NYC fans have checkered history of storming field

It was a brief, unremarkable era in our local baseball history, and, as with many other things, it started as a spontaneous expression of joy and evolved, ever too quickly, to something darker than that. It may well be that there were other such instances of rambunctious behavior, but for the purposes of this argument, it shall be contained to five dates:

• Sept. 24, 1969.
• Oct. 6, 1969.
• Oct. 16, 1969.
• Oct. 10, 1973.
• Oct. 14, 1976.
• Sept. 17, 1986.

Six times, in the space of 17 years, one of our teams won a big baseball game, and six times the field became a wild scene of public anarchy — fans spilling onto the field, digging up the grass, digging up the pitcher’s rubber, digging up home plate.

One of the things about the 1969 Mets that even the players always talk about is this: There was a sense they were all in it together, players and fans, fans who’d endured some of the worst baseball ever played for seven years, and then saw the Mets rise into the most improbable champions of all time.

“When I say the word ‘joy,’ it tells you a little bit about what everyone in the city was feeling,” Art Shamsky said not long ago. “But it was actually something even more than that, more visceral, more emotional. It was hard to describe.

But easy to see: Three times in the space of 28 days in that magical, mystical fall of 1969, the Mets won the three most important games of their lives, and in franchise history. The first wrapped up the NL East, the second the NL pennant, the last the World Series. And within seconds of the final out all three times, the scene at Shea Stadium was bedlam.

Joe Torre bounced into a 6-4-3 double play — “At 9:07 p.m. on September the 24th, 1969!” as Lindsey Nelson famously described it — and before long thousands of the crowd of 54,928 were milling about the field, delirious. On Oct. 6, Tony Gonzalez bounced out to Wayne Garrett, who tossed it to Ed Kranepool, and within seconds many of the 54,195 were repeating the ceremony.

And 10 days later, after Davey Johnson skied one to left, Cleon Jones caught it, dropped to a knee, then a large swath of the 57,397 descended onto the Shea Stadium turf, chasing the Mets to the dugout (and their quick-thinking outfielders to the bullpen, away from the swelling throngs).

Mostly, these displays were met with head shakes and smiles. It was all very innocent. A few players had their caps swiped, and a few had to shake off souvenir seekers trying to separate them from their mitts, but there was little sense of danger.

“An urban Bethel,” is what Larry Merchant called it in this newspaper, recalling the peaceful mob of 400,000 who’d gone to Woodstock two months earlier.

That was the last time it felt innocent. Four years later, it took a good half-hour to finish the ninth inning of Mets-Reds, Game 5 of the NLCS, because hungry-to-pounce fans kept trying to penetrate the stadium barriers. The Reds’ wives had to be evacuated from their seats before the final out.

And the field storming was such an ugly scene it moved Sparky Anderson to fume afterward: “It makes me ashamed that I belong not to baseball but to this country. On second thought, I’m not so sure New York is in this country. Normal fans wouldn’t act this way. They must be on dope or something.”

Similarly, three years later, Kansas City’s Whitey Herzog dismissed Yankees fans as “animals” when they stormed the field following Chris Chambliss’ ALCS-winning homer against Mark Littell. Chambliss was unable to actually reach home plate through the throngs (he did so later, after everyone had been cleared out) and executed no fewer than three body blocks to get off the field.

That, essentially, was that. A year later, when the Yankees clinched the 1977 World Series at home, there were only a few stragglers, and they were dealt with by an army of cops. Same with home-field Yankees clinchings in the 1978 ALCS and 1981 ALDS.

Chaos momentarily returned when the Mets clinched the NL East in 1986, but a few weeks later, they clinched the World Series at Shea and the fans stayed off the field, and that, to date, remains the outlier of the past 43 years.

Undoubtedly, a trend for the better.

Vac’s Whacks

Bruce Springsteen singing “Rhinestone Cowboy” is the most inspired musical cover since Johnny Cash had a go with “Hurt.”

If I were the Mets, and I was going to hire another first-time manager, I would at least give David Cone a telephone call.

If I were Sam Darnold, the only two choices for a T-shirt under the uniform Sunday in Jacksonville are Pac-Man’s pals Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde, or Peter Venkman and Ray Stantz.

The more you know about the Astros’ front office, the more it sounds like an updated version of Bendini, Lambert & Locke, from “The Firm.”

Whack Back at Vac

Mike Levine: After selecting the new manager, there are many reasons why Brodie should hire himself as bench coach: He could wear the Mets uniform and have it custom-tailored for that perfect look, he can write the lineup card and hand deliver to the home plate umpire, and he will be able to whisper instructions to the manager during the game without having to make clandestine phone calls to the dugout.
Vac: If I could distill all the responses I’ve had to the Mets manager’s search to one email, this would be it.

Bruce Welsch: I’m thinking somehow Luke Falk found a way to sneak into Sam Darnold’s uniform this past Monday night. At least that’s what I hope that was the case.
Vac: I suspect poor Luke’s ears were burning all night Monday night.

@JASwetz_Esq: Is Aaron Boone a puppet? A.J. Hinch? Simply because Joe Girardi is a name, he’s a fit? Years ago, you guys always protested “retreads” moving from job to job and that there weren’t enough minorities becoming managers. Let them make the pick.
@MikeVacc: He makes some fair points, you know.

Peter Roth: If they made “OSEMELE” jerseys, I would buy a baker’s dozen. Labor sticks it to management. I don’t see the problem Mike.
Vac: I realize the Jets often seem to be operating in a parallel universe, but unless there is a compelling untold story here, it’s hard to understand any of this.

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