The Ballpark Situation

Everyone complains now that there are too many home runs being hit. Granted the art of the homer still awes the crowd, but in certain situations, like the Yankees last year, they are hit too often to the point where you expect to see them rather than it being a spur the moment thing. Is it because of the hitters ability to see and hit the ball better? Is it possible that the pitchers may not be as good as the ones from the past? NO! It’s because the ballparks are too small now. Yes, they players work harder throughout the season and in the weight room, but it goes both ways. Both the hitters and the pitchers work harder and build muscle just about everyday in every year. The problem with the home run now is that it is easier to hit because they are in smaller parks. For instance, the fairly new Citizens Bank Park where the Phillies play is known as a hitters park since it is common to see a home run hit. The left field foul pole is 329 feet from home plate, right field at 330 feet, and the furthest distance from home plate is 409 feet, which is just left of center field. No look at the older parks, the historical parks, such as Ebbits Field where the Brooklyn Dodgers played, before those traitors moved to Los Angels. Not all measures are exact since the park was played in almost one hundred years ago. The original measures from 1913 are 419 to left field, right field at 301, and dead center field at a whopping 477 feet. This does not even include the 20 foot high walls. Yet, Citizens Bank Park has walls that are on average 10 feet tall, at points reaching 14 and change. So you tell me, why do people complain so much about so many home runs being hit when it is their own fault for making the pars so small?

Players and the Media

Not trying to disrespect anyone, but what is the problem with the players today? I’m talking about players such as Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez who repeatedly try to avoid questions and snap at the media. Why do they seem so angry when someone simply asks a question regarding how they played or the game itself? Even before and after the games players are less accessible than they used to be. At spring training games both in Florida and Arizona players are there to get ready for the season while giving the fans a chance to get close and personal with their idols. Sadly many players seem more interested in going home or going back to the home city rather than making a young child’s dreams come true by simply signing a baseball or a program. By all means I understand that they are busy and don’t even have to do anything other than play the game, but are you really too busy to scratch something on a souvenir for a child when its raining outside and they wait for hours after the game just to see you? Instead you decided to avoid them standing there by acting like you are talking on the phone. I can recall way back in the day when players such as Yogi Berra would go out of their way to make an appearance to the media and the fans. As a matter of fact, Berra may have gone much further than he needed to show his face. He constantly entertained his audience with his “Yogisms.” His memorable quotes such as “It’s not over til it’s over” and “it’s déjà vu all over again” were a spectacle for many. Sadly, players nowadays just try to avoid the cameras and microphones and fans for whatever reason they can think of.

The Yankees 10 year WS drought

It never really occurred to me until last October, but what was the whole deal with New York Yankees fans and all of them complaining about how they had not won a World Series since 2000, a total of ten years. The way I look at it is there are teams who have never even been to the World Series, let alone not be there in such a short time. Not to mention winning a total of 27. I can remember way back when I was a young tike and walking over to Wrigley Field to watch my beloved Cubbies play ball. I think I was maybe six or seven years old when I last saw them win it all against the Detroit Tigers. Of course my memory may be a tad bit fuzzy after all these years, but I do know for a fact that it was well over a hundred years ago! I just look at all those Yankee loving hoodlums and it makes me want to spat in their general direction. All the do is cry and moan about how those pinstriped bastards have not won anything of real importance in ten years. Hears something for all you kiddies to hear, Chicago has not even been to the World Series in 65 years! I say you all need to stop your complaining and man up to the fact that you have it much better than us older people. We used to listen to the games on the AM radio, not these new HQ TVs or whatever you call them. Ten years is nothing when you look at the overall picture!