“An unmeasurable shot of something more than 500 feet,” wrote Leonard Koppett. “That one today would have gone over the third fence and hit the bus in the parking lot if it hadn’t hit the seats,” said Ron Swoboda. At Howie Rose’s behest, Tommie Agee’s home run that soared into the Upper Deck on April 10, 1969 and resonates nearly forty years later was marked as part of the 25th-anniversary celebration of the Miracle Mets. It would have been a miracle if the Mets had sold a ticket that high up and that far out in 1994, though to be fair, only 8,608 were on hand at Shea the afternoon Agee took the Expos’ Larry Jaster and whatever he threw for a very long, very high ride.
It was the first of two homers Agee blasted that Thursday, leading the Mets to a win and boosting their record to 2-1, only the second time they had ever edged above .500 in their eight-season history. They wouldn’t be back over the break-even barrier again until June 3, when they reached 24-23. The 1969 New York Mets would stay above .500 for quite a while from there, and will always reside in an Upper Deck all their own.
This unique angle on the only home run ever hit into Shea Stadium’s departed and occasionally dear top tier was delivered by our brilliant photographer friend David G. Whitham, whose work from the ballpark that is no more we are featuring through the long slog of winter so as to brighten these dreary days.
See what else David has recorded for the ages on his the dgwPhotography blog.
If the Mets haven't put that piece of Shea up for auction (or haven't already destroyed it) they should instead send it to the Agee family as a tribute to #20. Might be quite a bit heavy but still, it would look nice on the family lawn or back yard.
Especially if they live on a high floor.