Dave VW
March 3, 2023
What a way to start the season. With a 22 MPH wind blowing out at Wrigley, the Mets and Cubs combine for 20 runs and 30 hits, with the Mets improving to 5-0 vs. Chicago in Opening Day games. Tuffy Rhodes made all the headlines, becoming the first in major league history to start a season belting home runs in each of his first 3 at-bats (all of them virtually to the same exact spot in the left-center field bleachers), and as of this post stands as only 1 of 4 all-time with 3 homers on Opening Day, along with George Bell, Dmitri Young and Matt Davidson. However, this performance was more the exception than the rule for Tuffy, who by 1995 was already gone from the Cubs. By 1996 he was in Japan and, as Mets2Moon mentioned, went on to become one of the best power hitters in Japanese League history. In 2001, he tied their single-season record with 55 homers, although that record has since been topped.
The emphatic victory has to feel good for a Mets team and fanbase coming off such a dreadful 1993 campaign. The offense was the story, with Jeff Kent leading the way by going 4-for-5 and missed hitting for the cycle by a triple. Jose Vizcaino also homered in his Mets debut, just a week after coming over from the Cubs in a late Spring Training trade. Todd Hundley went back-to-back with him in the 3rd, blasting his to almost the same spot in the RF stands as Vizcaino. Even Gooden got in on the act, collecting his last pair of RBI in a Mets uniform. The 12 runs are still the most the Mets have ever scored in an Opening Day game.
Speaking of Gooden, he made his last of 8 Opening Day starts for the Mets, which is second in team history among pitchers to Tom Seaver's 11. The Mets would go 7-1 in his 8 starts. It was also his last start against the Cubs as a Met and, despite allowing 7 runs (5 earned), he picked up his 27th career win vs. Chicago. Gooden is actually one of only 5 pitchers in Mets history to give up 7 runs and still win, and the only one to do it twice. Jon Niese was the last to do it in 2015. It's funny because Cubs announcer Steve Stone commented on how successful the Mets were against Chicago when Gooden was on the mound, saying early on in the game that "he'll beat them 10-8 if he has to." Turns out he wasn't far off!
Stone also made a remark I agreed with wholeheartedly later in the game. Talking about how baseball was losing popularity to other sports like football and basketball, he said that's only happening because those sports have made all kinds of changes (like 2-point conversions in football and the 3-pointer in basketball), while baseball has stayed pure and traditional and shouldn't have to change in order to maintain popularity. But looking at how much baseball has changed in recent years (especially this year with the introduction of a ridiculous pitch clock, among other things), it seems like purists like myself and Steve are a dying breed.
The game was still in question in the bottom of the 6th when the Mets were holding a 10-7 lead. Gooden allowed the first 2 batters to reach on singles but battled back to get Shawon Dunston to fly out and pinch-hitter Glenallen Hill to strikeout after an 8-pitch battle that saw Hill get brushed back twice. But, with Tuffy up next, Dallas Green decided he wouldn't get a chance to hit his 4th homer of the Doc and brought in Eric Hillman instead to get the lefty/lefty matchup. Upset by the decision, Gooden kicked the bat rack on his way to the clubhouse, which broke a toe and served as the catalyst for the demise of his career. Hillman, however, walked Rhodes on 4 pitches, loading the bases for Ryne Sandberg. In a gutsy move, Green stuck with Hillman despite having the righty Dave Telgheder ready in the bullpen, and Hillman rewarded him by getting Sandberg to line out to left for the final out. The Cubs never really threatened after that, albeit they did score one last meaningless run off John Franco in the 9th. The Mets would go on to sweep the Cubs in 3 to open the year. And hat tip to Bob P for the interesting note regarding Kent and Vizcaino.
Sorry for the length of this post but this really was a fun and eventful game to watch, as I could probably go on for another 3 paragraphs. The outcome here at least gave us hope that 1994 would be much different than the doldrums of 1993.
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