Baseball’s Fashion Police

So I’m not one to really talk much about fashion, especially when it comes to going to a ballgame.  Jeans and a tee shirt are my usual attire, sometimes shorts, or if it is directly after work, I am wearing a shirt and tie.  I really don’t pay much attention to what other people wear – I’m there for the game – at least most of the time.

However, sometimes a person’s outfit just stands out making me wonder if they own a mirror or have any self respect.  Here are my favorites so far this year:

The Ugly Christmas Sweater Guy – Citifield, April 20, 2011

Who knew the Mets had an Ugly Christmas Sweater Day in April?  Too bad this is the only guy that got the memo.  We spotted this outfit in the will-call ticket office at Citifield.  My wife requested his photo and he happily obliged.  Here is my salute to you Ugly Sweater Guy at a Baseball Game in April!

The Yankee Amazon – Camden Yards, April 23, 2011

In my quest to find an interestingly dressed fan on a visit to Camden Yards, my friend Kathryn happened to come across this female Yankee fan at the Oriole game.  Since I am not an expert at women’s fashion, I will quote Kathryn on this photo.  “This girl has paired the cutoff jean skirt, silver glitter tights and jersey look with a matching silver belt AND gladiator sandals...I need the number to her stylist...ASAP please...”  I also would like to add that she tucked the Yankee jersey into her skirt.  That’s hot.

Pants on the Ground –Yankee Stadium, April 15, 2011

It was a nasty, wet 40 degree evening, and my wife and I were walking from the train station to the Yankee game when we came across this guy.  “Pants on the Ground,” who obviously doesn’t own a belt, was changing his shirt as he walked to the game.  As we walked behind him, we sang the “Pants on the Ground” song, but he was too cool to pull them up.  So here he is in all his glory: grey underwear with his entire right cheek exposed.

So folks, when you go to a ballgame, wear a belt, check yourself in the mirror and leave your ugly Christmas sweater at home.  Unless, of course, you too wish to be featured in a future blog!  

A Day with the Babe

Today, April 27^th, is Babe Ruth Day.  No, it isn’t his birthday, and it’s not the anniversary of his death.  It is the second to last time that the Bambino visited the House that Ruth Built.  On this day in 1947, Babe Ruth was honored by the Yankees, less than a year after he was diagnosed with throat cancer.  He addressed the crowd, many of whom were members of youth baseball leagues.

This past weekend, I was able to go to the Babe Ruth Museum, just a few blocks from Camden Yards.  Seeing the small accommodations of where this giant personality began was humbling.  His famous words highlighted one wall of the Sports Legends Museum, also in Baltimore outside of Camden Yards.  He said, “I swing big, with everything I got.  I hit big or I miss big.  I like to live as big as I can.”

I visited the Babe’s gravesite on my lunch hour today.  It is a beautiful spring day in Westchester, New York – sunny, warm and breezy.  I expected to see other fans there, but I found myself alone.

As I stood there looking at the monument that marked his grave, I wondered if anyone else realized that today was Babe Ruth Day.  Why didn’t I see any other fans while I was there?

I would have liked to have met the Babe.  I would have liked to have known who he was as a player and as a person.  I guess I came as close as I ever could by spending some time with him today.

Calling the Shots

Baltimore – Camden Yards, Saturday, April 23, 2011

I had the pleasure of attending an Orioles game last Saturday night.  Camden Yards is a great place to catch a ballgame – the stadium is laid out well, the staff is friendly and there is a neat Sports Legends Museum right across the street.  For east coast baseball fans, such as Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies, Camden Yards offers ample opportunity to see your team from great seats for a fair price.  We were able to buy tickets right behind home plate in the 27^th row for $95.  The equivalent seats in Yankee Stadium would be $325.

Getting to Camden Yards early allows you to see the opposing team’s batting practice, which in this case, was the Yankees.  We settled into our seats, and noticed we were joined by quite a number of Yankee fans.  In fact, about 60% of the stadium was filled with Yankee paraphernalia.  Except for one guy two rows behind us.  He was in a Red Sox shirt.

Why this guy was at the game was clear.  He was not there to root for the Orioles; he came to heckle the Yankees.  Normally, most fans would find this quite agitating.  But every time this guy opened his mouth, the Yankees scored, as if on command.  It became comical.

“Teixeira is ugly!”  That may be, but he went 2 for 3 that day.

Some of my favorite comments included, “Jorge Posada has big ears.  Look at this guy.  Big ears.”  Posada must have heard him.  He hit one out.

“Brett Gardner is arguably the worst player in baseball.”  Not after that comment.  Another one left the stadium.

“Russell Martin is so injury prone.  He was a horrific choice for the Yankees.”  Martin must have really taken that to heart because he hit two out that night.

I really loved his comment about A-Rod.  “Hamburger helper hands,” the Red Sox fan taunted.  Not the best idea.  Grand slam.

The Yankees went on to win the game 15-3, and I give a lot of the credit to our favorite Red Sox fan that day.  Before the game ended, I asked him, “Could you talk some smack about the Mets?  I think they could really use your help.”  Here’s hoping he does!

The Big Mouths of Baseball

You know who I am talking about, I am sure you have seen it yourself.  Every stadium, every team has one of these (sometimes it’s even a manager!) and they often rear their ugly head at the worst time.  I’m talking about the obnoxious, the big-mouth, the braggart and often times, the drunken team zealot.

Every fan has a story about the one they remember.  Here is mine:

It was the first (and so far only) time I had ever been to an MLB All Star Game.  It was 2008, and it was at Yankee Stadium.  It was going to be interesting.  My wife (a Met fan who will root for the Yankees) was my guest, and she was acutely aware that I am a Yankee fan (who will root for the Mets).  But on this day, we were going to be in opposing corners.  After all, the home team advantage for the World Series was on the line.

Since we were not among the handful of “lucky” fans to be able to purchase tickets directly, we had to resort to Stubhub.com to get ours.  Five hundred dollars later, we climbed to the upper deck way out in right field past the foul pole.  We were in the nosebleed seats, but we were there!

It is interesting to see who comes to an All Star Game.  There were fans from all over sporting their team’s jerseys – Cubs, Dodgers, Nationals, Tigers, etc.  Of course, the majority of fans were Yankee fans with a strong showing of Mets fans there as well.  But being at an All Star Game, nobody seemed to mind that people were wearing opposing team’s jerseys.  Except one fan.

I spotted her immediately when she stumbled through the tunnel.  Her hair was all over the place, she was a bit heavy, lots of make-up on, and she was really loud.  She was guided in by a short, skinny guy wearing a Yankee jersey.  She was in a Red Sox jersey and was headed our way.  Their seats were right behind ours.

Our section was predominantly fans sporting Yankee jerseys, in fact, we later found out that many of them were the IT employees at MLB.com in NYC.  Apparently, the Yankee contingency did not sit well with the Red Sox witch.  She immediately started in with the five rows of fans behind her.

“Derek Jeter sucks c$@k,” she kept screaming at them between gulps of Bud Light.  “Yankees suck!”

This went on throughout most of the pregame festivities.  As the players were being announced and brought onto the field for their ovations, she would come up with colorful metaphors for each of the Yankee players.  She even heckled the vendors that were selling her beer.  I began to wonder if she realized she was in the middle of the Bronx.

The Red Sox witch continued to heckle everyone, and didn’t even pause while she literally sat through the playing of the National Anthems.  While the West Point Cadets held the flag in center field, she continued to sit and scream about Jeter, A-Rod, Rivera and the Yankees.  My wife finally got fed up and asked her to shut up for the duration of the National Anthem.  The witch was not pleased and decided to turn her attention to us.

Did I mention I paid $500 for these seats?  Really, I just wanted this witch to settle down and watch the game so that the rest of the section could enjoy it.  Besides, this is the one game a year where Red Sox players and Yankee players are on the same team. 

I finally gave up on hope.  So I walked down to the NYPD officer stationed at the tunnel in our section and explained the situation.  He promised to keep an eye on it.

The witch got more and more drunk.  She was slurring, spilling beer and really making a complete fool out of herself.  By the fourth inning, the cop had enough and marched up to our section giving her a firm warning to stop harassing everyone around her.

All that did was make her more cautious about when she said stuff.  She would wait until the cop wasn’t looking and would start on all the fans around her.  Yankee fans are fat.  Dumb. Yankees suck.  NYPD sucks.  She went on and on until she realized she had spilled the contents of her purse and could no longer locate her cell phone.

We knew she had it earlier in the game, as she used it to call her boyfriend to brag that she had duped “this dumb guy at work” into taking her to the All Star Game.  She decided that she must have forgotten it in the bathroom, and, leaving her purse with “that dumb guy from work” she left the section to find it.

The next three innings were awesome!  All you could hear were the sounds of fans interested in the game.  But the witch’s escort began to worry.  He grabbed her purse and left the section to look for her.

I looked down at the cop in the tunnel.  He just smiled.  Something was up.  So I went down to find out what it was.

It seems that the witch had some choice words for the officer when she drunkenly stumbled in to him on her quest for her phone.  So, he tossed her out of the stadium.  So she is outside of the stadium (in a Red Sox jersey), drunk, with no phone and no purse.  Her escort is inside the stadium, with no idea she got tossed out, carrying a large, white woman’s purse.  You just can’t make this stuff up.

That was the last we saw of the escort.  But around the 11^th inning, we saw the witch, escorted by Yankee security at the mouth of the tunnel, talking to the cop.  He refused to let her into the section.  So, they went to the next tunnel over, and convinced that cop to let her in to find her purse and her phone.  Too bad the escort left with it an hour before.

She stood, facing the entire section, black mascara and eyeliner smudged down her cheeks.  I guess she finally sobered up.  She described her escort to security.  They called into the section, “Has anyone seen a guy in a Yankees jersey?”  We sat there in stunned silence.  Finally they escorted her out for the final time.

I don’t know what happened to the Red Sox witch.  We stayed to the end of the very exciting 15^th inning of the game, when the AL victoriously scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly.  At 4 hours and 50 minutes of game time, I guess we got our $500 worth!

My wife poses near our seats at the end of the 2008 All Star Game(1:39 AM).

Stadium Memories

While I absolutely love meeting athletes and getting autographs, I also enjoy going to different stadiums and sports arenas around the country.  I find the fans, food and atmosphere at different stadiums fascinating.  Since we are still in the spring training season, I am thinking about which baseball stadiums and parks I will be visiting this year.

Since I am based on the east coast, I have been fairly limited to where I have been.  I will be blogging about some of my experiences at the stadiums I have visited soon.  The following are some of the experiences from fellow blogger Aaron Garcia from AllSportsTalk.net:

Growing up in Southern California, I was pretty privileged to have three major league baseball stadiums within about 150 miles of my house.  I grew up going mostly to Dodger and Angel games, but when I got older I went to a few Padres games on occasion. I have had the privilege of visiting 10 major league parks, although only 7 of those would still count now since the Padres, Giants and Mets have all gotten new ballparks since I came to visit. Below are the stadiums I’ve visited in no particular order.

1.       Dodger Stadium

2.       Angel Stadium

3.       Qualcomm Stadium (before the Padres moved)

4.       Candlestick (before the Giants moved)

5.       Coors Field

6.       Chase Field

7.       U.S Cellular

8.       Wrigley Field

9.       Miller Park

10.   Shea (before the Mets moved)

Candlestick Park

I have had good experiences at just about all of these parks with the exception of Candlestick.  You see, I grew up in a Dodger family (which meant we hated the Giants and vice versa).  When I was 6 years old, my parents and I were on a trip to San Francisco and it just so happened that the Dodgers were in town.  I was smiling uncontrollably as I put on my dodger gear in preparation for the game, but my mood changed the moment I walked through the gates.  My parents and I were cussed at, belittled and abused, all because I was wearing Dodger’s gear.  It was one of the worst experiences of my life.  I can’t say that the same thing wouldn’t have happened at Dodger Stadium, but it is doubtful. 

Shea Stadium

My experience at Shea was during a senior class trip to NYC.  It was April and being from Southern California, I stupidly assumed that the weather everywhere in the US was as awesome as it was in LA.  I froze my toes off sitting in the nosebleeds at Shea, but it will go down as one of the most memorable games I’ve ever been to, even if for all the wrong reasons. 

Miller Park

Miller Park was an awesome experience as well.  I went there a couple years ago right after I graduated college.  I got to see Prince Fielder homer and Bernie Brewer go down the slide (although not into a mug of beer like he did at the old stadium). 

Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field was another memorable trip for me.  I have family in Chicago and used to go back there every summer for a week or so. My family is full of White Sox fans (not sure why) and our trip usually took place when the sox were in town.  One time, however, the Cubbies were in town and nobody else from my family wanted to go, so me and my mom packed up the rental car and headed on over to Wrigley.  Seeing the ivy on the walls in person was an amazing experience.  I’m not too sure how much longer Wrigley will be around, but I am very glad that I got to see it and would love to go back. 

Comiskey Park (U.S. Cellular Field)

Sticking to Chicago, I also got to see what is now US Cellular, although it was called Comiskey Park when I used to go.  I don’t remember anything specific from the White Sox games I went to, except that one time the game got rained out and I cried like a baby.  I’m not even sure how old I was or that it even matters – but I cried my eyes out because I wanted to see some baseball. 

Coors Field

Coors field was an interesting experience for me.  I was a junior in high school and had just gotten done with a baseball camp at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.  My family came to pick me up and we decided to head over to Denver for a Rockies game. We got to visit the ring of purple seats that mark 1 mile above sea level, but thankfully our seats were a little closer to the action.  This is a beautiful park and a must-see if you ever find yourself in town at the same time as the Rockies. 

Qualcomm Stadium (Old Padres Digs)

I went to a few games down in San Diego, but it was a lot further of a drive for me than Angel or Dodger stadiums were, so it was a rare treat to see the Padres play.  Also, I wasn’t necessarily a big fan of them, seeing as they were NL West division rivals of my Dodgers.  Quite frankly, the old stadium down in San Diego wasn’t that nice.  I would love to get back there to see Petco Park.  I like baseball stadiums with an old timey feel. 

Chase Field

This is my new stomping grounds, so to speak, now that I reside in Phoenix.  I usually only go to D’Backs games when the Dodgers are in town, but every now and then I make an exception (especially if free tickets are involved).  Thank God for retractable roofs and air conditioning.  There is nothing quite like the feel of stepping into the ballpark which is usually kept at a cool 76 degrees when you just parked your car in 110 degree, skin melting heat.  It’s a huge ballpark, in terms of seating, so don’t get the cheapest tickets or you really won’t be able to see much. 

Angel Stadium

Even though I don’t like to admit it, I tried to rebel and become an Angel’s fan when I was younger.  I loved Chili Davis, Wally Joyner and Chuck Abbott.  Playing Wiffle Ball in the backyard with my dad, I was the Angels and he was the Dodgers.  We really only went to Angel games when the Red Sox were in town, mainly because my dad was a closet Roger Clemens fan.  A couple times we went when the Royals were in town because my dad liked Brett Saberhagen too.  Most of the Angel Games I went to were before they renovated the stadium, but once they did, they turned it into one of the most beautiful parks in all of Major League Baseball. 

Dodger Stadium

And here is where I start to show some of my bias.  I can’t even begin to tell you how many Dodger games I have been to (usually arriving in the third inning and leaving sometime after the 7^th inning stretch – like good Dodger fans do.  My dad and I would sit out in left field pavilion with a bag of peanuts and a handheld radio so we could still hear the sweet sound of Vin Scully’s voice.  I would peek over the railing and watch the Dodgers warm up in the bullpen and on the way to the bathrooms, there were little gaps in the fence where you could get an even closer view of the pitchers throwing in the pen.  One time, my dad caught a home run ball from Steve Sax and got him to autograph it after the game.  I still have the ball and ticket to this day.  The views of the field and even of the surrounding area are amazing at Dodger Stadium.  The park is in pristine condition, despite being the home of the Dodgers since 1962.  So many amazing memories there, Dodger Stadium is and always will be my favorite baseball stadium. 

Aaron Garcia is the owner of All Sports Talk, a sports blog covering MLB, NFL, NBA and NCAA Sports.  He covers topics ranging from general sports news to satire and even practice tips for young athletes looking to improve their game.  You can follow Aaron and All Sports Talk on Twitter @allsportsnet.

Goose Gossage Part II

Spring Training, 2008  In my quest to meet baseball players, I would rise at a (relatively) early hour and head out to the practice fields that flanked Legends Field.  Before I got there, I would always stop into a local diner called Mom’s for breakfast. The food is fast and good, and it is on the walk from the Days Inn that I stayed at to the stadium.

I meandered in early one morning with my wife Paige, her brother Guy and my friend Jeff.  We were sitting at a booth, perusing the menu when a very tall man with a handlebar mustache walked in alone and got seated two booths away.  His distinctive mustache is what gave him away- it was unmistakably Goose Gossage.

Since I was on my way over to Legends Field, I had a bag full of Rawlings baseballs and several pens for autographs.  I could have easily interrupted Mr. Gossage’s breakfast for his signature.  But Jeff had a better idea.  He suggested that I buy him breakfast.  After all, he had just been elected into the Hall of Fame.  Brilliant!

I grabbed the waitress and asked her if she could bring me the check for the guy sitting two booths over.  “Goose Gossage?” she asked.  I guess she realized I was a fan.  What was interesting was that nobody else in the diner seemed to notice he was sitting there all alone.  The waitress brought us his check when he finished his meal. 

A few minutes later, Jeff left our table for the men’s room.  Mr. Gossage came over to our table to thank us for buying him breakfast.  Since Jeff’s spot was vacated, we offered him a seat at our table.  Gossage joined us, and we chatted with him about his new found HOF status, and about our experience meeting him at a signing at Shoprite in NY. (For that story, see http://bit.ly/gzjM6k)

He was really awesome to talk to, sharing stories and signing a few baseballs.  It was an unforgettable experience, just hanging out and drinking coffee with a HOF pitcher and all around nice guy.  We thanked him and congratulated him one last time.

Two weeks later, I was back in NY, at a fundraiser that the Hudson Valley Renegades (Tampa Bay’s Single A affiliate) put on annually called Pitch for Kids.  I walk in with Paige and Jeff.  Who is sitting on the dais?  Goose Gossage.

He looks at me, points and says, “Where do I know you from?”  Holy crap.  He recognized me! 

“I bought you breakfast at Mom’s in Tampa.”   I explained I was from the Hudson Valley and that I go to Renegades games and events all of the time (they are a fun team to watch!).  We chatted and I introduced him to Jeff, who didn’t make it out of the men’s room in time to meet him at Mom’s. 

What I learned from this experience is invaluable: do something classy and unforgettable, and a player will remember you.  Another thing I realized was that most players are just regular guys that have extraordinary talents.  They just want to be treated like you would treat a friend (that just got elected into the Hall of Fame)!

If you liked this posting, check out my guest blog on www.allsportstalk.net with tips on how to get autographs.  The posting can be found here: http://bit.ly/fNSvpG.  

Getting Autographs from Prospects at Spring Training

Melky Cabrera signed baseball from Spring Training 2006

One of my favorite things about going to spring training is to check out the up-and-coming players, watch them develop and then see them as starting players a few years later.  I love to meet these guys before they really hit the big time, when they are fighting for their spot on the roster, when they put in some of the best effort to show off their raw talent.

Back in 2006, I was watching a young Yankee prospect, Melky Cabrera.  I had seen him make a brief appearance in the MLB the previous season, with little success.  In spring training, he seemed to have his stuff together, and was fun and interesting to watch.  I wanted to meet him.

What was interesting was that I was staying at the Tampa Bay Days Inn, a few blocks away from Legends Field (where the Yankees practice, now known as Steinbrenner Field).  So was Cabrera, along with several other Yankee prospects.  In fact, I would see him practically every day, leaving for the park and returning back to the hotel.  At night, fellow Yankee Robinson Cano would swing by, pick him up and head out to dinner.

I began to see Cabrera and company frequently, so it got to the point where I would wave hello to them.  They would wave back.  After a few days, I flat out approached them and requested autographs.

While I didn’t get a chance to really speak with any of them, it was really interesting to see how hard Cabrera and the other Yankee prospects worked.  They were up and out at around 7 am, and returned over an hour after the game.   Pretty grueling day, especially when you factor in the physical drills, performance during a game against other professional athletes, all while trying to win a coveted spot on the Yankee roster.  Yet still they took the time to sign for a fan.  Pretty cool.

The moral of the story is that prospects often are put up at the small, local hotels.  So, if you choose to stay there as well, you just might get an opportunity to know them a bit better.  Just be respectful.  Keep in mind they are on a six week job interview!

These days, I don’t get to see Cabrera play as often as I used to, since he has bounced to the Atlanta Braves and then to the KC Royals (I live in a NY market, so I don’t catch those games as often).  But when he is in town, I still feel the connection from that day at spring training – and that makes me a fan.