MY FIVE FAVORITE BALLPARKS!

A friend of mine posted a picture of herself sitting happily on the Budweiser Roof Deck in Fenway Park and I immediately got ballpark envy.  Kenny Chesney recorded a song this summer called “When I See This Bar” and one of the lines that I just love is “Pieces of my past slowly slip away, but time just stands still when I walk in this place.” That’s how I feel about ballparks.  They carry with them memories and feelings of games, players and family.  They are monuments to the games and records set over the years.  They are our living rooms, dining rooms and kitchens.  They are our homes, they are our fields of dreams, and they witness the magic of the games of yesterday, today and tomorrow.  You see, ballparks have their own attitudes, their own personalities and their own special flare.  And they are all on display for the spectator who walks through the tunnel that leads to the green fields of America’s pastime.  They are our ballparks and I have my five favs! 

My disclaimer is of course that Yankee Stadium is my favorite ballpark because it is home to the best team in the world- The New York Yankees.  So outside of Yankee Stadium, there are my “other” favorites who are forever in my head, give me chills and make me happy to be a baseball fan.

My #1 Favorite 

Wrigley Field, Chicago, circa 1914 (formerly Weeghman Park and Cubs Park) 

The ivy-filled outfield, roof top views and daytime games make Wrigley Field a unique place to watch a game.  The last time the Cubs were in the World Series was 1945, but fans far and wide continue to fill the ballpark every season, believing that the curse of the goat will be broken and the Cubbies will win the Series.  Wrigley has always been a “friendly to hitters ballpark”, particularly to sluggers Ernie Banks who hit 512 homers with the Cubs and of course Sammy Sosa who slammed 60 or more homeruns in three different seasons.

What’s special?  The Cubs fly a flag on the center field scoreboard after each game- white means the Cubs won and blue means they lost.  And until August 8, 1988, Wrigley Field only hosted day games because the lights were never installed following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The then owner donated the money earmarked for the stadium lights to the war effort.  Wrigley Field is vintage as the second oldest ballpark in baseball and it is must see for baseball fans. 

My #2  Favorite

Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD circa 1992 

The statues memorializing the best Oriole players of all time, the village like atmosphere and the proximity of the seats to the action on the field make Camden Yards an incredible experience for fans old and young.  The greatest moment at Camden Yards has to be September 6, 1995 when Cal Ripken, Jr. played his 2131 consecutive game breaking the Iron Horse, Lou Gehrig’s all-time record. 

Screaming Earl Weaver still echoes the walls of the beautiful ballpark, a monument to the greats of the game in Jim Palmer, Frank Robinson and I will even throw in our very own broadcaster Ken Singleton.  Camden Yards quickly became the template for the construction of the new ballparks built over the last twenty years including our very own Yankee Stadium.  You feel like you are on the field, in the middle of the action, with the way the seats are positioned.  And a Natty Boh brew is never far away with the bars and pubs affixed around the interior of the ballpark.  Oriole Park at Camden Yards, a fun place to watch a game and tie one on with friends. 

My #3 Favorite

PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA circa 2001

Even though I relished the visit I made to Three Rivers Stadium back in the late 90s, PNC Park in Pittsburgh is absolutely beautiful with the bridges and rivers in the outfield and the city skyline overseeing the architecture of the ballpark.  PNC Park is a great stop on fans’ ballpark tours across the country.

The irregularly shaped field immortalizes its most famous player, Roberto Clemente with an outfield wall that rises up 21 feet behind right field.  The urban-based venue welcomes pedestrians walking to the ballpark from the Clemente Bridge, which is closed to vehicular traffic on game days.  It is also a very intimate ballpark with the highest seat just 88 feet from the field giving every fan a great view of the action. 

My #4 Favorite

Royals Stadium, Kansas City, MO, (also known as Kauffman Stadium) circa 1973 

I have always wanted to go this park.  I really don’t know why because so many people complain about it, but I have to say, I have always been attracted to the fountains in the outfield, the crown scoreboard in center field and just the team itself who really gave us a run for our money in the seventies and eighties.  I am a George Brett fan- there I have said it.

And I am still a George Brett fan following last year’s All Star Game hosted by Royals Stadium.  There is something regal about the 40 year-old ballpark, it’s classy and clean from my vantage point- my living room couch, but truthfully, the newly integrated Outfield Experience gives fans new and exciting vantage points to view the game including new outfield box seats next to the vintage fountains and a trendy bar called the Miller Light Fountain Bar.  The stadium outfield also has the popular Pepsi Porch and Sonic Slam standing room area nearby the fountains.  It’s a party at Royals Stadium, with lots to see and experience. 

My #5 Favorite

Fenway Park, Boston, MA

The only home of the Boston Red Sox, the oldest ball park in baseball and the most historic, most exhilarating place to watch a game. Fenway Park is in a word electric.  Even if you are not a Red Sox fan, like me, you can quickly become a Fenway fan when to step into the streets surrounding the vintage ball park.  It’s a party in the streets every time the Sox are home as the vicinity around the stadium is closed off to non-gamers and ticket holders are greeted by turnstiles in the streets about an hour and half before game time.

The sights and sounds of good ‘ol American baseball reign loud and clear in the streets of Yawkey and Ted Williams Way.  The Ted Williams statue stands proudly behind the infamous Green Monster and the old ticket booths add to the charm of the ball field.  And if you are lucky enough to score tickets on the Monsta, you will see the most amazing view of the game in all of baseball.  You may also spy the only red seat in the park- a dedication to Ted Williams’ last homerun in Fenway and bellow the eighth inning rendition of Sweet Caroline.  Fenway is the place to be all summer long in Boston. 

So, that’s my five favs!  I am sure you have your own favs- share them with us!  Those creaky and shiny stadiums all have a story- and there is no better story than the ones you create with your family and friends at the ballpark.

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Opinion Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof




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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: ROY SMALLEY

I'm a sucker for helping others. I appreciate when people take a moment, organize and get help to people in need.  That's why I have written about Yankees like Paul O'Neill, promoting his Right Field Charities, David & Erin Robertson's High Socks for Hope, Ty Hensley, a young Yankee prospect with an important cause... suicide prevention (HERE) and now, something special again. It’s called Pitch In for Baseball, a foundation run by former New York Yankee shortstop Roy Smalley. When I read about Roy's cause to help get all kinds of donations to victims of Hurricane Sandy, I just needed to pick his brain and find out exactly what he wanted to accomplish. It turns out his foundation raised over $150,000 worth of baseball equipment for those kids in the New York and New Jersey areas affected by that storm, a huge accomplishment.  I’m happy to say I was moved and I’m a big fan of Roy Smalley’s now… you should be too.  Here it is, Bleeding Yankee Blue’s interview with Roy Smalley. Enjoy this, I did…

BYB: Mr. Smalley, tell me about Pitch In for Baseball. What is your mission and tell us also about your latest crusade to help the victims of Hurricane?

Roy Smalley: Our mission, to put it simply is to put baseball equipment in the hands of kids who want to play ball but don’t have the resources to do so.  We source new and gently used baseball and softball equipment and distribute it to youth baseball organizations and communities in need.  We accomplish this through equipment and cash donations from individuals and organizations everywhere.  Our recipients include underprivileged and under served communities and those affected by natural disasters.  For example, we have donated equipment to RBI Programs (Reviving Baseball in the Inner City) across the country, to school districts impacted by budget cuts and to Park and Recreation departments in under served areas.  We have re-supplied baseball equipment as part of disaster relief to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Ike, tornadoes that decimated Joplin, Mo and Henryville, In, and the Tsunami that hit Japan.  Our current project is our largest and most challenging in our eight-year history.  We will re-supply equipment to over 5,000 kids in New Jersey and New York who lost everything in Hurricane Sandy.  This effort has already begun with deliveries to Island Park, Rockaway, East Rockaway and Bayonne to name a few.  We have received requests recently from Jersey City and Staten Island as well.  It is a huge effort for us and will ultimately require substantially more in the way of equipment and financial contributions from generous donors out there who would like to help.  We see the happiness on the faces of the kids and the relief on their parents faces knowing that their kids are returning to some sense of normalcy—their baseball season—when normal has seemed impossibly far away.  We know what we and our supporters are doing is very important.

BYB:  Truth be told, I loved it when you were with the Yankees. As a kid who wanted to one day play shortstop for the Yankees myself, I appreciated you there in that position in 1982. Tell me how different it was playing in the Bronx compared to Minnesota with the Twins?

Roy Smalley: Playing shortstop in New York was a phenomenal experience.  The biggest difference between playing for the Yankees and the Twins was the intensity and notoriety that comes from playing for the Yankees.  Everything about the Yankees is hyper-intensity, the fans, the media. It was different compared to Minnesota.

BYB: As an athlete, did you always want to play baseball? If so, did your dad playing have everything to do with that?

(In Photo: Roy Smalley, 1953)
Roy Smalley:  I played all sports growing up, but I started on a mission to play major league baseball when I was 5 years old.  Idolizing my dad had a lot to do with that early on, but he never pushed me into it.  It became clear to me by high school that baseball was the sport in which I had the best chance to have an athletic career.

BYB: As a kid, who did you idolize in baseball besides your dad?

(In Photo: Gene Mauch)
Roy Smalley:  My uncle was Gene Mauch who was like a second father to me.  I also pretty much idolized all big league players.  I was drawn to shortstops, of course, but I’ve always loved and studied great hitters.  For me, that started with Ted Williams and Stan Musial and went through Mantle, Mays, Aaron, Clemente, Frank Robinson, Oliva, Yaz, Yogi... you get the idea.

BYB:  What was the best part about playing for Billy Martin?

Roy Smalley: Well, I first played for Billy in 1975. He was my first big league manager.  What a way to break in!  By the time I played for him again with the Yankees, I was a pretty established player so the day to day intensity he drew wasn’t as big a deal to me.  I was able to enjoy a really first rate tactical manager.

BYB: While on the Yankees, who was your favorite teammate, or, who did you like hanging with, training with, etc?

(In Photo: Don Baylor)
Roy Smalley:  I liked all the guys on those Yankee teams. Don Baylor and I got very close as teammates in 83 and 84.

BYB: Describe a teammate like Don Mattingly in the clubhouse.

Roy Smalley: When I was there, Don was just establishing himself as the great player he was going to become.  He was quiet and unassuming and just went about his business of refining his considerable skill.  His leadership abilities came out much more after I had been traded in 1984.

BYB: Which guy on the Yankees right now are you a "fan" of,  not just because of his playing ability, but also because they are a wonderful role model and why?

Roy Smalley: I am a huge fan of Derek Jeter.  The professionalism and talent with which he has played the game since his first season with the Yankees is example for players and fans everywhere.  When the Yankees came here to Minnesota after Derek had gotten his 3,000th hit, I made a point of visiting him in the locker room and told him that as a former shortstop and on behalf of shortstops everywhere, we are proud of what he has done and how he has gone about doing it.  That was less about 3,000 hits and everything about the example he is on the field (and off, too).

BYB:  Back to your cause with Pitch In for Baseball... What can you tell the Victims of Sandy still struggling through this cold winter.

Roy Smalley:  We, at PIFB, are just happy to bring some sense of normalcy to their families by way of their kids being able to play ball this year when they thought they wouldn’t. We’d also like to let them know that even after they are not front page news anymore, there are many people out there thinking about them and about how we all can help in some small way.

BYB: Final question. Have you ever seen Bleeding Yankee Blue? It's our website for Yankee fans. What do you think?

Roy Smalley: Congratulations on your website.  I like it very much--very extensive and complete.  Quite impressive.  If I may, I would ask your followers to visit our website, as well, and get involved with us helping kids play ball.  We can be found at pitchinforbaseball.org  Thanks so much for your interest in us.  Who knows, with the help of  Yankee fans, we may be supplying equipment to the next Derek Jeter or Don Mattingly.

He's right! Mr. Smalley, What a pleasure to help promote PIFB and if you readers would like to donate, again, be sure to go to pitchinforbaseball.org and do what you can. You can also text "Give Gloves" to 80088 to make a $10 donation.

I applaud Roy Smalley and thank him for taking to time.  I also want to thank Doug Drotman who is always great getting us quality interviews with former New York Yankees, we appreciate you, Doug!

BRAVES KNOCK AROUND HUGHES; BEAT YANKS 10-5 THIS AFTERNOON

(Phil Hughes tries to cool down today at the Stadium this afternoon - game time temp was 94-degrees)

Last night the Braves cooled off the red hot Yankees, snapping their 10 game winning streak.  Today, the Braves cooled off Yankee right hander Phil Hughes with 6 runs in just 4.1 innings, including 3 runs before most people took their seats.  It was all Braves today in the rubber game of this three game series in the Bronx as they beat the Yankees 10-5.  Hughes final line on the day:  4.1 IP - 6 Runs - 5 K's - 4 HR's. 

(Jason Heyward hitting his 2nd HR of the day in the 8th inning today)

The balls were flying out of the stadium today.  In all nine homers were hit which is a record at the new Yankee Stadium.  Unfortunately it was the Braves who out slugged the Yankees in the homer department, including two shots by Braves All-Star Jason Heyward.  Michael Bourn singled leading off the game and, with two outs, stole second. He scored on Dan Uggla's single to left. Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman wasted no time, connecting on the first pitch he saw for a two-run drive into the New York bullpen in right-center to make it 3-0 before you could blink.

(Braves 2nd baseman Dan Uggla greets teammate Jason Heyward at the plate this afternoon)

Down 6-1 the Yankees did make it close later in the game. They pulled to 6-5 on Curtis Granderson's RBI single in the seventh but Alex Rodriguez ended the inning grounding into a double-play.  And then in the 8th the Braves pulled away scoring 3 more runs, and 1 more in the 9th against the Yankees bullpen which made the final score 10-5.

Game Notes:

• The Yankees hit four more home runs today, which gives them a ML leading 105 home runs on the season.  Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Eric Chavez, and Alex Rodriguez all went yard.
• ARod's home run was the 640th of his career.

• In his final game at Yankee Stadium, Chipper Jones was honored before today's game by the Yankees.  Jeter and Chipper's former teammate, Andruw Jones, presented Chipper with third base from last nights game.
• Former Yankees center fielder Bernie Williams was chosen as manager of the World Team in the All-Star weekend Futures Game for minor leaguers on Sunday, July 8 in Kansas City.

--Mikey Blue, BYB Senior Writer
Email: DonnieBaseball2323@gmail.com

Twitter: @MikeyBlu23


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WHY IS LANCE BERKMAN DRAGGING BABE RUTH INTO IT?

I understand wanting to support your own teammate and without question, Albert Pujols deserves a lot of credit after Game 3 when the Cardinals won 16-7 against the Rangers and Pujols had 3 home runs and 6 RBIs, but is Albert Pujols really better than Babe Ruth because as Lance Berkman suggests, Babe Ruth was in an all-white league. Um… what? What the hell does that even mean? Read it HERE by the way. Here’s Berkman’s quote:

“He’s a better hitter than Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson and there’s no doubt about it. I’m dead serious. Babe Ruth, as great as he was, played in an all-white league. Now we have the best talent pool we’ve ever had and he’s doing it in that environment. He’s the greatest.”

Is Lance suggesting that because there are more ballplayers of all races now and Pujols is dominant that means he’s better? I’m not following and clearly I’m trying my best to think this through as I’m writing this…I know, I’m pathetic.

Albert Pujols is by far a great hitter, but Babe Ruth didn’t control leagues and population to determine black and white players. Plus, what’s to say the Babe wouldn’t be able to hack it in a talent pool of today? Babe Ruth is an American icon, not only did he hit, he pitched and was damn good at that as well. Now, I know we’re sticking with hitting here, but either Lance Berkman is one of the most sophisticated scholars in baseball or I’m just too dumb to understand what he’s trying to say. Personally, I find this statement to be ridiculous. Here’s why:

Full Career: Albert Pujols will probably go down in history as one of the top 10 or 20 hitters ever in baseball. He’s powerful and usually clutch, and in his career he’s batting .328. So, I got to thinking, and this could be fun. Because Pujols isn't retired and I'd love to break down a full career for each, I can't so let me take a 10 year span for both players. Basically, it would be their glory days if you will. I took Albert Pujols' first 10 years and posted it next to Babe Ruth’s first 10 years as a New York Yankee, starting in 1920 and will end at 1929. Pujols will go 2001 to 2010.

Prince Albert: 1900 H / 408 HR / 1230 RBI / .331 AVG / 2001-2010

The Babe: 1734 H / 467 HR / 1331 RBI / .355 AVG / 1920-1929

To me, I'd say it's pretty damn close to even with the exception of a better average for Babe, yet, because Albert plays more games, he has a lower average but more hits. Now, I know Lance Berkman didn't have Baseball Reference at his fingertips, but come on, why are you dragging the Babe into this?

Color Barrier: I am not understanding what race has to do with Pujols being better than Babe Ruth as a hitter. There were plenty of very talented white guys that pitched against the Babe, and same with Albert Pujols. Color has nothing to do with it, talent does. We’ve spent decades trying to get away from the color barrier, why are we throwing that out there again? One more time, Babe Ruth played when he played. Sadly, minorities could not participate, but thankfully Jackie Robinson came along.

Lance, I've always liked you, but you’re confused me on this one. Talented human beings have always played baseball, race is irrelevant. If you are suggesting that because of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, someone like Albert Pujols can play baseball and transform into one of the greatest players because of that, I follow you, and agree. But otherwise, I don’t. Babe Ruth was one of the greatest hitters ever, but so were Willie Mays, Harmon Killabrew, Frank Robinson, Cal Ripken Jr. and Ted Williams, not to mention dozens more that are black, white and latino. It’s a baseball thing Lance, not a race thing, plain and simple. You either have the talent or you don’t. Pujols does no doubt, but let’s leave it as that. That’s all.