There are many, many words in this David Samuels essay about the New York Yankees and New York City, and I can certainly understand how you might be reluctant to read them all if you are not particularly interested in the subject, but I will urge you to push past that disinclination and give it a spin anyway, because otherwise you will miss one of the most effective final paragraphs I have read in some time.
Monday, November 2, 2009
20
Which is why Wrigley Field is the best baseball park in the world -- always has been and always will be. You are never far from the field. Now, if we could just trade the Cubs for the current Yankee lineup.
Amen!
I have never been to Wrigley, but hear great things about it. Fenway Park, whether it be used for baseball or now music, provides a venue that is amazing; difficult to describe.
Chicago and Boston have a lot in common - we have great, classic ballparks (not counting that monstrosity on the South Side) that have more character than that high-falutin’ Steinbrenner’s Folly they just built.
The one time I went to Fenway, there was a pole exactly between me and home plate, so the ball would disappear and then, if there was a crack, you had no idea where to look for the ball.
The oldest-n-best parks weren't exactly built with sight lines always in mind, it's true. But there's no better seat in Wrigley than a bleacher seat.
Wrigley! Wrigley! Wrigley!
Signed, Cards fan
Steroids! Steroids! Steroids!
Signed, Cubs Fan
I was not being ironic. I like Wrigley (and the Cubs).
Can we get someone to wax nostalgic on Veterans Stadium? Now THAT was a place where you could hate on millionaires with class!
"Rodriguez is an exquisitely sensitive player, with the visible emotions of a talented, brooding teenager to go along with his rangy athletic grace, powerful hips and shoulders, and a cannon of an arm."
I think this belongs in the other post about A-Rod and the lavender lip gloss...
"The Legends section is an optical illusion that creates value through the physical separation of the mega-rich from their fellow citizens while maintaining the mutually flattering appearance of shared public space, a trick borrowed from nightclubs and Las Vegas casinos."
Great essay. So much has been said about the new Yankee Stadium but not enough of it has been about the class disparities it exacerbates. As much as I love watching the Yankees play ball, I'll be happy to get to a city that has a team that the 'destitute' (the rest of us) can afford to see live.
Just watch/read anything about the Brooklyn Dodgers. The idea of sports heroes the "common man" could identify with died when they moved to LA.
Well, why should baseball be any different than anything else being beyond affordability in New York? A team is supposed to represent its locale and I'd say it sounds like the Yankees are doing that quite well.
The Phillies and the Yankees are my two favorite teams (go Phils!).
That paragraph is very sad and effective. Unfortunately if the Phillies win (go Phils!) there will be a bunch of stupid, ignorant hack pieces about how the "working class" Phillies beat the Bronx Bankers. And that'll just make it all worse.
So, the average guy cheering for the yankees is kind of like the minimum wager who supports repealing the estate tax... er "death tax?"
I appreciate Samuels' take on the swelling disconnect between all but the very upper-class and Americana,and the familiar anecdotes of everyone but the very upper-class during this period in our country's history. These stories are becoming as Americana as baseball
Fact-checking: When the Yanks lose, they play Liza Minelli's rendition of 'New York, New York.' Apparently the geighs get very upset by a loss and it helps to calm them.
Really? I've on been to five or six games but each time it has been Sinatra. I must have lucked out with winners...