One thing that differentiates baseball from the other sports is that the playing field varies from stadium to stadium. In football, basketball, and hockey, the field/court/rink is exactly the same. In baseball, no two fields are the same (not anymore, anyway). There's something beautiful about the standard baseball diamond with very nonstandard outfields.
As I've said, my goal is to get to (almost) every baseball stadium. I have no desire to get to every basketball arena or every football stadium. The only football stadium that I would make a point of seeing is Lambeau Field (if you want to go to a Packers game, let's talk). But now, we have 30 Major League Baseball stadiums, and I want to see most of them in person because they're all different. This wasn't always the case. Fortunately the cookie cutter stadiums are a thing of the past. When I was growing up, the Phillies, Pirates, and Reds all played in the same stadium. At least they might as well have. And there were several other teams that played in stadiums that also had just about the same dimensions and shapes (Expos, Brewers, Rangers, Braves, Astros, A's, Cardinals, I might have missed somebody).
The great thing about having very different stadiums is the way they affect the game. Let's take two very different stadiums, Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium. In Fenway Park, there's a huge right field. In Yankee Stadium, there's a huge left field. If Manny Ramirez had been a Yankee, he probably would have played right field. There's no way Manny Ramirez could have played right field in Fenway Park. Then there's the Green Monster. The Green Monster creates homeruns and takes them away. Because it's so close to home, you could hit a high fly ball that just gets over the Monster that would be caught for an easy out in Yankee Stadium. Or you could hit a hard line drive that would be a homerun in Yankee Stadium, but isn't high enough to clear the wall in Fenway. Check my San Diego post for my rant about Ted Williams when I figured out that he would have hit 672 homeruns if he hadn't spent five seasons in the military. Ted Williams was a left handed pull hitter in Fenway Park. How many balls did he hit that weren't homeruns in Fenway that would have been homeruns if he had played his home games in Yankee Stadium? Let's just say it was 3 per season (sounds reasonable enough, it has to have been at least that many). That would be another 66 hypothetical homeruns to add to the 151 hypothetical homeruns I already gave him for his military service, which would get us to a record breaking total of 738.
Football, basketball, and hockey are the same games no matter where they're played. Baseball isn't quite the same game in Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium. So yeah, I love that the Red Sox can have a 37 foot wall in left field, the Astros can have a hill in center field (even though I think that's pretty stupid), the Cubs can have a brick wall covered with ivy, and the Padres can build a stadium where you can't hit homeruns.
By the way, this website is really cool. I particularly enjoyed checking out the stadiums that were before my time (Ebbets Field, the Polo Grounds, pre-renovation Yankee Stadium).
So all this leads me to my next few posts where I'll rank the stadiums I've been to so far. I've been to 13 of them. Will my rankings be biased? Absolutely.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Been around God's country and there's one thing I know...
...There's no better place for a baseball game than San Diego! If you get the reference, um, yeah, I changed the lyrics a little bit. So I went to San Diego by myself. Why? Because ... well ... why not? I realized that I had a four day weekend and I wasn't going to do anything with it. That would have been a missed opportunity. I thought about going to Toronto, but then I realized the Dodgers were playing in San Diego on Thursday, so this was an easy decision. And my first trip out of the country really should be for the Notre Dame game in Ireland.
This is going to be a long post, so you might need more than one sitting for this one. But if you like baseball and/or me, I recommend reading the whole thing.
Despite the cold weather, I loved Petco. It is my favorite of the new stadiums that I've been to (so far I've been to eight that have been built during my lifetime). But I did think of a few things that could be improved.
I got to San Diego on Thursday around noon. My hotel was a mile from the USS Midway and two miles from Petco Park. I walked to the Midway and it was really cool. The Midway was commissioned in September 1945 and decommissioned in April 1992. If you're ever in San Diego, it's definitely worth checking out. Right next to the Midway was the USS San Diego, which is being commissioned today. There was a line with a two hour wait to see the San Diego. I didn't have time for that.
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| I took lots of pictures on the Midway, but this one is probably my favorite. It's the Chain of Command in 1982. |
After the Midway, I was pretty hungry, so I got a fish taco at the nearby Anthony's Fish Grotto. It was awesome (much better than the one I had at Marlins Park, which was also good). I remember whenever Joe Morgan called a Padres game in San Diego he would always talk about the fish tacos. He might have been the worst baseball broadcaster I've ever heard, but he was right about San Diego's fish tacos.
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| Yep, that's one taco. I had to start it with a fork. |
I went back to the hotel to rest for a little bit and then I walked to Petco Park. At the suggestion of former roommate/native Southern Californian Kyle, I went to one of the bars near Petco before the game. It was Tivoli Bar, the second oldest bar in San Diego. It was kind of quiet. Perhaps I was too early for the San Diego crowd (about an hour before game time) and it was a Thursday. But I had a Sam Adams for $4, so that was better than what I would have had to pay inside the stadium.
Then I got to the stadium and it was awesome. It totally made up for the fact that it was 60 degrees and cloudy all day. I walked around the lower concourse, which was really nice. I loved the vines that were growing and hanging down from above. Then I came across this:
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| Among the names I found were Joe DiMaggio, Tommy Lasorda, Duke Snider, and Ted Williams. |
Ted Williams would have hit at least 100 more homeruns (a very conservative estimate, hold on) if he hadn't served in World War II and the Korean War. It made me think of how in my time we've had scumbags like Barroid who broke records because of steroids and decades ago we had baseball players who risked their lives defending the country. If Ted Williams hadn't spent five years in the military, people would have been talking about how he had a chance to break Ruth's record. He probably wouldn't have gotten there, but he would have come fairly close. He totally missed 1943-1945 and then he hit a total of 14 homeruns in 1952 and 1953 because of the Korean War. If he averaged 35 homeruns during those World War II seasons and 30 during the two Korean War seasons (very reasonable expectations, check his stats), and the rest of his career was exactly the same, he would have hit 672 homeruns, the second most ever at the time.
Anyway, back to Petco and the game. I asked Kyle what percentage of the fans would be rooting for the Dodgers. He said it would be about 50-50 on a weekend, but about 35% during the week. He might have underestimated, but it was hard to tell because the Padre fans never had anything to cheer about. It was Aaron Harang vs. Edinson Volquez (I love listening to Vin Scully tell the story about how he was Julio Reyes, then Edison Volquez, then Edinson Volquez, he also had a great story about Carlos Beltran buying a monkey last night). Volquez and the Padres pitchers couldn't get a big out. Bobby Abreu started the Dodgers scoring with an RBI triple in the first (I definitely didn't think he had anything left) and the Dodgers never looked back. The view from my seat was great and I think it was in a place where the wind was blocked, which was clutch. I was in shorts and a sweatshirt with the hood on. It was pretty cold. I've been to much colder games, so it was tolerable, but I'm sure the southern Californians thought it was freezing.
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| Awesome view |
I moved down and watched the last inning and a half right by the field. With the Padres down 8 runs, a lot of fans left. The Padres ended up scoring a run, but it was an easy 8-1 win for the Dodgers.
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| Tony Gwynn Jr. at bat for the Dodgers |
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| Petco Park even has a statue of the Dodgers' fourth outfielder's father. |
I love a good pitchers duel (I'd rather see a 2-1 game than a 10-9 game), but the fences should be brought in. Surprisingly, this game had the most runs of the three games I've been to so far this year (but it was the first without a homerun). I'm shocked to see that there are seven stadiums that have been better places to pitch so far this year (last year there were only two). I also didn't like that the visitors' bullpen was on the field in foul territory. I've never like that. So move in the fences and find a place to put the visitors' bullpen beyond the fence.
You couldn't walk around on the upper concourse and still see the field. And the food options were limited on the upper concourse. That could be because Padres crowds aren't too big, so there's not a need to have many and varied concession stands up there. But the fish taco before the game made up for that anyway.
And the biggest thing that could be improved is the atmosphere (the biggest edge I give Fenway over Wrigley is atmosphere). That would require the Padres to win more. I don't get why they don't. San Diego is the 8th biggest city in the country and the weather is amazing (except when I'm there). The Padres should spend some money and built a great team. It's the Giants that should be terrible. Why would anybody want to live in that city with all those dirty smelly hippies?
So yeah, that was San Diego. A couple of other things:
I sent in my Notre Dame ticket application. I applied for Michigan and BYU at home, though I certainly won't rule out going to other games. I applied for Navy in Ireland and Oklahoma on the road. So why did I apply for Oklahoma when they're probably going to kill us? Because I've never been to the state of Oklahoma. I'm guessing I won't win anyway, so my other thought is that if I don't win, I'll go to Oklahoma City at some point next year to see Kevin Durant and the Zombies.
My next trip is to Pittsburgh in late June. I don't really want to do anything else before that so that I don't miss any more Rangers or Celtics playoff games (hopefully there will be many). In July, I go to Phoenix. And I think I'm going to Fenway in August. I'd be up for doing something else in July (it would have to be a really quick weekend trip). And I have a few other possibilities for late August:
1. The weekend of August 18, both the Cardinals and Royals are home. So my thought was to fly to one city and go to the game and then drive across the state and go to a game there the next day and fly home from there.
2. A roadtrip that would include a trip to Gettysburg National Military Park and then the Reds game on August 25, the Tigers game on August 26, and the Indians game on August 27.
3. A trip to Denver to see the Dodgers play the Rockies on August 27 and/or 28.
If anybody is interested in getting in on any of that, let me know.
And today I officially graduate with my Master's degree. Yay for me! I had absolutely no interest in going to the ceremony, which worked out well since I would have missed the Ranger game if I had gone. Solid win for the Rangers today, but we all know this is going seven anyway.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
The First of the New Wave of Baseball Stadiums
US Cellular Field opened in 1991. Sorry Tim (the only White Sox fan I know), you got the 1991 version of Shea Stadium. Oriole Park at Camden Yards opened a year later and changed the way baseball stadiums were built. I finally made it there yesterday. I went with my brothers and we sat in front of the press box, a little bit off to the third base side. We got the seats for $40 each on stubhub. Again, you are not going to find seats like that for $40 in New York.
Before the game, we walked around the stadium. This is where this stadium really changed things. I grew up going to games at Shea Stadium. If you wanted to get from left field to right field, you had to walk about 270 degrees around the stadium. As far as I know, this was the first stadium where you can go in any direction around the 360 degrees of the stadium. The outfield area is very nice, probably the nicest of any stadium I've been to so far. One thing I was disappointed by though is that you can't see the field from the concourse as you walk around (except in the outfield). So I'm taking pretty big points off for that. It's not like this architectural concept was created after the stadium was built; you can walk around the concourse at Dodger Stadium and still see the field.
I noticed the markings of homerun balls in right field. Check out this picture:
Yep, this is a celebration of steroids in baseball. Lots of Palmeiro, Brady Anderson, and Jason Giambi (they have the homeruns of visiting players marked also). Quick Rafael Palmeiro story: When I was young, the father of one of my friends knew people and used to occasionally get tickets for Yankee games that were in the first row behind the visitors dugout. My friend took me to maybe three or four games with those seats. Whenever the visiting team would come in from the field, we'd ask the players for a ball. One time when the Yankees were playing the Orioles, Raphael Palmeiro threw a ball to another fan and looked at me and said he would get me after the next inning. Yeah, he never gave me a ball. I went to another game after that and did get a ball from the Royals first baseman (I'm guessing it was Wally Joyner, but I don't remember for sure). But I always held that against Palmeiro and I was glad when he got busted for steroids.
As for food, I had a soft shell crab sandwich. I might have gotten something else, but I was informed by Adam Richman on facebook that yesterday was the 250th anniversary of the sandwich. (I love Adam Richman. I can't wait for his new show, even though I doubt it can be as good as Man vs. Food.) It was fine, but nothing special. I liked the fish tacos I had in Miami better.
The game was unremarkable, except for the fact that the teams combined for 7 errors. The Orioles won 5-3, but I definitely won't remember the details of this one in a week. But I did vote for the All Star teams. I don't think I've ever done that before. Or at least I've never had my vote at a stadium counted. I remember punching out the ballot at Citi Field last year, but I couldn't find a receptacle for my ballot. I voted for A.J. Ellis as the NL catcher (look at his stats, he's having an awesome year). Probably what I'll remember most, though, is following Game 7 for the Rangers and Game 1 for the Celtics on Sean's phone. The Rangers hung on for a win and the Celtics came back to beat the Sixers. All in all, it was a good day for me. All that was missing was a loss by the Lakers in Game 7, but hopefully the Zombies will take care of them.
So anyway, I hope that I won't miss any of the next 14 games the Rangers play (because they'll probably end up going seven games two more times). I will be missing Game 4 of the Celtics series because of the mystery trip that I have coming up at the end of the week (Been plantin' them apple seeds and while the apples grow...). I hope they take a 3-0 lead into that game and I won't have to worry about it too much.
I might post something during the week, but if not look for my post about this trip at the end of the week. Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers reading my blog! (There's about a 99% chance that not a single mother has read my blog.)
Before the game, we walked around the stadium. This is where this stadium really changed things. I grew up going to games at Shea Stadium. If you wanted to get from left field to right field, you had to walk about 270 degrees around the stadium. As far as I know, this was the first stadium where you can go in any direction around the 360 degrees of the stadium. The outfield area is very nice, probably the nicest of any stadium I've been to so far. One thing I was disappointed by though is that you can't see the field from the concourse as you walk around (except in the outfield). So I'm taking pretty big points off for that. It's not like this architectural concept was created after the stadium was built; you can walk around the concourse at Dodger Stadium and still see the field.
I noticed the markings of homerun balls in right field. Check out this picture:
Yep, this is a celebration of steroids in baseball. Lots of Palmeiro, Brady Anderson, and Jason Giambi (they have the homeruns of visiting players marked also). Quick Rafael Palmeiro story: When I was young, the father of one of my friends knew people and used to occasionally get tickets for Yankee games that were in the first row behind the visitors dugout. My friend took me to maybe three or four games with those seats. Whenever the visiting team would come in from the field, we'd ask the players for a ball. One time when the Yankees were playing the Orioles, Raphael Palmeiro threw a ball to another fan and looked at me and said he would get me after the next inning. Yeah, he never gave me a ball. I went to another game after that and did get a ball from the Royals first baseman (I'm guessing it was Wally Joyner, but I don't remember for sure). But I always held that against Palmeiro and I was glad when he got busted for steroids.
As for food, I had a soft shell crab sandwich. I might have gotten something else, but I was informed by Adam Richman on facebook that yesterday was the 250th anniversary of the sandwich. (I love Adam Richman. I can't wait for his new show, even though I doubt it can be as good as Man vs. Food.) It was fine, but nothing special. I liked the fish tacos I had in Miami better.
The game was unremarkable, except for the fact that the teams combined for 7 errors. The Orioles won 5-3, but I definitely won't remember the details of this one in a week. But I did vote for the All Star teams. I don't think I've ever done that before. Or at least I've never had my vote at a stadium counted. I remember punching out the ballot at Citi Field last year, but I couldn't find a receptacle for my ballot. I voted for A.J. Ellis as the NL catcher (look at his stats, he's having an awesome year). Probably what I'll remember most, though, is following Game 7 for the Rangers and Game 1 for the Celtics on Sean's phone. The Rangers hung on for a win and the Celtics came back to beat the Sixers. All in all, it was a good day for me. All that was missing was a loss by the Lakers in Game 7, but hopefully the Zombies will take care of them.
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| I heard a lot of comments and got some dirty looks from Capitals fans for wearing a Ryan Callahan shirt. |
I might post something during the week, but if not look for my post about this trip at the end of the week. Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers reading my blog! (There's about a 99% chance that not a single mother has read my blog.)
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Why I Love Baseball, Part 2
Let's say the Zombies win the NBA championship this year (I'm rooting for them if it's not the Celtics, they are the hope for the next five years for anybody who loathes the Heat and I'm taking Bill Simmons's name for them because it's really a lot better than the Thunder). If they win, you have a really really good chance of guessing who the MVP will be. It will probably be Kevin Durant and if it's not it will be Russell Westbrook. James Harden and his beard also have an outside shot. You know who the hero is going to be in a basketball game. In football, the hero is probably going to be the quarterback (we've had 46 Super Bowls and 25 Super Bowl MVPs have been quarterbacks).
In baseball, you never know who the hero will be. Sure, over the course of the season, Josh Hamilton is going to be the hero many times for the Rangers, but he could go 0-4 and somebody else could come up big and help the Rangers win. I was reminded of this last night watching the Dodgers. They were down 2-1 with the bases loaded. Tony Gwynn Jr. (a career .247 hitter with 83 RBIs in 531 career games) came up as a pinch hitter. He hit a three run triple and came out of the game once the Dodgers went back into the field. The Dodgers never looked back. In basketball, a role player might hit a big shot, but he's not going to be the most important player on the court. Of the 17 half innings played last night, Gwynn played in one of them and was the most important player in the game. I think that's really cool. Then there's the fact that the starting pitcher changes every day. I'd say the starting pitcher is just as important as a quarterback in football and imagine if a football team had a five man quarterback rotation.
Check out the last ten World Series MVPs. Right now, none of those guys are Hall of Famers. Ramirez would be if he was clean and maybe Hamels or Freese get there, but they have a ton of work to do. Maybe some of you will argue for Renteria and my response to that is that it's not the Hall of Very Good. Of the last fourteen Super Bowl MVPs, I think all but three of them (Dexter Jackson, Deion Branch, and Santonio Holmes) will be in the Hall of Fame (you might not love Hines Ward, but I think his numbers will get him in the Hall of Fame, but I could be wrong). And if you want to check out the NBA Finals MVPs, it's hard to find anybody that's not a Hall of Famer. I love football and basketball, but I love the fact that anybody can be a hero in baseball.
Anyway, I'll be at the Orioles game on Saturday. I'll miss Game 7 for the Rangers. I can live with that because it's only the second round. Hopefully they'll win and I won't miss another playoff game. It would also be Game 7 for the Celtics. Hopefully it doesn't come to that. Go Celtics! Go Rangers!
Monday, May 7, 2012
My Annual Worst Decision of the Year
If you know me, you know I love Sam Adams. I mean, I really love Sam Adams. I bought a share of stock because I love it so much. Of all the wonderful beers they brew, Summer Ale is my favorite. As one of my friends once said, "I love Summer Ale and everything it stands for." I drank my first one this year at the end of March and hopefully I'll be drinking it until Thanksgiving (I did have a Summer Ale with Thanksgiving dinner in 2010). I'm drinking one right now to celebrate an awesome victory for the Rangers.
That brings me to the worst decision I make every year: buying the Samuel Adams Summer Styles variety pack. Every year I buy it, and every year I regret that decision. I wouldn't have bought it this year, but they made a couple of changes so I was curious. The problem is that there are 12 beers and 10 of them aren't Summer Ale. In fairness, that's oversimplifying it. Let me go through the six beers:
Boston Lager: The standard. This is a really good beer. No problem with this one.
Summer Ale: I've made my feelings clear.
Cherry Wheat: I'm not much of a Cherry Wheat fan. I like it on tap better than out of a bottle, but I would never order it on tap. I was at a bar once and my friend handed me a Cherry Wheat. I wasn't going to turn it down. It was fine, but it's not something I would ever choose to order.
East-West Kolsch: This was in there last year. I haven't had one yet this year. I don't really remember it, but I think it was pretty bland.
Noble Pils: A new addition to the Summer Styles pack. It had been the spring seasonal for the last two years. It's a pretty good beer. No complaints on this one.
Belgian Session: The other new addition. I had one last night. It's not good. I'm not excited about having to drink the other one in the pack.
For their spring variety pack, they had six guys (Jim Koch and five other guys) pick the six beers and explain why they chose each one. They should give me the job of picking the six beers for the summer pack. I would fix that one. Obviously, I keep Boston Lager and Summer Ale. I'd keep Noble Pils also. So that means I need to find three more. The first one I'd put in there is Coastal Wheat. This is a good beer and it's pretty summery. I don't know why it's not in there already. Next I would go with the White Ale, which was the spring seasonal before Noble Pils. I liked this one almost as much as I like Summer Ale, but I haven't seen it anywhere since they changed the spring seasonal to Noble Pils (it's still listed on their website, though). That leaves one spot. I have a few possibilities. I could go with the Irish Red. I don't really know what that has to do with Summer, but it's a really solid beer. Latitude 48 IPA used to be in the summer pack a couple of years ago. That's a good beer, I could put that one back in. My choice though would be to steal a page from Bluepoint's playbook and make a Blueberry Ale. I really like the Bluepoint Blueberry Ale, but I'm going on the premise that Sam Adams does everything better than everybody else (their Octoberfest is better than Bluepoint's and Brooklyn's, their Summer Ale is better than everybody else's, their Black Lager is better than Guinness's, etc.).
So yeah, I still have nine beers to drink that aren't Summer Ale. I'd be a lot more excited about it if the summer pack lived up to the awesomeness of Summer Ale.
And let's hope the Rangers win on Wednesday night or I might miss Game 7. It's on Saturday. They haven't announced a time for the game yet, but I'll be at the Orioles game on Saturday night.
That brings me to the worst decision I make every year: buying the Samuel Adams Summer Styles variety pack. Every year I buy it, and every year I regret that decision. I wouldn't have bought it this year, but they made a couple of changes so I was curious. The problem is that there are 12 beers and 10 of them aren't Summer Ale. In fairness, that's oversimplifying it. Let me go through the six beers:
Boston Lager: The standard. This is a really good beer. No problem with this one.
Summer Ale: I've made my feelings clear.
Cherry Wheat: I'm not much of a Cherry Wheat fan. I like it on tap better than out of a bottle, but I would never order it on tap. I was at a bar once and my friend handed me a Cherry Wheat. I wasn't going to turn it down. It was fine, but it's not something I would ever choose to order.
East-West Kolsch: This was in there last year. I haven't had one yet this year. I don't really remember it, but I think it was pretty bland.
Noble Pils: A new addition to the Summer Styles pack. It had been the spring seasonal for the last two years. It's a pretty good beer. No complaints on this one.
Belgian Session: The other new addition. I had one last night. It's not good. I'm not excited about having to drink the other one in the pack.
For their spring variety pack, they had six guys (Jim Koch and five other guys) pick the six beers and explain why they chose each one. They should give me the job of picking the six beers for the summer pack. I would fix that one. Obviously, I keep Boston Lager and Summer Ale. I'd keep Noble Pils also. So that means I need to find three more. The first one I'd put in there is Coastal Wheat. This is a good beer and it's pretty summery. I don't know why it's not in there already. Next I would go with the White Ale, which was the spring seasonal before Noble Pils. I liked this one almost as much as I like Summer Ale, but I haven't seen it anywhere since they changed the spring seasonal to Noble Pils (it's still listed on their website, though). That leaves one spot. I have a few possibilities. I could go with the Irish Red. I don't really know what that has to do with Summer, but it's a really solid beer. Latitude 48 IPA used to be in the summer pack a couple of years ago. That's a good beer, I could put that one back in. My choice though would be to steal a page from Bluepoint's playbook and make a Blueberry Ale. I really like the Bluepoint Blueberry Ale, but I'm going on the premise that Sam Adams does everything better than everybody else (their Octoberfest is better than Bluepoint's and Brooklyn's, their Summer Ale is better than everybody else's, their Black Lager is better than Guinness's, etc.).
So yeah, I still have nine beers to drink that aren't Summer Ale. I'd be a lot more excited about it if the summer pack lived up to the awesomeness of Summer Ale.
And let's hope the Rangers win on Wednesday night or I might miss Game 7. It's on Saturday. They haven't announced a time for the game yet, but I'll be at the Orioles game on Saturday night.
Friday, May 4, 2012
The Best Player I've Ever Seen
Without a doubt, Michael Jordan is the best basketball player I've ever seen (I think Russell is better, but of course I never saw him). Who is the best baseball player I've ever seen? I think this is also an easy question.
I refuse to pick a player who used steroids. I will never forgive them for making a mockery of the game. The numbers 61 and 755 were sacred in baseball. Nobody will ever break Barroid's single season record. And the career list is also a joke, but hopefully somebody clean can catch Barroid there (the active leaders don't give me much hope that there's a clean player currently playing that can get there). Eight of the top fifteen played during the steroid era and six of those guys have already been implicated as steroid users. The only two that are left are Ken Griffey, Jr. and Jim Thome. I believe that Griffey was a legitimately supremely talented player who was unfortunate enough to be lumped in with all those steroid guys. Maybe I'm wrong, but I hope not. So I'd put Griffey second on the list of greatest players I've ever seen.
Number 1? Mariano Rivera. He reminds me a lot of Jordan. The first NBA Finals that I can remember is the Bulls beating the Lakers in 1991 when I was in first grade. From first grade to eighth grade, Michael Jordan won the NBA Championship every year except for the two years that he was playing baseball (I know he came back that second year, but I don't count that). Jordan winning was all I knew as a basketball fan. And I hated it. I never liked Jordan or the Bulls. As time went on, I came to respect him. I just knew that every year he was going to win and I was going to be disappointed. He was the best basketball player alive and whoever was the second best just wasn't close. It felt the same way with Rivera. He is by far the best relief pitcher ever. When he came in to close a playoff game, you knew it was over. In 1996, he was amazing as Wetteland's set up man. From 1998 to 2001, you just knew the Yankees were going to win when Rivera came in. I knew the Yankees were going to win Game 7 in 2001 when Rivera came in. And then they didn't. I was as shocked as I would have been if Jordan failed. Rivera was that good.
He's stayed just as good since then, but the Yankees haven't been as good as they were during their run from 1996-2001. Relief pitchers just don't dominate on a yearly basis. A lot of them will be great for a few years, but nobody has lasted the way Rivera has lasted. Sixteen years of dominance is unheard of.
His career might be done now. I hope it's not. If it is, I will never forget him. Unlike all the guys who used steroids, he belongs in the Hall of Fame. Mariano Rivera is the greatest player I've ever seen.
I refuse to pick a player who used steroids. I will never forgive them for making a mockery of the game. The numbers 61 and 755 were sacred in baseball. Nobody will ever break Barroid's single season record. And the career list is also a joke, but hopefully somebody clean can catch Barroid there (the active leaders don't give me much hope that there's a clean player currently playing that can get there). Eight of the top fifteen played during the steroid era and six of those guys have already been implicated as steroid users. The only two that are left are Ken Griffey, Jr. and Jim Thome. I believe that Griffey was a legitimately supremely talented player who was unfortunate enough to be lumped in with all those steroid guys. Maybe I'm wrong, but I hope not. So I'd put Griffey second on the list of greatest players I've ever seen.
Number 1? Mariano Rivera. He reminds me a lot of Jordan. The first NBA Finals that I can remember is the Bulls beating the Lakers in 1991 when I was in first grade. From first grade to eighth grade, Michael Jordan won the NBA Championship every year except for the two years that he was playing baseball (I know he came back that second year, but I don't count that). Jordan winning was all I knew as a basketball fan. And I hated it. I never liked Jordan or the Bulls. As time went on, I came to respect him. I just knew that every year he was going to win and I was going to be disappointed. He was the best basketball player alive and whoever was the second best just wasn't close. It felt the same way with Rivera. He is by far the best relief pitcher ever. When he came in to close a playoff game, you knew it was over. In 1996, he was amazing as Wetteland's set up man. From 1998 to 2001, you just knew the Yankees were going to win when Rivera came in. I knew the Yankees were going to win Game 7 in 2001 when Rivera came in. And then they didn't. I was as shocked as I would have been if Jordan failed. Rivera was that good.
He's stayed just as good since then, but the Yankees haven't been as good as they were during their run from 1996-2001. Relief pitchers just don't dominate on a yearly basis. A lot of them will be great for a few years, but nobody has lasted the way Rivera has lasted. Sixteen years of dominance is unheard of.
His career might be done now. I hope it's not. If it is, I will never forget him. Unlike all the guys who used steroids, he belongs in the Hall of Fame. Mariano Rivera is the greatest player I've ever seen.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Why I Love Baseball, Part 1
I've loved many sports. My dad's favorite sport is basketball and that's the sport I played the most growing up. I am a huge football fan and Notre Dame's football team is the team I care about more than any other. But baseball will always be my first love.
I'll never forget the first baseball game I went to. 1989, David Cone vs. Orel Hershiser, Mets 3, Dodgers 2. I don't remember the details, but I remember the starting pitchers and the final score. I went to four games last year (I think). I don't remember any of the final scores and the only starting pitcher that I remember was Ted Lilly pitching one of the games I went to in Los Angeles. I looked up my first game because I thought maybe I wasn't remembering it correctly. I was five and a half. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198908180.shtml I was right. The only thing I didn't remember correctly was David Cone coming out of the game. I thought both pitchers pitched complete games.
Actually, it wasn't the first time I was in Shea Stadium. I was there in 1988 for Mets-Dodgers, but the game was never played. I remember sitting in there in the rain hoping they would play, but eventually it was called. How could I possibly remember this? I was four and a half. Again, I was right. The Mets and Dodgers played Friday September 2, Saturday September 3, and Monday September 5. They must have been rained out on Sunday. So September 4, 1988 was the first time I was in a Major League Baseball stadium. Now I'm trying to get to as many as possible.
I don't have any memories like this associated with other sports. Sure, I remember my first Notre Dame football game (at Pittsburgh, September 3, 2005), but I was 21. It was awesome, but not the same. But I'll have a lot more on why I love baseball in the weeks/months to come.
A couple of updates on the Year of Jim:
1. I will be going to Ireland. Airfare was going up and hotels were getting booked, so I had to decide. I got really excited when I booked my flights. I can't wait for Ireland. Hopefully we can run our winning streak against Navy to a big 2.
2. I have a four day weekend for Ascension Thursday. I've added a mystery trip for that weekend (I already mentioned it to a few people, don't ruin the surprise for everybody else). Of course, it involves baseball. And the other hint I'll give you is that I hope I don't run into Stan Marsh.
I'll never forget the first baseball game I went to. 1989, David Cone vs. Orel Hershiser, Mets 3, Dodgers 2. I don't remember the details, but I remember the starting pitchers and the final score. I went to four games last year (I think). I don't remember any of the final scores and the only starting pitcher that I remember was Ted Lilly pitching one of the games I went to in Los Angeles. I looked up my first game because I thought maybe I wasn't remembering it correctly. I was five and a half. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198908180.shtml I was right. The only thing I didn't remember correctly was David Cone coming out of the game. I thought both pitchers pitched complete games.
Actually, it wasn't the first time I was in Shea Stadium. I was there in 1988 for Mets-Dodgers, but the game was never played. I remember sitting in there in the rain hoping they would play, but eventually it was called. How could I possibly remember this? I was four and a half. Again, I was right. The Mets and Dodgers played Friday September 2, Saturday September 3, and Monday September 5. They must have been rained out on Sunday. So September 4, 1988 was the first time I was in a Major League Baseball stadium. Now I'm trying to get to as many as possible.
I don't have any memories like this associated with other sports. Sure, I remember my first Notre Dame football game (at Pittsburgh, September 3, 2005), but I was 21. It was awesome, but not the same. But I'll have a lot more on why I love baseball in the weeks/months to come.
A couple of updates on the Year of Jim:
1. I will be going to Ireland. Airfare was going up and hotels were getting booked, so I had to decide. I got really excited when I booked my flights. I can't wait for Ireland. Hopefully we can run our winning streak against Navy to a big 2.
2. I have a four day weekend for Ascension Thursday. I've added a mystery trip for that weekend (I already mentioned it to a few people, don't ruin the surprise for everybody else). Of course, it involves baseball. And the other hint I'll give you is that I hope I don't run into Stan Marsh.
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