New York had many dark days during the summer of 1977. None were darker than July 13.
That night, three freak lightning strikes at power stations in the area plunged the city into darkness. Those who lived through it certainly remember. Thousands of people had to be evacuated from the subway system, airports and tunnels had to be closed, and neighborhoods hard hit by the national economic downturn and the financial crisis of the city's near-bankruptcy financial saw widespread looting and arson.
Many of the 14,626 who were at Shea Stadium that night to watch the Cubs face the Mets also have a distinctly different and surprisingly more pleasant memory. The power outage halted the game with the Mets batting in the sixth and trailing 2-1 with the home team's Jerry Koosman pitching well. But when the action stopped, the Mets came together to give those that waited � unsuccessfully � for the lights to come back on, an entirely different kind of show.
Joe Torre, promoted to player/manager on the last day of May with the team's record at 15-30, calls what transpired "the pantomime infield." Second baseman Doug Flynn prefers the term "phantom infield."
Take your pick, but this is the story....
