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A legendary baseball park turned one hundred years old today. Truly one of the cathedrals of the game, it witnessed some of the sport’s greatest moments—many World Series and All-Star Games—and hosted legendary players like Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Lou Gehrig. From its earliest days, it was the city’s pride. Tiger Stadium opened 20 April 1912.

Unlike another ball park that opened the same day, however, Tiger Stadium is only a memory now. Its demise is one of the most unfortunate in the history of baseball, and, in a city that is a pale shadow of its former glory, it is surely missed. Its destruction must count as another shameful example of the short-sightedness, iconoclasm, and willful disrespect for tradition that has severely hurt baseball, and has seen too many great old parks fall victim to the wrecking ball. Consider this: after Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, the next oldest parks in Major League Baseball are Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Oakland Coliseum, and Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Tropicana Field is the eighth oldest ball park in the Majors. Now, Dodger Stadium is, in my opinion, a modernist masterpiece, and I appreciate Kauffman Stadium, too, but the destruction of Comiskey Park, Cleveland Municipal Stadium, and Yankee Stadium ought to be considered scandalous given the banality of their replacements.

Surely, few people miss Jack Murphy Stadium, the Metrodome, or Three Rivers Stadium. And even if I personally have fond memories of Fulton County Stadium, and even if the Astrodome was a modern marvel, they had their flaws. So did Candlestick Park (which still stands) and Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. In any event, Camden Yards and PNC Park are each striking in their own way. Rangers Ballpark is one of my favorite designs, and the view from the new Busch Stadium is vastly superior to the old, closed-in design that obstructed views of St. Louis’ most iconic landmark.

Of all cities, New York—where memories of Ebbets Field seem to send old Brooklyn fans into fits of reverie—should have been more appreciative of the majesty of Yankee Stadium, if not the style of Shea. Alas, greed proved more potent than pride and tradition, and the House that Ruth Built is lost. Ages hence, a white-haired Billy Crystal will look into some documentarian’s camera and lament the loss of his childhood.

What difference does it make, so long as the crowds want to come? Nostalgia is my answer. Red Sox fans who attended games at Fenway with their fathers, who attended games with their fathers, can give those same memories to their own sons. When I visited Wrigley Field in 2008, I could tell my wife how it looked exactly the same as it did when I saw it on television with my grandfather almost a quarter century before. And, though he never saw a game there in person, had he gone there as a boy it would have looked the same. That means something.

Fenway Park turned one hundred years old today, and tens of thousands of Bostonians turned out to wish her a happy birthday, with best wishes for another hundred years. Alas, Detroit lost that chance when Tiger Stadium disappeared in 2009. However appealing construction of Comerica Park may have seemed at the end of the last century, the new stadium will not live to see its one hundredth birthday; I’d bet money on it. But I wouldn’t bet my memories, and that’s what makes me and the iconoclasts different.

Filed under: Current Events, Nostalgia, Sports on April 20th, 2012 | 1 Comment »

I saw the future tonight.

MLB.TV is like Netflix, insofar as you stream content through a device like a video game console, and select from menus like on Netflix. But instead of movies, you are selecting baseball games. Any baseball game, in fact, being played across all of Major League Baseball. So, want to see the Hated Yankees playing against the Orioles in Baltimore? No problem. St. Louis at Cincinnati? Sure. Kansas City at Oakland? Yep. You can even chose which announces you want to hear. That is, if you want to hear the regular Atlanta announcers in the game against Houston (playing tonight as the Colt .45s), you can do that. Or you can hear the Astros’ announcers. And, unlike, say, a DVR, which only allows you to rewind an unrecorded program as far back as the moment you tuned in, this service lets you rewind any game to the very beginning. Oh, and when the inning ends, instead of going to commercials, you see a blank screen. It’s enormously refreshing.

In 1989, Back to the Future, Part II predicted that by 2015 we would have hoverboards, flying cars, and holographic billboards for Jaws sequels. It didn’t predict this.

Filed under: Sports, Technology on April 10th, 2012 | No Comments »

I am working diligently to complete my non-thesis project, so writing for pleasure has had to take a back seat to writing for displeasure. But a few things merit mention.

First,spring is here officially, and so is Daylight Saving Time, which I love. I’ve been going in to work at half past five in the morning this week, and yesterday I was in class until after six o’clock at night. Still, though I had dinner out last night, I still made it home before dark. That makes me happy. The azaleas are just fading, but the jasmine is getting ready.

What also makes me happy is that we had the warmest winter I can ever remember. It was genuinely cold only a handful of days this year, and we barely ran the heater at home. Our electric bills were lower than ever.

We are in a Golden Age of University of Florida baseball. Last night was their first loss in something like nineteen games, and UF is the number one team in the country right now. But, sadly, it won’t last. Many of the team’s best players are seniors, or juniors who will be tempted to go pro. Next year’s team will look a lot different. Meanwhile, I have been doing my best to get to the ballpark for every game, but school work has made me miss a couple now.

I am looking forward to putting this writing project behind me so I can get back to the things I really care about.

Filed under: Current Events, Meteorology, School, Sports on March 23rd, 2012 | No Comments »

Congratulations to the mighty Texas Rangers who won the pennant tonight. They beat my beloved Tampa Bay Rays last week, just as they did last year, but this year they did it without Cliff Lee, and, somehow, they look even better.

Filed under: Current Events, Sports on October 16th, 2011 | No Comments »

My beloved Tampa Bay Rays’ season ended moments ago. I wish I could say I am not disappointed. I am. Not only because they squandered the amazing late-season rally that ended in triumph last Wednesday night, but because of how unimpressive they looked in their three losses against the Texas Rangers. The pitching for which the Rays are so famous wasn’t as advertised. True, Moore pitched phenomenally on Friday, but Price was disappointing, Shields didn’t live up to his recent amazing standard, and the young Hellickson surrendered devastating home runs. But even worse, the Rays batters looked downright feeble. Evan Longoria, who won the now-legendary Game 162, went 0-4 today, striking out twice. Upton, who, I will admit has been playing much better this season than last, struck out thrice. Damon, in spite of his amazing hustle, couldn’t come through, either. Sean Rodriguez played his heart out, but that wasn’t enough when the rest of the team was so unproductive. Mostly, I was disappointed with the way my guys just stood there as good pitches went right past them. I understand you have to wait for your pitch, but that looked bad sometimes.

Last year Cliff Lee shut us down. This year the Rays shut themselves down.

Still, I give Texas credit where credit is due. Their bats are dangerous, and their pitching is effective. If Detroit cannot dispatch the Hated Yankees, the Rangers are my team.

Meanwhile, I won’t be all gloom and doom. I am still proud of my guys. They gave me what I always have said I wanted: a winning season. Contrary to what many predicted at the conclusion of last season, the Rays still made the playoffs, and did it without Crawford, Soriano, Benoit, Garza, and others. They demonstrated an astonishing ability to replace big names with nobodies who play hard for much, much less money. Johnny Damon plays with an energy and attitude I love to watch. And this kid Moore who won big last Friday is extremely promising.

Joe Maddon is a remarkable manager. He did what few expected he could do, by taking a team with few recognizable stars, and finishing second in baseball’s toughest division, knocking out a team everyone assumed would win the World Series this year. But I am sorry he couldn’t capitalize on the big opportunity his team had in the post-season. If the Rays could have won the pennant, he’d be a shoo-in for manager of the year. As it is, I fear the Rays’ second-October-in-a-row loss will come to be seen as inevitable, as though the team didn’t belong in the first place. It’s bad enough that the Rays don’t get the respect they deserve considering their do-more-with-less situation – I don’t want to hear people say, “that’s what we expected”. The talking heads on ESPN, MLB-TV, and elsewhere, in a fawning love for New York and Boston that borders on obsequiousness, display demonstrable lack of enthusiasm for the Rays. It would have been nice to rub it in their faces.

So, farewell 2011 baseball. I will eagerly await your 2012 return.

Filed under: Current Events, Musings, Sports on October 4th, 2011 | No Comments »