late season schedule change negated it from being so. The true last WWOR game ever was the previous Sunday against the Marlins.

September 26, 1998 Turner Field
Atlanta Braves 4, Mets 0

Anthony
August 20, 2009
What I remember most is just sitting in front of the TV and bawling like a baby after this one was over. Although there was still hope, it was highly unlikely that Armando Reynoso was going to be able to outpitch Greg Maddux the next day. It looked like those playoff tickets we had received were going to be refunded. In light of the chokes each of the previous two years, why does it seem like this mini-choke is never referenced?

September 27, 1998 Turner Field
Atlanta Braves 7, Mets 2

Anthony
September 4, 2003
This game just might be the most heartbreaking since I have really started rooting for the Mets back late in the 1992 season when I was ten. We have a share in season tickets, and the playoff tickets had arrived right before this awful Braves series started. I really thought they had the wild card won, especially after taking three out of four from the first place Astros in a wild series in Houston. The fact that we already had recieved the playoff tickets made it all the more painful. How could they go from beating the Astros three out of four on the road to losing two to the last place Expos at home? Then, of course they were doomed to go to Atlanta for three. As I remember, the major mistake Bobby V. made was starting Armando Reynoso instead of Hideo Nomo.

Armando Reynoso had like an 0-6 record with like an ERA of 6.00 career against the Braves. It cost them majorly.

I was in tenth grade, and had the stupid walk-a-thon at my stupid high school the next day. I wore my Mets shirt under a fleece. This girl I am aquantances with who is a big Yankee fan, made a comment at me about the Mets, and opened her coat to show me a 1996 World Champion Yankees shirt she had on. Ohhh, did I want to whack her even though she is coool.


Lee
October 20, 2004

There are three games in sports that have always got to me and it feels just as bad everytime I watch the highlights. One is the game where Adam Vinatieri kicks the game-winning field goal in the last super bowl against the Panthers to end the dream, even though they had come so close. The second was the game when the Red Sox almost made the World Series last year but somehow those Yankees managed to come back and then Aaron Boone hit the home run, you know the story. The other one, however (probably the most heartbreaking one) was this game because I had so much faith in the Mets and the Mets needed to win this final game against the Braves while the Giants and Cubs both lost to force a three-way tie for the wild card lead for the first time in history. The Giants and Cubs both did lose their games and all the Mets needed to do was defeat the Braves but Armando Reynoso ruined any hope they had and Andruw Jones caught the fly ball that ended the Mets dreams.


Steve
September 19, 2007

What I remember about the game was Hideo Nomo who practically owned the Braves in his career, not starting the game after Bobby V had asked him to.







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