A disclaimer before I begin. Baseball is my favorite sport. I have favorite teams in other sports but baseball is my first and only true love of a sport. I root for my favorite American League team and my favorite National League team and I just love the game. So much so, I have played it in some form my whole life, even to the point of belonging to a senior softball league in my advanced years. Besides playing the game, I really enjoy going to baseball games. Seeing the game in its purest form, executed by some of the best athletes in the world while keeping track of the strategy of the game is very entertaining.
Now that we have that cleared up, it’s time to unload.
I’m a Chicago area boy and fell in love with baseball mainly due to Erni Banks of the Cubs and Nelson (Nellie) Fox of the White Sox. Those were my two favorite players when I was young. Who couldn’t love Erni Banks. He was the perfect example of a classy and very talented baseball player. He was Rookie of the Year in 1953 and won two MVP awards in 1958 and 1959. Nellie Fox was the second baseman and the heart of the “Go, Go” White Sox that went to the World Series in 1959. He was also named MVP in the same year.
It was much easier to attend a game in those days. Getting to Wrigley Field, home of the Cubs, was a breeze and easier than Comiskey Park, home of the
white Sox. The Sox were so good and the Cubs were historically bad. I was allowed to take a train down to Wrigley Field at 14 years old by myself, or with a friend, and not be worried that my parents would be arrested for child endangerment. A fan could actually go to the park on game day and be able to purchase a ticket at the box office for that game, and the ticket was made of paper!
The one thing I always noticed as I entered the stands of either park was how green the grass was and the smell of cigar smoke. The small crowd at Wrigley was mostly men and many of them were wearing suits and fedoras.
Getting to Comiskey Park was a bit more difficult since you needed a car, but my dad would make sure we would get there and see a double header or two on Sundays. Two for the price of one, what a deal. As I got older and could drive, I was able to attend more Sox games.
When my friend and I would buy our tickets, no matter which park, we would purchase the cheapest one available. As soon as we went through the gate, we headed to the box seats. The Andy Fran ushers (the official ushers for anything in Chicago from baseball games, football games, hockey matches and even the circus when it was in town) were friendly, wore the ugliest uniforms in history, and would tell us we could stay there until the actual ticket holder showed up, then just move to our seats. We would run all over the park, unabated, hanging over the walls and trying to get autographs and have a general good time. I always would bring a few of my hard earned dollars from cutting lawns, raking leaves or caddying at the Country Club so I could buy a program and score the game.
I fell in love with this whole atmosphere and I now mourn its loss.
This past Sunday, one of my three sons purchased for me to see the Cubs play the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles (He’s my current favorite child). Even though I am not a big fan of Dodger Stadium, it has less to do with the following comments than it has to do with the size and location of that ballpark. What I am about to say is going to apply to games at any stadium now-a-days, including Wrigley Field.
The days of the small, intimate setting of baseball parks are gone. They are now palaces to advertising and sponsorships. The moniker of most fields are whatever the name of the corporation is who purchased a sponsorship deal. No more Comiskey Park, it is now Guaranteed Rate Field. When you enter the stadium you are restricted to the section your seat is located in. If you want to beg for autographs, you have to have seats down by the wall along the field. Unfortunately, those seats are now so expensive and restricted, only very rich folks or corporations can afford them. So while the rich kids are getting their balls signed by the players, the poorer kids are in the upper decks hoping to snag a foul ball. Sixty years and still waiting with my mitt at the ready.
When it came time for a snack, I couldn’t find a peanut or Cracker Jack anywhere. How un-American is that. There were gourmet pizzas, sushi and piles of Dodger Dogs being kept lukewarm under heating lamps. I might want to have a beer to wash down my very dry hot dog, but I would need to take out a loan to buy one. Beer prices ranged from $16 to $24 dollars, depending on how crafty you want it to be. I got a buzz from the price and didn’t need the alcohol and as a result I didn’t have to worry about a DUI driving home from the game.
I know that fans of certain teams have a bad reputation for bad behavior but the fans at the Cubs, Dodgers game were well behaved and in fact, most seemed like they didn’t even notice a game on the field. I believe most of them were there for beer, conversation and to be seen. The fact that their team crushed mine was only noticed by the one loudmouth in my section. Thank goodness he left the game in about the sixth inning because…that’s what Dodger fans do.
I go back to Chicago and take in a Cubs or White Sox game when I can but unfortunately they are the same. The days of the small, intimate “Friendly Confines” are gone. Fans are restricted to their section, prices of food and drinks have skyrocketed and going to a game has become a major event every day. The Cubs’ owners have built up the area around the park and at times it seems more like a carnival than a baseball game. Sox games are the same. I’m starting to believe going to a game is more like going to a craft brewery. What new kind of beer do they offer? Harry Carry and the can of Budweiser he was buried with is spinning in his grave.
The days of buying tickets at the box office on game day are gone. When we went to the Dodgers game we had to have tickets and pre-purchased parking digitally on my phone. So, only baseball fans with cell phones can go to games these days? How elitist is that?
I still love baseball and will continue to follow it as long as I live. Time to get to my softball game. I’m considered the Babe Ruth of my league because of my love of beer and hot dogs. Nothing to do with talent though. Play Ball!
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