Dave Mlicki remembers , nice article. ] Jim Baumbach The annual installments of the Subway Series surely don't pass without Mets fans thinking of Dave Mlicki and that memorable shutout he pitched in the first ever Mets-Yankees regular-season game in 1997. And you know what? Mlicki still thinks about that game a lot, too. "It was one of the most fun days I could have ever had," Mlicki said Friday from his Dublin, Ohio home. The most recent reminder of the gem he threw in a 6-0 win on June 16, 1997 came when he opened his local newspaper Friday morning. He saw the Mets and Yankees were starting another series in the Bronx, which It's a story he has probably told hundreds of times to so many strangers, but he doesn't mind one bit. "When I first saw the schedule for that year, I knew I really wanted to pitch in that series. I really wanted to be one of those three guys. I had it penciled in my calendar," Mlicki said. "Then, when Bobby [Valentine] told me I would be the first one, I was ecstatic. I wasn't nervous. It was weird." Mlicki recalled getting to Yankee Stadium early that day, because it was the first time he had ever been there. He walked out to Monument Park and checked out the plaques and monuments, allowing himself to take in the illustrious history from that stadium just hours before he would make a bit of history himself. He said he felt only the usual bit of nerves before the game, then instantly found a sense of calm on the mound. Of course the 3-0 lead his teammates gave him before he even threw a pitch helped, too. "It was just was one of those days when everything felt right," he said. "It's hard even for me to explain." Fans still send him letters about that game, including articles they've kept for more than a decade now. "The front page of Newsday, I still get that," Mlicki said. He said he has a special room in his house where he said he keeps everything, including framed articles, front pages and pictures. He has the game ball as well as a cup of dirt he took from the Yankee Stadium pitcher's mound long after the game ended. This is the sixth season that Mlicki has been retired for, and he said he spends most of his time now playing golf and being a father to his two sons, Avery (6�) and Gavin (5�). They're just starting Tee Ball now, and he said he's enjoying baseball now through them. He even is thinking about bringing them to New York this summer so they can see Shea Stadium, his old workplace, before it's torn down. Just recently Mlicki's parents surprised him by playing a video of that memorable game for his sons, who had never seen it. "They think I'm the best pitcher in the world, which is pretty cool," Mlicki said. For one night some 11 years ago, Mets fans would agree.