Shea Goodbye

[soupcan]

So, you know, I was at the last game and pretty disgusted at the end of it so I left and didn't stay for the ceremonies. No regrets, I was pissed and was in no mood to cheer for the organization.

Okay so now, its a week or so later and I'm calmed down. So I watched the ceremony on SNY tonight.

I thought it was fine. Seeing the old players was fun and they seemed happy to be there. I thought the best part was when they all touched homeplate. To see how each guy did that was to know how much their time as a Met meant to them. Some guys nonchalantly just walked over the plate, others knelt down to touch it, still others stood there and seemed to just take it in. I really liked watching how touched some of them were. It was like you could see what being a ballplayer had meant to them. For most of those guys, Shea was where they had their glory and they were there to say goodbye.

Buddy Harrelson was great. Hernandez, Franco, Carter, Piazza stood out to me. Yogi Berra didn't even touch it, he walked right past.

I loved seeing Doug Flynn (wearing the jersey I want! How'd and where did he get it?! I need to call the Mets offices I think).

One thing that was surprising to me was that I felt most emotional when the '86 guys were on the screen. I would have thought that the late '70s Mets would have elicited the stronger feelings for me.



Tom Seaver is an attention whore though. It was like he decided that the whole thing was for him.

[Fman99]

I liked Mex leaning against the bullpen wall like the pimp everyone knows he is. That killed me.

It was great to see Doc in uniform again after all this time.

[soupcan]

Fman99 wrote: I liked Mex leaning against the bullpen wall like the pimp everyone knows he is. That killed me. It was great to see Doc in uniform again after all this time.

Agreed - Mex was too funny.

Why was Gooden smuggling a basketball under his jersey though...?

Oh and did anyone see what Cleon Jones did when he touched the plate? He struck the same pose he had when he caught the final out of the '69 Series. Cool.

[Guest themetfairy]

soupcan wrote: Oh and did anyone see what Cleon Jones did when he touched the plate? He struck the same pose he had when he caught the final out of the '69 Series. Cool.

I didn't notice it at Shea, but I saw it after the fact on TV. I thought that was an excellent moment.

[Met Hunter]

Cleon imitated the catch. Orosco lifted both arms up like the final out in 1986. Some pitchers touched home with their fingers. Al Jackson said he touched the outside corner. The spot that he tried to paint all those years pitching for the Mets.

[Guest Iubitul]

="Fman99"]I liked Mex leaning against the bullpen wall like the pimp everyone knows he is. That killed me.

I didn't catch that at the game, but I caught that when I watched it at home. I could hear him thinking, "I'm Keith Hernandez..."

[Guest Kong76]

soup: Yogi Berra didn't even touch it, he walked right past.<<<

Yogi Berra Enterprises, LLC when pressed for comment on walking past
home plate explained that they were not contractually obligated to so.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

"Tom Seaver is an attention whore though. It was like he decided that the whole thing was for him."

But Soup, he's Tom Freaking Seaver!

[Benjamin Grimm]

I liked that Tom Seaver was an enthusiastic participant.

[Guest themetfairy]

I loved it when Seaver bowed from home plate, the way he bowed to the fans when his number was retired in 1988.

[Guest AG/DC]

Interesting how the Shea logos are placed where the old circular cutouts used to be.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Is anybody considering bidding on any of the pieces of Shea that are currently being auctioned off?

Me, I'm thinking I'll go as high as $1,000 for that mustard dispenser.

[HahnSolo]

I liked Seaver taking a bow to #14 before he took the final pitch.

[seawolf17]

I loved it, start to finish. Cried like a baby.

Keith tearing up after the ceremony didn't make it any easier, but during it, he definitely made me laugh. You know he said to Jay Horwitz or whoever organized this... "I'm last, right? I go last in the procession?"

"Well, Keith, Doc's going to be there."

"Yeah, but...!"

"And Tom Seaver. And Willie Mays' people say he might be able to make it also."

"Right, but Willie wasn't really an all-time Met! I'm Keith Hernandez!"

I did go find the two songs they used -- Southside Johnny's "It's Been A Long Time" and Carole King's "Now & Forever" and added them both to my mp3 player immediately.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I had a huge lump in my throat. Those idiots in the media who said "nobody cares that Shea Stadium is going away" had no idea what they were talking about.

I wish I had been there for that. (My daughter, as she was watching with me, said she wanted to get in a plane and get there before it finished. She didn't even know who all those old men were, but she could tell that something special was happening.)

Very very nicely done. As I said in one other thread here somewhere, I would have only made two additions:

Keith Hernandez in the batter's box as Seaver pitched to Piazza.

Jerry Koosman and Jesse Orosco shaking hands on the pitcher's mound.

[Willets Point]

Is there anywhere I can watch this online? All of it not just clips?

[G-Fafif]

Whole telecast available on iTunes, $1.99. Less than a brick!

[stevejrogers]

Whole telecast is slowly being downloaded onto my laptop for some reason!