August 8, 1988 would have been the perfect night for the first game under Wrigley Field lights. “8-8-88” and all, the Cubs’ best pitcher on the mound, a full house... it wasn’t to be, as you know, because of one of the fiercest thunderstorms in recent Chicago history.
So instead, a humble little game the next night between the Cubs, who were floundering around .500, and the visiting Mets, running away with the N.L. East, would go into the record books as the first official Wrigley Field night game.
Instead of Rick Sutcliffe on the mound, it would be Mike Bielecki as the starting pitcher.