Scott's View - St. Louis, Missouri
We've been to Busch Stadium a few times in the past; St. Louis is not too far from home and makes for a nice easy weekend road trip. So, early in the 1998 season, it seemed like no big deal to pick up four tickets to the last two games of the year and plan a trip down there with our wives.
By the time the end of September came, our beloved Cubs were fighting for their life in Houston as we watched Mark McGwire make history by belting the last four of his 70 home runs.
On Saturday, we had nice upper-deck seats along the third base line. Only problem was, we were directly in the sun on a 90 degree-plus day, with St. Louis's famous stifling humidity. I love being at the game as much as anybody, but this was a perfect afternoon for an air-conditioned bar with a big screen TV. The concession stands made a killing with their $3 bottles of water, but we couldn't complain -- they were keeping us from passing out. We all spent quite a bit of time in the shady concourse beneath the stands, but the good news is nobody missed McGwire's 67th and 68th home runs as the Cardinals beat the Expos in an otherwise meaningless game.
Unfortunately, our plans for night clubbing and riverboat gambling never came to pass that evening. We were all so exhausted from the heat that two beers with dinner sent us back to the motel to make an early night of it. (Getting old, I guess!)
On Sunday, we were happy to trade the previous day's better seats for ones in the shade in the far right field corner. And the distance of our seats from the plate could in no way diminish the excitement of watching homers 69 and 70 soar over the wall. I've never heard a crowd that loud, and unless I live to see the Cubs win a World Series, I probably never will again.
Speaking of the Cubs, we were definitely scoreboard watchers that weekend. Here, on the final day of the season, the Cubs, Giants, and Mets all still had a shot at the National League wild-card spot. In between McGwire at-bats, we kept track as the Mets completed their season-ending choke with a loss to put them out of the running. The Giants were beating up Colorado, and it looked like our Cubbies would need to beat Houston for the tie. Both games were still going on when the Cardinal game ended, so we rushed out to the car to hear the rest.
It was quite an emotional roller coaster up I-55. The thrill of having seen the historic McGwire blasts was still fresh as we listened to Rod Beck throw away the game and, seemingly, the Cubs' postseason chances. Mere minutes later, however, we learned that Neifi Perez's ninth-inning home run had completed the Rockies' unbelievable nine-run comeback to beat the Giants, setting up a one game playoff at Wrigley Field. Unable to get tickets, Ron and I watched the Cubs win from Ron Santo's Restaurant in Schaumburg, for their first playoff appearance in nine years.
I'd prefer to end the story here.
