Memories of O.O.T.G.C.O.A.T.

Hey guys, A Friend of Mr. Glass's, here, just wanted to share a few of my memories from the Mets-Braves game immortalized first in the hearts of Mets fans and second in the writing of Sippy Momo below.

Sippy Momo calls it the Greatest Comeback of All Time. I'm gonna hedge a bit on that and call it One of the Greatest Comebacks of All Time (O.O.T.G.C.O.A.T.). I've seen that '86 Mets tape too many times and remember being at Shea for Robin's "grand slam single" to call this the greatest comeback in Mets history. Certainly, it involved the Mets coming back from the largest deficit that I can recall for a game of any importance, and it was truly a life-changing event.

With that in mind, I wanted to share my fond memories of this most glorious evening at the ballpark.

First off, if you're a Mets fan, you've undoubtedly seen the shot of Piazza hitting the homerun. It was used in promos for the Mets and for Major League Baseball for years. Piazza connects, the crowd behind him goes nuts, he pumps his fist showing as much emotion on the field as he ever did (that's not a knock on the guy, just the fact was that the Monster always kept a pretty level head). This is the kind of moment you see over and over again and it still gives you goosebumps. It was the summer of 2000, the Monster was out of the clos... I mean cage, and the Mets were on their way to the World Series. It was good to be alive.

I also recall that Robin Ventura made two outs in the inning. Afterward, Robin was quoted as saying that after the Mets had the lead he just wanted to speed the game to its conclusion for those people who had attended mainly to see the July 4th fireworks display (this must have been the Mets' last home night game before the Fourth). Robin was in the midst of his beleaguered 2000 campaign, but was always good for a laugh just the same.

Third, those of you who went to a certain Upper West Side school for boys or those who knew someone who did will recall that the summer of 2000 came in the midst of the name-said-backward craze. For example, "Sippy Momo is Omom Yppis!" or "A.F.O.M.G. is G.M.O.F.A!" We all got a real kick out of this little joke for two, maybe three years.

This exercise always experienced a fresh twist when a person's last name spelled backwards was phonetically the same as it was spelled forward. For example, Eric Cammack, who pitched in either the top half of the eighth or the bottom half of the ninth. Some record must have been sent that night for saying "Cammack is Kcammac".

I remember now! It was the top of the eighth! What triggers this long distant memory? Well, Cammack is Cammack (its phonetic pronunciation) would have been in line for the win in that game if not for a little-known and rarely-invoked rule stipulating that a reliever will not earn the win if he pitches uncommonly badly but still manages to be "in the game" when his team comes out of nowhere to produce an unforgettable comeback.

Normally, the last guy to pitch before his team scores a bunch of runs becomes the winning pitcher; not so in this case. See, Cammack is Cammack's most notable role in that game was that he was the goat who trudged off the field to a chorus of boos after the Braves scored several runs off him in their half of the eighth, theoretically putting the game out of reach.

Enter said little-known, rarely-invoked rule. Because of it, the box score shows that Armando Benitez was credited with the win in that game, even though he normally would have been credited with the save (which he just as well may have preferred given his history of futility in big-game save situations. I can't say I remember being certain that Benitez would blow the "save", but I'm certain that I and everyone else in the joint was thinking the exact same thing when old Armando entered the game).

Lastly, I distinctly recall wondering if my hands had ever hurt as much as they did after that eighth inning. Pounding them together all through the Mets' improbable 10-run inning and then slapping hands and backs with Sippy Momo, Sippy Momo Sr., and just about every other Mets fan in the place, my hands were about as red as they were ever going to get. It was a hell of a game. Truly one of the greatest comebacks of all time.

- A.F.O.M.G.