Many people would choose the April 8, 1969 opener against the Montreal Expos—for that expansion franchise’s first-ever game and the start of the ’69 Miracle Mets season. But that’s the pick everyone else will make in this 50th anniversary year of the ’69 championship team. If you’re going to pick a game the Mets lost, you might as well pick the final Shea opener. After the humiliating way the 2007 season ended, of course the Mets opened the 2008 home schedule against the Phillies, who rubbed out the Mets’ lead and rubbed their faces in it, too. But the takeaway from the 5-2 defeat at Shea’s last opener was the unveiling of the name “Shea” in left field, next to the retired numbers: 37, 14, 41, and 42. It was a classy way to continue to honor William Shea, the lawyer who coerced the Mets into existence. That name would live on in the new ballpark, which was rising right behind Shea. The final year at Shea would not be easily forgotten.
