In Attendance for ballpark moments/milestones

[Gooseamania]

I thought it would be cool to hear from people who have been in attendance for ballpark specific moments/milestones or saw a baseball related moment or milestone at the ballpark. the only one i can think of that i was in attendance for was the game between the red sox and yankees at yankee stadium in 2004, the game where jeter flew into the stands catching a ball, it was also a great extra inning game.

[Lpeters199]

Milestones--sort of.

June 20, 1956, Briggs Stadium in Detroit, my first major league game. In the middle of Mickey Mantle's greatest year, I was fortunate to see him hit two home runs into the upper deck centerfield bleachers in consecutive at bats. The Detroit bleacher fans literally went crazy, jumping up and down and waving their arms. No other player has reached this territory even once. The closest was Larry Herndon, who hit the upper deck facing above the 440 ft. sign.

The second All-Star Game in 1960 at Yankee Stadium. This marked Willie Mays' first game back in New York since the Giants moved in 1957. He homered, stole third base, and went 3 for 4. That was a milestone to me.

Also in 1960, I witnessed Ted Williams' 499th home run at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. He crushed a line drive halfway up the upper deck in right, and the sound of the ball hitting an empty seat seemed as loud as the crack of the bat. One of the hardest hit balls I've ever seen, and almost a milestone.

[soberdennis]

Do you really want me to tell my story for the millionth time on this board?

[six4three]

I was at County Stadium for Hank Aaron's final home run - July 20, 1976.

Of course, being only July, we didn't know it was his final home run at the time. We thought it was just a Brewers win, which in 1976 was milestone enough.

[YankeeFanUK]

i had tix for the opening series at Pac Bell Park ( Giants/Dodgers ) in 00
saw Big Frank hit # 100 back in 93 at the Std

[tdinan]

Not all are milestones, but I've been lucky enough to be in attendance for a few memorable moments:

-Seaver wins #300 vs. the Yanks.

-Rizzuto getting knocked over by the Holy Cow on his Day.

-Dion James of Atlanta hitting a bird in midflight with a fair batted ball @ Shea.

-Tommy John's last game ever.

-Bryce Florie getting hit in the face by Ryan Thompson's liner. I was 3 rows away from the field @ Fenway and will never forget how horrible it was.

-Mike Mussina, 1 strike away from perfection vs. Boston. Hate Carl Everett.

-George W. Bush throwing out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium. Game 3, 2001 WS.

-Tino Martinez hitting 2 HR's against Pettitte in his return to Yankee Stadium.

-What looks to be Roger Clemens' last game. Game 3, 2007 ALDS. Also Joe Torre's last win as manager of NY. Possibly the Yankees last post season victory, though I hope not.

[Gooseamania]

well this is "milestone" is miniscule in comparison to some of the ones mentioned before, but i attended wrestlemania 19 at safeco field in 2004 when a safeco attendance record (which if i am not mistaken still stands today) of 54,097 was set.

[Gary Dunaier]

Not all are milestones, but I've been lucky enough to be in attendance for a few memorable moments:

-Seaver wins #300 vs. the Yanks.

-Rizzuto getting knocked over by the Holy Cow on his Day.

I was there for that one, too. ("That one" because they both took place on the same date - Tom Seaver won his 300th game on Phil Rizzuto Day.) Back in those days I used to pick up discarded ticket stubs and such, and I found a discarded parking pass that someone wrote "I Hate Tom Seaver" on the back of.

What else...

• Darryl Strawberry's major league debut, 1983.
• The George Brett Pine Tar game, 1983. At the time it happened I had no idea what was going on.
• The Colorado Rockies' very first two games, at Shea Stadium v. the Mets, 1993.
• The first game at Shea Stadium after 9/11.
• Bob Murphy Night, 2003.
• The last game the Montreal Expos ever won - Shea Stadium, October 2004. Back then - and we're talking less than four years ago - the Mets were so bad that for this game, I was able to get a pair of Field Box seats with waiter service and Diamond Club passes, face value $65 each, for $25 for the pair on Ebay. Oh, how times have changed...
• The Mets' clinching the 2006 National League Eastern Division championship.
• Ralph Kiner Night, 2007.
• The final three regular season home games at Shea Stadium.

If I remember any more, I'll get back to you. :gt

[Yoda]

I saw Michael Barrett punch AJ in the face

[Yoda]

I was there for that one, too. ("That one" because they both took place on the same date - Tom Seaver won his 300th game on Phil Rizzuto Day.) Back in those days I used to pick up discarded ticket stubs and such, and I found a discarded parking pass that someone wrote "I Hate Tom Seaver" on the back of.

What else...

• Darryl Strawberry's major league debut, 1983.
• The George Brett Pine Tar game, 1983. At the time it happened I had no idea what was going on.
• The Colorado Rockies' very first two games, at Shea Stadium v. the Mets, 1993.
• The first game at Shea Stadium after 9/11.
• Bob Murphy Night, 2003.
• The last game the Montreal Expos ever won - Shea Stadium, October 2004. Back then - and we're talking less than four years ago - the Mets were so bad that for this game, I was able to get a pair of Field Box seats with waiter service and Diamond Club passes, face value $65 each, for $25 for the pair on Ebay. Oh, how times have changed...
• The Mets' clinching the 2006 National League Eastern Division championship.
• Ralph Kiner Night, 2007.
  
• The final three regular season home games at Shea Stadium.

If I remember any more, I'll get back to you. :gt

That hasn't happened yet!

[JeepingBaseball]

That hasn't happened yet!

I was just about to say that

[six4three]

Yeah, but he's probably already got the tickets.

There haven't been any available for a very long time.

[SparkyL]

1. Chambliss' HR to win the 1976 ALCS
2. Game 1 WS win in 1977
3. Cone's perfect game in 1999
4. 1999 WS clinching game 4
5. Chad Curtis' walk-off HR to win 1999 WS Game 3
6. Tino's grand slam in 1998 WS Game 1
7. "Get you tokens ready . . . " clinching game 5 in the 2000 ALCS
8. Clemens/Piazza bat throwing - Game 2, 2000 WS
9. Clinching game in 1978 ALCS
10. Mickey Mantle day in 1996
11. Joe DiMaggio day in 2000
12. Jeter's only grand slam (to date)
13. Pres. Bush - 2001 Game 3
14. Brosius' game tying HR - 2001 Game 5

[TnNYYfan]

I saw A-Rod hit his 500th homer in Yankee Stadium last summer.

[jC...]

I saw quite a rarity. I was in attendance for the only time in Major League Baseball history that Darren Dreifort of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Britt Reames of the Montreal Expos were the starting pitchers for their respective teams against each other. There....BEAT THAT!!!!