June 16, 1997: The Greatest Win In Mets History

Todd Hundley (left) and Dave Mlicki

June 16, 1997: The dawn of Interleague play means that, for the 1st time, the New York Yankees and the New York Mets play each other in a game that counts, at the original Yankee Stadium. I was there.

At the time, I wished I wasn't. Andy Pettitte had nothing, John Olerud had 3 RBIs, and the Yankees stranded 10 baserunners as Dave Mlicki pitched a shutout: Mets 6, Yankees 0. When it was over, of the 56,188 fans on hand, maybe 20,000 were left, nearly all rooting for the Mets. What a humiliating, ignominious defeat. Some Met fans thought it was the greatest moment in franchise history.

WABC-Channel 7 sports anchor Scott Clark interviewed Mlicki after the game, asking him if it felt like a Playoff atmosphere. Mlicki was honest: "Never been there, so I couldn't tell you." It was the 18th victory of his career. He would finish 66-80, but he did reach the postseason -- not with the Mets, but with the 1998 Los Angeles Dodgers and the 2001 Houston Astros.

The next day, the Yankees won, 6-3. And the day after that, Tino Martinez singled Paul O'Neill home in the bottom of the 10th inning, to give the Yankees a 3-2 win. So while the Mets won the 1st regular-season game between the teams, the Yankees won the 1st series between them.

Ever since the 1st game between the teams, on March 23, 1962, at Huggins-Stengel Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, a 4-3 walkoff win for the Mets, Met fans have treated them like a religious crusade. Yankee Fans treat them like something to get out of the way.

This may be why more Met fans than Yankee Fans don't believe in God - or, at least, not in a just, loving God.

It's been suggested that the entire reason Interleague Play came into existence in 1997 was so that the Mets could play the Yankees in a game that actually counted, instead of just in Spring Training and the mid-season "Mayor's Trophy" game that was last played in 1983. But once the Yankees won the 2000 World Series, it became just another game: The Yankees had won the argument for all time -- at least, until the Mets beat them in a World Series, which has never come close to happening.

And let's get one thing straight: Regular-season games are not a "Subway Series." Nobody gave that name to the regular-season games between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers before they moved after the 1957 season. The name "Subway Series" was reserved for World Series between the Yankees and either the Giants (1921, '22, '23, '36, '37 and '51) or the Dodgers (1941, '47, '49, '52, '53, '55 and '56).

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Also on June 16, 1997, for the 1st time since the 1906 World Series, the 2 Chicago teams played each other. The Cubs beat the White Sox, 8-3 at what's now called Rate Field on the South Side. Lyle Mouton hit a home run for the Pale Hose, but Ryne Sandberg and Brian McRae each had 3 hits for the North Siders.

And for the 1st time ever, the 2 Ohio teams played each other: Cincinnati Reds 4, Cleveland Indians 1 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field). Manny Ramirez hit a home run in the bottom of the 9th, but that was all the Tribe got.

Other Interleague milestones:

* June 17, 1997: The 2 Los Angeles area teams played each other for the 1st time. The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the team then known as the Anaheim Angels, 4-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* June 30, 1997: The 2 Canadian teams played each other for the 1st time. The Montreal Expos beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 2-1 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.

* July 2, 1997: The 2 San Francisco Bay Area teams played each other for the 1st time since the 1989 World Series. The Oakland Athletics beat the San Francisco Giants, 8-1 at Candlestick Park (then named 3Com Park at Candlestick Point) in San Francisco.

* August 29, 1997: The Atlanta Braves played in Boston for the 1st time since 1952, and beat the Red Sox, 9-1 at Fenway Park. The same night, the Kansas City Royals and the St. Louis Cardinals played each other for the 1st time since the 1985 World Series, and the Cardinals won, 9-7 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* June 1, 1998: The Braves played in Milwaukee for the 1st time since 1965, and beat the Brewers, 5-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* June 22, 1998: The Florida teams played each other for the 1st time. The Florida Marlins (now the Miami Marlins) beat the Tampa Bay Rays (an expansion team that season), 3-2 in 12 innings at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

* June 8, 2001: The Texas teams played each other for the 1st time. The Houston Astros beat the Texas Rangers, 5-4 in 11 innings at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

* June 6, 2003: The Oakland Athletics played in Philadelphia for the 1st time since 1954, and beat the Phillies, 7-4 at Veterans Stadium. The same night, the Baltimore Orioles played in St. Louis for the 1st time since 1953, and lost to the Cardinals, 8-6 at Busch Memorial Stadium.

* May 19, 2006: The Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Nationals played each other for the 1st time. The Orioles won, 5-1 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.

* June 20, 2008: The Texas Rangers played in Washington for the 1st time since they left as the Washington Senators in 1971. The Washington Nationals beat them, 4-3 in 14 innings at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium.

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June 16, 1997 was a Monday. In addition to the 1st-ever Yanks-Mets, Cubs-Sox and Reds-Indians games, these games were played that day:

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4 at Fenway Park in Boston. Ricky Bottalico loaded the bases in the bottom of the 10th, and hit Troy O'Leary with a pitch.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-4 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Mike Lansing and Ryan McGuire hit home runs. Cal Ripken went 0-for-4.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-0 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Center) in Toronto. Denny Neagle pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 1-0 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Jeromy Burnitz hit a home run in the bottom of the 9th, making Bob Wickman the winning pitcher in relief of Ben McDonald. Between them, they pitched a 5-hit shutout. Alan Benes lost despite having, until then, pitched a 3-hit shutout. McDonald struck out 12 batters; Benes, 11.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Minnesota Twins, 8-6 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Houston Astros, 5-2 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* And none of the teams in either League's Western Division were scheduled: The Anaheim Angels, the Oakland Athletics, the Seattle Mariners, the Texas Rangers; the Colorado Rockies, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants.