2008 MLB Thread (1 Viewer)

[TonyD]

that right field fence was very high. i need to look it up to see what the height was. it may have been 32 feet.(one site claims it was 50 feet high)
Connie mack built that and one of it's nic names was "the spite wall".
he had it put there to keep people from watching on the outside of the stadium.

"fans sitting atop the building roofs behind the 12 foot right field wall could watch the game for cheaper prices than admission to Shibe Park. However in 1935, the A’s ended this as they decided to raise the wall to 50 feet. Lights were added to Shibe Park and the first night game was played on May 16, 1939"

The original dimensions at Shibe Park were 378 ft. (left), 340 (right), and 515 ft. (center).

that pic you posted is interesting considering what his statue looks like.



the statue was in front of connie mack stadium then was moved to the Vet and now it sits across from CB park.

 

[TonyD]

interesting note i just read.


In 1923, an event occurred at Baker Bowl that had far-reaching implications for baseball fans. It began when an eleven-year-old boy caught a foul ball in the stands during a game. In those days, a ball club could insist that a foul ball be returned so that it could continue to be used in play, and the Phillies was one of those clubs. So when the boy refused to part with his prized possession, the team had him arrested for larceny and hauled to jail for the night. The next day, a judge dismissed the charge, stating that it was the “natural impulse" of fans to keep foul balls as souvenirs. The public uproar created by the incident quickly led to a ruling from the baseball commissioner’s officer that, henceforth, any fan who caught a foul ball in the stands would be allowed to keep the ball.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Nice statue.

Is that a young TonyD in that natty sportcoat looking up at the imposing Mack?

 

[TonyD]

not exactly.

 

[Mike Frezon]

If the NY Yankees (10 games back in the AL East--in fourth place) were actually in the NL West...they'd be in first place.

Crazy.

 

[MarkHastings]

^^ Yeah, that's what I was saying before about unfairness... If the season were to end tonight, there are 7 MLB teams that wouldn't make the playoffs, but if they were in the NL West, they'd all win the division.

 

[Patrick_S]

What a great day for the Cubs!

The magic number shrunk by 3 in one day (now at 7) and Carlos Zambrano pitches a No Hitter!

 

[Eric Peterson]

That was an incredible thing to watch. I was 4 months old for the last Cubs' no-hitter. I almost went to the game yesterday. I woke up to find out that they had re-scheduled the game for Milwaukee and I was extremely close to buying tix before backing out. I am kicking myself really hard today.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Kinda makes ya yearn for just two leagues and the elimination of the divisions & wild card, some retraction, no DS or CS and just pennant races and a WS...don't it?!

Ah...for the days when the Senators would practically be guaranteed to finish in last place in the AL--35 games out!

 

[Walter C]

Reminds me of the time of the Terry Mulhollond (sp?) no-hitter back in 1990. My friends asked me if I wanted to go to that Phillies game, and I told them that I couldn't because I thought my folks would not let me. As it turned out, they would have let me.

Mike: Sounds like you aren't too happy that the Yankees will miss the playoffs. I thought you would be dancing on the Yankees' grave, along with the rest of Red Sox Nation.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Walter: More a case of "What's going on in the NL West?"

I'm certainly okay with the Yanks taking a year off. Pretty impressive string of making the playoffs every year since 1995.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Quite a nice closing to Yankee Stadium last night (although I'm still surprised the organization went ahead and actually moved their ballpark).

Jeter did a really nice job in his post-game address to the crowd.

And...the Yanks are still alive at this late date! That is amazing after the season they've had.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Why? They've been just another ball club this year and haven't really been a worry since 2004.

 

[LewB]

They are moving for $ plain and simple. They have been making noises about a new ballpark for years, originally wanting to go to Manhattan. The old skeleton could not be refitted for more luxury boxes so Yankee Stadium had to go.
I said my good byes last Saturday night, we started at Stan's and went to the ball park where I saw my first game for the last time. The grass was never greener ! The Yanks won that one making me 1-3 on the year. Mo came in to pitch the 9th so I got to get goose bumps when 'Enter Sandman' started up. We stayed as long as we could after the game to get a last look. On the way out I ran my hand against the concrete and whispered 'see you around pal' as I left feeing a bit fer klempt.

As for Jeter, I've watched him since he started and have always believed that he had his head screwed on straight. In a time with the likes of Manny and the others, it's nice to see a professional. He hustles every day and plays every day. Reggie said that Jeter had been playing hurt since May when he got hit in the hand (something I suspected) and never said squat, just played every day. When I saw Jeter get the microphone, I knew he would say the right thing, he always does.

I said that if they gave some corporation naming rights to the new place, I wouldn't go. I've changed my mind. Give it some company's name, so that there won't be a 'son of Yankee Stadium', or 'The new Yankee Stadium'.
The new place may have wider seats, or more bathrooms that don't smell bad before the game, but right now things like that don't seem all that important.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Lew: I've taken my son (a Yankees fan) to the stadium for a game every year or so.

Do you worry about being able to afford seats in the new park? I keep hearing horror story upon horror story about how expensive seats are going to be.

Phil Mushnik ran a piece in the NY Post the other day about a long-time season ticket holder (25 years) whose seats cost $105 per game two years ago. $150 last year. $250 this year. And similar seats at the new place will cost $850!

I know they are expecting HUGE profit increases from the new park...but everything I'm hearing is making it sound like the blue-collar fan is going to be near shut out.

===================

Jeter hit all the right notes and put the best face on the fan's melancholy.

 

[Walter C]

I was fortunate to visit Yankee Stadium this season, as I was suppose to go with a friend, but he was not sure if he could make it, and ended up not going. So I decided to go alone, and as it turned out, it would be my only visit.

I enjoyed watching the closing of the stadium, and the Yankees went out on a high note, with a nice homestead (although too little too late).

In other news, the Phillies have extended their small lead in the NL East, and should run the table and avoid a first round matchup with the Cubs.

 

[LewB]

Mike:
The local IBM club has 8 full season seats in the $250 area (6 rows behind 3rd base on deck circle). They lottery off these seats every year to employees. 2 years ago they were $100, last year they were $150, this season, $250.
So if you do the math, that's 8x81x250 or $162K they had to try to recoup for the $250 price. A hard sell for those April games against weak clubs. You are right, those seats are supposed to go to $800 each ($519K for 8), and they won't be the same location (read 'farther back'). I don't see how they will be able to keep those seats.
Any of those seats that aren't now will most likely go corporate. I see many similarities to the NY football Giants and their PSLs.

I am VERY lucky to be able to afford indulgences like $250 baseball tix, but $800 for a regular season seat, even if they are available is just too much. I could not talk any one else into going.
Assuming I can't get tix thru my employer, I guess that leaves Stub Hub and those lovely 'resellers' in front of Stadium Lanes. Geez, I wonder if they will move farther up River Ave ?
Hey, I'm a New Yawk'er, I'll adapt. I can always utilize the new Metro North station, go to Stan's, get buzzed and come home :frowning:

Sux being a fan. Fan comes from 'fanatic'; from wiki:
Fanaticism is an emotion of being filled with excessive, uncritical zeal, particularly for an extreme religious or political cause or in some cases sports, or with an obsessive enthusiasm for a pastime or hobby.

We are junkies who need our fix, and THEY know it.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I guess the culture of being a fan has evolved over the years.

Watching the footage of the old Yankee Stadium (with those lovely upper deck poles!) and seeing all those people jammed into the venue for the Giants & Yankee games started me to thinking about how fans back then couldn't really know what a pro ball game looked like without traveling to their closest park and paying admission.

Things are so different now with TV and the idea that we can watch so many games each season on the tube and maybe take in a game "in person" to get that special feeling of being the ballpark...

I just wonder if these big sports organizations might some day regret pricing seats so high.

The Mushnik piece went on to wonder if mlb (which sets seat prices for the post season) might actually charge LESS than the regular season rate at the new Yankee Stadium. That would be a kick.

 

[LewB]

Yankee Stadium's close makes suckers out of the media - MarketWatch

 

[Philip Hamm]

Nice report, thanks for sharing! I've had the priveledge of attending a few games at Yankee's Stadium over the years. The concourses are dark and dismal, the bathrooms are small and smelly, the stairs to the upper deck are dangerously steep. I loved the place. But there's a lot of money to be made in corporate skyboxes, that's where the industry is going and baseball needs the money.

Also, that massive wedge behind home plate is just an awful design. Even for the day it was built that is an awful design. The closest seats behind home plate are waaaay farther away than they should be. Not that I'd ever afford to sit there, but that also means the seats behind home plate in the upper deck are further than they should be. I'm sure catchers love it because there's more of a chance to make an out, but to me as a fan it sucks.

High ticket prices are an unfortunate trend. My local team the Nationals opened a very nice new stadium this year (if the Yankees new stadium is as nice as Nationals Park you will be happy!). Their ticket prices were much higher than the hellhole known fondly as RFK stadium, and attendance has not been very good as a result. They are lowering ticket prices for next year, but fielding a minor league quality team in a very tough division is going to make tickets a hard sell even with a beautiful new facility.

All I can say is buy your tickets at stubhub.