August 4th, 1989
Dave Stieb takes the mound to face the New York Yankees, on an evening which would go down in Blue Jays history. Seven years old at the time and already a frequent attendee, I took in this game with my Mom. Our season tickets were up in section 534 in '89 and Mom has next to no interest in sports. I remember her wanting to leave in the fifth inning and me having to explain to her that we had to stay because something special was happening. Stieb threw like a man possessed and shut down the Bombers convincingly all night. No hits. No walks. The crowd reached a nervous fever pitch by the top of the ninth...
As we all know, the lowly number nine hitter in the Yankee lineup - Roberto Kelly - hit a two-out double to stifle Stieb's stab at the record books. Kelly would score on Steve Sax's RBI single, before Stieb finally put New York away for good. This is the earliest memory I have of being at a game which was monumental, and being aware of it at the time. My Dad was understandably upset that he skipped this one. It was an unforgettable experience and an event which will shine near-perfectly forever, in the Jays' legacy.
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