Beloved Mets Return for Shea Stadium Farewell - Photo Gallery

<p>Tom Seaver comes onto the field.</p>

<p>Fans say good-bye</p>

<p>Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry</p>

<p>Bud Harrelson leaps onto home plate</p>

<p>MIke Piazza and Tom Seaver</p>

<p>Tom Seaver throws out the first pitch</p>

<p>Former players shake hands with fans</p>

<p>David Wright after the loss</p>

<p>Manager Jerry Manuel after the loss.</p>

<b>Farewell to Shea Stadium</b>The last pitch ever thrown at Shea Stadium was bounced. Hall of Famer Tom Seaver <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/09/29/beloved_mets_return_for_shea_stadiu.php">delivered a toss</a> in the dirt to future Hall of Famer Mike Piazza. This ceremony followed the last ever game at Shea, a loss to the Marlins as the Mets missed the playoffs on the season's last day for the second straight year. Shea's last season didn't get the attention paid to Yankee Stadium's in the Bronx. It may not have had the same history as its older counterpart, but Shea did give fans a place to love. No park that hosted a baseball team since 1964 could vanish without fans' missing it. Yes, the upper-deck sightlines were atrocious. No, people won't regret the move to Citi Field. But 44 years is a long time, and the sight of its piece-by-piece destruction from the Grand Central Parkway isn't a pleasant one. <i>- Tom Boorstein</i>

<p>Shea Stadium at sunset</p>