My fascination with the Chicago Cubs has endured for nearly as long [35+ years] as I’ve been a baseball fan, fueled by my affection for both the sport and the city of Chicago. Wrigley Field is also a true marvel of a stadium, where I’ve been to once in my life, and I’ll never forget its beauty. The Cubs are a team with a great history, and the city has a strong following. As a baseball fan, you can feel the excitement in the air at Wrigley when taking in the game. The team has experienced its share of heartache throughout the years, but one thing remains constant: whenever you watch the Cubs play, you’re watching history as it unfolds, and might even be surprised by a truly thrilling game, for the team has known many.
My favorite team is the New York Mets. I grew up watching them for the first time during the mid 1980s. My second favorite would be the Yankees, and, not far behind… are the Cubs.
From 1969 until 1993, the New York Mets and the Chicago Cubs were in the National League East division. Major League Baseball realigned the divisions after adding one more to each league [National & American] for its then-28 teams, and the Cubs moved to the Central Division. During the years in which the Cubs and Mets were in the East, the Mets won the Division Championship in 1969, 1973, 1986, and 1988.
1989 was a memorable year for both the Cubs and Mets. The Cubs would win the division. This was the year after the Mets won it but then lost to the Dodgers in the NLCS. The Mets-Cubs rivalry has seen many feats of individual brilliance, such as Cubs second basemen Ryan Sandberg‘s stellar performance throughout those years, both defensively and offensively, as well as the pinnacle of Andre Dawson‘s career. Other great names I enjoyed watching play were Darryl Strawberry, Shawon Dunston, and Mark Grace, to name a few.
I lived in Chicago from 1998 until 2001, and during that time, I often got to see the Cubs on WGN. The station was not well known in New York City. I arrived in the city in 1998, year after renowned announcer Harry Caray‘s passing. The sense of excitement in Chicago for their beloved team still resonated throughout the city, as they pursued a playoff birth and Sammy Sosa battled it out with Mark McGwire to attempt to break Roger Maris‘ longtime single-season home run record.
Even after the Cubs’ move to the Central Division, the Mets and Cubs still retained some of their rivalry. In 2016, they squared off in the NLCS, the Mets winning in four games. Throughout their history, they’ve played each other in many exciting games.
Of the 769 official games played between them as of Spring Training 2024, the following represent less than 1%. Yet, each has something special, which is why I wanted to share them. Both teams have a great history. The Cubs have been in Major League Baseball for much longer. It’s worth noting that both teams have great fans who support them all the way. And my intention is not to say one is better than the other but instead to spotlight the captivating games, moments, and plays that have occurred whenever these two teams have met.
Here are eight of my most memorable Mets-Cubs matchups:
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1) Second Game of Doubleheader Postponed by Darkness, Resumed Next Day
August 6-7, 1986
Final Score: Mets 7-Cubs 6
In this game, the Mets and Cubs were at Wrigley Field playing the second game of a doubleheader when it was postponed due to darkness. Game was suspended in the top of the 8th inning with the score, Mets 6-Cubs 4, and was completed the next day at Wrigley Field. What was weird about this is that when it finally resumed the next day, Mookie Wilson was on base as he had been the previous day, and the Mets had one more game to play after that one, so in effect it was like watching two double headers in 2 days. For some reason, it reminded me of the movie rocky. I know it sounds a bit tacky, but if you remember, in that movie Rocky fights his rival at the end, then resumes in Rocky 2, from the same spot in the dressing room. This was actually the first time I, as a baseball fan, had witnessed a delay due to darkness.
2) 33 Runs in One Game
August 16, 1987
Final Score: Mets 23-Cubs 10
I remember watching this game on TV when I got home from school. When I turned it on, the score surprised me a lot. Back then, you couldn’t check scores right away; you had to wait until just before the commercials to find out who was winning. I don’t recall at which inning I first caught the game, only that it was in double digits for either team. This game is easily one of the strangest I’ve seen in all my years as a baseball fan. The 23 runs at the time were the most the Mets had scored in one game. Coincidentally, they broke their own record 31 years later, in 2018–on the same exact date [Aug. 16]!–against the Phillies, when they scored 24 runs.
3) 27-Run Game
June 12, 1990
Final Score: Mets 19-Cubs 8
This was another high-scoring game that I happened to catch during the later innings when I came home from school and turned on the TV. Again, I waited until just before the commercial, and when they revealed the score, I could not believe it was so high. I looked at the game summary and could see that the Mets scored in every inning except the 5th and the 9th. It was the day when the Mets’ Dave Magadan also drove in six runs with a pair of home runs, and teammate Kevin McReynolds blasted two of his own.
4) Mets Intentionally Walk Batter and Get to Sammy Sosa…
May 3, 1996
Final Score: Cubs 4-Mets 2
With the Cubs trailing 2-1 and the tying run on second base in the bottom of the ninth, Mets manager Dallas Green intentionally walked Mark Grace to bring Sammy Sosa to the plate. Sosa, who was coming off a year in which he set career highs with 36 homers and 119 RBI and finished eighth in National League MVP voting, was 0-for-3 against Paul Wilson in the game with two strikeouts. But he didn’t miss the first pitch he saw in the ninth. Sosa hit it onto Waveland Avenue, and the Cubs won 4-2. Green’s reaction to his miscalculation is priceless. Harry Caray was on the call, and his boisterous call-out of the home run was one of the most memorable for me as a baseball fan.
5) The Black Cat Game
September 9, 1969
Final Score: Mets 7-Cubs 1
Shea Stadium bore witness to an unusual and iconic moment during a pivotal game between the Mets and Cubs. In a twist of fate, a black cat made its enigmatic appearance near the Cubs’ dugout. The date’s significance is heightened by the Mets’ pursuit of their first division title. As the black cat nonchalantly traversed the field, it seemed to cast an otherworldly aura over the proceedings. Many attribute this incident to the Mets’ subsequent surge in performance, ultimately securing their triumph in the National League East. A mystical encounter that has since become a legendary episode in baseball history, and which added a unique and captivating chapter to the Mets’ memorable 1969 season.
6) First Official Night Game
August 9, 1988
Final Score: Cubs 6-Mets 4
For 72 years, ever since their first game in 1916, the Chicago Cubs had no lights at Wrigley Field. It was not uncommon for games to be postponed to to darkness throughout its history. It wasn’t until 1988 that the stadium finally had lights. The first game was scheduled against the Philadelphia Phillies on 8/8/88. That game got rained out. The next day, the Mets would play in the first official night game at Wrigley. I’d always imagined what Wrigley would look like with lights in my minds eye, and when it finally happened, I found it interesting. There were those fans who said that having lights would break tradition and that it would cause disturbance among The neighbors in Wrigleyville. It’s been more than 35 years since lights were installed, though it seems like yesterday. In this historical game, Frank DiPino got the win for the Cubs, and Hall of Famer Goose Gossage was credited with the save.
7) Tom Seaver Loses No-Hitter in 9th Inning
July 9, 1969
Final Score: 4-0
The year that the Mets would win the championship, the Chicago Cubs thwarted Tom Seaver‘s perfect game bid. Seaver struck out 11 and retired 24 consecutive Cubs, only to be denied a perfect game by Jimmy Qualls‘ ninth-inning hit. This event contributed to the Cubs’ historic 7,920-game streak without being no-hit, lasting from 1965 to 2015. This game remains one of 22 instances where the Cubs had one hit during this remarkable no-hit streak. I looked at the score box and was amazed this game lasted only 2 hours and 2 minutes. That’s got to be one of the quickest Mets games ever. In 1988, the Mets played a 1:55 minute game against the Giants, though I did not get to see that game on TV. Of note also was the fact that Randy Hundley led off the 9th. He is the father of former Met and Cub catcher Todd Hundley. And if you think that was quick, that same year, Gary Waslewski of the Expos also pitched a one-hitter game that lasted 1 hour and 36 minutes.
8) Mets Turn Triple Play
June 6, 1989
Final Score: Cubs 8-Mets 4
I’ve never seen the Mets turn a triple play live. But I have heard them live turn a triple play. That weekday afternoon in 1989, I was at the public library listening to the Mets. It was the exciting year in which the Cubs and Mets with battle it out for the rights to the division crown. The Mets were heavily favored and had an exciting year, though they would eventually lose the East Division to the Cubs. One of the greatest highlights of that year for me was when all of a sudden, beloved Mets announcer Bob Murphy extolled that the Mets had turned a triple play. I hadn’t been following exactly who was on base or how it happened–only that I’d witnessed, through a longtime Mets announcer’s exuberant call, a triple play. It was the 7th in their history, and the 1st that I’d experienced as a Mets fan.