1983 was a year of surprises for me. I was hoping to get a transfer to either Bankers Trust Company's data center or to electric data processing auditing, as that is what a couple of the auditing department's officers were telling me. However, in April I was told that I was needed to look for a new job outside the bank. It was a real shock to me and I was disappointed. However, four days after the announcement I found a new job with a better salary and good co-workers at a bank called Savings Banks Trust Company. I had considered comprising a bit with my co-workers to conform a bit. I remembered that several former Bankers Trust co-workers remembered my interest in both the Mets and the Beatles,so I considered following the team again. In May my brother in law Larry got 4 free tickets to a Mets game for Friday the 20th against the Dodgers. Ellen also wanted to go and then I called a former coworker from the Lincoln Savings Bank (Steve) and asked if would be interested. He said yes so on the evening of May 20, 1983 when Ellen and I got home, we changed and drove to Rockville Centre to pick Larry up and then head to Uniondale to pick up my friend Steve. Soon we were on our way to Shea Stadium to see the Mets play the Dodgers. Upon entering I bought a program that contained a scorecard as I planned toread the articles and to keep score like I did in the past. Our seats were near first base and not far from the field. Since the Mets were really terrible in 1983, the Dodgers had a quick lead and I remember the interim manager, Frank Howard, coming out of the dugout at least once to replace a pitcher. The Dodgers ended up winning and I recorded nearly all of it. I remember that we all had a good time. On Saturday morning I read about the game in Newsday and then studied the box score to fill in the plays that I could not properly record on the scorecard the night before. Around now I was starting to think back to the good times that I had at Shea Stadium when I went to games over a dozen years ago. I said to Ellen that we definitely have to do it again. Suddenly I was enjoying the game again and started to follow the Mets religiously.
I would be seeing the Mets again in June, this time against the Montreal Expos. Larry got free tickets for Friday June 10 and while Steve could not come, my mother in law (Ma) was interested and joined us. As with the May game, I bought a program and kept score. In the middle of the 8th inning we decided to head home, even though the game was tied. We naturally put the game on the car radio to follow the action. This would be an extra innings game since there was no winner after nine innings. We hoped that in the 18 mile ride to Oceanside, the Mets would take the lead and win. No way. While no winner was announced, the broadcaster broke the news that the Mets traded with the St. Louis Cardinals for first baseman Keith Hernandez, who was known as a super star. After we dropped Larry and Ma off, Ellen and I drove to our apartment with the car radio on and still no winner. We then headed to bed and had the bedroom radio on with the game on, programmed to go off in an hour. We were both asleep shortly after our heads hit our pillows and woke up to learn that the Mets beat the Expos in 17 innings! Ellen and I were ecstatic.
I had also been in touch with a former Bankers Trust co-worker named Dave and we agreed to go see the Mets play the Exposes on Sunday the 12th. This was an afternoon game and Ellen did not want to go twice on the same weekend. Since we had planned to visit my mom & dad in Flushing that Sunday, it was decided that I would walk to their apartment after the game. Ellen dropped me off in Flushing Meadow Park near Shea and I met David and we went to our seats. This time we were in the upper tier and got to enjoy the St. Agnes Boys Choir (from my parish in 1983) sing both national anthems. They were led by Mr. LaMedica, the choir director who also played the organ at my wedding. Tom Seaver, who had returned to the Mets after exile in Cincinnati, pitched this game, and like on Friday, the Mets won (this time it only took 9 innings). I did not buy a program this time since it would have the same articles that I read on Friday. Once it was over Dave took the subway back to Brooklyn while I walked to my parents' apartment. When I got there Ellen told me that she and Dad watched the game together and enjoyed seeing Mr. LaMedica and the St. Agnes Choir on the field.
Larry, Ellen, Ma and I would go two more times with me. One of the teams the Mets played was the St. Louis Cardinals, and the other was the Chicago Cubs. I kept score each time but cannot remember if the Mets won or not. In September Larry got me tickets again, for a game on Yom Kippur against the San Francisco Giants. Larry, Ellen and Ma did not want to come with me so I decided to ask Steve and his co-worker Tony if they would like to join me. They said yes so it was agreed that Tony would meet Steve and me at Shea Stadium. However, a few hours before game time it was rainy and then overcast. I kept in touch with my friends and we decided to go to the game. If it's rained out, we will get rain checks and go later in the season. Steve picked me up at my apartment and we drove to Shea to meet Tony. However, the seats that Larry gave Steve and me were not together. One was at the first base side and the other was by third base. I told Steve to wait at the third base side and I went to look for Tony. It turns out that he had a first base ticket so I told him to come with me and the 3 of us would sit by third base. Actually, since it was Yom Kippur, chilly, and the Mets wee stuck in last place, we could have sat anywhere because there were no more than 7,000 fans at Shea.I remember that the Mets lost that evening, but do not remember the score. Despite the foul weather, and the Mets' miserable record, we all had a good time.
1983 would be the turning point for Billy and baseball. From now on I would be following the sport religiously and try to go at least once a year to a game. To this day I break out my relationship with baseball as before 1983 and since 1983.
After being hooked in 1983 I knew that we had to go back to Shea Stadium in 1984. I had been keeping in touch with my former Bankers Trust co-workers since I left in April of 1983 and made plans for 3 of us to go to a game as a "men's night out". It would be on a Friday and I got the tickets and they would meet me by the gate. In the meantime, Larry got gotten free tickets from his friend for the SAME NIGHT. Ellen was annoyed at first the I did not include her in my plans with my friends, but I told her that it was guys only (one of my friends was not bringing his wife). Ellen decided to go with Ma and Larry and I would ride with them to Shea and meet them after the game to go home. After we parked the car across Roosevelt Avenue from the stadium we walked to Gate C behind home plate and I met my friend - Dave, Bill, Bill's son, and Bob - and we headed in. What I remember is that Dwight Gooden pitched this game against the Phillies and that the Mets won. After all, this was a new season and the Mets were now contenders. When it was over we walked to the parking lot and I said good bye to the guys and met Ellen, Larry and Ma and we headed back to Rockville Centre and then to Oceanside.
Ellen and I would go to Shea Stadium 3 more times in 1984. On one evening we saw the Mets play the Montreal Expos. It was a chilly night and we spent a lot of time in Casey Stengel's Cafe enjoying hot chocolate and coffee and watching the game on TV. At this stage of the 1984 season, Pete Rose was playing for the Expos and a lot of fans were yelling "Pete Rose sucks". While I was not a fan of the Expos, I felt that it was not right to yell that. Ellen and Ma were a bit shocked, as they were not to as many games as I had been and never went to Yankee Stadium to hear some of the things that I heard there. What I remember was that the Mets won that game and they were in the first division of the National League East. Oh yes, Dwight Gooden pitched that one as well.
The four of us would go to another game to see the Mets play, this time against the St. Louis Cardinals. Dwight Gooden pitched this game as well and the Mets won like they did the first two times. It seems that we were good luck charms!!!
Ellen and I would go one more time in 1984. I got in touch with Dave and Bill and arranged to meet them as well as some of their Bankers Trust colleagues to see the Mets-Cubs game during the last week in July 1984. Ellen and I drove to Flushing to leave the car in Mom & Dad's building and then walk to Shea Stadium. It had started to rain and at first Ellen was reluctant to go. I said that if the game is played we would lose our money on the tickets, and advised her to come with me and let them call the game while we are there. So we headed down Main Street, had dinner at the China House restaurant, and then walked to Roosevelt Avenue and then to the ballpark where I met my friends. One of their co-workers could not make it due to illness so she had given her ticket to her father. There were about 7 of us in all, and Ellen was the only lady. Dwight Gooden pitched this game as well, and the Mets won this one as well. It started to rain lightly while the game was in progress, but since we had the grandstand above us, we were out of the rain.
During the 1984 season we went to Shea Stadium 4 times, seeing the Mets under Dwight Gooden beat the Expos, Phillies, Cardinals, and Cubs. They would be in contention for first place until the last day of the season, falling to seconds place and one game behind the division winning Cardinals. The Mets were definitely turning around and were now a contender. Better things awaited them in later seasons during the 1980's.
Changes were in store for Ellen and me as well. On August 10, 1984 we moved from our apartment in Oceanside to our house in Islip. That would mean that starting in 1985 we would not be able to go to as many games as before. Islip is 25 miles further from Shea Stadium than Oceanside, we have a house to take care of, and Larry's friend and source of the free tickets went to prison.
1985
Since we moved from Oceanside to Islip on August 10, 1984 (right after the fourth trip to Shea) and now owned a house, there was less time to go to games. First of all, it was now 25 miles further away from th ballpark. Secondly, owning a house meant doing things for ourselves and that took time. however, one afternoon when I was in the yard mowing the lawn I was listening to the radio and it advertised a Mets - Expos game with a promotion of old time baseball in New York - 1957 and earlier and would give out Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants caps to the fans. It was on a Saturday evening June 25 - and I persuaded Ellen that we should go. As it turned out, I also had al alumni board meeting at St. Francis Prep so we decided to make it a day in Queens: St. Francis in the morning, visiting Mom & Dad in the afternoon, and the Mets in the evening. So when the meeting was over Ellen came and picked me up and we drove to Flushing. I had to get a haircut so I walked over to a barbershop on Main Street and then returned to my parents' apartment to wash up. After dinner Ellen and I walked over to Shea Stadium for the game and to enjoy the two national anthems. They also gave out ball caps to us, but apparently the Brooklyn Dodgers were way more popular than the New York Giants. So in the beginning we each had Giants caps. I also bought a scorecard and a 1985 Mets yearbook, as there were excellent articles about the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. Later in the game I was able to trade one of the New York caps for a Brooklyn cap. As for the final score, what I do remember was in that the Mets won. What I also remember was that the Dodger blue caps outnumbered the black caps in the stands by a 2 to 1 margin.
This was our only trip to the ballpark for 1985. The Mets would finish in second place in the National League East again, and the division title went to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Redbirds would face their cross state rivals, the Kansas City Royals for an I-70 Series. I usually rooted for the National League team so I wanted the Cardinals to win it all. In addition, the Royals are also an expansion team and I wanted the Mets to retain the honor of being the only expansion team to ever win a World Series. Unfortunately, because of an erroneous call in Game 6 in favor of Kansas City, the Royals would go on to win the series in 7 games. To this day most people say that the Cardinals were robbed (including me). But in later years, St. Louis would usually be a National League or Central contender and win it all in 2006; Kansas City would languish in or near the cellar after 1985 to today.
1986
This would be a very exciting year for New York baseball fans, especially Mets fans. More on that later. During the year Ellen and I followed the Mets religiously, since they were doing very well. They were doing so well that it was next to impossible to get tickets. I was able to get them for their game on Father's Day. About 6 weeks before the game, I was abler to get four tickets for seats in the nosebleed section near the left field foul pole. We needed four because a former Bankers Trust co-worker and his dad were going to join us. Ellen and I met them at the ballpark as I had met my friend a couple of weeks before game day and gave him his tickets. The visiting team was the Pittsburgh Pirates, and it was the first time that I saw them play at Shea Stadium (or at least could remember). I don't remember the score, but I do know that the Mets won. In fact they would 107 more to finish the regular season with their best record in team history: 108 & 54. In the post season they had to face the Western Division's champions, the Houston Astros. When it was time for game 6 on October 16, the Mets led Houston 3 games to 2 but they could not afford to lose and force a game 7. They would have to face pitcher Mike Scott who decimated in game 1. This game would be one of the most exciting post season games ever. It went on for 16 innings before the Mets won the game and therefore the pennant. That evening the Islip Fire Department had a hands on training drill at the fire academy in Yaphank. We delayed leaving to watch the game on TV until the captain said that we HAD to leave. So we had the dispatcher keep us informed on the game's progress. When we finally got to Yaphank we learned that the Mets won and would go on to the World Series.
The Mets would be facing the Boston Red Sox for a new twist to the New York Boston rivalry.
From October 22 through October 26, 1986 Ellen and I were on vacation in Montreal QC. Before we left I watched the games at home or at the firehouse and by Game 3, the Mets had lost the first two games at home! It did not look good because only once before had a team that lost the first two at home go on to win it all. However, they managed to win in Boston and I followed the Series in Quebec on TV and looking at the French language newspapers. By October 25 the Red Sox were ahead 3 games to 2 and if they won Game 6 it would be "wait until next year". I told Ellen that I could not watch the game because I would either have a heart attack, or smash the TV set. So we decided to eat out at an Indochinese restaurant and then watch Hockey Night in Canada on TV. I would learn on Sunday morning, my birthday, if there would be a Game 7. So on Sunday morning when Ellen and I went to the Chateau Frontenac for breakfast I spoke with some other Americans and they said that the Mets pulled it off in the 9th inning to force Game 7. They were still alive!!!! However, we were going home on the 26th amd it was raining. Once we got to LaGuardia Airport and my inlaws took us home, we learned that Game 7 was postponed until the 27th. So as soon as I got home from work I turned on the TV set and watched intensely. In the end, the Mets won Game 7 and the World Series for their 2nd world crown.
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