centerfield maz

October 3rd, 1979: In 1979 Pope John Paul II visited Shea Stadium as 60,000 showed up to pay tribute to the future Saint. The Mets had a horrible year that season & the Pope certainly drew more people & had a better outing. According to heads groundkeeper Pete Flynn, he said it rained all day but when the Pope came out the skies stopped raining & the Heavens shined down on him. It was a great day in Shea Stadium history. Quotes: John Paul II at Shea- " A city needs a soul if it is to become a true home for human beings.”

an obit for Marty Balin of one of centerfieldmaz' favorite bands of the sixties Martyn Jerel Buchwald, later to be known as Marty Balin, was born January 30 th 1942 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His family eventually moved west to San Francisco, where he aspired to be a singer. Inspired by rock & roll of the Beatles & the British Invasion, combined with the folk of the Byrds & Simon & Garfunkel's success, he went into that direction. Balin's drive would help him be one of the first key people to develop the "San Francisco sound" of the sixties. First, Balin convinced three other investors to go in with him, in transforming an old pizzeria into a night club on Filmore Street.  This became the Matrix, a groundbreaking club which began to host bands, accompanied by light shows with local artists drawing up colorful posters to advertise the events. An incredible list of bands like the Doors, the Grateful Dead, Big Brother & the Holding Company fe

Wednesday September 28th 2016 : After an emotional series in Miami where the Marlins (and Mets) paid tribute to Jose Fernandez who lost his life in a boating accident earlier this week, the Mets attended to business. They took two of three from the Marlins, eliminating them from playoff contention as well. Seth Lugo earned his fifth straight win, Jeurys Familia earned his 50th save, the most ever by a Dominican pitcher, Jay Bruce is hitting HRs as well as driving in runs & most important  the Mets are atop the wild card position in the NL. With three games left to play & four days left in the regular season the Mets magic number is down to two for clinching the wild card spot. In the 1st inning, the Marlins Martin Prado hit a two run HR off Seth Lugo, but it would be all the runs Mets pitching would allow on the night. Lugo went into the 6th inning but after giving up a base hit, Terry Collins yanked him. The Mets relief corps. of Hansel Robles, Fernando Salas got t

Friday September 22nd, 1967: Salty Parkers tenth place Mets (58-95) hosted Grady Hatton's ninth place Houston Astros (64-90) for a double header, in front of 13,342 at Shea Stadium.  On this night a forgotten Mets short stop, in a time before Bud Harrelson took over the spot, Jerry Buchek, had the biggest night of his career & followed up with a walk off hit. Starting Lineups Astros 1 Julio Gotay 2B 2 Lee Bales SS 3 Jim Wynn CF 4 Doug Rader 1B 5 Rusty Staub RF 6 Bob Aspromonte 3B 7 Aaron Pointer LF 8 Dave Adlesh C 9 Wade Blasingame P Mets 1 Amos Otis RF 2 Ed Kranepool 1B 3 Bob Johnson 2B