). I'll start with a couple:4/30/86...Atlanta..Got to see two greats match up when Dale Murphy, 9 stitches in his right palm, hits a pinch hit homer off Dwight Gooden in a game that should have broken his consecutive games played streak at 676 after ripping his hand in the outfield partition the day before...he goes on to 740 straight games. In an otherwise meaningless game, the place was electric when he appeared in the on deck circle in the 9th...and then roared for what seemed like minutes when he connected on the heater.
My most special...summer 1999...Mets @ Atlanta.
My 9 year-old son's allstar team had just lost a Dizzy Dean state championship game 1-0 the day before.
Friends gave us tix and parking and we went on the spur of the moment. 
Front row, 3rd base side, about half way between 3rd and left field. The great Rickey "The Dog" Henderson leading off for Mets...I'm explaining to my son his greatness throughout the game (although I could not stand him for reasons most are aware 
).Rickey struck out a couple of times early and was not in a good mood...fans giving it to him bigtime, etc. During the whole game, I'm getting my 4 yr-old daughter (long blonde hair, blue eyes
) to yell "Hello, Mr. Rickey", "Mr. Rickey, would you like a peanut?", all kinds of cute things...to which he was occasionally flapping his glove at her, smiling, waving to her as he would go out or come in from his position in left. (Remember, he's having a not so good day, fans riding him). Well, top of 9th, he hits a double and promptly steals third.By this time, even though big Braves fans, we are cheering him on to a good degree. As the Mets take the field for the bottom of the 9th...again, as the Mets TAKE THE FIELD for the bottom of the 9th, Rickey walks right over to my daughter, flaps open his glove and reveals a baseball
...Suffice it to say Dad was ready with a pen for him to sign with, and the people behind us were taking pictures with a digital camera (1999, remember), which they later emailed to us. People started flocking down around us asking for more autographs, but Rickey kept his focus on my daughter, while my son sat there with his mouth agape. For the past few years, we get excited when "Mr. Rickey" comes on the tube (not as often now)...he now holds a special place in this old codger's heart for that one great moment in time.
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