Throngs of reporters gathered at Shea Stadium Tuesday night, not to see the much anticipated series between the SF Giants and the Mets, but to get a glimpse of what Bill Walton would describe as 'Virtually The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived': Barry Bonds.
Much to the disappointment of the Mets faithful, Bonds wasn't in the lineup, and the chances of the home run record being broken at Shea is now slimmer. One fan put it best.
"I've been a Mets fan my whole life. Man, I paid $300 for each game this series to watch Bonds break the record here. I had my glove and the best seat and everything. I hate that bastard, but that ball is going to be my ticket out of Loserville...excuse me...Barry, BARRY! Over here, over here, I LOVE you man, you're the greatest!"
The Giants starting pitcher phenom Tim Lincecum was lights out for the first 3 innings, retiring the first round of the Met's lineup. He was also the beneficiary of solid run support, after Met's starter Oliver Perez gave up two solo home runs in the 1st inning. But Perez settled down, and Lincecum walked Beltran with two outs in the 4th. Delgado hit a 2 run shot to tie it up 2-2, making it quite the pitching duel. Then it got interesting.
Enter Bonds. Fans booed and jeered as Bonds made his first appearance in the game in the 10th inning as a pinch hitter. He was walked, then stranded, ending his chance to get closer to the home run record in Shea. Fans booed and jeered at him all night, but most who were in close proximity to the dugout begged for an autograph, soft-tossing towels, hats, balls, shoes and jerseys into the dugout with post-its that said, 'You're the best, Barry' and 'We heart Bombin' Bonds'.
"Yeah, that was pretty cool," said Bonds. "I mean, I hadn't played the whole game and I'm on the road, and to get cheered like that just felt good, even if all I got was a walk. I don't often get cheered for, even in San Francisco." Apparently, Bonds thought they were saying 'booster' and 'sweeter', instead of 'juicer' and 'cheater'. Asked if he gave any of the merchandise back to fans with an autograph, Bonds replied, "I signed the stuff, but it's mine now. It's going in the garage with the other stuff that will take care of 11 generations of Bonds. This will take care of 12 now. The Hall won't get it, MLB wont' get it, and the fans won't get it, I don't care if all of them have cancer....nobody boos me and gets something out of it."
Locked at 3-3 going into extra innings, Joe Smith came in and gave up a run in his worst outing as a Met. Down 4-3 with their last chance, Reyes then got a lead-off walk from Benetiz, then got to second on a balk call by 'Balkin' Bob Davidson, a make-up bad call to quell LoDuca's anger (LoDuca said he'd be waiting for him in the parking lot after the game, and Bob was nervous). Chavez dropped a sacrifice bunt to get Reyes over to third, but Beltran grounded out to second, keeping Reyes at third for the 2nd out. Down to their final out with Delgado at the plate, Reyes got creative. Jumping up and down at third, trying to distract Benitez, he jumped as if to steal home, then ran back, then stopped, then started again. Benetiz flinched, Carlos pointed, and the third base umpire gave him the balk call and the tying run. A cool and calm Delgado stepped back to the plate, while a rattled and emotional Benitez pitched a few balls in the same place. One swing saw Delgado hit his second homer of the game and his 42 multi-homer game of his career, propelling the Mets to a 5-4 extra innings win.
Umpire Bob Davidson spoke after the game. "Yeah, that first balk call on Benitez was BS, but I had screwed up the call against Paulie. See, what happened is that a fan was razzing me, so I gave him the flip off sign, but with the hand in elbow version. Anyway, Marsh thought I was calling a strike on him, and I couldn't admit I was making an obscene gesture, so I had to stick to my guns and call it a strike. In retrospect, I probably just should have said I had something in my eye or something like that. Well, after Paul threatened me, I got a little concerned. I didn't want to fight him, he was pretty mad, and I'm pretty old, so you do the math. Zimmer/Martinez, that's all I'm gonna say. Anyway, it all worked out, since it ended up being a pretty entertaining game. I had fun."
Reyes was impossible to interview after the game, as he was jumping up and down, dancing and singing for another hour and a half in the clubhouse while everyone else showered and left after the long night.
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