Mike
From Ballpark Roadtrip
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Favorite Team
Yankees
I must confess that I wasn't always a true Yankee fan but I'm from Connecticut, and before it was "shabby chic" to love the Red Sox, everyone in CT was a Yanks fan so, I'm allowed. I saw my first Yankee game in '77 against the Royals and most clearly remember the Oscar Gamble afro. At that game, my uncle brought me to the hat stand and allowed me to get any hat that I wanted. I've always been the type to gravitate toward that which others avoid and hate the possibility of being perceived as a bandwagoner, so my choice was a Baltimore Orioles plastic batting helmet, the kind that if someone bonked you on the head, the plastic bumps on the inside would dimple your cranium.
I still watched the Yanks because there was no cable TV back then but secretly rooted fro the Orioles, basically, I just liked the cartoon bird and hated the fact that everyone I knew rooted for the Yankees. To further my then infantile attraction to the O's, my 4th grade bus driver knew Doug DeCinces' family and got me a game used bat signed by him. If I only held on to that bat I could auction it on Ebay and use the proceeds to buy a Cheeto shaped like the Virgin Mary. I remember watching the O's lose to the Bucs in the 1979 World Series and continued to be a fan which was even moreso solidified when Cal Ripken came on board. I played SS in Little League so he was always my idol.
When Don Mattingly started playing for the Yankees, I then had a reason to consider becoming a fan again: anyone who would fight with Steinbrenner over his facial hair is my kind of player. Unfortunately, the strike season was Donny Baseball's best chance at a ring and Randy Johnson put an end to Yankee dreams in '95. After I returned home from college in '95, I would once again proclaim myself a Yankee fan. While you might think this is just being a fair weather fan, that is not the case. The Yanks weren't really that popular in the mid and even late 90's. I probably went to 25 games in 1997 and there was rarely more the 25k people in the house. Now they can sell out Wednesdays against the Royals. I was at the final game when they swept the Braves in '99, and even by that time, you'd be surprised at how comparatively sparse their fan support was.
Even though I'm a Yankee fan, I don't cheer blindly for anyone. If I came to really not like the players on the Yanks, I probably wouldn't root for them. I'm not a big A-Rod fan at all and wasn't really psyched about the Randy Johnson acquisition. With the Yankees farm system, they should have options other than signing the most prolific free agent available at whatever the cost. Everyone asks me about Johnny Damon and I actually think this was a great move, even though he was on the Red Sox championship team, I like Damon and he fills a substantial weakness in the Yankee lineup.
I own hats by many teams because I simply like the game and like many players on many different teams. The fact that we participate in the road trip forces you into greater appreciation for the sport as a whole rather than just rooting for one team, yet eveyone who knows me knows I pull for the Yanks.
Favorite Player
Ken Griffey, Jr.
If Griffey had stayed healthy there would be no discussion that he's the greatest player of the steroid generation, perhaps the greatest all-round, all-time. Yet, he gets beat down by the media, Seattle fans, Reds fans, Yankee fans, you name it. The only thing he's never been accused of is juicing. When he broke his wrist crashing into the wall in 1995, it was all down hill health wise, a healthy "Junior" would have broken the home run record with ease and without asterisk. He gets accused of not working hard enough in the offseason, but when he dives after a ball in a game, he's criticized for trying too hard thereby risking injury. He can't satisfy anyone and has giving up trying, but still plays his hardest day in, day out. Unfortunately, catching Bonds is quite unlikely since Junior will probably retire before DH'ing, but Palmeiro, McGwire and Sosa have all fallen short. Griffey should make 5th on the all time HR list, maybe he catches Mays if he stays healthy, A-Rod has a shot.
Least Favorite Player
Cal Ripken Jr. Just kidding! Is it possible to hate Ripken with any credibility? I don't know if I really can put anyone in this category. Maybe Curt Schilling because he seems to think that God wanted him to win the World Series. I don't particularly dislike Bonds like many do. I like the fact that he's always looking into the stands in LF and reacts to the fans out there. I would even say that I like Manny. When you can justify your behavior with the saying "That's just Manny being Manny", I think that speaks volumes. Heck, I even like A.J. Pierzynski.
Favorite Ballpark
Best Local Beer
I was first introduced to "I.C." in the hotel bar in Pittsburgh right before the game. What do I like about this beer?
- There are 2 flavors, regular and light. No "ice", no "ultra", no "dark", no "summer/winter/oktoberfest/double bock/triple bock", nice and simple.
- It has a name which reflects the city in which it's made (even though all the steelworkers have probably been laid off)
- You can order it simply by initials, "I'll take an I.C."
- Aluminum bottle
Worst Local Beer
This is the house beer at Wrigley Field and I think it's godawful. You know how they say that Jagermeister is made with deer blood? Well then Old Style must be flavored with Harry Caray's urine that they have preserved in a vault. I think Old Style is like PBR, you drink it to show that you can survive and we all know whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. And in actuality, Old Style is brewed by Pabst Brewing...
Favorite Bar
Russian Bear. Why?:
- It's not even named Russian Bear and we are the only people who identify it as "Russian Bear"
- It could also be called "Russian Beer" and still be in context
- It has an electric train that runs across the ceiling and the bar tender will allow it to run exactly one lap if you act nicely but will act real surly as if it's a major inconvenience for him to operate the train.
- Pretty good beer selection
- After any given night of drinking there, I can easily pass out in the Columbus Circle fountain wearing only a nacho libre mask.
Favorite Ballpark Food
Many will say that sushi and baseball don't mix, but I say "Nonsense!" Anything is improved with sushi. The Ichiroll is basically a spicy tuna roll but the best part about it is the name. See, Ichiro plays for the Mariners and when you combine that with "sushi roll" or "tuna roll", you get "Ichiroll". Ha, ha, ha! I would have thought that with the growing popularity of sushi, every other ball park would have stolen this idea by now but sushi still remains a rarity at teh park. Being a unique food and combining it with a players name puts the Ichiroll at the top of my list. It's too bad Griffey and Randy Johnson aren't still there because they could have a "Junior Roll" and a "Big Unit".
