Shea was an absolute dump, but I'm kind of surprised that Jeter doesn't have better memories of the place, after all, the 2000 World Series was his series. He hit .409/.480/864 with 2 homers, 3 doubles, a triple, 3 RBI and 6 runs scored in the 2000 fall classic.It is all about championships for Derek Jeter, or so he has always said, yet he holds no sentiment for the place where the Yankees last won a title. It was Shea Stadium, the former home of the Mets, where Jeter hugged Luis Sojo in triumph after the last out of the 2000 World Series. And he says he does not miss it.
“I’m not trying to be disrespectful, I just didn’t like the stadium,” Jeter said on Sunday, before his first game at Citi Field after two days off with the flu. “The field conditions were not good. Hitting at that stadium was a lot different than playing defense.”
The visiting clubhouse at Shea was also uncomfortable, Jeter said, even though that is the last place he sprayed Champagne at the end of a season. Jeter hit .321 in the regular season at Shea, five points better than his career average, and was 5 for 13 with two home runs in the three World Series games there in 2000.
Jeter has not had much chance to bask in the surroundings of a nicer home park for New York’s other team. He watched the first two games of the series on television in the trainer’s room.
“It’ll be fun,” Jeter said. “I haven’t even been on the bench. I was sort of quarantined for a while. It looked like an exciting atmosphere from what I could tell on television. But I’m looking forward to playing.”
As a fan I have had some fond memories there. I went to three regular season Subway Series games there as well as games four and five of the 2000 World Series, and the Yanks won them all. But still, the place was a dump, terrible facilities, bad views from the seats, and is no comparison to Citi Field.
Had you guys ever been to Shea? What did you think of it?
I have 3 distinct good memories of Shea.
ReplyDelete1982 - The Who's first (of many) farewell concert
(David Johansen and The Clash opened)
1989 - The Rolling Stones concert
2000 - Beating the mets in the World Series on their home field
Shea was a dump. My father is a mets fan and took me to my first games there. (I became a Yankee fan in 1973 at the age of 8.)
Remember those butt ugly orange and blue panels they used to have on the outside?
http://www.forgotten-ny.com/STREET%20SCENES/shea/old.panels2.jpg
Somehow the mets managed to make one of the many ugly round cookie cutter stadiums and manage to make it even uglier. LOL
Then in their infinite wisdom, in the mid 80's, they decided to remodel the outside and paint the stadium purple.
Legend had it that it was eventually going to fade to met blue but it never happened.
My friend Brad dubbed Shea "The Purple Toilet Bowl in Flushing". LOL
My assistant, who is a mets fan and thinks there is too much Dodgers stuff at citi field, just said that he thinks that the mets should paint citi field so that it can one day fade to Dodger blue. LOL
Shea will not be missed.
Those panels were a joke.
ReplyDeleteAs for all that Dodger stuff, if I were I mets fan I'd been embarrassed. Do they know the Dodgers are still around and play in LA?
I guess when you have a history as pathetic as the Mets' you have to honor a different team in your home ballpark.
You were there when they won it all in 2000?
ReplyDeleteLucky you!
That was my favorite game I saw in person.
ReplyDeletetoilet bowl.. yep
ReplyDeleteciti field is really great.. but the dodgers shit is so stupid.... jackie robinson isnt a met is he??
Yeah, I can imagine! I've been to playoff games, but never been to a World Series game. And I've never seen them clinch anything in person, either. In '04 I had World Series tickets to all four games of the World Series, but ya know how that went...
ReplyDeleteNo, JC, I wasn't at Shea when the Yanks won. Sorry, it probably look like I meant that.
ReplyDeleteThose were just me three favorite memories of Shea but I was only at the first two I mentioned.
I have only been to 2 World Series games. Both at Yankee Stadium.
ReplyDeleteGame 2 in 1996 when Pettitte lost to Maddox 4-0 to put the Yanks down 2-0. I turned to my buddy after the game and said; "This team has been coming back all year. They're going to win the World Series."
I proceeded to watch every game for the rest of the series alone in my apartment and wouldn't answer the phone.
I had bought a special cigar before the series to smoke when they were the Champions. When they won, I walked down to my local tavern, lit it up (back in the days when you could actually smoke in a bar) and the owner bought me a shot and drink.
The other WS game was Game 4 in 2001. I brought my son to that one. That game, of course, was when Tino hit the 2 out homer in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game (O'Neill on base) and Jeter's homer in the 10th made him Mr. November.
I still really want to be at a deciding game when the Yanks win it all.
I was actually talking to Greg, Crossfire. Sorry about that. I should've been more clear.
ReplyDeleteThough, now I'm jealous of you since you saw Game 4 in 2001. That's a moment I'll never forget. When Tino hit that homer, I just totally lost it. Literally jumping up and down and screaming, lol...
Did the same thing the next night with Brosius. Those two games, along with the Aaron Boone Game 7 are probably my favorite baseball memories. I still remember vividly when Posada got that bloop hit in the 8th to tie it of Pedro. And Matsui slid into home and jumped up in the air screaming! Such a great, great moment....
Ah, the memories...
Shea was a toilet.
ReplyDeleteImpossible to get to, impossible to park.
The only redeeming quality of the place was that beer was cheaper than at Yankee Stadium.
gaga
ReplyDeleteThat game was just incredible. My son was always a huge Jeter fan and it was his first World Series game and his favorite player hit the game winning walk off homer. Doesn't get much better than that!
ReplyDeleteI thought the Stadium was going to explode when Tino hit the homer. I was in the bleachers, section 37 (under the Utz sign.). So Tino's homer went just to the right of us (as we looked at the field) and Jeter's went to our left.
Ah, man... I literally got goosebumps just reading what you just wrote, LOL.
ReplyDeleteI've been to playoff games in the Stadium, so I know how loud and crazy it can get after big moments... But I've never seen anything THAT big in person.
Two of my other favorite Yankee Stadium post season games that I went to.
ReplyDeleteSorry to go off topic Greg but talking about Shea sucks nearly as much as Shea itself. LOL
October 13, 1999. The ALCS / Game 1. The first playoff game ever between the Yankees and red sox.
I sat in the right field bleachers and Bernie Williams hit a walk off home run to center in the bottom of the 10th for a 4-3 victory.
It was awesome. The Stadium was crazy. Everyone was high fiving all the way out of the Stadium.
I'll never forget it.
Another was September 30, 1997, Game 1 of the ALDS against the Indians.
The Yanks entered the bottom of the sixth trailing 6-3. Boggs led off with a single. Girardi grounded out and put Boggs at second. Then Rey Sanchez (how many actually remember him?) got a single and drove in Boggs.
The score was now 6-4.
Then the Yankees got back to back to back homers from Raines, Jeter and O'Neill.
The score was now 8-6 Yanks and the Stadium was going berserk!
First time any team ever hit back to back to back homers in the playoffs.
8-6 would be the final score.
But like I said, my ultimate goal is to see the Yanks clinch a World Series. That would be the ultimate.
That's awesome! I remember both of those games very well. And I remember Rey Sanchez, too. He was a good little role player for us.
ReplyDeleteNext World Series the Yanks are in, I'm going to all the games if possible. I've had World Series tickets a few times before (had all four games in '04), but the Yanks have fallen short of the Series.
Next time, though. Next time!
LOL I said that after 81 JC....
ReplyDeletenext time took 15 more years.
I went to Game 2 in 96 without a ticket. My buddy and I each scored single tickets. I was in section 37 then too and my ticket cost $75. LOL
He was somewhere upper deck in right and got his for $125. So we split the difference and paid $100 each.
Now they cost way more than that at face value. LOL
In 2001, I scalped a pair from a guy that had just bought some at the Stadium> I got them for $300 each as I recall.
Seemed like a lot of money back then but I had promised my kid that if they made the series, he was going.
Beware of promises. LOL
By the way, I meant to say I was in the left field bleachers for Bernie's homer. I'd have to check the ticket but I think section 49.
But definitely go, it's an amazing experience. There is nothing quite like the Stadium during the World Series.