Shickhaus Franks
July 7, 2016
This was the 2nd game of the infamous day-night doubleheader where the Bronx Evils played the Angels in the 1st game at Shea due to the building troubles in the old Bronx Ballyard. For the record: The Evils-Angels game drew 40,000 where the Mets-Cubs drew only 16,000 tops!!!!!

Dave VW
November 27, 2023
Not gonna lie, Franks' "Bronx Evils" reference made me chuckle. I do take umbrage with the mention of the attendance juxtaposition, however. Remember, Yankees Stadium had been closed for 3 days prior to this date, and the team was honoring tickets to all 3 games that were cancelled. Not only that, but having them play a "home" game at Shea Stadium was quite the novelty that I'm sure attracted more fans than just your average Tuesday afternoon game would. So I don't see it as any major accomplishment the Yankees drew so many people, while the Mets drew less than half that for a mid-week game in chilly temperatures. I strongly believe if the circumstances were reversed and the Mets were going to play a home game in the Bronx while honoring 3 games worth of tickets, they easily would have drawn 40k+ as well.

In regard to the actual game, Rick Reed pretty much did it all, shutting out the Cubs over 7 innings and accounting for all the runs on offense by hitting the second (and last) home run of his career in the 2nd inning off future Mets punching bag Steve Trachsel. It was the only HR hit by a pitcher for the Mets in all of 1998. The rest of the Mets mustered only 4 other hits all game -- all singles -- but what do you expect from a lineup with a washed up Carlos Baerga, Tim Spehr catching, and Rey Ordonez leading off? That's right, Bobby V gave Rey his first ever start as the leadoff hitter for this contest, an experiment tried only one more time the remainder of Ordonez's career. Rey actually extended a hitting streak to 11 games with a 1st-inning single, but it would be snapped the next game.

Reed's outing was a significant improvement over his previous, which was in Chicago and saw him give up 7 runs over 3.2 innings in an 8-7 loss. They mentioned during the FSNY broadcast (the first to feature Keith Hernandez, btw) that Reed actually hadn't allowed a wild pitch since debuting in the bigs back in 1988. As luck would have it, Reed would commit his first wild pitch later in 1998 vs. the Giants in August.

Speaking of the broadcast, during the latter portion of the game Matt Loughlin interviewed a guy in the crowd who had a small child, and the kid was wearing a Yankee cap. Loughlin asked him what's up with the cap, and he said the Mets don't sell any caps that fit his son, so he has to wear the Yankee one. Smelling BS, Loughlin returned a short time later with a Mets kids cap for the son, and asked the guy if he'll switch caps now. But the guy was like, "Well, we'll see who makes the playoffs this year." I was like, you incredible ingrate! You're at a Mets game, the team is gifting you a cap for your kid, you're on live TV, and you won't even put it on? I was so angry ... but a short time later the camera panned to him again and the kid was wearing the Mets cap, so the story has a happy ending.