Page 6 - Discover Fall 2020
P. 6
Editor’s Note
By Tim Ernandes
I’ve been a Mets fan since 1964, when I occurred to us that we might take in a game
was seven years old. I still don’t know why, but when the Mets were in town.
I guess it’s because I don’t like following the
The Mets came to town in August. My
crowd. Most of my friends and relatives were
brother and his family live in Northern VA,
Yankees fans, understandably so in the days of
so it was arranged that we would all gather
Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Whitey Ford,
at his home, spend the night, and from there
and Mel Stottlemyre.
we would all head to the game. At the time,
When the Corona-stunted 2020 baseball the “Nats” played in RFK stadium, which was
season finally got underway, I watched easily accessed via the Washington Metro.
the Mets play to an empty stadium, with
We followed my brother to the nearest
corrugated plastic cutouts occupying some
Metro station, which was still some distance
of the seats. For their part, the announcers
from the stadium. We were all very excited,
were isolated from one another, and indeed,
not only to be going to a ball game, but
from the ballpark itself. Canned “crowd noise”
because it appeared that as Mets fans, we
provided what passed for stadium ambience.
outnumbered the Nationals fans. It was an
The abbreviated season, with its lopsided
exciting game, in which the Mets prevailed
schedule, made it seem even less familiar.
by a score of 6 to 2. We headed back to the
This caused me to reminisce about one of Metro station amid a throng of fellow fans, all
my most cherished baseball memories, which cheering for the Mets.
occurred following the very last baseball game
The crowd on the platform was
that I had attended.
overwhelming. We had to wait for two or
My family and I had moved from Long three trains before we could get near enough
Island to the lake in June of 2000. We to board one. As the doors opened to the car
continued to follow the Mets via TV, radio, directly in front of us, my family swooped in. I
and online streaming. Going to the ballpark stood alone on the platform as they urged me
was a thing of the past. However, when the to try and squeeze in. They pulled me into the
Montreal Expos pulled up stakes and surfaced car, crushing me up against them as I barely
in Washington, D.C. as the Nationals, it cleared the closing doors.
4 Discover Smith Mountain Lake FALL 2020
