Baseball Stadium Insider , livre ebook

THE BASEBALL STADIUM INSIDER
THE BASEBALL
STADIUM
INSIDER

A DISSECTION OF ALL THIRTY BALLPARKS, LEGENDARY PLAYERS, AND MEMORABLE MOMENTS
MATT LUPICA
FOREWORD BY STEVE BLASS
Black Squirrel Books ™
Kent, Ohio
BLACK SQUIRREL BOOKS ™
Frisky, industrious black squirrels are a familiar sight on the Kent State University campus and the inspiration for Black Squirrel Books™, a trade imprint of The Kent State University Press. www.KentStateUniversityPress.com
© 2015 by The Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio 44242 All rights reserved
Every effort has been made to obtain permission from persons interviewed by the author to be quoted in this book.
ISBN 978-1-60635-250-2
Manufactured in the United States of America
Cataloging information for this title is available at the Library of Congress.
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My dad, when he took me to the first game in Detroit, we were poor farmers and did not have good seats—we sat in the bleachers—but driving in from the farm, into Detroit and all the concrete and all that the metropolitan area represents, and as we got to the ballpark, the inside, we got our tickets and were about to enter, he stopped me and he said, “Now I want you to remember this experience,” and I was eleven or twelve years old and it was after the war, and he said, “We are going into a ballpark. It is a park where they play baseball. Don’t ever forget that—you are going to see a beautiful park” … and every time I go into a baseball stadium, I don’t even want to say the word; it’s a baseball park.
—Legendary sports broadcaster Dick Enberg

Dick Enberg is seen here with author Matt Lupica in a photo taken inside the visiting television broadcast booth at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on September 17, 2013.
CONTENTS
Foreword by Steve Blass
Acknowledgments
A Note about the Quotes
East Region
Citi Field: Home of the New York Mets
Citizens Bank Park: Home of the Philadelphia Phillies
Fenway Park: Home of the Boston Red Sox
Nationals Park: Home of the Washington Nationals
Oriole Park at Camden Yards: Home of the Baltimore Orioles
PNC Park: Home of the Pittsburgh Pirates
Yankee Stadium: Home of the New York Yankees
Great Lakes Region
Comerica Park: Home of the Detroit Tigers
Miller Park: Home of the Milwaukee Brewers
Progressive Field: Home of the Cleveland Indians
Rogers Centre: Home of the Toronto Blue Jays
Target Field: Home of the Minnesota Twins
U.S. Cellular Field: Home of the Chicago White Sox
Wrigley Field: Home of the Chicago Cubs
South-Central Region
Busch Stadium: Home of the St. Louis Cardinals
Globe Life Park: Home of the Texas Rangers
Great American Ball Park: Home of the Cincinnati Reds
Kauffman Stadium: Home of the Kansas City Royals
Marlins Park: Home of the Miami Marlins
Minute Maid Park: Home of the Houston Astros
Tropicana Field: Home of the Tampa Bay Rays
Turner Field: Home of the Atlanta Braves
West Region
Angel Stadium of Anaheim: Home of the Los Angeles Angels
AT&T Park: Home of the San Francisco Giants
Chase Field: Home of the Arizona Diamondbacks
Coors Field: Home of the Colorado Rockies
Dodger Stadium: Home of the Los Angeles Dodgers
O.co Coliseum: Home of the Oakland Athletics
Petco Park: Home of the San Diego Padres
Safeco Field: Home of the Seattle Mariners
Conclusion
Bibliography
FOREWORD
STEVE BLASS
L ike millions of other baseball fans, I remember every detail about the first time I walked into a Major League ballpark. It is, in every sense, a rite of passage in America.
For me, it was truly a momentous day. When I was a ten-year-old from the small town of Falls Village, Connecticut, my father drove us to Brewster, New York, and then we took a commuter train the rest of the way to Yankee Stadium.
While walking through the dark tunnel, underneath the stands, for a 1952 game between the Yankees and my beloved Cleveland Indians, my father took a quick glimpse at our tickets to confirm that we had arrived at our section. We suddenly entered the grandstand, and I got my first glimpse inside Yankee Stadium. The site was breathtaking . My first impression was how the perfectly manicured green grass looked like a bed of emeralds under the massive light towers. I then looked up to see the famous white façade stretch across the top of the upper deck. I glanced quickly at the small scoreboard in right field that—in just four years—would be the backdrop of the iconic photo of Don Larsen’s last pitch of his World Series perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers. I had seen it all on television before, but now it was live . Now it was in color . And it all seemed so massive .
There is nothing like being in a ballpark in person. The sights. The sounds. And as a former Major Leaguer, I could certainly appreciate the memorable line given in the movie, Field of Dreams , when Shoeless Joe Jackson, played by Ray Liotta, said, “I’d wake up at night with the smell of the ballpark in my nose, the cool of the grass on my feet. The thrill of the grass.”
The thrill of the grass, indeed!
Throughout baseball history, its ballparks have become a vital part of their communities. Ask an old Brooklyn fan what it felt like when the city took a wrecking ball to Ebbets Field after their beloved “bums” were moved to Los Angeles following the 1957 season. For so many, it was like a death in the family.
And as for Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley? Around the Flatbush Avenue part of the borough, it’s been said that “If you asked a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, ‘If you had a gun with only two bullets in it and were in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and O’Malley, who would you shoot?’ The answer: ‘O’Malley, twice!’”
The great Frank Sinatra even recorded a heartbreaking song based on the Dodgers’ move entitled “There Used to Be a Ballpark.” Can it hardly be a coincidence that Brooklyn struggled economically, and crime rose from almost the exact year Ebbets Field was torn down and continued for decades?
And spare me the argument that the Dodgers needed a bigger and newer ballpark than the jewel that was Ebbets Field. Fenway Park opened a year before Ebbets Field and seems to be doing quite well in its old age. And that other treasure, the one up on Chicago’s north side, Wrigley Field, was opened just a year after Ebbets and continues to be as much a part of that city’s soul as any other landmark.
As a Pirates pitcher in the 1960s and 1970s, my career was split between Forbes Field, an older park that opened in 1909, and Three Rivers Stadium, which had a design similar at that time to Veterans Stadium, Riverfront Stadium, and Busch Stadium. The modern Three Rivers Stadium was, naturally, more comfortable to play in, but I missed some of the grit of old Forbes Field. My only regret is that I miss the “ballpark smell” of Forbes Field. I know it was mostly a result of stale beer and cigar/cigarette smoke, but I miss it just the same.
My first experience at Forbes Field was for my tryout with the Pirates in 1960. To show how times have changed, following my workout, my father and I sat up in the stands to watch the Buccos play a doubleheader. By the fifth inning of the second game, there were streams of beer cascading down the aisles throughout the ballpark. Because the Pirates didn’t sell beer at Forbes Field at the time, fans were allowed to bring coolers into the stadium, provided they bought an extra ticket for it. What a hoot!
Can you imagine any club passing on beer revenues today?
Dodger Stadium is another one of my favorite ballparks. The backdrop of Chavez Ravine and the pine and palm trees beyond the bleachers make it a beautiful place to play. But there is one reason why Dodger Stadium will always be close to my heart. It was the venue of my first big league win against none other than Hall of Famer Don Drysdale in his prime back in 1964. So one could conclude that some ballplayers have favorite ballparks in part because of the success or big moments they may have enjoyed in them.
Today, as a color analyst for the Pirates, I have the luxury of working the broadcast booth at PNC Park and looking out at one of baseball’s most beautiful backdrops. Beyond the outfield bleachers, the Steel City skyline glistens behind the Roberto Clemente Bridge. And now that the Pirates’ performance on the field has matched the stadium’s brilliance, it’s like a carnival atmosphere at every home game.
Enjoy this book about baseball’s ballparks, where lifelong memories are made at every game.
Steve Blass pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1964 and again from 1966 to 1974, compiling an overall record of 103–76 to go along with a career ERA of 3.63. The pinnacle of his career came in 1971, when he helped lead the Pirates to their fourth World Series championship. In that series, Blass turned in two complete game wins, allowing seven hits and two runs over the course of 18 innings.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank the Major League Baseball teams and the individuals who assisted me in preparing the revised edition of The Baseball Stadium Insider . Whether it was getting me vital information regarding a specific attribute of the ballpark, or sending me a media guide to help assist in the research, it was greatly appreciated.
To the players, broadcasters, or managers who contributed quotes for this book, I want to express my gratitude that you took the time out of your schedule to speak with me. I know you are asked thousands of questions throughout a baseball career, but I hope that answering questions about the ballparks provided a change of pace and something different. Your insight contributed greatly, and I know that readers will be enlightened by your perspective.
I’d also like to give a special thanks to the following:
The Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Club for all of their assistance along the way. From allowing me—with no hesitation—to conduct interviews with the players for this revision, to providing me w