Willie Randolph's First Game

[Guest Edgy DC]

He claims to have saved his allowance as a 14-year-old and taken his future wife Gretchen to see this game.

"Gretchen, that guy on the mound getting raked is named Nolan Ryan. Someday, I'm going to grow up and be a ballplayer. I'm going to have an 18-year career of distinction, and after I finally hang it up, that son of a bitch will still be going."

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

http://leaptoad.com/mets/gamedetail.php?gameno=1121

You mean this game? at Wrigley?

[Guest Bret Sabermetric]

Lot of 'llowance saving for two round-trips tickets to Chicago there.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Well, that can't be right, can it? He reports (and it may be merely their first date, not his first game) the future Mrs. to Shea and Billy Williams hit three homers. That was the only BW three-homer game I saw.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Maybe Willie didn't realize it would have been a bit cheaper to wait three more days until the Mets returned to Shea to play the Pirates.

I mean, he's a genius, but he's not a super genius!

[Guest Edgy DC]

"I saved up my allowance for our first 'legitimate' date," Randolph said. "And I took her to Shea. We had good seats, upper deck on the third-base side behind the plate. The Cubs played, and Billy Williams hit three home runs. Her only reaction was: 'He's cute.'"

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

I have only four Cubs ever homering three times in a game against the Mets. Three of them occurred at Wrigley Field: Adolpho Phillips, 6/11/1967; Billy Williams 9/10/1968, and Karl Rhodes, 4/4/1994. The one time at Shea was Dave Kingman, 7/28/1979.

Maybe Williams only hit two that game, and the years have embellished the memory.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Other than Dave Kingman, the only Mets opponents who have homered three times in a game at Shea are Pete Rose, 4/29/1978 and Dick Allen, 9/29/1968.

No Met has ever hit three homers in a game at Shea.

Mets who have homered three times:

Jim Hickman, 9/3/1965, St. Louis.
Dave Kingman, 6/4/1976, Los Angeles.
Claudell Washington, 6/22/1980, Los Angeles.
Darryl Strawberrry, 8/5/1985, Chicago.
Gary Carter, 9/3/1985 San Diego.
Edgardo Alfonzo, 8/30/1999, Houston.

[Guest Bret Sabermetric]

He'd never hit two against the Mets before this, and he next hit two against the Mets in May of 1970. You think he'd remember if he was 14 or 16, wouldn't you?

I'd love to get him in the witness chair for a few incisive questions. Williegate.

OE: added key preposition

[Elster88]

Poor Willie. Caught out as a liar and fraud of the highest order. Order his execution immediately.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Alert Phil Mushnick!

[Guest sharpie]

Willie's version of "A Million Little Pieces"

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

That Million Little Pieces expose is fascinating. (See smoking gun).

People want to say that fraud was just literary license but because it promotes a "treatment" for real problems of addiction it could be incredibly dangerous.

Bullshitting is just epidemic in our society today.

[Guest Edgy DC]

What scares me more is people's rush to defend a bullshitter out of some sort of warped brand loyalty.

A dangerous position for a Met fan to take, I know all too well.

OE: considering how Willie made a monkey out of me in this thread and all.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

I think it's obvious that Willie and Gretchen spent their time at the game making out, and after the fact he concocted a story about the game, just so their parents wouldn't find them out. After all of these years, he's stuck by his story to protect Gretchen's reputation.

[HahnSolo]

Or maybe it wasn't Gretchen with him at all. Hmmmm.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yancy, please kindly reject any memories I posted about this game, if you will.

[metirish]

Willie is going on Oprah today,damn liar is all he is,George O' Leary got canned fron the ND job because he lied, pity we did't catch Willie in this lie before he "set the room alight" in his interview.

[Frayed Knot]

I suspect if you polled most fans on memories of their first game there'd be more incorrect and hazy recollections than actual ones ... a ratio which would probably increase even more when the fan in question is in close contact with a 16 y/o girl.