Farewell, Candlestick

[batmagadanleadoff]

Tonight, the SF 49ers play what will likely be their last game ever at Candlestick Park (unless the Niners win out and the Rams beat the Seahawks next Sunday in Seattle).

The Stick was the baseball stadium Keith Hernandez was raised on. Ed Halicki no-hit the Mets there in 1975. The Beatles played their last concert there. And the Stick hosted my second most awesome all-time Sports moment:

[fimg=633]http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4039/4439637126_1b307d9ed3_o.jpg[/fimg]

Edited December 23, 2013 by Guest

[metirish]

A dump, but it was their dump.

[Edgy MD]

Chris Gardner BS'd his way into high-end finance at the 'Stick.

Blake Edwards set the climax of Experiment in Terror at the 'Stick.

Fifty-thousand people didn't die at the 'Stick in 1989, forever earning the ballpark my loyalty.

[Edgy MD]

Did the 'Stick have anything so challenging to baseball as the recent seagull swarms at the current place?

[G-Fafif]

Two Mets episodes that come to mind:

1965: A pair of early-season, late-inning comebacks whose parameters wouldn't reappear in Met annals until 2011. The original duo hinged on a huge hit by Danny Napoleon, leading to Casey Stengel's declaration of "Viva La France" in the clubhouse.

1969: These two defensive half-innings at the back end of August:

GIANTS 8TH: GASPAR REPLACED SHAMSKY (PLAYING LF); Marshall lined to second; Dietz walked; Lanier singled to center [Dietz to second]; Perry reached on an error by Boswell [Dietz to third, Lanier to second]; TAYLOR REPLACED CARDWELL (PITCHING); DAVENPORT BATTED FOR MASON; HENDERSON RAN FOR DIETZ; Davenport hit into a double play (second to first to catcher) [Henderson out at home]; Ken Boswell caught the popup and threw toward HP while Ken Henderson was retreating to 3B; the throw hit 1B coach Wes Westrum; Donn Clendenon retrieved the ball to throw out Henderson who crashed into Jerry Grote; 0 R, 1 H, 1 E, 2 LOB. Mets 2, Giants 2. GIANTS 9TH: WEIS REPLACED JONES (PLAYING SS); MCGRAW REPLACED MARTIN (PITCHING); Hunt lined to third; Burda singled to left; McCovey doubled to left [burda out at home (left to first to catcher), McCovey out at third (catcher to third)]; Big shift for Willie McCovey who sliced double down LF line; Jerry Grote waited casually at HP, pretending no throw was coming, then lunged at last moment to tag Bob Burda; Grote rolled the ball to the mound, thinking there were 3 outs; Donn Clendenon retrieved the ball; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Mets 2, Giants 2.

Mets won in extras, stayed within four of Cubs.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Did the 'Stick have anything so challenging to baseball as the recent seagull swarms at the current place?

How about the wind? Ask this guy:

[G-Fafif]

Tonight, the SF 49ers play what will likely be their last game ever at Candlestick Park (unless the Niners win out and the Rams beat the Seahawks next Sunday in Seattle). The Stick was the baseball stadium Keith Hernandez was raised on. Ed Halicki no-hit the Mets there in 1975. The Beatles played their last concert there. And the Stick hosted my second most awesome all-time Sports moment: [fimg=633]http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4039/4439637126_1b307d9ed3_o.jpg[/fimg]

Football Giants represented here with one of the best and one of the worst games ever, depending on your perspective.

[batmagadanleadoff]

G-Fafif wrote: Football Giants represented here with one of the best and one of the worst games ever, depending on your perspective.

Memorable games at The Stick involving the football Giants? I'm not even gonna bother to click that link. I know what's coming. The Joe Montana coma. No three-peat. And the kick returner that couldn't catch the ball. Twice.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Went once, as a kid.

Man, that place was cold.

[G-Fafif]

Random Met memories beyond those mentioned above:

Wally Backman HR in Friday night win Aug 1984 -- exotic because I got to watch on SportsChannel at my sister's house while playing Trivial Pursuit with her and her husband (we didn't have cable yet).

Tom Seaver, announcer, making a big deal about a quiz he was asking on Mets' last visit in in 1999, having to do with all the HOFers Giants had at one time in the '60s. Something about how "it's Sunday and Sunday is a day for a quiz." Not sponsored or anything.

Horrible 10-0 rain-shortened game in 1977 that Mets protested they didn't get a chance to lose by more. I think they won the protest but opted to leave it be. (I associate Dave Heaverlo with that game, the bald Giant pitcher who wore No. 60 and a wool cap, which apparently the San Fran management didn't care for.)

Doc homering in 1992 as I was returning from see the NY Rock & Soul Revue at Jones Beach. Great night all around.

Doc's 14-game winning streak ending there in 1985 on a Thursday but Keith Hernandez pulling out a victory with a PINCH HIT HR vs Mark Davis on Sunday.

Marty Noble interviewing Vida Blue while Gooden's great season was revving up earlier in '85; Blue was on his last legs and the tale of the article was plainly cautionary that phenoms don't always stay phenomenal.

David Cone breaking a finger while bunting in 1987.

Barry Bonds not moving when Kelly Stinnett seemed to have homered but in fact doubled, c. 1994.

Frank Tanana almost no-hitting the Giants in 1993 while I was protesting the existence of the 1993 Mets by spending that Saturday at the Met (had a radio with me, though).

Tom Hall blowing a game in 1975. Or maybe it was some other reliever. This also happened at Jones Beach, a place I haven't been all that many times in my life.

[HahnSolo]

Chris Berman will be even more insufferable than usual tonight. That guy thought he was one of DeBartolo's right hand men in the 80s and 90s.

[Guest d'Kong76]

For some reason, Candlestick reminds me of Mets' broadcasts from
SF when they seemingly had to work this in:

�The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.�

The coolest thing Mark Twain never really said, according to my google.

Candlestick is/was the third oldest active football stadium behind Soldier
Field and Lambeau Field.

[Guest sharpie]

Went there many many times for both the Giants and the 49ers.

Reminds me of Shea in that everyone else groused about how terrible it was. They used to give out a pin to honor those who stuck it out for an extra inning night game. I got one once.

[nymr83]

Edgy MD wrote: Did the 'Stick have anything so challenging to baseball as the recent seagull swarms at the current place?

PETA officials are investigating.

[ashie62]

metirish wrote: A dump, but it was their dump.

Kinda like our Shea...

[G-Fafif]

Speak of the devil...

[youtube:3unf6z4j]qpeLakLjDLs[/youtube:3unf6z4j]

[MFS62]

Seems like only yesterday that they were playing at Seals' Stadium.

Later

[A Boy Named Seo]

G-Fafif wrote: Speak of the devil... [youtube]qpeLakLjDLs[/youtube]

Sunday day game after a night game. Jim Gott handed Gooden his 4th loss the night before (dropping Doc to 20-4, 1.81 ERA) and today's undercard is Lynch and LaPoint.

Keith and Straw get the day off and Carter plays first. Davey plugs Tom Paciorek in the 3-spot of the lineup, playing right (and he goes 2-5!).

Speaking of pinch homers, the Mets enter the 9th down 3-1, and go:

HoJo pinch double
Staub pinch double
Mookie pinch single
Keith pinch HR

Mets win 4-3 behind the Orosco save. (the 9th inning starts at 1:44:35, and also features Davey busting the SF manager when he fouls up a double-switch). Good shit!

http://leaptoad.com/mets/gamedetail.php?gameno=3814&tabno=A

[Edgy MD]

That's just as good as life gets, isn't it?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Bud Harrelson making his longtime division rival counterpart Larry Bowa look bad there.

That's an odd batting stance Keith works there, isn't it? I guess he changed it fairly often.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Farewell Redux?

With the wild card Saints and Niners each advancing to the Divisional Round, Candlestick Park could host one more game -- if both the Saints and Niners can advance to the NFC Championshiop Game.

[Vic Sage]

i was visiting a friend in Berkeley sometime in the mid-1980s, and while i was out there, i went to Candlestick to see the Mets play the Giants one night. It was August. People were in parkas; at one point, the fog rolled in and you couldn't see ground balls... foghorns were sounding in the stadium and folks were laughing and enjoying themselves. I remember thinking 2 things: this isn't baseball, and what is wrong with these people? i don't remember the game at all, just the damp cold penetrating my very being.

[Zvon]

Two Mets episodes that come to mind: 1965: A pair of early-season, late-inning comebacks whose parameters wouldn't reappear in Met annals until 2011. The original duo hinged on a huge hit by Danny Napoleon, leading to Casey Stengel's declaration of "Viva La France" in the clubhouse. 1969: These two defensive half-innings at the back end of August: GIANTS 8TH: GASPAR REPLACED SHAMSKY (PLAYING LF); Marshall lined to second; Dietz walked; Lanier singled to center [Dietz to second]; Perry reached on an error by Boswell [Dietz to third, Lanier to second]; TAYLOR REPLACED CARDWELL (PITCHING); DAVENPORT BATTED FOR MASON; HENDERSON RAN FOR DIETZ; Davenport hit into a double play (second to first to catcher) [Henderson out at home]; Ken Boswell caught the popup and threw toward HP while Ken Henderson was retreating to 3B; the throw hit 1B coach Wes Westrum; Donn Clendenon retrieved the ball to throw out Henderson who crashed into Jerry Grote; 0 R, 1 H, 1 E, 2 LOB. Mets 2, Giants 2. GIANTS 9TH: WEIS REPLACED JONES (PLAYING SS); MCGRAW REPLACED MARTIN (PITCHING); Hunt lined to third; Burda singled to left; McCovey doubled to left [burda out at home (left to first to catcher), McCovey out at third (catcher to third)]; Big shift for Willie McCovey who sliced double down LF line; Jerry Grote waited casually at HP, pretending no throw was coming, then lunged at last moment to tag Bob Burda; Grote rolled the ball to the mound, thinking there were 3 outs; Donn Clendenon retrieved the ball; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Mets 2, Giants 2. Mets won in extras, stayed within four of Cubs.

Westrum was a first base coach on the '69 squad at some point?

[Edgy MD]

For San Francisco. He rejoined them at the top of 1969, I think, and eventually got a chance to manage them in 1974.

[Frayed Knot]

A 1960s Giants game (sort of) starting around the 4:30 mark

[youtube:2eipbgy6]G68QW7E3GEk[/youtube:2eipbgy6]

[Zvon]

Edgy MD wrote: For San Francisco. He rejoined them at the top of 1969, I think, and eventually got a chance to manage them in 1974.

Duh, of course. Mets were on the field. Got confused, sorry.