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Bullpen-Decimated Yanks Swept In Tampa Bay

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"I don't know what I'm doing, but I work for Hal Steinbrenner,
not George, so I can never be fired!"

As Brian Cashman was busy trading Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller, 2 of the 5 best relief pitchers in baseball, for the pathetic failure Adam Warren and 7 guys who may never see the major leagues, the Yankees went down to St. Petersburg for a 3-game weekend series with the last-place Tampa Bay Rays, a team from whom even a weak-hitting, bullpen-decimated Yankee squad should have taken at least 1 game.

Friday night: Ivan Nova falls behind 2-0 in the 1st inning, and 3-0 in the 3rd, and it feels like the game is lost. The Yankees got 10 hits, but only 1 run. Unacceptable.

Rays 5, Yankees 1. WP: Jake Odorizzi (5-5). SV: Alex Colome (23). LP: Nova (7-6).

Saturday night: Nathan Eovaldi didn't pitch badly, but he threw 104 pitches in 6 innings, and Joe Girardi didn't trust him to pitch the 7th. And because of Cashman's idiotic trades, Girardi no longer had Dellin Betances to pitch the 7th and set up for Miller in the 8th and Chapman in the 9th, so he put in Anthony Swarzak, and the game was put out of reach.

Rays 6, Yankees 3. WP: Drew Smyly (3-11 -- that's right, the Yankees lost to a pitcher who came into the game 2-11). SV: Colome (24). LP: Eovaldi (9-7).

Sunday afternoon: Michael Pineda was fine for 3 innings. Then he fell apart. Carlos Beltran hit his 22nd home run of the season -- and maybe his last as a Yankee -- but it wasn't enough.

Rays 5, Yankees 3. WP: Blake Snell (3-4). SV: Colome (25). LP: Pineda (5-10).

*

The Yankees are 52-52. There are 58 games left. They have no more bullpen. They may be about to trade their only 2 reliable hitters (Beltran and Brian McCann).

Tonight, we're gonna party like it's 1966. Except Alex Rodriguez is no Mickey Mantle, and CC Sabathia is no Whitey Ford. (Not anymore, at least.)

And now... we have to play 4 games against the Mets! Who just got proactive instead of radioactive, and traded for National League RBIs leader Jay Bruce. True, he could turn out to be the next Jason Bay. He could also turn out to be the next Mike Piazza, minus the steroids and the stupid mustache!

This could be the longest week of our baseball lives.

The Citi Series: The Record

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Note: The following article was written before Brian Cashman started giving away the store for a bunch of kids who may never reach the major leagues. In other words, the Yankees still had a shot at the Playoffs. Now, they may not have one for the next 10 years.

As for the Mets, well, we all know they're going to blow it. The only questions are when and how.

*

Well, it's that time again: The City Series. Or, should I say, the Citi Series.

Of course, it's not a "Subway Series." That name is only to be used when two teams in the same metropolitan area meet in the World Series. (It is possible for all 4 metro areas with 2 teams, although in Chicago it's more of an "El Series," and in Los Angeles it's a "MetroLink Series.")

When Interleague play began in 1997, the only 3 games between the Yankees and the Mets were played at the original Yankee Stadium. In 1998, they were played at Shea Stadium. In 1999, they began alternating, with 3 at each park, moving on in 2009 to the replacements, Yankee Stadium II and Citi Field. Then, last year, they tried something new, which has carried over into this season: A single 4-day, 4-game series, 2 at one park, then 2 at the other.

Here's how it's come out:

1997 2-1 Yankees
1998 2-1 Yankees
1999 3-3 Tie
2000 4-2 Yankees
2001 4-2 Yankees
2002 3-3 Tie
2003 6-0 Yankees
2004 4-2 Mets
2005 3-3 Tie
2006 3-3 Tie
2007 3-3 Tie
2008 4-2 Mets
2009 5-1 Yankees
2010 3-3 Tie
2011 4-2 Yankees
2012 5-1 Yankees
2013 4-0 Mets
2014 2-2 Tie
2015 4-2 Yankees

Total: 60-44 Yankees. The Yankees have won the season series 9 times, the Mets 3, and they've split 7.

When you count the 2000 World Series, the totals in the games that count -- not counting spring training and all those "Mayor's Trophy Games," which Met fans only seemed to talk about and consider to have "mattered" when they won -- is 64-45 Yankees.

Extend those 109 games to a full 162-game season, and that .587 winning percentage for the Yankees comes to 95 wins for the Bronx Bombers (nearly always enough to finish first), and just 67 for the Queens Princesses (nearly always finishing last). Even if you only count the 60-44 of the regular season, the Yankees' percentage is still .577 -- good for 93 wins (usually enough to at least make the Playoffs), to the Mets' 69 (still usually enough to finish last).

In Spring Training, the Yankees lead 45-32. (Those figures are likely to remain, as they usually don't play each other in Spring Training anymore.) In the Mayor's Trophy Games, once the highlight of the Mets' season (well, that and Banner Day) but now defunct, the Yankees lead 14-11-1. All told, the Yankees lead 123-88-1, for a percentage of .583, good (over 162 games) for 94-68 (usually good enough to at least make the Playoffs).

And, of course, the Yankees won the 2000 World Series, 4 games to 1, clinching at Shea. Met fans waited 39 years to play the Yankees in the World Series. You wanted it. You wanted it. You wanted it! Well, you got it, baby! Boy, did you get it! And now, until another actual Subway Series is played (which would require the Mets to hold up their end of the bargain and win a Pennant, ha ha), there is nothing that Met fans can say: We own your sorry asses.

What's that? You say the Yankees cheated with steroids in 2000? Please, you had Mike "Bacne" Piazza. Who lost his cool and went into "roid rage" in that Series: Piazza, or Roger Clemens?

So, no, the Flushing Heathen have nothing to say. The Yankees have the edge over them in everything: Overall record, total titles, titles since the Mets debuted in 1962, titles since the Mets really arrived in 1969, titles since 1979, titles since 1986, better attendance, better ballpark.

Okay, maybe the Mets have better broadcasters and better food. But that's about it.

Makes you wonder why the Mets even bother with Interleague play. Well, it's about the money: MLB makes money off Interleague play; and, for the Mets, every home game against the Yankees, the team Met fans hate more than all the others combined, is a guaranteed sellout. And the Yankee organization doesn't seem to mind getting the home sellouts either. (After all, they can afford to have YS2 fumigated afterward.)

Faux Flashback: How to Go to a Mets Game at Shea Stadium

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Tonight, the Yankees and Mets begin their annual Interleague series: Two games at Citi Field in Flushing Meadow, Queens, followed by two games at the new Yankee Stadium in the South Bronx.

Both stadiums opened in 2009. From 1964 to 2008, the Mets played at Shea Stadium. So did the Yankees, in 1974 and 1975, while the old Yankee Stadium, which opened in 1923, was being renovated.

What was it like to see a Mets game at Shea? This time, my "Faux Flashback" is one that I could have done, as I began this blog in 2007.

Let's go back in time to 2000, when the World Trade Center still stood, "President Clinton" meant Bill, Rudy Giuliani was a popular Mayor despite an apparent slight tinge of racism, Met fans thought the Atlanta Braves were real rivals, the Houston Astros were still in the National League, the Washington Nationals were still the Montreal Expos; Tommie Agee, Tug McGraw and Gary Carter were still alive; Bob Murphy and Ralph Kiner were not only still alive, but still broadcasting; and it looked like an actual Subway Series was going to happen -- and, for the only time since 1956, did.
Updates will be in italics.

*

Before You Go: If you read this blog regularly, there is a 99 percent chance that you live in the New York Tri-State Area. So you've seen a weather forecast, and you won't have to worry about things like time zones, what to pack for the plane/train/bus, your passport or changing your money.

Tickets. The baseball seating capacity at Shea Stadium was long listed as 55,101, then 55,601. These days, it's listed as 57,333. Barring games against the Yankees or the Atlanta Braves, they're not likely to approach a sellout. The Mets averaged 33,650 fans per game in 1999, so you should be able to get a seat.

Note that the following ticket prices are guesses, based on my memory, and may not be correct. If you can find the actual prices, let me know in the Comment section.

Here are the Mets' ticket prices: Box seats (orange): $45. Loge (blue): $30. Mezzanine (green) and last 6 rows of Loge: $24. Upper (red) and last 6 rows of Mezzanine: $18. Last 6 rows of Upper: $12.

Getting ThereSince most people reading this will be local, posting the plane, bus and (except for the Subway) train information does not apply. If you are local, then you know how to do this: Take the Number 7 train, known as the International Express (even when it's a Local) for all the different ethnicities in the neighborhoods that it goes through. Take it to Willets-Point-Shea Stadium. The fare is $1.50.
Now, the fare is $2.75, and that station is named "Mets-Willets Point."

Alternatively, if you're coming from Port Authority Bus Terminal, you can take the E train to Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue, then go upstairs and transfer to the 7, where the station will be known as 74th Street-Broadway. Either way, it should take about 35 minutes. If you're coming from Grand Central Terminal, or any Subway or Metro-North line going into Grand Center, again, take the 7, and it should take about 32 minutes.
If you're coming from Penn Station, you may be better off following the Port Authority alternate route, or (if you don't mind paying a little extra) taking the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) to its Mets-Willets Point station. The fare will be $5.25 outbound on weeknights (remember, rush hour), and $3.50 outbound on weekends and back inbound. So, round-trip, either $8.75 or $7.00.

Now, the fare is $8.25 outbound on weeknights, $6.00 outbound on weekends and back inbound. So, round-trip, either $12.00 or $14.25.

If you want to drive, it's 10 miles from Times Square by the closest road route. You'll have better parking options than at Yankee Stadium (old or new). Shea Stadium is at 126th Street & Roosevelt Avenue. It is bounded by Roosevelt on the south, 126th and the Van Wyck Expressway on the east, Northern Boulevard on the north and the Grand Central Parkway on the west.

If you're coming from Manhattan, don't fool around with the streets: Take the Subway. If you're coming from points north (The Bronx, Connecticut, or Westchester on up), take any road leading to Interstate 87 (the New York State Thruway north of the City, the Major Deegan Expressway inside), to the Triborough/Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, to the Grand Central, and take Exit 9E and follow the signs.

If you're coming from Long Island, take the LIRR. The Port Washington Line will take you directly to a station across Roosevelt Avenue from the ballpark, adjacent to the elevated 7 line. From the other LIRR lines, take any westbound train to Jamaica, and transfer to any Penn Station-bound train that will take you to Woodside. From there, switch to the 7 Train. If you'd rather drive in from The Island, take any westbound highway to the Van Wyck.

If you're coming from Brooklyn, it depends on whether you're coming from the west or east side of it. From the west side, get to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE), stay on it until it becomes the Grand Central, and then follow the directions from points north. From the east side, take either the Shore Parkway or the Jackie Robinson Parkway to the Van Wyck, and follow the signs. If you're coming from Staten Island, get to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, and follow the directions from Brooklyn (and take your pick).

If you're coming from New Jersey, it's probably best to take a bus into The City and then take the 7 Train from Port Authority; or to take a train in and then take the LIRR from Penn Station. But if you'd rather drive, then, from North Jersey, get to the George Washington Bridge, and then follow the directions from points north. From Central Jersey, get to the New Jersey Turnpike, and take Exit 13 for the Goethals Bridge, and, from there, follow the directions from Staten Island.

The official address is 123-01 Roosevelt Avenue. All addresses in the Borough of Queens are hyphenated like that. So think of it as 123 blocks from the East River. It's 11 miles east of Port Authority.

Once In the City. You're already there, so this usual category is pointless. Let's move on.

Going In. The William A. Shea Municipal Stadium opened on April 17, 1964, after the Mets had played their 1st 2 seasons, 1962 and 1963, at the Polo Grounds, home of the baseball version of the New York Giants. Bill Shea was a powerful New York lawyer whom Joan Whitney Payson, the only member of the Giants' board of directors who voted against moving to San Francisco in 1957, when the Brooklyn Dodgers also decided to move to Los Angeles, hired to help her bring National League baseball back to New York.

Every year from 1964 until his death in 1991, Shea would present a wreath of flowers in a horseshoe shape to the Mets' manager. A horseshoe is, in legend, a symbol of good luck. But the horseshoe would always be pointed down, so that "the luck would run out."

One of the main features of Shea when it opened is that, unlike previous New York ballparks, it had lots of parking, enough spaces for 12,000 cars. This gives the Mets at least one huge advantage over the Yankees. Citi Field has about that many parking spaces again. Parking costs $12.

Now, parking is $22.

Gate A is at the left field corner, Gate B by 3rd base, Gate C behind home plate, Gate D by 1st base, and Gate E at the right field corner. At Gate A is a mural of the team's 1986 World Series win, and at Gate E is one of the 1969 title. If you're coming off the Subway, especially if you have already ordered your ticket, you're likely to go in through Gate D or E.
From 1964 to 1980, Shea's exterior was decorated with blue and orange rectangular panels, matching the team's colors -- which, like those of the Knicks, founded in 1946 and preceding the Mets, reflect the colors of the City's founders, the Dutch. The fact that the Dodgers wore blue and the Giants wore orange is a nice coincidence, and it made for convenient symbolism of the old rivals coming together in common cause (loving New York City, loving baseball, loving the National League, and hating the Yankees), but the color scheme was already present on a New York team before the Mets. (And the Islanders.)
After the 1980 season, the new owners, Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon, gave the stadium its first and, so far, only major overhaul. Now, the exterior is a bright blue, and decorated with neon figures of ballplayers in action poses.
Shea points due east. The field is real grass: Despite having been built as a multipuprose stadium with movable field level stands to adjust between baseball and football, and having the round structure of some of the game's "giant concrete ashtray" or "cookie-cutter" stadiums, one of Shea's saving graces is that it has never had artificial turf.

From 1964 to 1980, the seating color scheme was as follows, from bottom to top: Field level, yellow; Loge, red; Mezzanine, blue; and Upper, green.
Since 1981, it's been: Field, orange; Loge, blue; Mezzanine, green; and Upper, red.
Shea is a pitcher's park, and always has been, due to the distances to the fence and the wind, which, while not as bad as that in Wrigley Field in Chicago, let alone Candlestick Park in San Francisco, can be bad enough for anyone hoping to crank one out. The distances had been established as 341 feet to the foul poles, 358 to straightaway left and right, 371 to the power alleys, 396 to either side of straightaway center, and 410 to straightaway center. As Nathan Salant put it in his 1979 book This Date In New York Yankees History, "Dull and symmetrical, just like the Mets."

When the Jets moved out in 1984, this eliminated the need for the movable baseline stands, so the distances to the poles could be shortened to 338. This did not, however, appreciably increase the offense at Shea: While the Mets did improve, it was mainly because their pitching and fielding were getting a lot better. (Even at their worst, 1962 to 1968, 1977 to 1983, and 1992 to 1996, they could always be counted on to provide what's commonly called "oafish clout," from such oafs as Jim Hickman, Dave Kingman, Lee Mazzilli and Bobby Bonilla.)

The longest home run at Shea Stadium appears to have been a 515-foot blast by Dave Kingman on August 14, 1981. (Darryl Strawberry's 1988 home run in Montreal is said to have gone 535 feet.) Shea doesn't have much of its grandstand in fair territory, so it's very hard to hit a fair ball into the upper deck. The only player who ever did that was Met center fielder Tommie Agee on April 10, 1969.

After Agee died in 2001, the spot where that homer landed, about 480 feet from home plate, was painted with the date, his name, and his uniform Number 20. As far as I know, no effort was made to save this piece of concrete and put it in the team Hall of Fame at Citi Field.

Other notable home runs for distance at Shea include shots that hit the scoreboard by Eddie Mathews, Dick Allen and Willie McCovey; one by Hank Aaron that hit the center field flagpole; and a tremendous blast by Frank Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles in Game 5 of the 1969 World Series. While it wasn't particularly far, the 1st great home run in Shea Stadium history came in its 1st season, when it hosted the 1964 All-Star Game, and Johnny Callison of the Philadelphia Phillies hit what we would now call a walkoff home run to give the NL the win.

The most notable Met home runs at Shea have been those by Donn Clendenon and Al Weis in that same game (enabling the Mets to clinch), Willie Mays' round-tripper in his return to New York in 1972, Gary Carter's drive in his Met debut on Opening Day 1985, Lenny Dykstra's walkoff homer in Game 3 of the 1986 NL Championship Series, Ray Knight's and Darryl Strawberry's homers in Game 7 of the 1986 World Series, and the game-winners by Todd Pratt in Game 4 of the 1999 NL Division Series and Robin Ventura in Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS.

(This, of course, was before Benny Agbayani's walkoff in Game 3 of the 2000 NLDS, and Mike Piazza's home run in the 1st game back after the 9/11 attacks.)

The Mets had to share Shea with the AFL's/NFL's Jets from 1964 to 1983 (as well as 1962 and 1963 at the Polo Grounds), the Yankees in 1974 and 1975, and the NFL's Giants in 1975 only. The Yankees also had to play a home game at Shea on April 15, 1998, due to an accident at Yankee Stadium that required a week's repair. (They then switched home dates in series with the Detroit Tigers to make this possible.)
Shea in its football setup, 1964 to 1983

At Shea, the Jets played the 1968 AFL Championship Game (beating the Oakland Raiders), a 1969 AFL Divisional Playoff (losing to the Kansas City Chiefs), and a 1981 AFC Wild Card game (losing to the Buffalo Bills). Shea was also the site of O.J. Simpson becoming the 1st player to rush for 2,000 yards in an NFL season, in 1973, leading the Bills over the Jets; and, in what remains the last NFL game played within New York City, Terry Bradshaw's last NFL game, leading the Pittsburgh Steelers over the Jets.
Tom Seaver and Joe Namath

No North American Soccer League team ever called Shea home, and most European and Latin American clubs making off-season tours of the United States have preferred to use either Yankee Stadium or the Meadowlands.

Pope John Paul II said Mass at Shea, and also Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden, in 1979. The Beatles played the 1st concert at Shea on August 15, 1965, and returned on August 23, 1966. The Summer Festival for Peace was held at Shea on August 6, 1970, a day-long fundraiser that featured Miles Davis, Paul Simon, John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Steppenwolf, and, in the last few weeks of her life, Janis Joplin.




Other famed Shea concerts include Grand Funk Railroad and Humble Pie in 1971, Jethro Tull in 1976, The Who and The Clash in 1982, Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel in 1983, The Police the same year, The Rolling Stones in 1989, and Elton John and Eric Clapton in 1992.

Billy Joel would play the last show at Shea in 2008, and invited the Beatles' Paul McCartney onstage to complete the circle. The next year, Sir Cute One returned the favor, playing the 1st concert at Citi Field and inviting BJ onstage. 

Several movies have used Shea as a filming location: The baseball-themed Bang the Drum Slowly (though the fictional New York Mammoths wore uniforms resembling those of the Yankees), the film version of The Odd Couple (a phone call by Felix to the press box makes Oscar miss a triple play that saves the game for the Mets), The Wiz and Men In Black. Clips from the 1969 World Series were used in the (then-)new film Frequency.

Food. One area where the Mets have always had the edge over the Yankees was in food. Kahn's hot dogs are better than any version of Yankee Franks, and the food courts at the foul poles have much better variety than anything served in The Bronx. It's also a little cheaper than what can be found at Yankee Stadium.

Team History Displays. This is one area where the Mets fall way short of the Yankees. I don't just mean the quantity and the quality of the history itself, I mean in the way they present it. There is a Mets Hall of Fame, but it is not on display in the fan-viewable areas. (This would be remedied at Citi Field.)

Members of the Mets Hall of Fame include, in their order of induction: Team founder-owner Joan Payson, manager Casey Stengel, 1st baseman-manager Gil Hodges, team president George Weiss, chief scout Johnny Murphy, team "godfather" Bill Shea; broadcasters Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy and Ralph Kiner; shortstop Bud Harrelson, right fielder Rusty Staub, pitchers Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman, 1st baseman Ed Kranepool, left fielder Cleon Jones, catcher Jerry Grote, pitcher Tug McGraw, center fielder Mookie Wilson, and 1st baseman-broadcaster Keith Hernandez.

Since 2000, they've added: Catcher Gary Carer, center fielder Tommie Agee, general manager Frank Cashen, pitcher Dwight Gooden, manager Davey Johnson, right fielder Darryl Strawberry, pitcher John Franco and "catcher" Mike Piazza.

As the 3rd base coach in 1986, Harrelson is the only Met who has been on the field for 3 Pennants, while he and Davey are the only people who were in uniform for both of the Mets' World Series clinchers, albeit in Davey's case he was in uniform for the opposition in 1969, making the last out for the Orioles, a fly ball caught by Jones. 

Bob and Johnny Murphy were not related, although Bob's brother Jack Murphy was a sportswriter who heavily lobbied for major league sports to come to his adopted hometown of San Diego, and the stadium used by the Chargers and formerly by the Padres was named in his honor until Qualcomm bought the naming rights. Johnny Murphy was a Yankee reliever in the 1930s and Weiss was a Hall of Fame GM for the Yankees, but neither is honored in Yankee Stadium's Monument Park. Only Stengel is honored in both ballparks.

The Mets have retired 3 numbers: Stengel's 37, Hodges' 14 and Seaver's 41. Of course, Jackie Robinson's Number 42 was universally retired in a 1997 ceremony at Shea Stadium (I was there, having taken my Grandma there to honor her favorite athlete of all time). Those retired numbers are now on the wall above the fence in the left field corner. Not officially retired, but rarely given out, are: 8, Gary Carter, catcher 1984-90; and 24, Willie Mays, center field 1972-73.

In the final season of the stadium, 2008, they gave Bill Shea a stanchion with his name on it that stood in for a "retired number."
Seaver was the only player with a serious Met connection named to The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Players in 1999.

On the wall above the fence in the right field corner are the "pennants" honoring the Mets' achievements: The 1969 and 1986 World Series wins, the 1973 Pennant, the 1988 NL Eastern Division title, and the 1999 Wild Card and Division Series win.
How it looked after the 2000 Pennant. They would be joined
by the 2006 Division title before Shea closed, and now the 2015 Pennant.

Also, the flags for the 1969 and 1986 World Championships fly in center field, flanking the main flagpole.

Stuff.  The Mets sell lots of team stuff, including the variations on the Mets caps and jerseys caused by their unfortunate experiments with using black, and orange, as base colors. You can always tell a real Mets fan (but you can't tell him much): He's got a blue cap with an orange NY, and/or, weather permitting, a blue jacket with an orange NY, not one of the later blue/black/orange combos. Mr. Met gets the souvenir highlight treatment, nearly as much as the Phillie Phanatic gets at Citizens Bank Park.

Videotapes (now DVDs) with the highlight films of the 1969 and 1986 World Series is available, as is a collection honoring the 1986 World Series (all 7 games, plus the clinching NLCS Game 6 in Houston).

Books about the Mets abound. Their early days were chronicled by New York newspapermen Jimmy Breslin in Can't Anybody Here Play This Game? (taken from a remark by Stengel) and Leonard Shecter's Once Upon the Polo Grounds. After the 1969 title, one of the best of the old New York baseball writers, Leonard Koppett, covered their lousy 1st 7 seasons and their "Miracle" 8th season in New York Mets: The Whole Story. Stanley Cohen wrote A Magic Summer: The Amazin' Story of the 1969 New York Mets. Books about the 1986 season include memoirs by Hernandez, Carter, Gooden, Strawberry and Wilson.

As the Mets' 40th and 50th Anniversaries, and the 15th, 20th, 25th and now 30th Anniversaries of their last World Series wins have come, more books about the 1986 title, and their entire history, have been written.

During the Game. For the most part, Met fans do not abuse fans wearing opposing teams' gear. But I wouldn't wear an Atlanta Braves cap or shirt to Citi Field. I definitely wouldn't wear Philadelphia Phillies stuff.

As for Yankee gear... The simple act of wearing Pinstripes or the Yankee cap inside the Mets' ballpark is enough for their fans to consider it a provocative act. Like being a Red Sox fan, being a Met fan means you have to hate the Yankees nearly as much as you love your own team. It's in their blood: Giant and Dodger fans hated the Yankees as much as they hated each other, and, with the creation of the Mets serving as the burying of the hatchet between the Hatfields and McCoys of baseball, they were united in the twin causes of loving the Mets and hating the Yankees.

I seriously doubt that they will start a fight with you, simply because you show up in your teams' colors. Still, if even one Met fan out of a thousand is willing to start a fight, that means, somewhere in the joint, there are between 10 and 55 fans who will want to. So be aware of the possibility.

And if they do give you some verbal, do your best to ignore them. Don't respond with anything harsher than, "We'll see what happens in this game."

Do not bring up the 24 World Championships to 2 (now 27 to 2): They'll just say the Yankees "cheated" or "bought their titles." As if the '86 Mets didn't have the biggest payroll in the NL at the time, and the failed Mets of 1987 until now haven't had one of the top 3 payrolls in the NL all those years, and Mike Piazza isn't also a rumored steroid user.

The Mets, since birth, have had a theme song, "Meet the Mets." I have to admit, it's a better song than "Here Come the Yankees," even if "the butcher and the baker" and others (the milkman?) have been mostly replaced by supermarkets.

Yankee Fans like to call Shea "The Flushing Toilet." It's not that bad. However, the corridors are a dingy gray, making it look worse than it is. They could also use some better trash pickup. And while their aisles, rows (therefore legroom), corridors, concession stands and bathrooms are all wider than at Yankee Stadium, the bathrooms are not as good as those in the Bronx ballyard.

Mr. Met, a guy in a Met uniform (Number 00) with a big baseball head, appears to have been the original man-in-a-suit mascot at big-league baseball games. Don't worry, he's designed to be harmless, unlike the Phillie Phanatic, whose "tongue," however inadvertently, has hurt a few people. He's the only guy who can smile all the way through 81 Met home games, and he's the only Met who's allowed to have a big head.
Unquestionably, the New York Tri-State Area's best 
major league sports mascot. Who else is there? N.J. Devil?

Mr. Met has occasionally dressed in other costumes, including a superhero (Hero Met), The Fonz, Vegas Period Elvis, and others. Sometimes, he shows up with his wife, Mrs. Met, a.k.a. Lady Met. Sometimes, the Little Mets show up, too. But not on a school night.

In 1979, the Mets tried to bring in a new mascot: Mettle the Mule. This was a major public relations blunder. First of all, Mr. Met is revered by Met fans. Second of all, a mule had already been used by the Kansas City/Oakland A's. And 3rd of all, Mettle (meaning "strength" or "courage," and having "Met" in the name) was introduced to the fans by pulling a wagon around the field. And seated in the wagon was the owner at the time, Lorinda de Roulet, daughter of Mrs. Payson, who died in 1975. Mrs. Payson was beloved, as the woman who brought the Mets to the NL-deprived fans. Mrs. de Roulet was despised, as the woman who let team chairman M. Donald Grant do whatever he wanted, including trade away the players of the '69 and '73 Pennant winners, even going so far as to drive Seaver away from the team. Like Dandy, the weird mascot the Yankees introduced the next season, Mettle the Mulet was quickly scrapped, and has not been missed.
Pretty soon, even Mrs. de Roulet couldn't stand the thing anymore.

Oy vey, the planes! I once tried to count the number of planes going overhead at a Met game, and gave up after 75. The truly loud ones are only those taking off from neighboring LaGuardia International Airport. The ones landing go on a different runway, further away, and are usually not disruptive. The old "plane race" on the video board (which inspired the Yankees to do "The Great City Subway Race") has been retired.

When a Met hits a home run, the Home Run Apple is activated. Placed in Shea's center field after Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon bought the team from Mrs. Payson's estate in 1980, it was supposed to be a play not just on the New York nickname "the Big Apple," but also on the slogan of the time: "The New Mets: The Magic Is Back." It was a magician's black top hat, inverted, with the white letters "HOME RUN" on the front, and a big red apple with a Met logo on it would rise out, and the logo would light up.
In 1998, when an accident forced a brief closure of the old Yankee Stadium and 1 Yankee home game to be moved to Shea, Strawberry, who hit more homers at Shea than anyone, hit one for the Yankees, and the apple was rigged to rise to only half its height, so only the top half of the Met logo could be seen, showing the stylized New York skyline but not the word "Mets." I thought it was a good touch.

Knowing that Shea would be demolished, an Internet campaign went up to "Save the Apple." It worked: The old apple, which really was in bad shape, was restored and put outside Citi Field, as a meeting place similar to the old Yankee Stadium's Big Bat. A new, larger apple was put in the center field hitter's background inside the new park.

The main Met fans' chant is, of course, the rhyming, "Let's go, Mets!" For many years, in the 1990s and 2000s (but I haven't seen them do it at Citi Field), they would, during some late rallies, cue up the scene from the movie Network, when Peter Finch's news anchor Howard Beale demands that people yell out their windows, "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" so that it's rigged to say, "I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell... LET'S GO METS!"

The Mets hold auditions for National Anthem singers, instead of having a regular. In the 7th Inning Stretch, after Mr. Met leads fans in "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," the stadium speakers will play Newark native Lou Monte's half-Italian-half-English song "Lazy Mary." Why? Probably due to New York's huge Italian community and the song's inclusion in the New York-based film The Godfather. (Never mind that the recording was released in 1958, or 13 years after the film's opening wedding scene, which includes the song.)

If the Mets win, their postgame victory song last year was, ironically, "L.A. Woman" by the Doors, with its chorus of "Mr. Mojo Risin'," an anagram of their lead singer's name, Jim Morrison. In this season (2000), it's the impossibly annoying "Who Let the Dogs Out?" by the Baha Men.

Today, at Citif Field, after the game, if the Mets win, they play "Taking Care of Business" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Eventually, win or lose, even though Billy Joel is a Yankee Fan, the Mets play his song "New York State of Mind."

After the Game. If you’re looking for a postgame meal (or even just a pint), you're going to have to get in your car or on the Subway, as Shea is an island in a sea of parking. Sadly, Rusty's, Staub's once-wildly popular Midtown East Side restaurant which he based on the cuisine of his native New Orleans, is long gone.

A bar associated with the 1980s Mets, because some of their players liked to get tanked there, is Finn MacCool's, at 205 Main Street in Port Washington, 6 blocks west of the Port Washington station on the LIRR. If you want to go, go to the LIRR station across Roosevelt Avenue, and get on an eastbound train instead of a westbound one.

Sidelights. This could get long, so I'll limit it to Met-centric sites. Across Roosevelt Avenue and the LIRR tracks is Flushing Meadow-Corona Park, site of the 1939-40 New York World's Fair (the Queens Museum is pretty much all that's left of it) and the 1964-65 New York World's Fair (a few more structures survive, including the Unisphere globe).
Not destroyed by the Men In Black. That was just a movie.

It includes the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, home of the U.S. Open, including the main stadium, named for tennis legend Arthur Ashe, and a smaller one that used to be the main stadium, named for music legend Louis Armstrong, who lived nearby in Corona, loved baseball, had season tickets for the Yankees until Shea opened, then became a Met fan, and, for some reason, loved tennis, going to the Open when it was still being held at the Forest Hills Stadium.
You might be cool, but you'll never be Satchmo talking on the phone
while wearing a Mets cap and pajamas in his home recording studio cool.
Funny, but when Jack Klugman wore pretty much the same outfit
as Oscar Madison on The Odd Couple, he wasn't nearly so cool.

Louis Armstrong Stadium was originally the Singer Bowl, built for the '64 World's Fair. It was converted into 2 venues, attached to each other, for the U.S. Open, and reopened in 1978, seating 18,000. When Arthur Ashe Stadium opened in 1997, Armstrong Stadium had its top deck removed, and capacity was reduced to 10,000.

It will soon be demolished and replaced with a 15,000-seat stadium, also named for Armstrong, in time for the 2018 Open.
The BJK NTC at FMCP, as it currently stands.
Ashe Stadium in the center, Armstrong Stadium to the right.

In their 1st 2 seasons, 1962 and 1963, the Mets played at the Polo Grounds. It was home to the baseball Giants from 1911 to 1957 (and a previous stadium on the site, which burned down, hosted them from 1891 to 1911), the Yankees from 1913 to 1922, and the football Giants from 1925 to 1955. It hosted a few Army-Notre Dame games, including the one in 1924 where Notre Dame's backfield ran all over the place and was nicknamed The Four Horsemen by legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice.
Fordham's football team also played some home games there, including a famous scoreless tie with Pittsburgh in 1937, when ended the season ranked Number 1 and Fordham, with a line known as the Seven Blocks of Granite and including Brooklyn native Vince Lombardi and South River, New Jersey's Alex Wojchiechowicz (both in the Pro Football Hall of Fame), finished at Number 3.

Jack Dempsey knocked out Luis Firpo there in 1923, retaining the heavyweight title despite Firpo knocking him all the way out of the ring at one point. Joe Louis came from behind to knock out Billy Conn there, retaining the title in 1941. Floyd Patterson became the 1st fighter ever to regain the heavyweight title, knocking out Ingemar Johansson there in 1960, after Ingo had knocked him out at Yankee Stadium the year before.

Demolition of the Polo Grounds began on April 11, 1964, by the same company and using the same wrecking ball, painted to look like a baseball, that had demolished Ebbets Field. This was right before Shea opened -- in other words, if Shea hadn't been ready on April 17 (and it nearly wasn't), the Mets would have been screwed, because the Yankees weren't going to let them in.

Polo Grounds Towers opened on the site in 1966. At the entrance to one of those towers, roughly where home plate was, is a plaque honoring the old stadium. Just to the north is a playground (not an actual field) named Willie Mays Field. Across 155th Street is Rucker Park, home to a renowned summer basketball tournament. 2955 Frederick Douglass Blvd. (what 8th Avenue is called above Central Park). B or D train to 155th Street. Definitely a place for a sports fan to visit during the day. Definitely not a place for anyone not from Harlem or Washington Heights to visit at night.

Speaking of Ebbets Field, the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1913 to 1957 stood at 1700 Bedford Avenue, at the corner of Sullivan Place. B or Q train to Prospect Park. Again: Visit during the day, not at night.
It was demolished in 1960, and in 1962, Ebbets Field Apartments opened on the site. Across McKeever Place was Jackie Robinson Intermediate School. It is now named Ebbets Field Middle School.

There have seen been plenty of memorials erected to Jackie, including the Rotunda at Citi Field, and a statue of him and Dodger Captain Harold "Pee Wee" Reese outside the current home of Brooklyn baseball, MCU Park (named for the company formerly known as Brooklyn Union Gas and KeySpan).
That's the Coney Island Parachute Jump in the background,
over the stadium's right field corner. It's restored so it won't collapse,
but it's no longer a working ride.

The ballpark opened in 2001, and the Brooklyn Cyclones, named for the nearby roller coaster, won the New York-Penn League Pennant that year, but haven't won it since. They still sell the place out nearly every game, though. Their season starts in mid-June, always with a home-and-home 2-game series with their arch-rivals, the Staten Island Yankees.
1904 Surf Avenue. D, F, N or Q train to Stillwell Avenue-Coney Island. It's a relatively safe neighborhood these days, but it takes an hour to get there on the Subway from Midtown Manhattan.

*

As long as the Mets aren't playing the Yankees, with a deep hatred that goes back well before the Mets were even an idea, Shea Stadium is well worth a visit.

Just be careful not to provoke anybody. Especially if you're a Yankee Fan going for an Interleague game! Remember: It's better to be an uninjured coward than a hospitalized tough guy.

Arsenal In America: The Complete History

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May 31, 1972, Orange Bowl, Miami.

1 Goalkeeper (GK) Geoff Barnett (in place of the injured Bob Wilson)
2 Right Back (RB) Pat Rice
3 Left Back (LB) Sammy Nelson (in place of Bob McNab)
4 Midfielder (MF) Peter Storey
5 Centreback (CB) Frank McLintock (sub: 14 John Roberts)
6 CB Peter Simpson
7 MF George Armstrong
8 MF Alan Ball (sub: 12 Eddie Kelly)
9 Forward (FW) John Radford
10 FW Ray Kennedy
11 FW Charlie George.

Miami Gatos 2-3 Arsenal, the Gunners coming from 1-0 at the half. The Gatos were a North American Soccer League franchise that played from 1972 to 1976, known after that 1st season as the Miami Toros -- the Cats becoming the Bulls. Goals by George, Radford and Kennedy. Attendance: 4,725.

May 23, 1973, Varsity Stadium, Toronto.

1 GK Bob Wilson
2 RB Pat Rice
3 LB Bob McNab
4 MF Eddie Kelly
5 CB Richie Powling
6 CB Peter Simpson
7 FW Peter Marinello
8 MF Brian Chambers
9 FW John Radford
10 FW Charlie George
11 MF George Armstrong
(No substitutions were used. Peter Storey and Ray Kennedy did not play.)

Toronto Select 0-1 Arsenal. Charlie George scored the game's only goal. Attendance: I can't find a reference.

Four days later, in a game that was in the CONCACAF region but not on the North American continent, Arsenal beat Devonshire Colts in Bermuda, 4-0. It was the same lineup, with Charlie scoring again, as did Marinello (in his last appearance for the club), and Radford twice.

Other CONCACAF, but not North American countries or country equivalents where Arsenal have played include Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Curacao and Aruba in 1965, and Trinidad & Tobago again in 1982 and 1985. Arsenal have never played in Mexico, nor in any nation that could be called "Central America."

Their only visits to South America have been Summer tours of Brazil in 1949 and 1951. They've played in Africa in South Africa in 1964 and 1993, and in Egypt in 1982. Their visits to Asia have included Japan in 1968 and 2013; Singapore in 1975, 1977, 1990 and 2015; Thailand in 1975 and 1999; Malaysia in 1975, 1999, 2011 and 2012; the United Arab Emirates in 1976; Kuwait in 1977; China in 1981, 1995, 2011 and 2012; Indonesia in 1983 and 2013; Saudi Arabia in 1984; and Vietnam in 2013. They went to Australia in 1977, and will return in 2017.

August 6, 1989, Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami Gardens.

1 GK John Lukic
2 RB Lee Dixon
3 LB Gus Caesar (in place of Nigel Winterburn)
4 MF Michael Thomas
5 CB David O'Leary
6 CB Tony Adams
7 MF David Rocastle
8 MF Kevin Richardson
9 FW Alan Smith
10 MF Paul Merson
11 MF Steve Morrow (in place of Brian Marwood or Martin Hayes)

Independiente 1-2 Arsenal. Club Atletico Independiente, of Avellaneda in the province of Buenos Aires, were the defending champions of Argentina, as Arsenal were the defending champions of England. This was for the Zenith Data Systems Challenge Trophy, a phony "world championship.""Rocky" Rocastle scored from open play in the 1st half, and from a penalty in the 2nd half.

For the 2nd time, Arsenal decided that the best place in America to visit during the summer was Miami. Attendance: 10,042, the vast majority of them Hispanics rooting for the South American team. Each team had someone sent off: Independiente, a player; Arsenal, oddly enough, physio Gary Lewin.

July 26, 2014, Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey, outside New York.

1 GK Wojciech Szczesny (46th minute sub: 26 Emiliano Martinez)
3 LB Kieran Gibbs (played entire game)
7 FW Tomas Rosicky (71st minute sub: 37 Chuba Akpom)
8 MF Mikel Arteta (46th minute sub: 34 Francis Coquelin)
10 MF Jack Wilshere (71st minute sub: 56 Jon Toral)
16 MF Aaron Ramsey (46th minute sub: 24 Abou Diaby)
18 CB Nacho Monreal (played entire game)
19 MF Santi Cazorla (71st minute sub: 53 Kristoffer Olsson)
25 RB Carl Jenkinson (46th minute sub: 39 Hector Bellerin)
35 MF Gedion Zelalem (46th minute sub: 20 Mathieu Flamini)
45 CB Isaac Hayden (46th minute sub: 48 Ignasi Miquel)

New York Red Bulls 1-0 Arsenal. Attendance: A sellout of 25,219, including myself. If the game had been played at the 41,922-seat Citi Field in Flushing, Queens; at the 49,638-seat new Yankee Stadium in The Bronx; or even at the 82,566-seat MetLife Stadium, at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, it would still have sold out. That's how much of a following The Arsenal have in America, and particularly in the New York Tri-State Area.

Bradley Wright-Phillips, son of Arsenal legend Ian Wright, scored the only goal. Diaby had a goal disallowed for offside -- incorrectly, I thought. (Some things never change: Even in meaningless games on other continents, The Arsenal get screwed over by the officials.) It is ironic that the Arsenal player most known for not playing due to injury has come the closest to scoring in an Arsenal uniform than any player I've ever seen. I have seen Thierry Henry score, and in that very stadium, but for the Red Bulls.

Several Arsenal players who featured in the 2014 World Cup did not make the trip: Germans Per Mertesacker (4) and Mesut Ozil (11); Frenchmen Laurent Koscielny (6) and Olivier Giroud (12); Englishmen Theo Walcott (14) and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (15); and Chilean Alexis Sanchez (17).

As a result, the club was short at certain positions. Rosicky, normally a midfielder, played the 1st 70 minutes up top. Monreal, normally a left back, was moved to centreback. Zelalem, only the 3rd American ever to play for Arsenal (after Frank Simek in 2003 and Danny Karbassiyoon in 2004), became the 1st player from a CONCACAF nation to play for Arsenal in a CONCACAF nation, let alone his own.

This game, and the 2012 Emirates Cup 1-1 draw between the clubs, may be as close as we come to Henry, who with only 9 seasons in an Arsenal shirt falls just short of qualifying, ever getting an official testimonial.

July 28, 2016, Avaya Stadium, San Jose, outside San Francisco.

33 GK Petr Cech (67th minute sub: 26 Emiliano Martinez)
2 RB Mathieu Debuchy (46th minute sub: 24 Hector Bellerin)
3 LB Kieran Gibbs (46th minute sub: 18 Nacho Monreal)
10 MF Jack Wilshere (46th minute sub: 17 Alex Iwobi)
14 FW Theo Walcott (67th minute sub: 68 MF Chris Willock, his Arsenal debut)
15 MF Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (67th minute sub: 32 FW Chuba Akpom)
16 CB Rob Holding (his Arsenal debut, played entire game)
28 MF Joel Campbell (69th minute sub: 31 FW Jeff Reine-Adelaide)
34 MF Francis Coquelin (46th minute sub: 29 Granit Xhaka, his Arsenal debut)
35 MF Mohamed Elneny (67th minute sub: 40 Gedion Zelalem)
37 CB Krystian Bielik (46th minute sub: 21 Calum Chambers)

MLS All-Stars 1-2 Arsenal. Campbell and Akpom the Arsenal scorers.

Ozil, Koscielny and Giroud did not play, because they featured in Euro 2016. (Ozil at least made the trip. Mertesacker was injured.) Chilean Alexis Sanchez (now wearing 7) did not make the trip, because he featured in the Copa America.

Attendance: Listed as exactly 18,000, which, if true, would be a sellout. Just 2 days later, Liverpool and AC Milan played just a few miles away at Levi's Stadium, the new home of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers, and sold out at 68,500. I have no doubt that Arsenal, never mind the MLS All-Stars, could have sold that out, too.

July 31, 2016, StubHub Center, Carson, California, outside Los Angeles.

13 GK David Ospina (68th minute sub: 26 Emiliano Martinez)
14 FW Theo Walcott (46th minute sub: 32 Chuba Akpom)
15 MF Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (65th minute sub: 40 Gedion Zelalem)
16 CB Rob Holding (played entire game)
17 MF Alex Iwobi (65th minute sub: 68 Chris Willock)
18 LB Nacho Monreal (46th minute sub: 3 Kieran Gibbs)
19 MF Santi Cazorla (46th minute sub: 28 Joel Campbell)
21 CB Calum Chambers (46th minute sub: 37 Kristian Bielik)
24 RB Hector Bellerin (46th minute sub: 2 Mathieu Debuchy)
29 MF Granit Xhaka (46th minute sub: (35 Mohamed Elneny)
34 MF Francis Coquelin (65th minute sub: 31 Jeff Reine-Adelaide)

Club Deportivo Guadalajara 1-3 Arsenal. Holding, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Akpom the Arsenal scorers against the team popularly known as Chivas. A rare match in which no players wearing Numbers 1 through 11 started.

Attendance: 24,000. This may have been the 1st time that a Mexican team has played in California and had their fans outnumbered. Three days earlier, Chelsea beat Liverpool nearby at the Rose Bowl in front of 53,117. Arsenal would have done at least that well.

Goals scored by Arsenal in North America, December 11, 1886 to July 27, 2016: 6
Goals scored by Arsenal in North America, July 28 to 31, 2016: 5

Yankees Beat Mets: Resistance Is Futile

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Despite enough doomsaying about the Yankees to get me into Donald Trump's Cabinet (if, that is, I hadn't called him all kinds of accurate names), they've now won 7 of their last 9 games against the Mets.

Seven of Nine. Apparently, for the Mets against the Yankees, resistance is futile.

The Yankees began the 4-game, 2-in-Queens-2-in-The-Bronx Interleague series with The Other Team without Carlos Beltran, Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller or Ivan Nova.

In exchange for those 4 guys, all former All-Stars, and all but Nova have been great this season, and even Nova has done well at times this season, what did general manager Brian Cashman get?

* For Beltran, from the Texas Rangers: Nick Green, Erik Swanson and Dillon Tate.

* For Chapman, from the Chicago Cubs: Adam Warren, Rashad Crawford, Billy McKinney and Gleyber Torres.

* For Miller, from the Cleveland Indians: J.P. Feyereisen, Clint Frazier, Ben Heller and Justus Sheffield. (Contrary to rumor, no relation to Gary, and thus also not to Dwight Gooden, although they do currently have a relative in the minor leagues).

* And for Nova, from the Pittsburgh Pirates: Two players to be named later.

So for 4 former All-Stars, Cashman got... Adam Warren, a relief pitcher who has already failed with the Yankees, and has gotten worse since; 10 players who have not yet reached the major leagues, and may end up never reaching them; and 2 players as yet unknown.

This was not a fire sale, it was a dumpster fire. It was not a "rebuild" of the farm system, because the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees are in 1st place and the Trenton Thunder are playing .630 baseball, so we already have prospects, but Cashman won't use them! Witness his refusal last year to bring up the torrid-hitting 2nd baseman Rob Refsnyder when Stephen Drew was struggling to bat .200, and now, with Starlin Castro in the lineup, he's making manager Joe Giardi put Refsnyder anywhere but 2nd base, possibly screwing him up as badly as he did Joba Chamberlain.

So many Yankee Fans, forgetting that we were only 4 games off a Playoff berth and 6 games off the Division lead just last week, have stupidly said we had "no chance" at the Playoffs, and that we needed this "rebuild," and now we have "prospects."

As I said, we already had prospects. And we've had prospects before. Remember Brien Taylor? The top pick in the 1991 Draft? He ended up with as many major league victories as I have. Remember Hensley "Bam-Bam" Meulens? Remember Steve "Bye-Bye" Balboni? Remember Ruben Rivera, who, we were told in 1996, was going to be an even better player than his cousin Mariano? Remember Gerald Williams, who, we were told at the same time, was going to be better than the unrelated Bernie Williams?

The Yankees did not need to rebuild. They do now.

*

Or do they? Actually, what they really might need is a wakeup call. Brett Gardner led off the game with a triple off the center field wall, but he stupidly tried to stretch it to an inside-the-park home run, and was thrown out. Leading off the game with a triple and then getting thrown out at home had not happened to any major league player in 9 years.

CC Sabathia started for the Yankees last night. He allowed a home run to Wilmer Flores in the 2nd inning, putting the Yankees behind 1-0. The Yankees tied it in the top of the 4th, on a leadoff double by Jacoby Ellsbury, a walk by Mark Teixeira, a flyout by Brian McCann that moved Ellsbury to 3rd, and a wild pitch by Met starter Logan Verrett. (Not the worst pitcher named Logan in New York baseball history. That dishonor forever belongs to Boone Logan.)

In the top of the 5th, Refsnyder drew a walk, CC (batting because there's no designated hitter in Interleague games in National League ballparks) bunted him over, and Gardner doubled him home. Then Ellsbury singled Gardner home. 3-1 Yankees.

But CC couldn't hold the lead. A Brandon Nimmo single and a Michael Conforto double in the bottom of the 5th made it 3-2. After the Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the top of the 6th, Flores led off the bottom of the inning with a single, and Travis d'Arnaud hit another.

For once, knowing he could no longer pitch Dellin Betances in the 7th, Miller in the 8th and Chapman in the 9th -- or even Betances in the 8th and Miller in the 9th -- Girardi was afraid to go to his bullpen too soon, and left CC in. He struck out James Loney, but allowed a home run to the newly-called-up Matt Reynolds. 5-3 Mets.

I can almost hear football coach Jim Mora Sr.: "Prospects? Don't talk to me about prospects!" Or maybe it's Allen Iverson: "We talkin''bout prospects. Not major leaguers, not major leaguers, not major leaguers. We talkin''bout prospects."

Girardi went to Richard Bleier, and then Nick Goody, who ended the threat. The Yankees went out 1-2-3 in the top of the 7th. Tyler Clippard -- apparently, the pitching equivalent of Alfonso Soriano, being that the Yankees let him go too soon, and brought him back too late -- got through the bottom of the 7th.

Then, in the 8th, what was already a weird game (as we've seen, any game involving the Mets has the potential to get weird, regardless of whether they end up winning or losing) got really weird. (Okay, Match Game fans, say it: "How weird was it?") Gardner led off with a walk. Ellsbury and Teix struck out.

The Met pitcher was Addison Reed -- not to be confused with Addison Road, the rock band, or Addison Street, one of the streets bordering Chicago's Wrigley Field -- and he gave up a single to Brian McCann that got Gardner to 3rd. Girardi sent Ronald Torreyes in to run for McCann. You would think that, as an ex-catcher, Girardi would know better than to take his catcher out of the game for anything other than an injury. But Reed threw a wild pitch, and then Didi Gregorius singled Gardner and Torreyes home, and the game was tied!

Then Girardi did the one thing I was hoping he wouldn't do: He brought Warren in to pitch. But Warren sent the Mets down 1-2-3 in the 8th. He nearly did so again in the 9th, but, with 2 outs, walked Flores. Oh no. Cliche alert: "Those walks'll kill you." Not this time: He struck d'Arnaud out. The Yankees wasted a walk and a stolen base by Austin Romine (filling in for McCann) in the top of the 9th. The game went to extra innings.

The 10th may have been the weirdest inning of the season for the Yanks. Seth Lugo came in to pitch for the Mets, as their manager, Terry Collins, took out his closer, Jeurys Familia. Big mistake. Lugo's 1st batter was Ellsbury, and he walked him. His 2nd batter was Teixeira, and he gave up a single to him.

His 3rd batter was the pitcher's spot. Girardi considered sending up Alex Rodriguez, a man with 12,197 plate appearances, 3,114 hits, 1,338 walks, 697 home runs and 2,084 RBIs, but also a 41-year-old man whose current OPS+ was a pathetic 63. Instead, he sent up a 23-year-old man whose major league career to that point consisted of 9 plate appearances, 1 hit, 1 walk, no home runs and no RBIs: Ben Gamel. It was Joe's biggest hunch of the year, and it worked: Gamel bunted the runners over.

Lugo's 4th batter was Didi, and he struck Didi out. But his 5th batter was Castro, who hit a fly ball to right field, where former Yankee Curtis Granderson was waiting. The Grandy Man caught it, but was unable to throw Ellsbury out at the plate.

Neither the game nor the weirdness thereof was over. Now the closer by default, Betances was brought in by Girardi, and he allowed a leadoff double to Loney. Reynolds sacrificed Loney over. And then Betances hit Alejandro de Aza with a pitch. The tying run was on 3rd with only 1 out, and the winning run was on 1st. It was all set up for a classic "Mets Magic" or "Miracle Mets" win.

But Betances got Rene Rivera to ground back to him. He checked Loney on 3rd, making sure he couldn't score, and threw Rivera out, as de Aza got to 2nd. One out to go, but, still, a mere single would definitely have tied the game and possibly won it.

The batter was Granderson. Betances struck him out.

Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win!

Yankees 6, Mets 5. WP: Warren (4-2). SV: Betances (1). LP: Lugo (0-1).

So now, the Yankees are 53-52, and the Mets are 54-51. For all the gloom and doom around the South Bronx, and all the hype around Flushing Meadow, it's August 2, and the Mets are just 1 game better than the Yankees.

If these Mets can't beat these Yankees, then, seriously, how good are these Mets? Not good. Seven of Nine. "Resistance is futile."
Already, some of the Flushing Heathen are calling for Terry Collins' firing, a mere 10 months after he managed them to their only Pennant of the last 16 years. Think about that: If a fan comes into baseball awareness at age 7 (as I did), then a Met fan born in 1994 could now be 22 years old, and have a clear memory of only 1 Pennant. And Collins (and general manager Sandy Alderson) got it for him. And now, he wants Collins fired?

Yesterday, I would have taken Collins over Girardi. Today, I'm not so sure.

The series continues tonight. Masahiro Tanaka starts against Jacob deGrom.

Come on you Bombers!

Tanaka Melts Down vs. Mets... In A-Rod's Yankee Finale?

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The Yankees had won 7 of their last 9 against The Other Team. Well, nothing lasts forever, not even with Masahiro Tanaka as your starting pitcher.

Hiro took the mound at Citi Field last night, and did not have good stuff. He (and the bullpen) held the Mets' much-hyped new acquisition, the All-Star former Cincinnati Red right fielder Jay Bruce, hitless. But that, along with Didi Gregorius' slight consolation of a home run (his 12th of the season) off Jon Niese to get the Yankees on the board in the 9th inning was the extent of the highlights. Jacob deGrom pitched well as the Met starter, which shouldn't matter, because the Yankees should be able to hit anybody.

Tanaka allowed home runs to Alejandro de Aza in the 3rd inning to fall behind 2-0, and to Travis d'Arnaud in the 5th to make it 3-0. But Joe Girardi let him pitch into the 7th.

Ordinarily, I would be in favor of that, because it would be a sign that Girardi finally trusts his starters to do what they're paid to do: Pitch. But, as we all know (but some of us are too damned stupid to admit), Girardi now has to trust his starters, because Brian Cashman traded away Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman, and now half the shit in Girardi's binder is no longer applicable. Girardi can't trust his 7th inning possibilities, and, as a result, he had to leave Tanaka in. And, as a result of that, the Mets tagged Tanaka for 4 runs in the inning before Girardi finally took him out.

In the 9th, with the pitcher's spot in the order coming up, Girardi sent Alex Rodriguez up to pinch-hit. Not that it mattered at this point, but A-Rod treated it like a clutch moment: He hit a lazy fly ball to short right field, a typical A-Fraud pop-up. This time, Luis Castillo wasn't there to drop it and futz things up for the Mets: Bruce made an easy catch for the final out of the game.

There's already a rumor going around that it might end up being the final appearance for A-Rod in a Yankee uniform, that he might be outright released, and his roster spot taken  by a rookie callup from Scranton, as part of the Yankees' new youth movement.

I guess, now that he really can't hit anymore, and the Yankees are only on the hook for another $28 million of The Contract From Hell, it's safe to release him.

Catcher Gary Sanchez has been called up from Scranton. Whose place does he take on the roster?

At any rate, the final score of last night's game: Mets 7, Yankees 1. WP: deGrom (7-5). No save. LP: Tanaka (7-4).

The series continues tonight, moving over the Triboro/Robert F. Kennedy Bridge to The Bronx. Rookie righthander Chad Green starts for the Yankees, Steven Matz for the Metz.

Come on you Pinstripes!

*

Days until the 2016 Olympics begin in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 0. They're already underway, although the official Opening Ceremony isn't until this Friday.

Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 3, this Sunday night at 9:30 PM Eastern Time, away to the Los Angeles Galaxy in Carson, California.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series: 6, next Tuesday night, at Fenway Park.

Days until The Arsenal play another competitive match: 11, on Sunday, August 14, home to Liverpool. Under 2 weeks. Their California was a success, as they beat the Major League Soccer All-Stars 2-1 in San Jose, and Mexico's Club Deportivo Guadalajara, a.k.a. Chivas, 3-1 in Carson.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby" (after tonight's game, that is): 18, against D.C. United on Sunday night, August 21, at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington. The next game against the New England Revolution is on Sunday night, August 28, at Red Bull Arena. The next game against the Philadelphia Union is on Saturday night, October 1, at Red Bull Arena. There are no further games this regular season against New York City FC, although Metro could face them in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 30, on Friday, September 2, in a CONCACAF Qualifying Match for the 2018 World Cup, away to St. Vincent & the Grenadines. Just 1 month. They should win, especially since they took on the best that Latin America had to offer in the Copa America, and reached the Semifinals before being knocked out by Argentina. This will be followed 4 days later by another Qualifier, at EverBank Field, home of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 31, on Saturday, September 3, away to the University of Washington, in Seattle.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 37, on Friday, September 9, probably away, since, while the 2016 schedule hasn't been released yet, the Big Green opened last season at home. A little over 5 weeks.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: 71, on Thursday night, October 13, away to the Florida Panthers in the Miami suburb of Sunrise. Just 10 weeks. The home opener is 5 days later, on Tuesday night, October 18, against the Anaheim Ducks.

Days until the 2016 Presidential election: 97, on Tuesday, November 8. That's a little over 3 months. Make sure you are registered to vote, and then make sure you vote!

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving game: 113, on Thursday morning, November 24, at the purple shit pit on Route 9. Under  4 months.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play another local rival: 130. Their 1st game this season with the New York Rangers will be on Sunday night, December 11, at Madison Square Garden. Their 1st game this season with the Philadelphia Flyers will be on Thursday night, December 22, at the Prudential Center. By a quirk in the schedule, the New York Islanders, a team they usually play several times a season, don't show up on the slate until Saturday night, February 18, 2017, at the Prudential Center.

Days until The Contract From Hell runs out, and Alex Rodriguez' alleged retirement becomes official as far as the Yankees are concerned: 454, on October 31, 2017 -- or at the conclusion of the 2017 World Series, if the Yankees make it, whichever comes last. Under 15 months, unless Yankee management finally decides that they've had enough of his sorry ass and buys him out.

Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 680, on June 14, 2018. A little under 23 months. The U.S. team will probably qualify for it, but with Jurgen Klinsmann as manager, particularly in competitive matches such as World Cup Qualifiers, rather than in friendlies, you never know.

Faux Flashback: How to Go to a Game at the Old Yankee Stadium

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As the Citi Series moves to the new Yankee Stadium, here's my Faux Flashback for how to go to the old one, which I could have done in 2007 or 2008, if I'd thought of it.

Let's go back to 2000, when the World Trade Center still stood, "President Clinton" meant Bill, Rudy Giuliani and Donald Trump were people we were glad to have as Yankee Fans, no thinking person thought that Alex Rodriguez should ever be a Yankee, and the Curse of the Bambino was still in effect.

Before You Go. Since this is a home game, you can easily check the weather, and you don't have to worry about packing for the plane/train/bus, time zones, your passport, or changing your money.

Tickets. The Yankees averaged 40,651 fans per home game in 1999. It's best to order your tickets ahead of time -- especially if the Yankees are playing the Red Sox or an Interleague game against the Mets.

Do not trust the scalpers, and there will be loads of them. Back in the 1980s, I bought a ticket "right over the dugout." Yeah, way over the dugout in the upper deck. The next night, I bought one "right on the left-field foul line." Yeah, right behind the left-field foul pole. To make matters worse, the Yanks lost both games!

Note: These ticket prices are from memory, and may not be correct. If you can find a link to the actual 2000 ticket prices, let me know in the Comments section.

And, of course, the Yankees charge the highest ticket prices in Major League Baseball. (That hasn't changed.) Field Level (lower deck) Boxes cost $75, Main Level (also lower deck) Boxes $55, Main Level Reserved $42, Loge (middle deck) Boxes $42, Upper Boxes $32, and Upper Reserved $18.

Bleachers, which are only available on the day of the game, are $10. But if you are a fan of the visiting team, do not buy a ticket for the Bleachers. If someone offers you a free ticket in the Bleachers, do not take it. Even free, it will not be worth it. Ignoring this warning may be the biggest mistake of your life, especially if you are a Red Sox fan. The "Bleacher Creatures," those are hard-core people out there. If you are familiar with what happens at European soccer games, note that this is one of the few places in North American sports that can get like that. Of course, as I well know, Fenway, particularly its bleachers, is another.

If you root for the Mets and you want to see an interleague game at Yankee Stadium, the same thing applies. If you root for another American League Eastern Division team -- the Baltimore Orioles, the Tampa Bay Rays or the Toronto Blue Jays -- you'll be better off, but still don't go for the Bleachers. And if you root for anyone, else, still: Think of the Bleachers as the barn, or the basement, in a horror movie: Don't go in.

Getting There. Getting to New York is fairly easy. However, I do not recommend driving, especially if you are a Red Sox fan and have Sox or other New England sports paraphernalia on it (bumper sticker, license-plate holder, decals, etc.). Chances are, it won’t get vandalized, but you never know.

For those of you who are not Red Sox fans: If you are coming from Baltimore or other points south, take Interstate 95 North up through New Jersey (this includes the New Jersey Turnpike), over the George Washington Bridge, and then Interstate 87, the Major Deegan Expressway, south to Exit 5 for The Stadium. (William F. Deegan was one of the founders of the American Legion, and a Democratic politician in New York.)

If you are coming from Cleveland, Toronto, or other points west, find your way to Interstate 80, which will also flow into the GW Bridge. Be warned, though: That bridge is notorious for traffic delays.

In fact, it would be a shame if you came to New York only for one baseball game -- especially if it is your first visit. My recommendation, then, is to make it a weekend visit, and get a hotel outside New York City, preferably in New Jersey, where it will be a lot cheaper, and you can leave your car in a safe parking lot. Most cities and towns in New Jersey have bus or train service, with New Jersey Transit as the main (but not only) carrier, into Manhattan, and from there, you can take the Subway up to The Stadium. Yes, the bus and the train will cost a bit, but the money you'll save with an outside-the-City hotel will more than make up for it.

And you really shouldn't drive in The City. I've heard it said that Boston drivers come in 2 classes, depending on how big their car is: Homicidal and suicidal. New York drivers are the same way, and traffic is every bit as bad as what you're used to. If you're coming from New England, approaching New York from the north, you can probably find something affordable in Westchester County or Connecticut, and then take the Metro-North Commuter Railroad in.

If you are coming from New England, and you feel that you must drive, it's 208 miles by road from Downtown Crossing in Boston to Yankee Stadium II, 206 miles from Fenway to the House That Steinbrenner Built.

If you're going from Boston, or anywhere else in Massachusetts, take the Massachusetts Turnpike, Interstate 90, to Exit 9 for Interstate 84 South, into Connecticut. At Hartford, take Exit 86 to Interstate 91 South, taking it all the way to the end, switching to I-95 South at New Haven.

If you're starting out in Rhode Island, simply get on I-95. If you're starting out anywhere in Connecticut, take any highway that leads to I-95, whether it’s I-91, I-395, U.S. Route 7 or Connecticut State Route 8.

If you're starting out in New Hampshire, take I-93 to I-495 to the Mass Pike (so you don't have to go through Boston itself) and then follow the directions for starting from Massachusetts as listed above. If you're starting out in Maine, take I-95 across New Hampshire and into Massachusetts, then take I-495 and follow the directions from Massachusetts. If you're starting out in Vermont, I'll get to that in a moment, because the directions are a bit different.

If you're only going to one game, and not "doing the city," then, once you're in New York, follow signs for Interstate 278, the Bruckner Expressway. (Henry Bruckner was a Bronx Borough President.) Take that to Interstate 87 North, the Deegan. On the Deegan, take Exit 5 for Yankee Stadium. The address is 161st Street & River Avenue.

The one New England State that's an exception to the above sets of directions is Vermont. If you're starting out there, take US-4 into New York State, across the Hudson River, and take I-87 South, known first as the Northway and then, once you get through Albany, as the New York State Thruway, on down, until you cross the City Line into The Bronx and it becomes the Deegan. You'll still take Exit 5 to get to the Stadium, unless you get a hotel and head there first.

Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington are too close to fly to New York, and once you factor in fooling around with everything you gotta do at each airport, it doesn't really save you much time compared to driving, the bus or the train.

Anyone coming in from outside the Northeast Corridor, if you can afford to fly, that is probably your best option. Even though Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey isn't very good. John F. Kennedy International Airport in southern Queens is good only for international travel, if that. And LaGuardia International Airport (named for the 1934-45 Mayor) in northern Queens is a joke – and not just because it's close to Rikers Island (site of the City's prison) and the Mets' Shea Stadium. (I know, I know: "What's the difference?" When you're a Met fan, the sentence never ends, and nobody tries to escape to Yankeedom.)

If you can afford Amtrak, the train is a good option -- if you're coming from the Northeast Corridor or Chicago. If it's the Corridor, you can come to New York and it will take less than 5 hours. If it's Chicago or the South, the ride will be overnight, and you can get a decent night's sleep. But anything farther than that, and it will require more than one night. If you're coming from Cleveland or Detroit, you're talking about boarding a train in the middle of the night, which is no good. And if you're coming from Toronto, there's only one train per day in each direction: You'll be leaving in the morning and arriving too late to catch that night's game, and reversing the trip, too early to attend the next day's game.

Bus schedules are better, with far more runs to New York from most cities. But riding the bus is no picnic, especially from outside the Northeast Corridor. I've ridden buses from New York to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago, and back. If you can't afford to fly and don't want to drive that far, the bus is better than the train. But if you can afford to fly, do it.

Once In the City. Pennsylvania Station, a.k.a. Penn Station, is between 31st and 33rd Streets, between 7th and 8th Avenues. Port Authority Bus Terminal, or just "Port Authority," is between 40th and 42nd Streets, between 8th and 9th Avenues. They are one stop apart on the Subway's A, C and E trains.
Port Authority, 8th Avenue entrance.
As John Mellencamp would say if he were a New Yorker,
"I fight Port Authority, Port Authority always wins."

When you get to your hotel, Penn Station or Port Authority, go to a Hudson News stand and pick up copies of The New York Times and the Daily News. Don’t read the New York Post. Like anything owned by Rupert Murdoch, it’s a bunch of right-wing lies with an occasionally good sports section added. The Times and the Daily News, however, are not only manned by responsible journalists, but have great sports sections. The Times is the face New York City likes to show the rest of the world. The Daily News is the face the City prefers to show itself. The Post is a face only a mother could love. Not my mother, though. Nor hers.
The front entrance to Penn Station and Madison Square Garden,
on 7th Avenue at 32nd Street

To get from either Penn Station or Port Authority to Yankee Stadium, you need to take the Subway. Trust me, it's cheaper than a cab, and, despite horror stories from the 1970s and '80s, it's not the scary place it was then. If you can handle the Boston T's Green Line, or Chicago's El, you can handle the New York Subway.

The first thing you need to do when you get into a Subway station is buy a MetroCard. No more tokens: They were used from 1953 to 1995, but they were phased out, just like they were in most cities. (As far as I know, the only cities in North America that still use tokens are Philadelphia and Toronto.)
The fare is $1.50 for a one-way ride, but do yourself a favor and get a multiple-ride card. Whichever kind you get, they can be used on both Subway trains and buses.

The fare is now $2.75.
The A and C Trains go to both Penn Station and Port Authority, so take either one to 59th Street-Columbus Circle. Change there, a free transfer, for the D Train. Or, from both Penn Station and Port Authority, you can walk over to 6th Avenue (a.k.a. Avenue of the Americas, but only the street signs and the Postal Service call it that) and take the D all the way up to 161st Street.

If you get a hotel in the City, and it’s on the West Side, simply follow the above directions for the Subway. If your hotel is on the East Side, then take the Number 4 train up to 161st Street. (You may have to take the Number 6 to a transfer point to get the 4.) Unlike the D, this one will be above ground as you approach The Stadium.
The 161st Street elevated station

The city of New Amsterdam, and the colony of New Netherland, was founded by the Dutch in 1624. In 1664, the English took over, and named both city and colony New York, for the Duke of York, brother of King Charles II. As none of Charles' many children were legitimate, when he died in 1685, that brother became King James II -- and his reign did not end well, and let's leave it at that.

New York County, a.k.a. the Borough of Manhattan, was also named for James. "Manahatta" was an Indian word meaning "island of many hills." Kings County was named for King Charles, but the Dutch name Breuckelen stuck, and it became the City, and after 1898 the Borough, of Brooklyn. Queens County, or the Borough of Queens, was named for King Charles' Portuguese wife, Catherine of Braganza. Richmond County was named for one of Charles' sons, Charles Lennox, Earl of Richmond, but the Dutch name Staaten Eylandt stuck, and it became the Borough of Staten Island. And Jonas Bronck settled the land north of Manhattan, which became known as Bronck's Land, which somehow morphed into "The Bronx." Apparently, the "The" became attached because of the Bronx River that passes through it, as rivers are still frequently called that: The Hudson is, although never "The Harlem" or "The East." Anyway, it's the Borough of The Bronx and Bronx County.

New York has been the most populous city in America since surpassing Philadelphia in the post-Revolutionary period, and now has about 8.4 million people living in the Five Boroughs. About 23 million live in the New York Metropolitan Area, a.k.a. the New York Tri-State Area, which includes The City, Long Island, and the Lower Hudson Valley in the State of New York; Northern and Central New Jersey; and the Connecticut Counties of Fairfield, Litchfield and New Haven.
Lower Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge, 1973 to 2001


Despite having a street grid, Manhattan doesn't quite follow a centerpoint system. For the east-west numbered Streets, below Washington Square Park, Broadway is the divider between the East Side and the West Side; above Washington Square to the Harlem River, it's 5th Avenue; in The Bronx, it's Jerome Avenue, which borders the 3rd-base stands of the new Stadium.

On the East Side, the Avenues go 5th, Madison, Park (which takes the place of 4th Avenue above Union Square), Lexington, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, York, East End. Numbered Streets will reach an address of 1 at 5th, 100 at Park, 200 at 3rd, 300 at 2nd, 400 at 1st. On the Lower East Side, this extends to 500 at Avenue A, 600 at Avenue B, 700 at Avenue C and 800 at Avenue D. (A, B, C and D, hence the nickname for this neighborhood: "Alphabet City.") The Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive (FDR Drive), formerly the East River Drive and once so dangerous it was called the Falling Down Roadway, separates the island from the East River.

On the West Side, the Avenues go 6th, a.k.a. Avenue of the Americas, Lenox Avenue or Malcolm X Blvd. above Central Park; 7th, a.k.a. Fashion Avenue, or Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. above Central Park; 8th, Central Park West above 59th Street, or Frederick Douglass Blvd. above Central Park; 9th, Columbus Avenue above 59th, or Morningside Drive above 110th; 10th, Amsterdam Avenue above 59th; 11th, West End Avenue above 59th, merging with Broadway at 108th; and Riverside Drive. The West Side Highway, a.k.a. the Joe DiMaggio Highway, separates the island from the Hudson River.

The north-south numbered Avenues start with 1 at their southern ends, and the addresses go up going Uptown, but there's no set pattern (every X blocks = 100 house numbers), and they vary as to where they begin: 

Broadway, The Battery at the island's southern tip; 1st and 2nd, Houston Street (roughly, Zero Street -- and that's pronounced HOW-stin, not HEW-stin like the Texas city); 3rd, 9th Street; Lexington, 21st Street; Park, 32nd Street (Park Avenue South extends to 17th Street); Madison, 23rd Street (at Madison Square); 5th, Washington Square North (roughly, 6th Street); 6th, Franklin Street (the only numbered Avenue below Houston, so it's about -12th Street); 7th, 11th Street (7th Avenue South extends to Carmine Street, roughly at Houston); 8th, Bleecker Street (roughly 10th Street at that point); 9th, Gansevoort Street (roughly 12th Street); 10th and 11th, 13th Street; 12th, 22nd Street.

Going In. Yankee Stadium is 6 miles due north of Times Square. Parking decks are on River Avenue at 157th Street (the old deck, across from where the old Stadium was, by the Big Bat) and at 165th Street (north of the new Stadium). I wouldn't recommend driving to the Stadium, though, and don't even ask how much parking is. Take the Subway.
Gate 4 and the Big Bat

The Big Bat was the idea of Joe Garagiola Jr., son of the broadcaster, and a young lawyer working for the Yankees while The Stadium was being renovated in the mid-1970s. He saw plans for a smokestack, and thought it might be a good idea to have it look like a bat. George Steinbrenner agreed, and a deal was cut with Louisville Slugger, to make it look like the model of bat that Babe Ruth used. It became the focal point for Yankee Fans meeting at the game: They'd say, "Meet me at The Bat."

There are 4 gates. Gate 2 is at the left field corner, Gate 4 behind home plate, Gate 6 at the right field corner, and Gate 8 is the Bleacher entrance in straightaway center field. Your ticket will suggest which gate at which you should enter.
Gate 2 in left field, along 161st Street. Gates 4 and 6 also looked like this,
unblocked by escalator towers, before the renovation.
There was a movement to save Gate 2, as with the original
Shea Stadium Home Run Apple, but it failed.

If you come in from the Subway, most likely, you will end up going down River Avenue, under the El tracks, past the souvenir shops like Stan the Man's Baseball Land and the bars like Stan's and Billy's, to 157th Street, making a right, and entering at Gate 4 or 6.
Entering by Gate 2 will give you your best shot at seeing Monument Park, but there will already be a long line there, and it closes 45 minutes before first pitch, so you may be out of luck unless you have time to take the Stadium Tour before one of the other games in the series.

This is still true at the new Stadium. However, no matter which gate you enter by, you will be able to get to the Yankee Museum, which is open all game long.

About the Stadium Tour: Classic Individual Tours may be purchased for 14 people or less and commence every 20 minutes primarily from 11:00 AM to 1:40 PM. When these tours sell out, other time slots may become available, from as early as 9:00 AM to as late as 4:40 PM.

Use the bathrooms before the game. They're clean, but not very big, and the lines can get ridiculous. This is something Yankee owner George Steinbrenner always talks about when he says he wants a new Stadium. That and more concession stands. I'll get to that shortly.

The Stadium points due east, although it will look like it points northeast on some maps, including the Subway system map, as Manhattan Island is not quite a north-south pointer. The view of the City beyond isn't much, mostly high-rise apartments, many of them housing projects, some of them still classifiable as "tenements" or "slums." However, you will be able to see the big marble Bronx County Administration Building.
The best part of the City is behind the 1st base stands. And, on a number of occasions, Phil Rizzuto would announce that a home run had been hit "all the way to Jersey." Despite living in New Jersey most of his adult life, the Scooter got mixed up sometimes: New Jersey would be in foul territory.
Distances are 318 down the left field line, 399 to left-center, 408 to center, 385 to right-center, and 314 down the right-field line. These are the same distances the old Yankee Stadium had from 1988, when Monument Park was expanded, until it closed in 2008.

When the Stadium opened in 1923, it looked very different, even from the building familiar from constant viewing of old World Series highlight reels. The triple decks did not curl around the left field pole until 1928, nor around the right field pole until 1937.
In other words, Babe Ruth never played at "the classic Yankee Stadium" (except in a couple of war-bond drive old-timers' games in 1942 and '43), and Lou Gehrig played very few.
A rare color panorama shot of the pre-renovation Stadium.
Since the seats are blue instead of green,
this had to have been taken between 1967 and 1973.

The Stadium was lighted in 1946. The original scoreboard was replaced in 1950, and an even better one came in 1959. A minor renovation in the 1966-67 off-season painted the old sandstone exterior white, and replaced the green seats with wider ones in the now-familiar royal blue, reducing seating capacity from 67,224 to 65,010.

The major renovation of 1973-76 cantlievered the stadium, allowing them to rip out the support poles and still support the upper deck; raised the Bleacher wall to twice its height (preventing fans from watching the game from the 161st Street El station for the price of a Subway token), moved the familiar frieze (often incorrectly called a "façade") from the roof to the top of the Bleacher wall; installed still wider seats, reducing the seating capacity to 57,545; replaced the screen used as a center field hitter's background with center field bleachers painted black; and lowered the field, creating better sight lines.
During the renovation, 1974

The Monuments and Plaques were also moved from straightaway center field, within the field of play, where fans could view them by being allowed onto the field after the game and exiting under the Bleachers onto 161st Street; into Monument Park in left-center field. The fences were moved in to once again allow fans to view them for the 1985 season, and further in 1988.

The field is natural grass. Comparing the distances at the various Stadium configurations, listed as follows: 1923-36, 1937-73, 1976-84, 1985-87, 1988-present:

LF line: 285, 301, 312, 312, 318.
LF straightaway: 395, 402, 387, 379, 379.
LC: 460, 457, 430, 411, 399.
CF straightaway: 520, 461, 417, 410, 408.
RC: 425, 407, 385, 385, 385.
RF straightaway: 350, 344, 353, 353, 353.
RF line: 295, 296, 310, 310, 314.
The longest homer at the Stadium, unless someone can prove Babe Ruth hit one longer (and he might have), was by Mickey Mantle, off Ray Herbert of the Chicago White Sox, on August 12, 1964 -- helping to make a winner of Mel Stottlemyre in his major league debut. The length of this homer is in dispute: I've seen it listed as 502 feet and 540. Regardless, it was batting lefthanded, and to straightaway center -- which would have been in the blacked-out hitters' background in the current configuration.

Moving the fences in for 1988 made it impossible to fit a football field in. Various pro football teams calling themselves the New York Yankees have played at the Stadium, but the best-known football team to play there was the New York Giants. They moved in for the 1956 season, and won the NFL Championship that season on a frozen Yankee Stadium field, beating the Chicago Bears 47-7. They also hosted the NFL Championship Game in 1958 (losing the overtime classic to the Baltimore Colts) and 1962 (losing to the Green Bay Packers).

College football also found a home at the pre-renovation Stadium. Fordham played New York University on several Thanksgiving Days. Army and Notre Dame played each other there a few times, including in 1928, when ND coach Knute Rockne invoked the late Fighting Irish star George Gipp with his "Win one for the Gipper" speech (they did); and in 1946, when Number 1 and undefeated Army faced Number 2 and undefeated Notre Dame in the 1st college football game to be billed as "The Game of the Century," and it didn't live up to the hype, ending in a scoreless tie.

In 1971 and 1972, moving to Shea for 1973, 1974 and 1975, returning in 1976, and then moving to the Meadowlands after 1987, the Whitney M. Young Urban League Classic, named for the founder of the civil rights organization the Urban League, was played at Yankee Stadium, between 2 "historically black colleges," 1 of them usually being Eddie Robinson's Grambling State University.
This is the last Army-Notre Dame game played at the Stadium, 1969.
Note that the field ran from left field to 1st base,
so that it had a proper north-to-south alignment.

The Stadium hosted some of the biggest soccer clubs in the world: Glasgow's Celtic Football Club in 1931; English clubs Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in 1952; Brazil's Santos, featuring Pelé, against Italy's Internazionale Milano (a.k.a. Inter Milan) in 1966; Santos, Spain's Real Madrid, Portugal's Benfica featuring Eusébio, and Italy's Napoli in 1968; and Italy's Inter, A.C. Milan and Juventus, Spain's Barcelona, Greece's Panathinaikos, and Czechoslovakia's Sparta Prague in 1969.

The Stadium hosted the U.S. national team playing Israel in the new country's 1st international match in 1948, the U.S. vs. England in 1953, the U.S. vs. Israel again in 1968, and England vs. Italy in 1976. The original New York Cosmos, of the original North American Soccer League, played home games there in 1971 and, after signing Pelé, in 1976.
Pelé with the Cosmos in 1976. The dirt infield
was a bigger problem in "futbol" than it was in "football."

Boxing was a mainstay of the pre-renovation Stadium. After losing the Heavyweight Championship of the World to Gene Tunney, Jack Dempsey tuned up for his 1927 rematch at the Stadium, knocking out Jack Sharkey. (He subsequently lost to Tunney again, in Chicago, in the famous "Long Count" fight.) Heavyweight Champions Joe Louis (most memorably against Max Schmeling in 1938), Rocky Marciano and, in the only prizefight there after the renovation, Muhammad Ali in 1976 all defended the title at the Stadium.

Food. Because of the prices inside, the traditional recommendation for food at a Yankee game has been to eat outside. Also, the food, traditionally, hasn't been great. As the team moved into the Nineties and got better, to his credit, George Steinbrenner demanded that the fans get a better food experience. A few specialty stands went up, including a little bakery stand that I highly recommend,behind home plate on the Main Level.

Still, you should avoid the concession stands with their long lines, and patronize the in-the-stands vendors. You won't save money, but you will save time. But aside from a hot dog or a pretzel, and maybe a snack like the traditional peanuts or Cracker Jack, eat before and after the game.
The pipes and air ducts don't exactly help the atmosphere.

There is a Yankees Cafe on the Field Level, on the 1st base side, that allows you to eat outside, fenced off from 157th Street and the pedestrian walkway between the Stadium and the parking deck. But why would you go to Yankee Stadium, pay Yankee ticket and food prices, and, essentially, willingly not be in Yankee Stadium? Even with the TVs so you could watch the game and the speakers so you could hear John Sterling and Michael Kay broadcast it?

Team History Displays. No team in all of sports does this better than the Yankees -- as they've told us time and time again. 161st Street outside the Stadium is known as Babe Ruth Plaza, and east of River Avenue, extending to the Grand Concourse past the Courthouse is Lou Gehrig Plaza. The West Side Highway in Manhattan has been renamed the Joe DiMaggio Highway, but nobody calls it that.

The 24 World Championships are now noted outside, above Game 4, and inside, on the facing of the press box: 1923, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1977, 1978, 1996, 1998 and 1999. (They've since added 2000 and 2009.) 

In Monument Park, there are notations for the retired numbers, and the Monuments and Plaques. "Monuments" are meant only for the greatest of the great, and then only after they die. It started in 1932 for Miller Huggins, who won the club's 1st 6 Pennants and its 1st 3 World Series, and died while still Yankee manager in 1929 -- the only Yankee manager to die in office. It was placed on the field, in front of the center field flagpole.

This was not a new innovation, as the New York Giants had already done it at the Polo Grounds for ex-player Eddie Grant, who had been killed in World War I; the monument was lost after they moved to San Francisco. The Pittsburgh Pirates had also placed a monument in center field of Forbes Field for owner Barney Dreyfuss, and moved it to Three Rivers Stadium and now to PNC Park.

Huggins' Monument was joined by Gehrig's in 1941 and Ruth's in 1949. Legend has it that a ball was hit out there one time, and Mantle couldn't catch it, and manager Casey Stengel yelled, "Ruth, Gehrig, Huggins, somebody throw that ball in!" (Most likely, there was a profanity mixed in there.) While this play does not survive on film, there is a surviving 1970 clip of Bobby Murcer letting a ball go off his glove, and it rolled to the wall, and he squeezed between the Huggins and Ruth Monuments to get it.

Plaques for owner Jacob Ruppert and general manager Ed Barrow were placed on the wall of the old Stadium, as were Plaques for DiMaggio, Mantle, and one donated by the local Knights of Columbus to commemorate the 1965 Mass delivered by Pope Paul VI, the 1st Papal Mass ever delivered in the Western Hemisphere. Barrow's Plaque was to the left of the Monuments, the others to the right.
Mantle posing with the Monuments. L to R: Gehrig, Huggins, Ruth

When the old Stadium was renovated from 1973 to 1976, the Monuments and Plaques were placed away from the field in the 1st "Monument Park." When Mantle died in 1995, his Plaque was removed the next year and replaced with a Monument; the same was done for DiMaggio early in the 1999 season, shortly after his death.
The figures with Plaques rather than Monuments are: Ruppert and Barrow; catchers Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra, Elston Howard and Thurman Munson; 1st baseman Don Mattingly; 2nd baseman and manager Billy Martin; shortstop and broadcaster Phil Rizzuto; right fielders Roger Maris and Reggie Jackson; pitchers Lefty Gomez, Allie Reynolds and Whitey Ford; managers Joe McCarthy and Casey Stengel; and broadcaster Mel Allen. Mattingly is the only one of the honored players never to have won a Pennant.

Remember, that list is as of the start of the 2000 season, with Sheppard being added that season. A Monument to the 9/11 victims and rescuers was added on the 1st anniversary of the attacks, and the one to Steinbrenner was added in 2010 after his death. Plaques have since been added for catcher Jorge Posada, 1st baseman Tino Martinez, 2nd baseman Willie Randolph, center fielder Bernie Williams, right fielders Reggie Jackson and Paul O'Neill; pitchers Red Ruffing, Mel Stottlemyre, Ron Guidry, Goose Gossage and Andy Pettitte; manager Joe Torre, and public-address announcer Bob Sheppard One for pitcher Mariano Rivera will be added on August 14 of this year. Still no indication as to when shortstop Derek Jeter will get his.

There are also Plaques honoring the civil rights rally held at the old Stadium by Nelson Mandela in 1990; the Masses delivered by Popes Paul VI in 1965 and John Paul II in 1979 The 1st 2 led to a dumb joke: "Who are the two Cardinals honored in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park?" The answer is "Miller Huggins and Roger Maris." They both played for the St. Louis Cardinals. (Benedict XVI was added after his Mass in 2008.)

The retired numbers are: Martin 1, Ruth 3, Gehrig 4, DiMaggio 5, Torre 6, Mantle 7, 8 for both Dickey and Berra, Maris 9, Rizzuto 10, Munson 15, Ford 16, Posada 20, Mattingly 23, Howard 32, Stengel 37, Rivera 42, right fielder Reggie Jackson 44, Pettitte 46, Guidry 49 and Williams 51.
They have since added Torre 6, Posada 20, Rivera 42, Pettitte 46, Guidry 49 and Williams 51. The 2 of Jeter and the 21 of O'Neill remain unofficially retired.

Not every player with a Plaque has had his number retired. Gomez wore 11, Ruffing 15 (retired for Munson), and Reynolds 22. Huggins died just as uniform numbers were first used, in 1929, and he never wore a number. Nor did McCarthy, even though he was managing in the major leagues as late as 1950.

Strangely, there are Yankees in the Hall of Fame who have not been honored with either a Plaque or a retired number: Pitchers Waite Hoyt, Herb Pennock (both pitched mostly before numbers were worn and did not have a regular number thereafter) and Jim "Catfish" Hunter (29, although the Oakland Athletics retired his 27); 2nd baseman Tony Lazzeri (6); and outfielders Earle Combs (1) and Dave Winfield (31).

Outfielder Enos Slaughter (17) is in the Hall, but is better remembered as a Cardinal (they retired his 9, after Maris and Torre had worn it with them). 1st baseman Johnny Mize (36) is better remembered as a Cardinal (they haven't retired his 10) and a Giant (they haven't retired his 15).

In 1933, the 1st All-Star Game was held. Ruth, Gehrig, Lazzeri, Dickey, Gomez and Ben Chapman (we don't like to talk about him, due to how he treated Jackie Robinson as Philadelphia Phillies manager in 1947) were the Yankees named to the American League team.

In 1969, in commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of professional baseball, an All-Time Team was selected. Ruth was selected as the Greatest Player Ever, DiMaggio as the Greatest Living Player (a conceit he insisted upon being introduced as for the rest of his life), and Gehrig was named the team's 1st baseman.

They, Mantle and Berra were named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999, as was the newly-acquired Clemens. That same year, they, Dickey, Gomez, Ford, Jackson, Winfield and Boggs were named to The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Baseball Players.

Stuff. There are souvenir stands all over the place, and large souvenir stores on both the first-base and third-base sides of the Stadium's lower level. Essentially, if you want it, and if you can afford it, you can get it. It’s fun to look at, and to watch other people go nuts over it.

Regardless of where you shop, I don't mind if you get one of those floppy, fake-fur, star-spangled top hats that resemble the one in the Yankee logo. But, please, if you're going to buy a Yankee cap, make it a real Yankee cap: Navy blue with a white interlocking N-Y. Wearing the patriotic-holiday caps with the Stars & Stripes N-Y is fine. But the Yankees do not wear red caps, green caps, yellow caps, or, God forbid, pink caps. If you're a woman who loves the Yankees, respect them enough to get the real thing, not a pink one.

There have been more books written about the Yankees than any other team. Good books about individual Yankee seasons include Baseball in '41 by Robert Creamer (about more than just DiMaggio's streak), Summer of '49 and October 1964 by David Halberstam, Sixty-One: The Team, the Record, the Men by shortstop Tony Kubek; The Best Team Money Could Buy (1977) by Steve Jacobson; and The Bronx Zoo: The Astonishing Inside Story of the 1978 World Champion New York Yankees by pitcher Sparky Lyle.

Peter Golenbock, who assisted Lyle, Billy Martin, Ron Guidry and Graig Nettles on their memoirs, wrote Dynasty about the entire era bracketed by Halberstam's books, and Dog Days by Philip Bashe tells of the dark age between 1964 and 1976 (with those seasons included). Memoirs by Yankees, especially those written prior to Jim Bouton's 1970 Ball Four, should be taken with a grain of salt, some of them with an entire salt mine.

During the Game. Ask fans of the Mets, the Red Sox, or any of Major League Baseball's other 27 other teams, what they think of Yankee Fans, and you'll get words like "Arrogant. "Entitled.""Cocky." Jeez, pal, those are some of our strong points!

If you plan to wear opposing team gear into Yankee Stadium -- especially Red Sox or Mets -- I strongly recommend before starting out, including before ordering the tickets by mail or over the phone, that you find friends to go with you, so that you can go in numbers. At least 4. That’ll make it less likely that Yankee Fans will give you anything more than verbal abuse. Chances are, nobody will take a swing at you or push you, but the ones who might will be far less likely to go after more than one Sox or Met fan.

And the further you get from the Bleachers, the likelier it will be that you will avoid violence. The security force, including actual NYPD officers, will eject anyone who fights. If they catch them in the act, that is. The fans know this, and most will not be so drunk that they won't care about getting tossed, arrested, jailed for a night, and forced to show up in court, where they will inevitably lose their case, and get fined and publicly humiliated. The vast majority who will remain completely (or mostly) sober will care about such treatment, and will not do anything that will invite that risk. New Yorkers (and New Jerseyans) can be nasty, but most of us are not that stupid.
Chances are, that guy got kicked out.
Smoking is no longer allowed in Yankee Stadium.

Since 1969, Brooklyn-born opera singer Robert Merrill has sung the National Anthem at selected Yankee games. Occasionally, they will use his recording of it. Since 1967, the Yankee Stadium organist has been Eddie Layton, who invented "DUM dum dum dum DUM dum dum dum... " (but he was not, as many believe, the inventor of "Da da da DAT da DA... CHARGE!").

Merrill and Layton both retired due to ill health in 2003, and both died in late 2004. The Yankees still frequently use Merrill's recording of the Anthem.

Bob Sheppard became public-address announcer for the Yankees in 1951 and, when they moved to Yankee Stadium, the football Giants in 1956, and remained with the Giants through 1996. He's still there for the Yankees. The man played quarterback, and later taught speech, at St. John's University in Queens. "Your attention please, ladies and gentlemen... " would ring out through The Stadium many times a game. For a player's first at-bat, he would announce the uniform number, the name, the position, and the number again: "Number 44... Reggie Jackson... right field... Number 44." Reggie called him "the Voice of God."

Sheppard got sick late in the 2007 season, and had to retire, and died in 2010, a few weeks short of his 100th birthday. Jeter liked his introduction so much that he asked him to record one for him -- taking into account the possibility, never realized, that Jeter would one day play a position other than shortstop: "Now batting for the Yankees, Number 2, Derek Jeter, Number 2." It introduced Jeter until his retirement in 2014. Former Yankees and Cleveland Indians broadcaster Paul Olden is now the P.A. announcer.

The Yankees have a theme song, "Here Come the Yankees," introduced in 1967 as a counterpoint to "Meet the Mets." This is one area (along with food and parking) where the Mets have a clear advantage. It's still played before and after every Yankee radio broadcast. It sounds a lot better without the lyrics.

In the top of the 1st inning, out in the Bleachers, the Bleacher Creatures will begin their "Roll Call." They will chant each starting player's name or nickname until the player waves back to them. They always start with the center fielder: "Ber-NIE!" (Clap, clap!) "Ber-NIE!" (Clap, clap!) They move on to right field: "Paul-IE!" (Clap, clap!) "Paul-IE!" (Clap, clap!) Then left, then around the infield, usually to the tune of the "Let's go, Yankees!" chant: "DER-ek JE-ter! (Clap, clap, clap-clap-clap!)" They will also salute broadcasters John Sterling and Michael Kay, who do the games together on WABC 770 AM radio.

Now, Sterling is on WFAN 660 AM with Suzyn Waldman, and Kay is on YES Network TV with various partners, including (depending on the night) Yankee legends David Cone and Paul O’Neill, and former Baltimore Orioles star Ken Singleton, a New York native.

The Yankees do not have a mascot. They tried one once, calling him Dandy (after the song "Yankee Doodle Dandy"). After consulting with the company that made the Phillie Phanatic's costume, the Yankees were ready to introduce Dandy late in the 1979 season. Then Munson was killed, and it was decided that Dandy, who had a big bushy mustache, looked too much like Munson (others said he more closely resembled Lyle), so he was shelved.

He was introduced at Opening Day in 1980, but the fans, for reasons that probably had nothing to do with Munson, reacted badly to him, even punching him. The guy in the suit was a college kid trying to make a few extra bucks, and his mother complained to Yankee management and making him quit. That was the end of Dandy.
Yes, Dandy actually existed.

Throughout the game, the big video boards will have tribute to various figures from the Yankees' past, with the biggest cheers reserved for videos of Mantle, Munson and Mattingly.

When the Yankees score -- any run, not just on a home run -- just after the runner crosses the plate, a very loud version of the Westminster Chimes are played. "DING-dong-DING-dong... Bomp-BOMP-bomp-BOMMMMP!" This is one of those things that Yankee Haters do, or should, find very annoying about the team.

You might hear somebody banging a spoon on a metal pan. This is Freddy Schuman. An elderly Bronx native, who lost an eye decades ago, he walked through the stands banging a spoon on a metal pan, and carrying a sign attached to the pan, with a message-of-the-day, always beginning with the words “FREDDY SEZ.” Yankee Fans were very loyal to him and protective of him. He was such a beloved figure that he was invited to ride on a float in each of the Yankees' last 5 World Championship victory parades.
Freddy with a young fan on the Subway. 
Like Steinbrenner and Sheppard, he died in 2010. He was 85.

At some point, usually between halves of the 3rd or 4th inning, the video board will do "The Great City Subway Race." This is a variation on the Milwaukee Brewers'"Sausage Race," except it's totally on the board, no people in costumes on the field. Choose which train will get to The Stadium first: B, D or 4. You don't get anything if you pick the right train, though. (The B only goes to Yankee Stadium during evening rush hours, and away from it, into Midtown Manhattan, during the morning rush, which is why I recommend taking the A to the D to get to The Stadium, or taking the 4 if you have an East Side hotel.)

After the 5th inning, the grounds crew will drag the infield. The song "YMCA" by the Village People will come in over the loudspeakers. And thousands of people, including kids, will sing along, most of them not realizing that the song is narrated by a gay man cruising for easy bait. The grounds crew will drop their rakes and drag-cages to spell out Y-M-C-A with the fans.

It’s stupid -- as Chicago White Sox fans taught us, disco sucks -- and it's not even a particularly old "Yankee Tradition," having been started in 1996. But the Yanks won the Series that year, for the 1st time in 18 years (I know, doesn't seem like a long time to most of you), since the song was new (1978), and, well, you know how superstitious baseball people can get.

It gets worse -- much worse, in terms of both physical pressure and style. If you needed any more reasons to not wear opposing team gear in the Yankee Stadium Bleachers, at this stage of the game, the Bleacher Creatures would have already found someone wearing "enemy colors," and as "YMCA" began to be played, a few of them would surround him, insuring that he couldn't get away, while the rest clapped along. They didn't touch him, so they couldn't be charged with assault, but this was true harassment, and the cops in the section didn't seem to give a damn. The Creatures made up their own words to this song, and instead of "YMCA," they sang "Why Are You Gay?"

The words are too vile to be printed here: Even though this blog occasionally includes some nasty profanities, this entry is for guests of our City and our team, and, in the interest of courtesy, I won't go that far on this occasion. (Most of the Bleacher Creatures are Irish, Italian and Hispanic, and thus Catholic, and have had it drilled into their minds from the time of puberty that being gay is a mortal sin.)

After a series of events in October 2010, before and during the Playoffs, Yankee Stadium security announced that the "Why are you gay?" song would no longer be tolerated. As far as I know, it has stopped. Sure, it was funny -- until you imagine what might have happened if the "victim" tried to fight back. And, I’m sure, a few of the fans who got this treatment might actually have been gay, and this must have been horrible for them, especially if they were still closeted. But then, if they were stupid enough to wear an opposing team's gear into that Stadium, into that section, then it's hard to sympathize with them for getting some kind of poor treatment, regardless of their orientation.

During the 7th inning stretch, a moment of silence for American troops will be, uh, requested. Then "God Bless America" will be played, usually Kate Smith's legendary 1938 recording, although sometimes there will be a live singer. Compared to that, the follow-up of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" will be relatively muted.

During the middle of the 8th inning, the Yankees do something worse than the Orioles, in their own tough, gritty, Northeastern city, do when they play John Denver’s "Thank God I’m a Country Boy." They play "Cotton Eye Joe" by Rednexx, and from the control room behind home plate, a yutz in overalls and a straw hat named Cotton Eye Joe will be shown on the video board doing a stupid dance. They periodically break away to show fans dancing along. Why this stupid song is played in New York City, of all places, I don’t know.

(Like Milwaukee's original Bernie Brewer, the original Cotton Eye Joe portrayer was fired for showing up drunk, so they got a younger guy to replace him, naming him "Cotton Eye Joey.")

In 1978, Ron Guidry set a Yankee record that still stands (and a former AL record for lefthanded pitchers) with 18 strikeouts in a game, against the California Angels. That game began the tradition of fans standing up and clapping on a two-strike pitch. It gets especially intense when it's the potential last out of the game. Met fans claim they started this tradition with Dwight Gooden in 1984, but we have the video evidence showing that, as usual, Met fans are full of baloney.

Met fans did, however, at that time, invent the "K-Korner," although Yankee Fans took it to a new level in the 1990s; but such cutesy stuff as traffic cones or ice cream cones for David Cone, beer mugs for David Wells, rockets for Roger Clemens, pictures of John "the Duke" Wayne for Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez and Bullwinkles for Mike "Moose" Mussina have long since gone by the boards.

If the Yankees were winning in the 9th inning, and it's a save situation, Mariano Rivera will come out of the bullpen, and the loudspeakers will blast "Enter Sandman" by Metallica. Translation: "Game over."(Closers since Mo's 2013 retirement haven't had the same treatment.)

If the Yankees win, they will play a recording of broadcaster John Sterling giving his signature radio call: "Ballgame over! Yankees win! The-e-e-e-e-e-e… Yankees win!" If you look in the press box – you may need binoculars for this – you can see Sterling in the WFAN radio booth, doing "the Sterling Shake" when he actually says it. (At the time of that clip, the Yankees were on WCBS, 880 AM.)

Sterling also makes up some really whacked-out calls for individual players. At least, if you don't bring a radio, you won't have to hear his home run call: "It is high! It is far! It is... GONE!" Which, all too often, ends up as, "It is... a foul ball!" Or "It is... caught at the wall!" I hate it when he does that. Like Mel Allen in the Yankees' most glorious era, Sterling tends to watch the ball. Red Barber, who broadcast for the Brooklyn Dodgers at that time, and later switched to the Yankees, taught people to watch the outfielder, to see if he thinks he can catch it, so you’ll have a better idea if he can catch it. Sterling doesn't do this.

It used to be that, if the Yankees won, Frank Sinatra's version of "Theme From New York, New York" would play over the P.A. system; when they lost, they would play Liza Minnelli's version – which, everybody forgets, is the original version, coming from the movie in which Liza plays a 1940s Big Band singer and Robert DeNiro her saxophonist husband. Liza found out about being linked with losing games and objected, and the Yankee brass did something they almost never do: They caved in. After all, Liza, like the Yankees, is a New York icon, just as Sinatra was. Now, Frank's version plays, win or lose.

After the Game. Win or lose, I would advise against going to one of the bars across River Avenue from The Stadium. Forget Billy's, Stan's, the Yankee Tavern, the Yankee Eatery and the rest. Regardless of whether they won or lost, the people there do not want to see opposing fans. The best thing you can do is head for your car or the Subway (depending on how you got there), and get out as quickly and as quietly as you safely can.

If you're staying for more than just the one day, there will be plenty of time to take in a famous New York restaurant other than after the game. I would suggest staying away from really big names like the major steakhouses (Smith & Wollensky's, Gallagher's, Peter Luger's, Delmonico's, Del Frisco's, Morton's), because of the insane prices and the need for reservations. Don't bother with the 21 Club or the Russian Tea Room, next-door to Carnegie Hall: They're not only really expensive, but the food is rather ordinary.

But the legendary Carnegie Deli, so named as it's near Carnegie Hall (on 7th Avenue at 55th Street, B, D or E Train to 53rd Street) is terrific -- if you don’t mind paying 18 bucks for a sandwich. They are big sandwiches. The nearly as famous Stage Deli is a block further down 7th Avenue. And New York pushcart hot dogs and pretzels? Believe it or not, they are cheap (usually $2.00), far more sanitary than legend would suggest, and occasionally tasty. A big bargain.

The Stage Deli closed in 2012. A sandwich at the Carnegie Deli will now set you back at least $20. And a pushcart hot dog will probably be $2.50.

Sports Sidelights. If you have time to look around New York, and are interested in other baseball-related sites, read on. If not, skip to the end of this article. I won't mind, but you may be sorry you missed these:

* Shea Stadium, home of the Mets (1964-present),the Yankees (1974-75, during the Stadium's renovation), the AFL/NFL's Jets (1964-83) and the NFL's Giants (1975) is at 126th Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Flushing, Queens. The Beatles played there on August 15, 1965 and August 23, 1966. Almost certainly, when one team New York team is at home, the other is on the road. 
Shea Stadium in 1974 and 1975.
The Yankee logo can be seen atop the old scoreboard,
where the Met logo would usually be.

Across Roosevelt Avenue is Flushing Meadow-Corona Park, home of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, and site of the 1939-40 and 1964-65 New York World's Fairs. Take the Number 7 train to "Willets Point-Shea Stadium" station.

Citi Field was built just to the east of Shea, and opened in 2009. The station is now listed as "Mets-Willets Point."

* Site of Hilltop Park. Definitely not a place to visit at night. The Yankees' 1st home was at the highest point on Manhattan Island, hence the club's original name, the New York Highlanders, and the name of the stadium, Hilltop Park.

It wasn't much: A 14,000-seat wood and concrete structure at 165th Street & Broadway. They played there from their 1903 debut until 1912. When the Polo Grounds burned down in 1911, the Yankees let the Giants play there until a new Polo Grounds could be built. The Yankees finished 2nd at Hilltop Park in 1904, 1906 and 1910, but never won the Pennant, and only the 1904 race was especially close.
After the Yankees' 10-year lease ran out, the Giants returned the favor, and offered them a 10-year lease at the much larger, better-suited new Polo Grounds. Hilltop Park was demolished in 1914. Evangelist and former big-league pitcher Billy Sunday built a tabernacle on the site, but that was torn down to make way for Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital, which opened in 1928.

In 1993, a plaque was unveiled at roughly the spot where home plate was. An honored guest was Chet "Red" Hoff, who made his major league debut with the Highlanders at Hilltop in 1911. A pitcher, the 1st batter he faced was Ty Cobb, and he struck him out. Hoff was 102 years old at the time of the dedication, and lived to be 107, the oldest former MLB player ever. A train to 168th Street.

* Site of the Polo Grounds. Also not a place to visit at night, but definitely a place to visit in daylight if you're a baseball fan. There were 2 stadiums built on the site, the first in 1890 and burned down in 1911, the second built immediately afterward and torn down in 1964. The baseball Giants played here from 1890 to 1957, the football Giants from 1925 to 1955, the Yankees from 1913 to 1922, the Mets in 1962 and '63, and the AFL’s Titans (forerunners of the Jets) from 1960 to 1963.
The Polo Grounds, as it would have looked
during the Yankees' tenure there, 1913 to 1922

It also hosted some legendary college football games, including the 1924 Army-Notre Dame game where sportswriter Grantland Rice named the Notre Dame backfield "the Four Horsemen," and the 1937 duel between Number 1 Pittsburgh and Number 2 Fordham (with Vince Lombardi playing) that ended scoreless. The Polo Grounds hosted the Army-Navy Game in 1913, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1925 and 1927.

In 1923, Luis Firpo knocked heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey out of the ring there, before Dempsey got back in and knocked Firpo out. In 1960, after Ingemar Johansson knocked Floyd Patterson out to win the title the year before at Yankee Stadium, Floyd got his revenge, knocking Ingo out to become the first man ever to regain the heavyweight title.

Of course, with very few living people who remember seeing John McGraw manage the Giants there, and possibly no one who saw Christy Mathewson pitch there, the Polo Grounds site is now best known for the 1951 Bobby Thomson home run where "The Giants win the Pennant! The Giants win the Pennant!" and the 1954 World Series catch by Willie Mays.

Now home to a housing project called Polo Grounds Towers, a plaque commemorating the ballpark is at the entrance to one of the buildings, roughly where home plate was. (If you see the plaque, you’ll notice that it calls the Giants "1904 World Champions"– and Red Sox fans may feel free to laugh, as the Giants were too chicken to play the Boston Pilgrims in that year's World Series; while the Sox don't recognize themselves as 1904 World Champions, they should.) Part of the complex is a playground named Willie Mays Field, though it's not really a "field."

157th Street & 8th Avenue (Frederick Douglass Blvd.). Take the D train to 155th Street. Right across 155th Street is Rucker Park, home of a legendary local basketball tournament.

The original Polo Grounds, where polo actually had been played, was at 110th Street and 5th Avenue, at the northeast corner of Central Park, from 1876 to 1889, until the City ordered 111th Street built through it, forcing the Giants out. Number 2 or 3 train to 110th Street.

* Site of Ebbets Field. Home of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1913 to 1957. Where the Dodgers, in their "Daffiness Boys" days of the 1930s, ended up with 3 men on base. "Yeah? Which base?" Where Jackie Robinson reintegrated the game in 1947. Where Leo Durocher argued with umpires, where Hilda Chester rang her cowbell, and where the Dodger Sym-Phony Band played their instruments, but not well.

And where Brooklynites – really, people from all over the Tri-State Area – of all races, religions and ethnicities learned about baseball and life itself, and got a million thrills, and a few heartbreaks, none worse than when the team was taken from them in the days before the launch of Sputnik. (The very night of the last game, September 24, 1957, was the night President Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne to integrate Little Rock Central High School. Ten years after Jackie, some people still didn't learn. Over half a century after that, some still haven’t learned.) There was also a Brooklyn Dodgers football team that played there from 1931 to 1944.

Now home to a housing project called Ebbets Field Apartments, it is safe to visit during daylight. Bedford Avenue & Sullivan Place, where the neighborhoods of Flatbush, Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant come together.

Take the B or Q train to Prospect Park. Walk up Flatbush Avenue, with Prospect Park on your left, turn right on Empire Boulevard, then walk 3 blocks to McKeever Place, and one more block to Sullivan Place. To your right will be the project. To your left will be a school named after Robinson. At the corner of Bedford & Sullivan will be the complex’s cornerstone, revealing it as the site of Ebbets Field.

In 2000, the Yankees hadn't yet built Richmond County Bank Ballpark for the Staten Island Yankees, who had just begun play at the College of Staten Island in 1999. The Mets had the Queens Kings in their farm system, playing at St. John's University in Jamaica, Queens until KeySpan/MCU Park could open. Both opened in 2001.

MCU Park is at 1904 Surf Avenue, at 19th Street. Take the D, F, N or Q train to Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue. The Cyclone, still in operation, is at 8th & Surf, and the original Nathan's Famous hot dog stand is at Stillwell & Surf.

Richmond County Bank Ballpark. is at 75 Richmond Terrace at Hamilton Avenue. Take the R train to Whitehall Street -- Hurricane Sandy damaged the South Ferry station on the Number 1 line in 2012 and is now expected to reopen sometime in 2017 -- then cross the street to the Whitehall Terminal. The Staten Island Ferry is free, it takes 22 minutes in each direction, and you get a pretty good view of Lady Liberty. (You’re probably better off skipping a visit to Liberty Island, considering the lines and security measures. As an icon, the Statue is priceless; as a tourist attraction, it's overrated.) Then it’s a 5-minute walk from the St. George Terminal.

* Madison Square Park. This is where the game of baseball was invented. Seriously. No, it wasn't in Cooperstown, New York; and General Abner Doubleday, Civil War hero though he was, had nothing to do with it. The Knickerbocker Base Ball Club used it as their home ground, and it was here that they tested the rules they wrote.

Surveyor (which job led him to conclude that 90 feet between the bases was best) and fireman Alexander Cartwright has generally gotten credit, but Club members Daniel "Doc" Adams and William R. Wheaton were also heavily involved in writing the rules, and getting them approved at 1857 and '58 conventions that standardized the various regional versions of what was then spelled as 2 words as "base ball," that became the difference between baseball and all baseball-like games that came before it.

The Square and Park were named for James Madison, Father of the Constitution and the nation's 4th President. At the intersection of 23rd Street, 5th Avenue and Broadway. At the southern end is the Flatiron Building, which was the tallest in New York from its 1903 opening until 1909 and remains a City icon. At the northeast corner, at 26th Street and Madison Avenue, is the New York Life Building, built on the site of the first two buildings to have the name Madison Square Garden, 1879-1890 and 1891-1925. And now you know how the building got the name when its current isn't (and last previous version wasn't, either) at Madison Square.

In addition to boxing, the earlier Gardens hosted all kinds of shows, from the Westminster Kennel Club show to Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show to the 1924 Democratic Convention, taking 103 ballots -- a 2/3rds majority was needed to nominate under the rules of the time -- to nominate John W. Davis as a sacrificial lamb to Calvin Coolidge. 51 Madison Avenue at 26th Street. Take the N or R train to 23rd Street.

* Worldwide Plaza. This skyscraper, built in 1989, marks the site of the 3rd Madison Square Garden, still known as "the Old Garden" to old-timers. From 1925 to 1942, it was home to the NHL’s New York Americans; from 1926 to 1968, the NHL’s New York Rangers (sort-of named for the building’s fundraiser and owner, boxing promoter George "Tex" Rickard – "Tex’s Rangers," get it?); and from 1946 to 1968, the NBA’s New York Knickerbockers (named for Washington Irving's character Diedrich Knickerbocker, in whose voice he wrote his story collection A History of New York), or "Knicks."

The old Garden hosted what we would now call the NCAA Final Four in 1943 (Wyoming defeating Georgetown in the Final), 1944 (Utah over Dartmouth), 1945 (Oklahoma A&M, which became Oklahoma State in 1958, over New York University, despite The Garden being NYU's virtual home court), 1946 (Oklahoma State over North Carolina), 1947 (Holy Cross over Oklahoma), 1948 (Kentucky over Baylor), and 1950 (City College of New York, on its home court, completing the only NCAA/NIT double win by defeating Bradley).

It also hosted the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and a few of the early NCAA basketball tournaments, until the 1951 point-shaving scandal knocked it, the NIT, and the schools that used the Garden as a 2nd home court (NYU, CCNY, St. John's and Long Island University) off the national radar. Rickard made it the Mecca of Boxing, and Ned Irish, who promoted the legendary collegiate and pro doubleheaders and was one of the Knicks' owners, made it the Mecca of Basketball, although Red Sox fans, who are probably also Celtic fans, may disagree with that latter distinction. Neither Elvis Presley nor the Beatles ever played the old Garden.

50th Street & 8th Avenue. Take the C train to 50th Street, and on the downtown side of the station, you’ll see a marble mural depicting the old Garden.

* Madison Square Garden. This "New Garden," which opened on February 11, 1968, has been home to the Knicks, the Rangers, the NIT and (secondarily) Jamaica, Queens-based St. John's University's basketball team ever since. It's also been home to the WNBA's New York Liberty. (Except for the 2011 and '12 seasons, when the Garden's off-season renovation forced them to share the Prudential Center with the Devils and Seton Hall.) This Garden has never hosted the Final Four.

Elvis Presley played a few shows at the Garden from June 7 to 10, 1972, and the Beatles did so on their individual solo tours, most notably George Harrison for his August 1, 1971 Concert for Bangladesh (which had fellow ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, plus Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton) and John Lennon for his August 30, 1972 One-to-One Concert (with wife Yoko Ono, Stevie Wonder and Roberta Flack). Other notable shows include the July 27-29, 1973 Led Zeppelin shows filmed for The Song Remains the Same, and the Bob Dylan tribute on October 16, 1992. The Democratic Convention was held here in 1976 and 1980, both times nominating Jimmy Carter; and in 1992, nominating Bill Clinton.

Since 2000, add the Concert for New York City on October 20, 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 attacks; the Big Apple to Big Easy show after Hurricane Katrina on September 20, 2005; and the "12-12-12" concert for Hurricane Sandy relief on December 12, 2012. The Republican Convention was held here in 2004, renominating George W. Bush.

32nd Street & 7th Avenue, on top of Penn Station (much as the Boston Garden and its successor were built on top of North Station). Because it’s between 7th and 8th Avenues, just about every Subway line on the West Side comes within a block of the place.

* New Jersey. You can take New Jersey Transit's 320 bus from Port Authority to the Meadowlands Sports Complex, just off the New Jersey Turnpike's Exit 16W, at NJ-Routes 3 & 120.

The Giants have at Giants Stadium since 1976, the Jets since 1984, and Major League Soccer's New York/New Jersey MetroStars since 1996. The North American Soccer League's New York Cosmos from 1977 to 1985. The Army-Navy Game was held there in 1989, 1993, 1997 and 2002. Games of the 1994 World Cup and the 1999 Women's World Cup were held there.

The New Jersey Nets and, for games too big for their 3,200-seat Walsh Gym on their South Orange campus, the Seton Hall University basketball team have played at the Continental Airlines Arena, known until 1996 as the Brendan Byrne Arena for the Governor who got it built, since it opened in 1981. The New Jersey Devils have played there since 1982. The only Final Four played in the Tri-State Area since 1950 was held here, in 1996, with Kentucky beating Syracuse in the Final.

Both NFL teams moved into MetLife Stadium in 2010. Like Giants Stadium, MetLife is also a major venue for big-act concerts and soccer. You can also take a train from Penn Station to the Meadowlands, but only on Giants or Jets game days.

The Devils and Seton Hall moved into the Prudential Center, at Broad & Lafayette Streets in downtown Newark, in 2007. The Nets played the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons there. Take NJT's Northeast Corridor Line train from New York's Penn Station to Newark's station of the same name, or the PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) train from 33rd Street & 6th Avenue (Herald Square, 1 block from New York Penn Station) to Newark Penn. In spite of a bad reputation for the city in general, downtown Newark is safe. The MetroStars became the New York Red Bulls in 2006, and moved into Red Bull Arena in Harrison in 2010. PATH to Harrison.

In 2012, the Nets became the Brooklyn Nets, and moved into the Barclays Center. In October 2015, it became the home of the NHL's New York Islanders. 620 Atlantic Avenue, at Flatbush Avenue, across Atlantic from the Brooklyn Terminal of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), on the site that Walter O'Malley originally wanted for the site of the replacement for Ebbets Field, but they wouldn't let him build there. D or 4 Train to Atlantic Avenue.

The Louis Brown Athletic Center, formerly the Rutgers Athletic Center and still nicknamed the RAC, home to the Nets from 1977 to 1981, is in Piscataway, as is Rutgers Stadium. Built in 1938 for 23,000 fans, totally reconstructed in 1994 for 41,500, and expanded in 2009 for 52,454, the location has hosted 4 U.S. soccer team matches, most recently a 1995 draw against Colombia. A three-minute walk from the Stadium is the 5,000-seat Yurcak Field, RU's soccer and lacrosse facility, which is home to Sky Blue FC, the New York franchise in the National Women's Soccer League.

To get to Rutgers, take New Jersey Transit’s Northeast Corridor Line to New Brunswick, and switch to a Rutgers "Campus Bus," the A to the Busch Campus to the stadium, the L to the Livingston Campus to the RAC, or the B between them.

* Long Island. The Nassau County Veterans Memorial Coliseum has been home to the NHL's Islanders since their 1972 inception, and the ABA edition of the New York Nets from 1971 to 1977. It is a pain in several body parts to get to. Take the LIRR's Hempstead Branch all the way to the end. Across the street is a bus station. Take the N70, N71 or N72 bus (N for Nassau), and it’s a 10-minute ride down the Jericho Turnpike to Uniondale.

As I said, the Isles moved to Brooklyn in 2015.

Adjacent is Hofstra University, including its 15,000-seat James M. Shuart Stadium and the former Jets offices and training complex, Weeb Ewbank Hall. Shuart Stadium was the home field of the Cosmos from 1972 to 1974.

The new Cosmos, in the new NASL, use Shuart Stadium, but Hofstra no longer has a football team.

While Connecticut has some minor-league sports teams, it no longer has any major league teams in any sport. The Giants played at the Yale Bowl in New Haven in 1973 and 1974, and the Hartford Whalers played at the Hartford Civic Center from 1975 to 1978, when a collapsed roof forced them to move to nearby Springfield, Massachusetts, and again from 1980 to 1997, when they moved to become the Carolina Hurricanes.

Non-Sports Sidelights. If you're looking for a good time to visit New York other than during baseball season, I would recommend the week before Christmas. Yes, it is likely to be cold, but the City never looks better than in the walk down 5th Avenue from 59th Street (Central Park, Plaza Hotel, and, until last year, the now-closed legendary toy store FAO Schwarz), past the Trump Tower (57th), St. Patrick's Cathedral (51st), Rockefeller Center (49th), the main library (42nd) on down to 34th (the Empire State Building). Along the way, you'll pass other legendary stores, including Tiffany and Lord & Taylor, although B. Altman's is long gone.

Do not visit Times Square on New Year's Eve. I cannot emphasize this enough. The Square will be packed before dark. If you don't get there before dark, you won't get anywhere near it. And if you do get there before dark, you'll be stuck there for hours, until the crowd finally thins out a few minutes after midnight. I was once there at about 2:00 in the afternoon on a December 31, and it was already a zoo. Don't do it!

Also, don't visit on March 17 to see the St. Patrick's Day Parade, unless you like very raucous behavior by people who aren't the least bit Irish and are using the holiday as an excuse to get as drunk as they think the stereotypical Irishman is.

I would advise against seeing a Broadway show: Tickets are expensive, hard to get, and most of the shows aren't really worth it.

The Ed Sullivan Theater, previously known as CBS Studio 50, was the site for The Ed Sullivan Show from 1948 to 1971. Elvis appeared there on September 9 and October 28, 1956, and, with the CBS cameras showing him from the waist up only, on January 6, 1957. The Beatles played there on February 9, 1964 -- where a since-broken U.S. TV record of 73 million people watched -- and September 12, 1965. CBS now broadcasts The Late Show with David Letterman from there. 1697 Broadway at 54th Street; B, D or E train to 7th Avenue.

Also well worth a visit: The Empire State Building (34th Street & 5th Avenue, D Train to 34th Street), Grand Central Terminal (42nd Street & Park Avenue, Number 4 Train to 42nd Street or Number 7 Train to Grand Central), the American Museum of Natural History (81st Street & Central Park West, C Train to 81st Street), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (82nd Street & 5th Avenue, Number 4 Train to 86th Street & walk 10 minutes), the Intrepid Museum (the World War II-era aircraft carrier is at Pier 86, 46th Street & 12th Avenue, and includes several aircraft, including the prototype space shuttle Enterprise), and the South Street Seaport (Fulton & Front Streets, A Train to Broadway-Nassau).

Presidential Sites. Theodore Roosevelt is the only President to have been born in New York City. The townhouse where he was born was demolished in 1916, while he was still alive. After his death in 1919, it was rebuilt, and serves as a museum in his honor. However, it is closed for renovations, with its website saying it will reopen in "late summer." 28 East 20th Street, between Park Avenue & Broadway.

His home on Long Island, Sagamore Hill. There's also a visitors' center and museum on the site that, for all intents and purposes, serves as TR's "Presidential Library" (since most people who visit Presidential Libraries see only the museum and, if there is one there, the house, and don't actually go into the library to view documents). 20 Sagamore Hill Road, Oyster Bay. LIRR to Oyster Bay, and then take a taxi. I've walked the 3 miles from the station to the house, and I don't recommend it: The roads are narrow and twisty, and Cove Neck Road and Sagamore Hill Road have nasty hills.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, TR's cousin, and his wife Eleanor (TR's niece) had an apartment at 125 East 36th Street (6 to 33rd Street), and another at 49 East 65th Street off Park (F to Lexington Avenue/63rd Street). But their best-known home was FDR's birthplace in Hyde Park, in Dutchess County, where he put his Presidential Library.

4079 Albany Post Road, and if you're familiar with U.S. Route 9 in Jersey or as upper Broadway in Manhattan and The Bronx, or as the George Washington Bridge between them, it is very hard to believe it is (at least officially) the same road. It's 86 miles from Midtown Manhattan, and is actually closer to Albany. If you can't drive there, you'll have to take Metro-North from Grand Central to Poughkeepsie and then get a taxi for the last 4 miles. (It's not as hard a walk as from Oyster Bay to Sagamore Hill, but it is longer.)

As New York was the nation's 1st capital after ratification of the Constitution (but only very briefly before it moved back to Philadelphia and then to Washington), some of our early Presidents lived there, but none of their homes, or even the "Capitol," remain. Federal Hall, where George Washington was sworn in as the 1st President on April 30, 1789, was demolished in 1812 and rebuilt as a Customs House in 1842, and is now a National Park site. 26 Wall Street at Broad Street, on the opposite corner from the New York Stock Exchange. (4 or 5 to Wall Street.)

"The first White House," if you want to call it that, where Washington lived while New York was the capital, was at 3 Cherry Street, off Catherine Street, on what's now the Lower East Side, between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. There's a plaque on the building that's there now. F to East Broadway, then a 7-block walk down Rutgers and Cherry Streets.

I don't know where John Adams, James Madison and James Monroe were living at the time, but there's a plaque at the site of Thomas Jefferson's residence, at 57 Maiden Lane, between Nassau and William Streets, across from the Federal Reserve Bank. (Jefferson would have hated that irony.) A to Fulton Street.

Ulysses S. Grant and Grover Cleveland both had post-Presidency homes in Manhattan: Grant at 3 East 66th Street, off 5th Avenue; Cleveland (between his nonconsecutive terms) a short walk away at 816 Madison Avenue, off 69th Street. 6 to 68th Street-Hunter College.

Keep in mind: These addresses, and those of the filming locations for the TV shows I'm about to mention, are private residences. Do not attempt to enter; leave the people living there alone.

No one is "buried in Grant's Tomb": While the vault where the coffins of Ulysses & Julia Grant are held is underground, by definition, no one is buried in a tomb. What is officially called General Grant National Memorial is on Riverside Drive at 122nd Street. (1 to 125th Street.)

Cleveland, like Woodrow Wilson, lived in Princeton, New Jersey -- in Cleveland's case, after his 2nd term. However, Cleveland's house, at 15 Hodge Road off Bayard Lane; Wilson's houses, at 72 and 82 Library Place, off Stockton Street; and Albert Einstein's house, at 112 Mercer Street, off Edgehill Street, are all privately owned and not available for tours. Madison, like Wilson, was a Princeton graduate, but I don't know where he lived in town. NJ Transit Northeast Corridor Line to Princeton Junction, then transfer to a shuttle train to Princeton; or, from Port Authority Bus Terminal, take a Coach USA bus to the end of the line at Princeton's Palmer Square. The house where Cleveland was born, at 207 Bloomfield Avenue in Caldwell, is open for tours. NJ Transit 29 bus from Newark.

For the 3rd Presidential Debate in 1960, on October 13 -- a few hours after the Yankees lost the World Series to the Pittsburgh Pirates on the Bill Mazeroski home run -- a one-time-only split-screen format was used: Richard Nixon was at the ABC studio in Los Angeles, and John F. Kennedy was at the ABC studio in New York. For the 4th and final debate -- the only time there's been 4 debates in the general election campaign -- on October 21, just 18 days before the election, both men were at the ABC studio in New York, the old one at the St. Nicholas Arena.

* TV Shows set in New York. As I'm sure you've noticed, there have been so many. On I Love Lucy, the Ricardos and the Mertzes lived at 623 East 68th Street, but this address does not exist in real life; New York Presbyterian Hospital occupies where the location would be, off York Avenue.

The Odd Couple building, home to Felix Unger and Oscar Madison, is not only a real address, but the building is still recognizable from the opening credits sequence over 40 years later: 1049 Park Avenue at 87th Street (4 train to 86th Street). Not far away, at 185 East 85th Street at 3rd Avenue, is the building that stood in, in the opening credits of The Jeffersons, for George and Weezy's "Dee-luxe apartment in the sky."

As characters introduced in All in the Family, the Jeffersons previously lived in Queens, next-door to the Bunkers, and Mike and Gloria moved into their house when they moved. Archie and Edith lived at 704 Hauser Street, which was supposedly in Flushing, but the house shown in the show's opening is in the Glendale section of the Borough, at 89-70 Cooper Avenue. All Queens addresses have that hyphenated format. If you live in a city with a 100-block system, where there is a "zero point" and the next block over is 100, the next 200, and so on, think of this address as 8970. But without a car, you'll need to take the E train to Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue, or the 7 train to 74th Street-Broadway (same station), and then take the Q53 bus.

Sesame Street is set in New York City, and while no specific location has ever been given, the brownstone's address is 123 Sesame Street. Show creator Joan Ganz Cooney said she originally wanted to call the show 123 Avenue B -- appropriate, since that part of the Lower East Side, because of Avenues A, B, C & D, is nicknamed "Alphabet City." But since the real Alphabet City was already descending into a crime-and-drug-ridden hellhole, from which it began to escape in the 1990s, giving that actual location might lead people to want to actually visit, which was considered a bad idea.

This was also a problem on The Honeymooners: Jackie Gleason had grown up at 358 Chauncey Street in Brooklyn, and gave the address for the building that housed the Kramdens and the Nortons as 328 Chauncey, which does exist, off Howard Avenue -- and not far from Ralph Avenue (C train to Ralph Avenue station), from which Gleason probably got Kramden's first name. I visited in 1991, at the depth of New York's crime wave, and the building -- in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, not in nearby Bensonhurst as was frequently claimed on the show -- was the only one on the block that wasn't a pathetic, graffiti-ridden mess. It was probably cleaned up by devoted Honeymoonies. These days, the area is probably safe in daylight, but please don't go there at night.

Welcome Back, Kotter, which aired on ABC in the late 1970s, was set at James Buchanan High School in Brooklyn. Head of the Class, an ABC show of the late 1980s, was also set in Brooklyn, at Millard Fillmore High School. While lots of New York public high schools are named after Presidents, Fillmore and Buchanan are not among them in real life. Gabe Kaplan, who played Gabe Kotter, had patterned his show after his own life: Before going into comedy, he had attended and taught at New Utrecht High School, whose exterior was used as an opening and closing credits stand-in for Buchanan. I can't prove it, but I think the same school stood in for Fillmore. 1601 80th Street in Dyker Heights (D to 79th Street).

On The Cosby Show, the Huxtables were said to live at 10 Stigwood Avenue in Brooklyn Heights, but this address is not real. The actual townhouse used for the exterior shots is in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, at 10 St. Luke's Place, off 7th Avenue South (1, Houston Street).

On Sex & the City, Carrie Bradshaw supposedly lives at 245 East 73rd Street, but the actual building shown is at 66 Perry Street, off West 4th in the Village. (1 to Christopher Street-Sheridan Square).

On Seinfeld, Jerry and Kramer lived at 129 West 81st Street, off Columbus Avenue (what 9th Avenue is called north of 59th). Jerry actually did live in that building when he started out in comedy. C train to 81st Street. Paul Buchman of Mad About You said he also lived there before moving in with his eventual wife Jamie Stemple, to 51 5th Avenue off 12th Street. Any train that gets to Union Square (4, 5, 6, L, N, Q, R). Tom's Restaurant (or Tom's Diner, as Suzanne Vega would call it) stood in for Jerry & George's hangout Monk's Cafe, at 2880 Broadway at 112th Street, off the Columbia University campus. C to 110th Street.

The NYPD's 9th Precinct is housed at 321 East 5th Street, off 2nd Avenue. F to 2nd Avenue. (Don't bother the cops going in and out of this building. They wouldn't like it.) The exterior of this building has stood in for the 15th on NYPD Blue. The 1975-82 sitcom Barney Miller was set at the fictional 12th Precinct, but the exterior of their building was never shown.

In contrast, Cagney & Lacey was set at the 14th Precinct, which, like NYPD Blue's, 15th, was said to be in Alphabet City. (While Manhattan only goes to an Avenue D, Brooklyn does the whole alphabet, Avenue A to Avenue Z.) But the 14th is real, albeit better known as Midtown South. That's at 357 West 35th Street, off 9th Avenue, in Hell's Kitchen. (Despite the name, this neighborhood, home to the notorious Irish gang The Westies, is a lot better off than it was.)

The building shown as the home of the Friends is at 90 Bedford Street at Grove Street. (Monica once gave the address as 425 Grove Street, but that address only exists in Brooklyn.) There's no Central Perk on the ground floor (or a similar coffee bar nearby), but there is a French restaurant called The Little Owl. 1 train to Christopher Street-Sheridan Square.

Some other shows were set near but outside The City. While the workplace scenes on The Dick Van Dyke Show were set in Manhattan, Rob & Laura Petrie lived in New Rochelle in Westchester County. Also living in Westchester were Maude & Walter Findlay, in Tuckahoe; and Mrs. Garrett and the Eastland girls of The Facts of Life in Peekskill.

BewitchedWho's the Boss and Gilmore Girls were set in Connecticut, although only Bewitched was specified, in Westport. Growing Pains and Everybody Loves Raymond were set on Long Island: The former, never specified, but the houses shown are in Merrick; the latter, Lynbrook.

As for New Jersey: Charles in Charge was set in New Brunswick (with the fictional Copeland College standing in for Rutgers), and The Sopranos in various places in Essex, Hudson and Bergen Counties.

*

If you follow these directions, you should be able to attend a game at the new Yankee Stadium, and even do other things in New York City, and be able to go home without getting hurt.

Who knows, you may even win. Maybe.

Stupid Things I Used to Think

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The old marquee for the Brunswick Square Mall
in my hometown of East Brunswick, New Jersey.
From the titles of the films, I know that this was June 1981.
I was 11 1/2 years old, and lived half a mile down the hill.

When I was a kid, I thought some things that seem ridiculous now.

*

I thought my father's parents lived next-door to each other in Newark. Grandma's house was separated from the house next door by a driveway that led to a parking lot in back of the houses on Woodside Avenue. Since her house shared a driveway with the house next door, I figured that house next door had to be Grandpa's house. And the man who lived there was certainly old enough to be my grandfather.

So, one time, I must have been about 4 years old, I looked up at him, and I called him "Grandpa." I don't remember his reaction.

Grandpa Mike -- I wasn't actually named for my father's father; my mother liked the name "Michael" -- smoked like a chimney, drank like a fish and ate like a pig. He only lived to be 57. My father stopped smoking in his 30s, and rarely drank, but ate bacon and eggs for breakfast pretty much every day that I knew him. He lived to be 71.

Even at the age of 4, I remembered hearing my parents say that Grandpa Mike was dead, and was no longer living with Grandma Dot. Did I get what that meant? Maybe not. Maybe that's what confused me. He had lived with her in that house for about 30 years. He had lived there, but wasn't living there anymore. Maybe knowing that part led me to think that maybe he was living next-door.

I never did learn the name of the man who lived next door. Even if he was only in his 50s then, he's almost certainly dead now. And that neighborhood, mostly-white in the mid-1970s, is now nearly all-Hispanic, mostly Central and South American. So even if he is still alive, he's almost certainly not living there.

*

I thought the camera and operator at the opening of The 4:30 Movie on WABC-Channel 7 was a frog. I thought the reels on top were the eyes, and the back of the chair was the tail.

I thought, "Why are they playing the Channel 9 Million Dollar Movie theme in this promo for Gone with the Wind?"

I thought it was crazy for newsmen to switch networks. When Harry Reasoner left ABC for CBS in 1978, I thought that was very, very wrong. I had no idea that he had started on CBS, and so had former ABC anchorman Howard K. Smith. Or that Barbara Walters, very recently, had left NBC for ABC.

I also thought it was crazy for actors to leave successful TV shows. Why did Sally Struthers, Rob Reiner, and then Jean Stapleton leave All in the Family? Why did Gary Burghoff leave M*A*S*H?

I thought it was crazy for there to be a New Dick Van Dyke Show. My parents loved the old Dick Van Dyke Show. Well, if the only one was so great, why was there a new one? And why did Lucille Ball have 3 different shows? (Little did I know that, when first-run, they were on 3 different networks. That would have really confused me!)

I thought James Brown was a character that Eddie Murphy created for Saturday Night Live. It didn't occur to me that a man that over-the-top could actually exist. (Even though I had seen Liberace and Elton John on TV.) I didn't know James was a real person until I saw Rocky IV. That's how white and suburban I was.

I thought it didn't make sense for the Yankees and Mets to be on other channels. WNBC-Channel 4 would broadcast The Game of the Week on Saturday. WABC-Channel 7 would broadcast Monday Night Baseball on, well, Monday. And the Yankees would frequently be on it -- because, being successful at that point, they were in demand. Lots of people wanted to see the Yankees. Lots of those wanted to see them get beat. The Mets were on each less often because, at the time, they stunk, and everybody knew it.

But wait! Aren't the Yankees supposed to be on Channel 11? (WPIX.) And aren't the Mets supposed to be on Channel 9? (WOR, now WWOR.) I thought that if a channel showed a TV show, only that channel could show that show. So how could the Yankees be on Channel 4 or Channel 7?

Back then, channels like 9, 11 and WNEW-Channel 5 (now WNYW) would show reruns of old shows, like The Honeymooners, Gilligan's Island, Lost In Space, Star Trek, The Odd Couple, and the aforementioned original Dick Van Dyke Show and the aforementioned referred-to shows starring Lucille Ball: I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy. Okay, I got that. I figured a show could only be on one channel at a time.

But then, Channel 5, then an "independent station" (now part of Fox), started showing reruns of M*A*S*H, which was still running on WCBS-Channel 2; and Three's Company, which was still on Channel 7. Channel 11 started showing Happy Days, which was still running on Channel 7. And who were these guys on M*A*S*H: Henry, Trapper and Frank? Wait, Henry is McLean Stevenson, the guy on Hello, Larry? Trapper is Wayne Rogers, the guy on House Calls? They can be on more than one show, like Lucy? I was so confused.

And explaining those things to my pre-adolescent mind still didn't clear up for me why the baseball establishment (at the time, I seemed to get that concept, if not the expression "the establishment") would let the big networks show games when the local stations already did.

*

Which allows me to segue into stupid things I used to think about sports.

I thought baseball managers wore uniform numbers based on how they finished. In 1978, Billy Martin, manager of the Yankees, wore Number 1. Tommy Lasorda, manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, wore Number 2. Martin's Yankees beat Lasorda's Dodgers in the previous year's World Series. So that's how it worked, right? If the Dodgers had won, Lasorda would have wore 1, and Billy would have worn 2.

Then, when Billy, ahem, was allowed to resign in mid-1978, and Bob Lemon was hired as manager, he didn't take Number 1, he took the number he'd always worn as a major league pitcher, 21. I didn't get it.

I thought Reggie Jackson began his career with the Oakland A's, in 1967. It said so, right there on his baseball card. And he did begin his career with the Oakland A's -- sort of. That first season, the A's were still in Kansas City. Same team, different city. I didn't know that yet. I knew that the Los Angeles Dodgers had started out in Brooklyn, and that the San Francisco Giants had started out in New York. And I had a vague idea that there had been, fairly recently, a team called the Washington Senators, but that they no longer existed.

But when I looked in the back of the Yankees' Yearbook, they had the players' statistics, and also the teams they'd played for. Except they listed the cities, not the team names. And in his first year, Reggie was listed as with "Kansas City." I presumed that this meant that he had played for the Royals. That wasn't true.

I also saw that Lou Piniella had also played with "Kansas City." But that really was the Royals. I also saw that Fred Stanley had played with "Seattle." I presumed that meant the Mariners. Since I began watching baseball games on TV in 1977, I couldn't remember a time when there was no Seattle Mariners, and no Toronto Blue Jays.

But then I got Stanley's baseball card, and it said that he spent the 1969 season with the "Pilots." Huh? Who were the Pilots? I didn't know about this 1969 expansion team that failed after just one season and became the Milwaukee Brewers in 1970. I hadn't yet read Jim Bouton's Ball Four. I only knew Bouton as the sportscaster who used to pitch for the Yankees in the 1960s, and was now making a comeback with the Atlanta Braves at age 39.

Had I known that the Pilots had Piniella on their payroll, before trading him to the Royals, my mind truly would have been blown.

And then when I read a book about Mickey Mantle, and it said he was "sent down to Kansas City" in his rookie year of 1951, I couldn't figure that out. I knew that major league teams had minor league teams in their "farm systems," but how could Kansas City be a minor-league team? They had a major league team! Not in 1951, they didn't. I didn't yet know that, as recently as 1952, the following cities that had major league teams by 1978 were all in the minors: Milwaukee, Baltimore, Kansas City, Los Angeles (2 teams), San Francisco, Oakland, Minnesota (2 teams), Houston, Atlanta, Seattle, Montreal, San Diego, Dallas (2 teams) and Toronto.

*

I thought it was silly to name the mall in my hometown of East Brunswick was named the Brunswick Square Mall. There's no square named Brunswick Square -- there wasn't then, and there isn't now. And the plot of land on which the mall was built was not shaped like a square. So why that name?

What's more, I didn't know why East Brunswick and the adjoining town of North Brunswick were south of New Brunswick. Why wasn't North Brunswick called South Brunswick, and the town to the south of that, which was (and is) called South Brunswick, called something else? Why wasn't Piscataway, which is north of New Brunswick, called North Brunswick? Why wasn't Highland Park, which is east of New Brunswick, called East Brunswick? Why wasn't Franklin, which is west of New Brunswick, called West Brunswick? And why wasn't there a West Brunswick?

Why, back where we used to live in Essex County (Bloomfield, northwest of Newark), was there an Orange, an East Orange, a South Orange, and a West Orange, but not a North Orange? (That would have been Montclair.) And if there's a town named only "Orange" up where we used to live, why isn't there one named only "Brunswick"?

This last sequence still doesn't make sense to me.

Teix Sends Message, Yanks Play Baseball As Men, Beat Baby Mets

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This is why Mark Teixeira was kept around.

The Citi Series -- remember, it's not a Subway Series because it's not a World Series -- moved over to Yankee Stadium II last night. It was another wild game. The Mets led 2-0 before the Yankees even came to bat, thanks to a home run by ex-Yankee Curtis Granderson. The Yankees made it 3-2 at the end of the 1st inning, on doubles by Chase Headley and Didi Gregorius.

The Mets tied it up in the top of the 2nd. The Yankees made it 6-3 after 2, largely thanks to a home run by Mark Teixeira off Steven Matz, his 10th "Teix Message" of the season, but his 1st home run all season batting righthanded.

With 1 out in the bottom of the 5th, Matz nailed Teix on the ankle with a pitch. Obviously, because the Mets are a bunch of babies who can't handle it when somebody actually stands up to them (see: "Utley, Chase"), it was on purpose. Teix knew damn well it was on purpose, and yelled at Matz on his way to 1st base.

The Mets' catcher, Rene Rivera, told him it was on purpose, because Teix was stealing signs. After the game, Robles complained about it to the media: "I think he was trying to pick up signs. I got a little upset. That's not the way you play baseball. You have to play baseball as men."

What an ignorant little schmuck! Stealing signs has been a part of baseball since the old National League version of the Baltimore Orioles of the 1890s! Those guys -- John McGraw, Wilbert Robinson, Willie Keeler -- would have told you, "Hell, yeah, that's baseball played by men!"

"You have to play baseball as men." What a laugh! Did I mention that the Mets were babies?

The Mets closed to within 6-4 in the top of the 7th. Then came the bottom of the inning. Hansel Robles was brought in to pitch for the Mets. Debutant Gary Sanchez greeted him with a single, Aaron Hicks with a double, and Rob Refsnyder with a sacrifice fly to make it 7-4 Yanks. Then Robles walked Teix. Then Robles walked Headley to load the bases with only 1 out.

Standing on 2nd base, Teix started touching his arms, his cap, his pants, anything that made it look like he was giving signs -- giving the Mets' signs to his teammates. Clearly, he didn't have them. Clearly, he didn't need to have them. The Mets got even more upset.

After the game, Teix said, "I've never gotten inside someone's head by just standing there." Well, this isn't just anyone. It's the Mets. He also said, "If it was that bad, change your signs." Translation: "If you think that I think that you're that stupid, then maybe you are that stupid."

At any rate, Starling Castro singled Hicks home. The Mets brought Josh Edgin in to pitch, because, clearly, Robles was too preoccupied to be out there. He walked Didi to bring home another run.

Neil Walker hit a consolation home run for the Mets in the 9th. Yankees 9, Mets 5. WP: Luis Severino (1-6), who pitched 4 1/3rd strong innings in relief of the shaky rookie starter, Chad Green. No save. LP: Matz (8-8). That's 2 out of 3 from the team whose fans claim they're "taking back New York."

The Met fan group The 7 Line Army attended last night. This isn't much of an army. Their best weapon appears to be their blinding, ugly orange shirts.

The Mets' problems deepened at the end: Yoenis Cespedes, the biggest reason (slightly ahead of the now-departed Daniel Murphy) that they went from mild contenders for the Wild Card to the Pennant last season, was playing golf when he knew he should have been taking it easy on an injured quadriceps, reinjured it striking out in his last at-bat. He goes on the Disabled List.

Seriously, even as defending National League Champions, the Mets are such a stupid organization. Cue Gene Rayburn, the late, great host of the original Match Game: "The Moron Mets are so dumb!" Cue the audience: "How dumb are they?"

The series concludes tonight. Starting for the Mets is their big fat cheating elderly bastard, who used to be ours: Bartolo Colon. For us, Nasty Nathan Eovaldi.

Come on you Pinstripes! Let's show these blue & orange wankers that they will never"take back New York!"

I mean, let's face it: If they think that Mark Teixeira has stolen their signs, that's not good. But if they haven't changed their signs, then they really are stupid.

Reggie Jackson vs. Tom Seaver

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August 4, 1985, 31 years ago today: Tom Seaver collects his 300th career win, for the Chicago White Sox, against the Yankees, at Yankee Stadium. The 40-year-old pitching master went the distance in a 4-1 South Siders victory over the Pinstripes.

I was there, along with 54,031 others, about half of whom were Yankee Fans, there to see Phil Rizzuto get his Monument Park Plaque and the retirement of his Number 10. The other half were Met fans, there to see their hero get Number 300.

That same day, at Anaheim Stadium outside Los Angeles, the California Angels beat the Minnesota Twins 6-5. Rod Carew of the Angels, approaching his 40th birthday, batting against his former team, collects his 3,000th hit. His Angels teammate, formr Yankee star Reggie Jackson, also 39, pinch-hits in the 8th inning, and grounds out.

Neither Seaver, nor Jackson, nor Carew was playing for the team that made him famous -- nor, in Jackson's case, for the team that made him the most famous.

*

"He is so good that blind people come to the park just to hear him pitch."

Reggie Jackson, the biggest Yankee star of his generation, said that about his contemporary, Tom Seaver, the greatest Met player of all time.

As Yogi Berra, Tom's manager on the Mets from 1972 to 1975, and a coach with the Yankees with Reggie from 1977 to 1981, supposedly said, "Good pitching will beat good hitting, and vice versa."

But, as yet another Yankees-Mets series is underway, I ask the question: How did Reginald Martinez Jackson actually do hitting against the pitching of George Thomas Seaver?

Seaver, always considered a thinking man's pitcher, has been quoted as saying, "In baseball, my theory is to strive for consistency, not to worry about the numbers. If you dwell on statistics, you get shortsighted. If you aim for consistency, the numbers will be there at the end." Nevertheless, there is a record of these encounters.

Note that this does not include in-season exhibition games like the Mayor's Trophy game. Nor does it include spring training.

Both men debuted in the major leagues in the 1967 season. Because they were in separate Leagues from then until 1983, the only way they could face each other was in the All-Star Game or the World Series.

July 24, 1973, All-Star Game, Royals (now Kauffman) Stadium, Kansas City: Seaver pitches the 8th inning. Jackson, then with the Oakland Athletics, bats against him in that inning, and hits a ground ball back to him, which he tosses to Ron Fairly, then playing 1st base. Reggie is 0-for-1 vs. Tom. National League over American League, 7-1.

October 16, 1973, World Series Game 3, Shea Stadium, New York: Seaver started for the Mets against Jackson's A's, and went 8 innings. He struck Jackson out looking in the 1st, struck him out swinging in the 4th, struck him out swinging again in the 6th (he had 12 strikeouts overall), and got him to fly out to center fielder Don Hahn in the 8th. Reggie would also ground out to 2nd against Tug McGraw in the 10th. 0-for-4, 3 strikeouts. The Mets won, 3-2 in 11 innings.

October 20, 1973, World Series Game 6, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum: Seaver went 7 innings. Jackson hit a double to left-center field off him in the 1st, driving in Joe Rudi. He hit another double to right-center off him in the 3rd, driving in Sal Bando. He grounded to 2nd baseman Felix Millan in the 5th. Batting against McGraw in the 8th, he singled and eventually scored. Against Seaver: 2-for-3, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs. A's over Mets, 3-1.
This picture, which isn't in very good condition,
is the only one I could find of them actually facing each other.
Given the uniforms they're wearing, it has to have been taken
during Game 6 of the 1973 World Series.

August 9, 1981, All-Star Game (delayed because of the strike), Cleveland Municipal Stadium: Seaver, now with the Cincinnati Reds, pitches the 2nd inning. Jackson bats against him once, and, as in the '73 Midsummer Classic, grounds back to him. He tosses to 1st baseman Pete Rose for the out. 0-for-1. NL over AL, 5-4.

June 6, 1984, Comiskey Park, Chicago: Seaver pitches a 4-hit shutout. He strikes Jackson out swinging in the 2nd and the 7th, and looking in the 5th. 0-for-3, 2 strikeouts. The White Sox beat the Angels, 4-0.

June 12, 1984, Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim: Seaver strikes Jackson out swinging in the 2nd and the 7th, and gets him to ground out to 2nd baseman Julio Cruz in the 5th. But this time, Seaver isn't so lucky: He pitches 8 strong innings, but walks Rod Carew to lead off the bottom of the 9th, and Tony LaRussa, not yet the "genius" he would become managing in Oakland, brings in reliever Al Jones, who blows it. It is Jackson who ties the score with an RBI single. 0-for-3, 2 strikeouts. The Angels beat the White Sox, 3-2, on an RBI single by Doug DeCinces in the 10th.

September 9, 1984, Comiskey Park: Seaver gets Jackson to fly to left fielder Jerry Hairston Sr. in the 2nd, ground to shortstop Scott Fletcher in the 4th, fly to right fielder Harold Baines in the 7th. and fly to center fielder Daryl Boston in the 9th. 0-for-4. The White Sox beat the Angels 8-2, as Seaver goes the distance.

September 15, 1984, Anaheim Stadium: In the 2nd, Tom gets Reggie to ground to 3rd baseman Roy Smalley Jr. But in the 4th, Reggie gets even: He blasts a 2-run homer. The Angels keep hitting, and Tom is chased in the 5th. 1-for-2, a HR, 2 RBIs. The Angels beat the White Sox 11-2.


June 14, 1985, Anaheim Stadium: Reggie reaches on an error by Cruz in the 1st, but Tom strikes him out looking in the 4th, and gets him to pop up to shortstop Ozzie Guillen (yes, that Ozzie Guillen) in the 7th. 0-for-3, a K. The White Sox beat the Angels 5-2.

September 19, 1985, Comiskey Park: Reggie draws a walk in the 2nd, singles in the 4th, grounds to 1st baseman Greg Walker in the 6th. The Angels knock Seaver out of the box in the 7th, and Reggie hits home runs in the 8th and the 9th, but those aren't off Seaver. 1-for-2, a walk. The Angels beat the White Sox 8-0.

September 24, 1985, Anaheim Stadium: Seaver strikes Jackson out looking in the 2nd, swinging in the 4th, swinging in the 6th, before leaving after 7. 0-for-3, 3 Ks. The White Sox beat the Angels 8-1.

June 9, 1986, Comiskey Park: Reggie draws a walk in the 1st and singles to center in the 4th, and Tom hits him with a pitch in the 6th -- almost certainly not intentional. 1-for-1, a walk, and hit by a pitch. The Angels beat the White Sox 3-0.

July 11, 1986, Fenway Park, Boston: By this point, Tom has been traded to the Boston Red Sox. Despite being a lefty, Reggie always did like hitting at Fenway. He took Tom deep in the 2nd. Tom struck him out looking in the 3rd. Reggie crushed another homer in the 6th, the Angels scored again in the 7th, and Tom was relieved so that he wouldn't have to face Reggie again. 2-for-3, 2 HRs, 2 RBIs, a K. The Angels beat the Red Sox 5-0.

July 27, 1986, Anaheim Stadium: Reggie draws a walk in the 1st, another in the 3rd, another in the 5th. Tom is relieved after 6. No official at-bats, 3 walks. The Angels beat the Red Sox 3-0.

Reggie Jackson, the defining Yankee of his generation, and Tom Seaver, the defining Met of that generation, faced each other 39 times, the first in the 1973 All-Star Game, the last in a Red Sox-Angels game in 1986. Aside from the possibility of spring training games (and I don't think the matchup ever happened in Florida in March), they never faced each other with Reggie in Yankee Pinstripes and Tom in Met Blue & Orange.

In official at-bats, Reggie went 7-for-33 against Tom, a mere .212 batting average. As you might imagine, Seaver struck him out plenty: 13 times, nearly twice as many strikeouts as hits.

But Tom also walked him 5 times, including 3 in their final appearance, showing that Tom, then approaching his 42nd birthday, had a lot less left than Reggie, a year and a half younger. Two weeks before that, Reggie had taken Tom deep twice and been hit with a pitch. (That was almost certainly an accident: Seaver was never known to hit someone on purpose, even after that kind of hitting against him.)

Of Reggie's 7 hits against Tom, 2 were doubles and 3 were homers, and he had 6 RBIs. On-base percentage, .333. Slugging percentage, .454. OPS, .787.

In other words, Tom pretty much handled Reggie as well as he handled most hitters: Very well.

On the other hand, Reggie pretty much did to Tom what he did to most pitchers: When he didn't make contact, it was bad; but when he did make contact, hoo, boy. 

For All Their Advantages & Fans' Talk, Mets Get Only a Split vs. Yanks

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So the Mets had this "great starting rotation," including a known steroid cheat, Bartolo Colon. They had Yoenis CesPEDes. They picked up Jay Bruce at the trading deadline. While the Yankees traded away their 3 best players and a decent starting pitcher (Carlos Beltran, Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller; Ivan Nova).

And all the Mets got out of this 4-game series was a split, and a reputation for not "playing baseball as men."

The Mets are a joke. And, as Chase Utley showed us, they're pussies as well.

The game was scoreless going into the 5th. Then Nathan Eovaldi fell victim to Onebadinningitis, allowing a leadoff home run to Kelly Johnson (an ex-Yankee, naturally -- from the 2014 season), followed by a Curtis Granderson double, a fielder's choice, and a flyout, then Bruce's 1st home run as a Met.

The only Yankee run came in the 7th: With 1 out, newly-called-up Gary Sanchez doubled, and Aaron Hicks singled him home.

Adam Warren and Anthony Swarzak each pitched an inning of scoreless relief, but it was too late. Mets 4, Yankees 1. WP: Colon (10-6). SV: Jeurys Familia (38). LP: Eovaldi (9-8).

*

The Yankees are now 7 1/2 games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East -- but the Mets are now 8 games behind the Washington Nationals in the National League East.

Shouldn't have gotten rid of Daniel Murphy, bigotry and all.

The Yankees are 5 1/2 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the 2nd AL Wild Card slot. The Mets are notably closer in the NL: 1 game behind the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals. But the fact that they're behind the Marlins speaks to something. How bad the Mets are? How bad the NL is? I don't know.

The Yankees now begin a 3-game home series against the leaders of the American League Central, the Cleveland Indians.

I'm sick of hearing about "the future" and "prospects." I want to win now.

A-Rod's Long Goodbye

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Before I discuss the Yankees' weekend series with Cleveland, let me get the weekend's biggest story out of the way.

When the Yankees hold a press conference, memories always flash back, even for those of us not old enough to remember, to 1960. After the World Series, Casey Stengel read a prepared statement about his resignation, put it down, and said, "I guess this means they fired me."

There have been awkward moments with the Yankees and various players and managers since. The mishandlings of the firings of Yogi Berra (twice), Billy Martin (5 times), Dick Howser, Bucky Dent, Buck Showalter and Joe Torre. The Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich "wife swap" story. The various controversies around my guy Reggie Jackson. Sparky Lyle, in Graig Nettles' words, going "from Cy Young to Sayanora." The hair issues of Thurman Munson and Don Mattingly. The return of Roger Clemens.

No athlete in American history has made things as awkward for his team as Alex Rodriguez has for the New York Yankees. Being a narcissist is nothing new in sports. But between the postseason failures and the steroid controversies, has any athlete ever embarrassed his team more than A-Rod?

Yes, there was the 2009 season, when he put the Yankees on his back and carried them to the Pennant, before being a bit quiet in the World Series, but the Yankees won anyway. That season is the difference between A-Rod being an inconvenient superstar and being the biggest failure in the history of North American sports. Had the Yankees lost that World Series -- and they well could have, as the Philadelphia Phillies won Game 1 and were leading Game 2 at Yankee Stadium, and went on to be tied late in Game 4 and win Game 5 in Philadelphia -- A-Rod would have been the George W. Bush of ballplayers: Overhyped, disgraceful, and without the appropriate achievements. (Which, I suppose, marks October 2009 as his "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" moment.)

But the relationship between this player and this team has been "It's Complicated" from Day One. Now, Day Last is defined. This Friday, home to the Tampa Bay Rays, Alex Rodriguez will play his last major league game. Then, through the end of his contract on December 31, 2017 -- I've been posting it as October 31, but that's due to that being around the date that the 2017 World Series would end -- he will be a "special advisor" to the Yankees, making suggestions to the front office and being an instructor at spring training next March and through the minor league system.

While getting all the money still owed him between now and then. In other words, the Contract from Hell is extended 2 months more than I thought it would be.

But at least he'll never disappoint us on the field again.

A .295 lifetime batting average. 3,113 hits. 696 home runs. 2,084 runs batted in. 3 American League Most Valuable Player awards. 14 postseason appearances -- 9 with the Yankees, but only 1 Pennant, the 2009 World Championship.

And yet, more money paid to a player than any in history -- and more goodwill thrown away than by any player in history.

I wonder what will happen when the Yankees hand Number 13 out to another player. Because, let's face it, the 22 worn by Roger Clemens has gone back out, and Clemens did more for the Yankees than A-Rod did (4 Pennants and 2 World Championships). And don't count on a Plaque for him ever appearing in Monument Park.

For Tom Seaver with the Mets, Joe Namath with the Jets, and for Mark Messier with the Rangers, 1 World Championship was enough.

For Patrick Ewing with the Knicks, there were none, but they still love him.

For Don Mattingly with the Yankees, the failure to win even a single postseason series doesn't seem to matter.

For Alex Rodriguez with the Yankees, having won a World Series means he isn't a failure. But he hardly lived up to the hype, or the demand.

We will never have to watch him disappoint us again after Friday night. But not until January 1, 2018, when the Yankees will finally be able to pay that $26 million to other players, will we truly be able to say, in the words of the hymn that Martin Luther King liked to quote, "Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Until then, A-Rod will be giving us what mystery writer Raymond Chandler called, in a 1953 novel that became a 1973 movie with former Yankee pitcher Jim Bouton playing a "playboy killer," called The Long Goodbye.

Actually, the expression was first used by Tennessee Williams for a play in 1940. Wow, even in that, A-Rod isn't what he seemed to be.

*

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series: 1, tomorrow night at 7:00, at Fenway Park.

Days until Alex Rodriguez' last game: 4, this Friday night at 7:00, at Yankee Stadium II.

Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 5, this Saturday night at 7:00, home to the Montreal Impact. Last night, they took a 2-0 2nd-half lead away to the Los Angeles Galaxy, and futzed it up, ending with a 2-2 draw.

Days until The Arsenal play another competitive match: 6, this Sunday, at 11:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time, home to Liverpool. Yesterday, they played their final preseason friendly, beating Manchester City 3-2 in Gothenburg, Sweden.


Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 13, against D.C. United on Sunday night, August 21, at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington. The next game against the New England Revolution is on Sunday night, August 28, at Red Bull Arena. The next game against the Philadelphia Union is on Saturday night, October 1, at Red Bull Arena. There are no further games this regular season against New York City FC, although Metro could face them in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 25, on Friday, September 2, in a CONCACAF Qualifying Match for the 2018 World Cup, away to St. Vincent & the Grenadines. Less than 4 weeks. They should win, especially since they took on the best that Latin America had to offer in the Copa America, and reached the Semifinals before being knocked out by Argentina. This will be followed 4 days later by another Qualifier, against Trinidad & Tobago, at EverBank Field, home of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 26, on Saturday, September 3, away to the University of Washington, in Seattle.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 32, on Friday, September 9, away to Sayreville, a.k.a. Sewerville. Hell of a place to begin the season, even if the opposition wasn't good -- and, since 1990, they usually have been. 
A little over a month.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: 66, on Thursday night, October 13, away to the Florida Panthers in the Miami suburb of Sunrise. A little over 2 months. The home opener is 5 days later, on Tuesday night, October 18, against the Anaheim Ducks.

Days until the 2016 Presidential election: 92, on Tuesday, November 8. That's 13 weeks. Make sure you are registered to vote, and then make sure you vote!

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving game: 108, on Thursday morning, November 24, at the purple shit pit on Route 9. Under  4 months.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play another local rival: 125. Their 1st game this season with the New York Rangers will be on Sunday night, December 11, at Madison Square Garden. Their 1st game this season with the Philadelphia Flyers will be on Thursday night, December 22, at the Prudential Center. By a quirk in the schedule, the New York Islanders, a team they usually play several times a season, don't show up on the slate until Saturday night, February 18, 2017, at the Prudential Center.

Days until The Contract From Hell runs out, and the Yankees no longer have to pay Alex Rodriguez any money: 510, on December 31, 2017.


Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Pyeongchang, Korea: 550, on February 9, 2018.

Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 675, on June 14, 2018. A little under 23 months. The U.S. team will probably qualify for it, but with Jurgen Klinsmann as manager, particularly in competitive matches such as World Cup Qualifiers, rather than in friendlies, you never know.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 1,446, on July 24, 2020.

How to Be a Met Fan In San Francisco -- 2016 Edition

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On Thursday of next week, the Mets begin a 4-game series in San Francisco against the Giants, one of the teams they replaced as the National League team in New York.

Before You Go. The San Francisco Bay Area has inconsistent weather. San Francisco, partly because it's bounded by water on three sides, is the one city I know of that has baseball weather in football season, and football weather in baseball season. Or, as Mark Twain, who worked for a San Francisco newspaper during the American Civil War, put it, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." Fortunately, the Giants' ballpark, while right on the Bay, doesn't have the same kind of whacked-out weather as their former home of Candlestick Park.

In spite of the city's weather reputation, for this series, sfgate.com, the website of the San Francisco Chronicle, is predicting very good weather: High 60s in the afternoon, mid-50s at night, and absolutely no precipitation. I don't mean hardly any, I mean they're saying zero percent chance. (So, if you do get rained on, blame the Chronicle, not me.)

If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to note that it is no longer 1967, so you do not have to wear flowers in your hair. Considering that the Giants were then playing at Candlestick, it would have been pointless for hippies to go there: Anything in or on their heads, from flowers to headbands to joints, would have been blowin' in the wind, or even blown away by it.

But you should also note that the entire State of California is on Pacific Time, 3 hours behind New York. Adjust your timepieces accordingly.

Tickets. The Giants, still basking in the glow of their 2010, 2012 and 2014 World Championships, are in a tight battle for 1st place in the National League Western Division with the Los Angeles Dodgers (a rivalry that goes back to when the Giants were in Manhattan and the Dodgers in Brooklyn). As a result, they are averaging 41,365 fans per home game -- a sellout, and 3rd in the majors behind the Dodgers nd Cardinals, ahead of the Yankees. So if you haven't gotten your tickets yet, you may be out of luck.

Like the Mets, the Giants use "dynamic pricing": The higher the profile of the opponent (and New York is among the highest), the higher the price. And, since the opponent is New York, and Californians (North and South alike) tend to not like New York, the prices will be pretty steep.

The Saturday game is insanely expensive! Lower Boxes, if they can be had at all, are listed as a whopping $159. View Reserve (upper deck) seats go for $85. Even the Bleachers go for $107, and the "Arcade" seats along that narrow right field barrier separating the field from the Bay are $111 -- and they don't provide quarters for the video games. (Just kidding: There are no video games, it's not that kind of arcade.)

Fortunately, the other games in the series are a lot cheaper. Lower Boxes, $84; View Reserve, $41; Bleachers, $39; Arcade, $31.

Getting There. It's 2,918 miles from Citi Field to AT&T Park. This is the longest regular roadtrip that either of the New York baseball teams has -- in fact, the only roadtrip in all of MLB that is longer is Seattle to Tampa Bay, or vice versa: 3,113 miles. (This does not count the possibility of Seattle playing Miami in Interleague play: That would be 3,297 miles.) This will remain the case, unless some future Commissioner decides to create a World League of Baseball and the Tokyo-based Yomiyuri Giants come in. In other words, if you're going, you're flying.

You think I'm kidding? Even if you get someone to go with you, and you take turns, one drives while the other one sleeps, and you pack 2 days’ worth of food, and you use the side of the Interstate as a toilet, and you don’t get pulled over for speeding, you’ll still need over 2 full days. Each way.

But, if you really, really want to drive, get onto Interstate 80 West in New Jersey, and – though incredibly long, it’s also incredibly simple – you’ll stay on I-80 for almost its entire length, which is 2,900 miles from Ridgefield Park, just beyond the New Jersey end of the George Washington Bridge, to the San Francisco end of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

Getting off I-80, you'll need Exit 2C for Folsom Street. Turn left on Folsom, right on The Embarcadero, bear right on King Street, left on 3rd Street, and left onto Willie Mays Plaza. The official address for AT&T Park is 24 Willie Mays Plaza, in honor of Mays' uniform number.

Not counting rest stops, you should be in New Jersey for an hour and a half, Pennsylvania for 5:15, Ohio for 4 hours, Indiana for 2:30, Illinois for 2:45, Iowa for 5 hours, Nebraska for 7:45, Wyoming for 6:45, Utah for 3:15, Nevada for 6:45, and California for 3:30. That’s 49 hours, and with rest stops, and city traffic at each end, we're talking 3 full days.

That's still faster than the bus or the train. You can get a round-trip Greyhound ticket from Port Authority to the San Fran station at 200 Folsom Street at Main Street (13 blocks from the ballpark) for $550 round-trip, but it could drop to as little as $482 with advanced-purchase. You could leave as late as 5:15 PM Monday and arrive in time for the Thursday night game, at 5:45 PM (an hour and a half before first pitch). That's 60 1/2 hours, and it includes changing buses 3 times

On Amtrak, you could leave Penn Station on Monday, August 15 on the Lake Shore Limited at 3:45 PM Eastern Time, and arrive at Union Station in Chicago at 9:45 AM Central Time on Tuesday. You would then board the California Zephyr at 2:00 PM Central Time on Tuesday, and arrive at Emeryville, California at 4:10 PM Pacific Time on Thursday. Sorry, but Amtrak doesn't even go all the way to Oakland anymore, let alone across the Bay. You would then transfer to a bus leaving Emeryville at 4:25, arriving in downtown San Francisco at 5:05. Total time: 77 hours. Round-trip price: $687. That 5:05 arrival should give you enough time to get to your hotel, check in, grab a quick shower, change, and get down to the ballpark for the 7:15 first pitch.

So, as you can see, flying is best. You could get a Thursday morning flight out of Newark on United Airlines, and a Sunday night flight out of San Francisco, nonstop in each direction, for a little over $700 -- not a whole lot more than Amtrak, and a lot faster.

There is a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). It costs $8.65 to ride it into downtown.

Once In the City. Believe it or not, San Francisco -- founded in 1776 by the Spanish as a Catholic mission in 1776, and named for St. Francis of Assisi -- has fewer people living within its city limits than neighboring San Jose. It's now the 4th-largest city in California, behind Los Angeles, San Diego and San Jose -- whereas, not that long ago, it trailed only L.A. in the entire Western U.S. But that's due to those cities' growth, not to San Fran's shrinkage: It's home to 825,000 people, and there are 8.6 million people in the Bay Area overall, including Oakland, San Jose, and the suburbs of all 3 cities.

Important to note: Do not call the city "Frisco." They hate that. "San Fran" is okay. And, like New York (sometimes more specifically, Manhattan), area residents tend to call it "The City." For a time, the Golden State Warriors, then named the San Francisco Warriors, actually had "THE CITY" on their jerseys. They will occasionally bring back throwback jerseys saying that.

The sales tax in California is 6.5 percent, and it rises to 8.75 percent within the City of San Francisco. However, food and pharmaceuticals are exempt from sales tax. (Buying marijuana from a street dealer doesn't count as such a "pharmaceutical," and pot brownies wouldn't count as such a "food." Although he probably wouldn't charge sales tax -- then again, it might be marked up so much the sales tax would actually be a break.)

Since 2003, the San Francisco Examiner, once the starting point of William Randolph Hearst's media empire, has been a free daily, run outside Hearst Media. Ironically, Hearst Media now owns the paper's longtime competitor, the San Francisco Chronicle. Other Bay Area papers include the Oakland Tribune and the San Jose Mercury News.

There isn't really a "city centerpoint," although street addresses seem to start at Market Street, which runs diagonally across the southeastern sector of the city, and contains the city's 8 stops on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) subway system.  A BART ride within San Francisco is $1.75; going from downtown to Daly City, where the Cow Palace is, is $3.00; going from downtown SF to downtown Oakland is $3.15, and from downtown SF to the Oakland Coliseum complex is $3.85.

Going In. Pacific Bell Park opened in 2000, and the naming rights changed as the phone company got bought out: SBC Park in 2003, AT&T Park in 2006.

The ballpark is just outside of downtown, in an area called SoMa (South of Market Street), South Beach or China Basin. The official address is 24 Willie Mays Plaza, for the Giants' greatest player and his uniform number. (Had it a regular city address, it would likely be 200 King Street.)
The closest BART stop to the ballpark is Montgomery Street, 20 blocks up 2nd Street. However, the J and N streetcar lines stop outside the park, and the Transbay Terminal (entry-and-exit point for commuters on the peninsula that leads to Stanford and San Jose) is just a block away.

Most likely, you will enter the ballpark on King Street/Willie Mays Plaza, at either 2nd street (left field corner) or 3rd street (home plate). The stadium faces due east, away from San Francisco, so while you won't see the city's impressive skyline, you will get a spectacular view of the Bay.
Parking at AT&T Park depends on where you park: It can run as high as $40, and as low as $5.75. Lots of small boats drop anchor in the section of San Francisco Bay known as McCovey Cove, beyond the right field wall. This is a reasonable thing to do -- if you live nearby and you own a boat. But if you hardly ever, or never will except for this trip, get to San Francisco, why would you go all the way there to see a game at AT&T Park, and not see a game in AT&T Park? That's like going to Chicago to see a game at Wrigley Field, and only seeing a game from a rooftop across the street.
The field is natural grass, and not symmetrical. Outfield distances are 339 feet to the left field pole, 364 to straightaway left, 404 to left-center, 399 to straightaway center, 421 to right-center, 365 to straightaway right, and a mere 309 to the right-field pole.
In order to offset how short the distance to right field is, the right field wall is 24 feet high -- again, the number in honor of Mays. Ignore the steroid-inflated stats of Barry Bonds, including the park's longest homer, a 2001 shot measured at 499 feet: AT&T Park, formerly Pacific Bell Park and SBC Park, is a pitchers' park. The longest at Candlestick Park, also a pitcher's park due to the wind turning long fly balls into popups, isn't clear. It may have been a 500-or-so-foot shot by Willie McCovey in 1966.

In the 17 seasons since the park opened, there have been 70 "Splash Hits" into McCovey Cove by Giants players, and 31 by the opposition. Barry Bonds did it 35 times. Best among (apparently) honest men is Pablo Sandoval with 7. Adam LaRoche, Ryan Klesko and former Met Carlos Delgado lead opposing players with 3.

The park was borrowed by the University of California football team in 2011, while Memorial Stadium in Berkeley was being rebuilt. It hosted a 2006 game by the U.S. national soccer team, a win over Japan.
The Coke Bottle, with the Glove,
and the Bay Bridge in the background,
makes for a neat segue into "Food."

Food. San Francisco, due to being a waterfront city and a transportation and freight hub, has a reputation as one of America's best food cities. The ballpark benefits from this.

The Giants' signature food item, going back to Candlestick, is Gilroy Garlic Fries, available all over the park. They have the regionally-themed California Cookout at Sections 107 and 315, and the Cable Car Bar at 114, 143 and 318. You can reactivate your New York appetite with Hebrew National hot dogs at 112.

The Giants also get cute: They have a stand just for clam chowder at Section 110, a Chinese stand called Edsel Ford Fong at 118, Japanese at Mashi's Sushi Bistro at 210, a Cognac Bar and a Long Taters Baked Potato at 232, and a seafood stand called Crazy Crab'z in center field. A recent Thrillist
article on the best food at each major league ballpark said that the best thing to eat at AT&T Park is the crab sandwich at Crazy Crab'z.

Like Boog Powell in Baltimore, Greg Luzinski in Philadelphia, Luis Tiant in Boston, Gorman Thomas in Milwaukee and Randy Jones in San Diego, the Giants have a barbecue stand with a legendary player's name on it. In fact, they have two. One is Orlando's Caribbean BBQ, at 142 and 315, and the other is McCovey's 44 BBQ, in center field.

Unlike most of those, the star in question does not oversee operations at the stand and shake hands with visitors: Orlando Cepeda entrusts the cooking and management to others, while a bad back and countless knee surgeries (seriously: He says he's lost count, but it's at least 12) have confined McCovey to a wheelchair. He's not unhealthy, but it's difficult for him to get around. There's also Say Hey! Sausage Specialties, named for Mays' signature expression, at 127 and 320.

Team History Displays. The Giants have displays of their 2010, 2012 and 2014 World Championships on the left field wall. They also have baseball-shaped stanchions with their retired numbers, near the left field corner at the bottom of the upper deck.
From the San Francisco era, these include: Center fielder Mays (24, 1951-72), 1st basemen-outfielders McCovey (44, 1959-80) and Cepeda (30, 1958-66), and pitchers Juan Marichal (27, 1960-73) and Gaylord Perry (36, 1962-71).

From the New York era, they are: Mays, 1st baseman Bill Terry (3, 1923-36, manager 1932-41), right fielder Mel Ott (4, 1926-45, manager 1941-48), pitcher Carl Hubbell (11, 1928-43), left fielder Monte Irvin (20, 1949-55), and two figures from the pre-uniform number era, for whom the letters "NY" for "New York" stand in for their numbers: Manager John McGraw (1902-32) and pitcher Christy Mathewson (1900-16).
All of these are Hall-of-Famers. They also honor Hall of Fame broadcasters Russ Hodges, Lon Simmons and Jon Miller with representations of old-style microphones. The Number 25 worn by father and son, Bobby Bonds (right field, 1969-74) and Barry Bonds (left field, 1993-2007), has been removed from circulation, but not retired.

McGraw, Mathewson, Hall of Fame right fielder Ross Youngs (1917-26, died of kidney disease the next year) and infielder Eddie Grant (1913-15), who was killed in combat in World War I, were honored with plaques or, in Grant's case, a monument on the field at the Polo Grounds. Also so honored were a pair of football Giants killed in World War II, Al Blozis and Jack Lummus; and State Senator and Mayor Jimmy "Beau James" Walker.

Why Walker, rather than the much more accomplished and far less scandalous Fiorello LaGuardia? Well, LaGuardia was a Yankee Fan, Walker a Giant fan. Walker was deeply involved with New York sports, at one point running the State boxing commission while he was also a State Senator, and was one of the few people to manage to become a friend of both McGraw and Babe Ruth. Supposedly, it was a scolding from Walker at a postseason banquet in 1922 that got Ruth to curtail his carousing and get in shape, leading to the Yankees winning the 1923 World Series. So if you're a Met fan, that's a better reason to hate Walker than his corruption and womanizing.

After the last Giants game at the Polo Grounds on September 29, 1957, the plaque on Grant's monument was removed. A photo taken of 4 Mets before the team's 1st game at the old stadium, on April 13, 1962, shows the marble slab, but no plaque on it. It's not certain what happened to the plaque; the most notable claim to it has been debunked.

Some people thought the Giants were under "The Curse of Captain Eddie," saying that, as long as Grant's plaque was not restored at the Giants' ballpark, they would not win another World Series. A replica was put up at AT&T Park in 2006, and the Giants won 3 World Series in the following 9 seasons. Make of that what you will.
Outside the King Street/Willie Mays Plaza (3rd base) side of the park are plaques honoring the members of the San Francisco Giants Wall of Fame. It includes:

* Infielders: Cepeda, McCovey, Jim Davenport, Jim Ray Hart, Johnnie LeMaster, Jack Clark, Chris Speier, Darrell Evans, Will Clark (no relation to Jack), Robby Thompson, Matt Williams, Jeff Kent, J.T. Snow and Rich Aurilia.

* Outfielders: Mays, both Bonds, Felipe Alou, Tito Fuentes, Jeffrey Leonard, Chili Davis, 1986 Met Kevin Mitchell and Marvin Benard.

* Catchers: Tom Haller, Dick Dietz, Bob Brenly and Kurt Manwaring.

* Pitchers: Marichal, Perry, Mike McCormick, Bob Bolin, Stu Miller, Vida Blue (better known from across the Bay in Oakland), John Montefusco, Randy Moffitt (tennis legend Billie Jean King's brother), Greg Minton, Mike Krukow (now a broadcaster), Gary Lavelle, Jim Barr, Atlee Hammaker, Rick Reuschel, Rod Beck, Scott Garrelts, Jeff Brantley, Robb Nen, John Burkett, Kirk Reuter, Shawn Estes and Jason Schmidt.

There are 5 statues outside the park: Mays', at the front entrance; McCovey's, in the right field corner by the Cove; Cepeda's, at the corner of 2nd & King; Marichal's, at the Lefty O'Doul Gate at the right field corner; and one of a seal, in center field, honoring the former Pacific Coast League team, the San Francisco Seals.
The gate is named for Francis Joseph O'Doul, a San Francisco native who played with the Seals as a pitcher, but couldn't make it in the majors, pitching for the Yankees from 1919 to 1922 and the Red Sox in 1923, before heading back to the minors and reinventing himself as an outfielder. He came back to the majors with the Giants in 1928, then starred with the Phillies, Dodgers, and back with the Giants, whom he helped win the 1933 World Series.
The O'Doul Gate, with Marichal's statue

He won 2 batting titles, and played in the 1st All-Star Game in 1933. His lifetime batting average is a smoking .349. From 1937 to 1951, he managed the Seals, winning 4 straight Pennants, 1943-46. In spite of his achievements, he has not been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York -- though he should be.

He opened Lefty O'Doul's Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge, which I will describe in "After the Game," one of the all-time greatest sports bars & restaurants. Legend has it that O'Doul invented -- no, not non-alcoholic beer -- the Bloody Mary. (This is almost certainly untrue.) A bridge near AT&T Park is named the Lefty O'Doul Bridge.

The Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame (BASHOF) is unusual in that its exhibits are spread over several locations, including AT&T Park. The ones honored there, on the walls of the Park's concourse, are Mays, Marichal, McCovey, Cepeda and Blue -- even though Blue is better known with the A's.

This is flipped, as Frank Robinson and Bill Rigney, both of whom managed the Giants in San Francisco -- Robinson, the first black manager in each league, becoming so the first in the NL with the Giants; and Rigney, the manager at the time of the move -- were Oakland natives and are thus honored with plaques at the Oakland Coliseum. Will Clark's plaque is at San Francisco International Airport. Perry has been elected, but no plaque has yet been dedicated.

Also elected: O'Doul; Barry Bonds, but not Bobby; New York Giants shortstop and Alameda native Dick Bartell; New York Giants catcher and Oakland native Ernie Lombardi; Oakland native Joe Morgan, who played for both Bay Area teams; San Francisco native and Yankee Hall-of-Famer Tony Lazzeri; Will Clark; Jeff Kent; manager Dusty Baker; San Jose native, pitching coach and former Yankee pitcher Dave Righetti; and owners Bob Lurie (who saved the Giants from being moved to Toronto in 1976) and Peter Magowan (who saved them from being moved to Tampa Bay by Lurie in 1992).

When the 1st All-Star Game was played in 1933, New York Giants Terry, Hubbell, O'Doul and Hal Schumacher (known as Prince Hal to Hubbell's King Carl) were named to the National League team. Mathewson and Mays were named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999. That same year, they, Terry, Ott, Hubbell, Marichal, Perry, McCovey, Bonds and 1920s New York 2nd baseman Frankie Frisch were named to The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Baseball Players. And Giant fans selected Mays in the poll for DHL Hometown Heroes in 2006.

Stuff. The Giants have team stores at Willie Mays Plaza, at the Marina Gate at center field, and at Sections 28, 134 and 315. They also have several Dugout Stores: At AT&T Park, at the Embarcadero, at Union Square, in Palo Alto, and in a few other places.

Having a fascinating (if occasionally controversial) history, even if you only count the San Francisco years, the Giants have had several books written about them, although these books don’t always put the team in a good light.

Giant broadcasters Andrew Baggerly and Duane Kuiper (you may remember him as a weak-hitting 2nd baseman for the Giants and Cleveland Indians) wrote A Band of Misfits: Tales of the 2010 San Francisco Giants (with the "SF" in Misfits" in alternating color with the rest of the title, to point out the city's initials). Brian Murphy wrote a Golden Anniversary tribute to the team: San Francisco Giants: 50 Years, in 2008.

There are 2 books that detail the 1962 Giant-Dodger Pennant race, culminating in a Playoff that echoed the one across the country in 1951: Chasing October by David Plaut, and A Tale of Three Cities: The 1962 Baseball Season in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco by Steven Travers. This book is also recommended for Met fans wanting to understand their team's beginnings. (If you don't want to understand them, that's understandable.) Be warned, however, that, despite the Giants having beaten the Dodgers in 1962, Travers' book is heavily pro-Los Angeles, mercilessly insulting San Francisco for its longstanding liberal politics and permissiveness. (As if L.A. isn't a liberal city, although those who've had to deal with its police force would say stuff like Hollywood, the Sunset Strip, Venice Beach and South Central mask a cruel lean toward fascism.)

I have often remarked that, for fans who aren't old enough to remember it, the New York era of the Giants revolves around 2 games: Game 3 of the 1951 NL Playoff against the Dodgers, and Game 1 of the 1954 World Series. In other words, we think of the New York Giants as having just 3 moments: Bobby Thomson's home run, Willie Mays' catch, and Dusty Rhodes' walkoff pinch-hit homer -- and even Rhodes' homer sometimes gets lost in he discussion of Mays' catch 2 innings earlier.

The reason for this is twofold: The Giants' great moments before that seemed to stop with the 1937 Pennant (the 3rd they won in a 5-year stretch), and you rarely see moments from before the Baby Boom era on television (except maybe on PBS and the History Channel); and no one ever wrote a Boys of Summer for the 1950s New York Giants, the way Roger Kahn did for the final years of the Brooklyn period of the Dodgers.

Kahn's Dodger book came out in 1972, as those Dodgers were in their late 40s and early 50s, and starting to die (within a year of its publication, both Gil Hodges and Jackie Robinson would fall to heart attacks). There have been some good books about Willie Mays, and Leo Durocher published his self-serving if fascinating memoir Nice Guys Finish Last in 1975; but nobody published a loving, Kahnesque memoir about them. And it's not like there weren't candidates: George Plimpton was a Giant fan, and so was Roger Angell, who has written beautifully about baseball, including a heartrending essay on the final Giants game at the Polo Grounds in 1957.

The best book about the New York Giants is The Giants of the Polo Grounds, by Noel Hynd -- and that didn't come out until 1988; by that point, the team had been gone for 30 years, most of the big names of the club were either approaching or past age 60 (or dead), and the Dodgers had "won the historical argument": No matter how good the 1951-54 Giants were, or how good at integration they were (bringing in several black players before the Yankees did), they were doomed, by the Yankees' dynastic achievements, the fawning over the 1941-56 Dodgers, and the historical significance of the Dodgers' Jackie Robinson, to be New York's 3rd team, even though they were the 1st team almost continuously from 1902 to 1937. But I do recommend the Hynd book, if only to see just how good these guys were.

The Giants have DVD collections for their 2010 and 2012 World Championships, and a DVD of Matt Cain's recent perfect game. They also have a DVD of the official highlight film of the one World Series they won between 1943 (the start of official World Series highlight films) and 2010: 1954, the one sparked by Game 1, with Mays' catch and Rhodes' walkoff. As yet, there is no Essential Games of the San Francisco Giants or Essential Games of Candlestick Park (or AT&T Park) DVD collection.

During the Game. A recent Thrillist article on "Baseball's Most Intolerable Fans" ranked Giants fans 6th -- 2 places less tolerable than Met fans, but 2 more tolerable than Yankee Fans. It cites "tech dudes wearing VIP lanyards, fired up because their tech sales team is being taken out by another tech sales team" and "lots of real, old-school, crusty-as-bread-bowl fans who have that eclectic SF weird-as-hell unpredictability in their eyes."

This is a similar mix to what you find at 49ers games, less so now in Santa Clara than when they were still playing at Candlestick Park, with rich guys from Marin County and the Peninsula having tailgate parties with the products from the nearby California Wine County and, yes, actual candlesticks, mixed with the blue-collar guys who fit in better with bigoted fireman-turned-Supervisor Dan White than with the guys he killed at City Hall in 1978, Mayor George Moscone and openly gay Supervisor Harvey Milk.

Giant fans have a rough reputation. This is mainly due to the Pacific Coast's largest media center being Los Angeles, and full of Dodger fans, who hate the Giants. All those years of frustration (52 years, just 3 Pennants, and no World Series wins), combined with the subsequent success (3 World Series wins in 5 years), plus the cool ballpark, plus the nasty regional rivalry, gives the Giants and their fans sort of the atmosphere of being "the Red Sox of the National League." (Phillies fans might dispute that. So might Cubs fans, except they haven't had the recent success of the Jints or the Phils.)

Giant fans don't particularly like the Mets, but you're not Dodger fans. Don't provoke them, and they almost certainly will not fight you. Unless you're wearing Dodger Blue, they'll be all mouth. Plenty of mouth, to be sure, but that will be it.

The Barry Bonds era is over. The cloud that hung over the facility that was born as Pacific Bell Park in 2000, became SBC Park and now AT&T Park -- the one that made Giant fans say, "We know he's cheating, but he's our cheat, and we have to defend him" -- is gone.

They happy-go-lucky team of 2010 totally changed the atmosphere. No longer are they a franchise whose biggest active star is a suspected crook and a surly churl. No longer are they a franchise that has never won a World Championship in its current city. No longer are they a team with a fan base that has to be jealous of the more successful (at least, in total) franchise across the Bay, or the one down the Coast in L.A. And no longer does the malefactory spirit of Candlestick infect them. They are now survivors of what they call "torture" (which is different from Dick Cheney's definition -- or Keith Olbermann's). If not quite the hippies that San Francisco became known for in the 1960s -- or the beatniks of the 1950s -- they do have the leftover cool that those groups gave that city.

The Thursday night game is Jerry Garcia Tribute Night, honoring the leader of the Grateful Dead, who, along with bandmates Bob Weir and Bill Kreutzmann, sang the National Anthem at Candlestick on Opening Day 1993. The Saturday game has a giveaway, a 2-for-1 flight voucher from Virgin America. The Sunday game is Tote Bag Day and Boy Scouts Day.

This season, the Giants are wearing memorial patches on their sleeves, with a Number 12 for Jim Davenport and a Number 20 for Monte Irvin, both of whom died this winter.

In 1984, the Giants had a weird-looking thing called the Crazy Crab, and it was perhaps the most hated mascot in baseball history. It was abandoned after a year, and they wanted until 1997 to establish another mascot, Lou Seal (based on "Lucille," B.B. King's guitar, and the old San Francisco Seals). Lou has proved much more popular.

The Giants hold auditions for National Anthem singers, rather than having a regular. They don't have a special song played after “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at the 7th Inning Stretch, but in the middle of the 8th, they play "Lights" by Journey, and occasionally play that band's most famous song, "Don't Stop Believin'" -- lead singer Steve Perry is a big Giant fan, and accepted an invitation to participate in their 2010 World Series victory parade. After the game, they play Tony Bennett's legendary version of "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."

After the Game. AT&T Park is in the China Basin section of town, and should be safe. There are plenty of places in San Francisco to get a postgame meal, or even just a pint. The aforementioned Lefty O'Doul's is at 333 Geary Street, corner of Powell Street, just 3 blocks from the Powell Street BART station and right on a cable car line.

San Francisco native Joe DiMaggio had a restaurant with his name on it at 601 Union Street at Stockton Street, but it closed in 2007, and has been replaced by a relocated version of another San Fran institution, Original Joe's. A park named for DiMaggio is 4 blocks away, at Powell & Greenwich.

There are two bars in the Lower Nob Hill neighborhood of San Francisco that are worth mentioning. Aces Bar, at 998 Sutter Street & Hyde Street in San Francisco's Lower Nob Hill neighborhood, is said to have a Yankee sign out front and a Yankee Fan as the main bartender, and to also be friendly to Giants, Knicks and Rangers fans; whether they will welcome Met fans, I do not know.

R Bar, at 1176 Sutter & Polk Street, is the official local Jets fan hangout, and maybe be more accommodating to 7 Liners. The Wreck Room, at 1390 California Street at Hyde Street, is also said to be a place for Jet fans. And Greens Sports Bar, at 2239 Polk at Green Street, is also said to be a Yankee-friendly bar. 

The Kezar Pub is rated by many as the best sports bar in San Francisco. It's at 770 Stanyan Street, at Waller Street, in the Haight-Ashbury, across from Golden Gate Park and the new version of the stadium from whence comes its name. Number 7 bus.

Sidelights. The San Francisco Bay Area, including the East Bay (which includes Oakland), has a very rich sports history. Here are some of the highlights, aside from the Giants' park:

* Seals Stadium. Home of the PCL's San Francisco Seals from 1931 to 1957, the Mission Reds from 1931 to 1937, and the Giants in 1958 and '59, it was the first home professional field of the DiMaggio brothers: First Vince, then Joe, and finally Dom all played for the Seals in the 1930s.
The Seals won Pennants there in 1931, '35, '43, '44, '45, '46 and '57 (their last season; they also won 7 Pennants before the park opened, between 1909 and 1928). It seated just 18,500, expanded to 22,900 for the Giants, and was never going to be more than a stopgap facility until the Giants’ larger park could be built. It was demolished right after the 1959 season, and the site now has a Safeway grocery store.

Bryant Street, 16th Street, Potrero Avenue and Alameda Street, in the Mission District. Hard to reach by public transport: The Number 10 bus goes down Townsend Street and Rhode Island Avenue until reaching 16th, but then it’s an 8-block walk. The Number 27 can be picked up at 5th & Harrison Streets, and will go right there.

* Candlestick Park. Home of the Giants from 1960 to 1999, the NFL 49ers since 1970, and the Raiders in the 1961 season, this may be the most-maligned sports facility in North American history. Its seaside location (Candlestick Point) has led to spectators being stricken by wind (a.k.a. The Hawk), cold, and even fog.
It was open to the Bay until 1971, including the 1962 World Series between the Yankees and the Giants, and was then enclosed to expand it from 42,000 to 69,000 seats for the Niners. It also got artificial turf for the 1970 season, one of the first stadiums to have it – though, to the city’s credit, it was also the 1st NFL stadium and the 2nd MLB stadium (after Comiskey Park in Chicago) to switch back to real grass.
The Giants only won 2 Pennants there, and never a World Series. But the 49ers won 5 Super Bowls while playing there, with 3 of their 6 NFC Championship Games won as the home team. The NFL Giants did beat the 49ers there in the 1990 NFC Championship Game, scoring no touchdowns but winning 15-13 thanks to 5 Matt Bahr field goals.

The Beatles played their last "real concert" ever at the 'Stick on August 29, 1966 – only 25,000 people came out, a total probably driven down by the stadium’s reputation and John Lennon’s comments about religion on that tour. The Giants got out, and the 49ers have now done the same, with Levi's Stadium ready for the 2014 season.

The U.S. national soccer team played their 4th and final match there in 2014, a win over Azerbaijan. MLS' San Jose Earthquakes are scheduled to do so on July 27, which will probably end up being the last sporting event. On July 12, nearly 30 years after their Super Bowl XIX matchup, legendary quarterbacks Joe Montana of the 49ers and Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins led teams in a flag football game there, with the proceeds going to charity. And Paul McCartney, having played its first concert with the Beatles 48 years earlier, played its last concert on August 14, the last scheduled show before the place was demolished.

The best way by public transport isn't a good one: The KT light rail at 4th & King Streets, at the CalTrain terminal, to 3rd & Gilman Streets, and then it’s almost a mile's walk down Jagerson Avenue. So unless you're driving/renting a car, or you’re a sports history buff who has to see the place, I wouldn't blame you if you crossed it off the list.

* Emeryville Park. Also known as Oaks Park, this was the home of the PCL's Oakland Oaks from 1913 until 1955. The Oaks won Pennants there in 1927, '48, '50 and '54. Most notable of these was the 1948 Pennant, won by a group of players who had nearly all played in the majors and were considered old, and were known as the Nine Old Men (a name often given to the U.S. Supreme Court).

These old men included former Yankee 1st baseman Nick Etten, the previous year's World Series hero Cookie Lavagetto of the Brooklyn Dodgers (an Oakland native), Hall of Fame catcher Ernie Lombardi (another Oakland native), and one very young player, a 20-year-old 2nd baseman from Berkeley named Billy Martin. Their manager? Casey Stengel. Impressed by Casey's feat, and by his managing of the minor-league Milwaukee Brewers to a Pennant, Yankee owners Dan Topping and Del Webb hired Casey to manage the Bronx Bombers in 1949. Upon leaving Oakland, Casey told Billy that if he ever got the chance to bring him east, he would, and he was as good as his word.

Pixar Studios has built property on the site. 45th Street, San Pablo Avenue, Park Avenue and Watts Street, Emeryville, near the Amtrak station. Number 72 bus from Jack London Square.

* Oakland Coliseum complex. The Raiders played at the Coliseum from 1966 to 1981, and have done so again since 1995. The A's have played there since 1968, although they are looking to get out. The Coliseum has also hosted 3 games of the U.S. national soccer team, all wins, most recently over China in 2001.

The Warriors have played most of their home games since 1971 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. You don't have to know what those buildings are called now; they're "the Coliseum" and "the Coliseum Arena." It's worth noting that Elvis Presley sang at the Coliseum Arena on November 10, 1970 and November 11, 1972.

It’s also worth noting that the Warriors have put together a plan to leave the Arena and move into a new arena, the Chase Center, on the San Francisco waterfront, 4 blocks from the Giants’ ballpark, for the 2019-20 season, 48 years after they last played on that side of the Bay. It's just as well: The Warriors are one of the most underachieving franchises in professional sports. Despite great support from a metro area that loves its basketball, they've won only 2 NBA Title since leaving Philadelphia half a century ago, pulling off a famous upset of the Washington Bullets in 1975; and didn’t even reached the Conference Finals for another 40 years, before winning the title in 2015 -- and then choked away a 3-games-to-1 lead in this year's Finals. (Whether they'll keep the "Golden State Warriors" name they've had since 1971, or go back to "San Francisco Warriors" as they were from 1962 to 1971, I don't know.) Coliseum stop on BART.

* Kezar Stadium. The 49ers played here from their 1946 founding until 1970, the Raiders spent their inaugural 1960 season here, and previous pro teams in the city also played at this facility at the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park, a mere 10-minute walk from the fabled corner of Haight & Ashbury Streets.

High school football, including the annual City Championship played on Thanksgiving Day, used to be held here as well. Bob St. Clair, who played there in high school, college (University of San Francisco) and the NFL in a Hall of Fame career with the 49ers, compared it to Chicago's Wrigley Field as a "neighborhood stadium." After the 49ers left, it became a major concert venue.

The original 60,000-seat structure was built in 1925, and was torn down in 1989 (before the earthquake, so there’s no way to know what the quake would have done to it), and was replaced in 1990 with a 9,000-seat stadium, much more suitable for high school sports. The original Kezar, named for one of the city’s pioneering families, had a cameo in the Clint Eastwood film Dirty Harry. Frederick & Stanyan Streets, Kezar Drive and Arguello Blvd. MUNI light rail N train.

* Frank Youell Field. This was another stopgap facility, used by the Raiders from 1962 to 1965, a 22,000-seat stadium that was named after an Oakland undertaker – perhaps fitting, although the Raiders didn't yet have their deathly serious image. Interestingly from a New York perspective, the first game here was between the Raiders and the forerunners of the Jets, the New York Titans.

It was demolished in 1969. A new field of the same name was built on the site for Laney College. East 8th Street, 5th Avenue, East 10th Street and the Oakland Estuary. Lake Merritt BART station.

* Cow Palace. The more familiar name of the Grand National Livestock Pavilion, this big barn just south of the City Line in Daly City has hosted just about everything, from livestock shows and rodeos to the 1956 and 1964 Republican National Conventions, nominating Dwight D. Eisenhower and Barry Goldwater, respectively. (Yes, the Republicans came here, not the "hippie" Democrats, although they did hold their 1984 Convention downtown at the George Moscone Convention Center, 747 Howard Street at 4th Street, nominating Walter Mondale.)

The 1964 Republican Convention is where New York’s Governor Nelson Rockefeller refused to be booed off the podium when he dared to speak out against the John Birch Society, the Tea Party idiots of their time. When Senator Goldwater, buoyed by the Birchers and other conservative activists, made his speech accepting the Presidential nomination, he told the delegates and the people in the stands, "I would remind you, my fellow Republicans, that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And I would remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." (Personally, I think that extremism in the defense of liberty is no defense of liberty.)

Built in 1941, the Cow Palce is one of the oldest former NBA and NHL sites still standing, having hosted the NBA’s Warriors from 1962 to '71, the NHL’s San Jose Sharks from 1991 to '93 until their current arena could open, and several minor-league hockey teams. The 1960 NCAA Final Four was held here, the only one to date held in the Bay Area, culminating in Ohio State, led by Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek (with future coaching legend Bobby Knight as the 6th man) beating local heroes and defending National Champions California, led by Darrell Imhoff.

The Beatles played here on August 19, 1964 and August 31, 1965, and Elvis sang here on November 13, 1970 and November 28 & 29, 1976. It was the site of Neil Young's 1978 concert that produced the live album Live Rust and the concert film Rust Never Sleeps, and the 1986 Conspiracy of Hope benefit with Joan Baez, Lou Reed, Sting and U2. The acoustics of the place, and the loss of such legendary venues as the Fillmore West and the Winterland Ballroom, make it the Bay Area's holiest active rock and roll site. 2600 Geneva Avenue at Santos Street, in Daly City. 8X bus.

In addition to the preceding, Elvis sang at the Auditorium Arena (now the Kaiser Convention Center, near the Laney College campus in Oakland) early in his career, on June 3, 1956 and again on October 27, 1957; and the San Francisco Civic Auditorium (now the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, 99 Grove Street at Polk Street) on October 26, 1957. This is also where the 1920 Democratic Convention was held, nominating James M. Cox, who lost to Warren Harding.

* SAP Center at San Jose. Formerly named the San Jose Arena and the HP Pavilion, this building has hosted the NHL's San Jose Sharks since 1993. If you're a fan of the TV show The West Wing, this was the convention center where the ticket of Matt Santos and Leo McGarry was nominated. 525 W. Santa Clara Street at Autumn Street, across from the Amtrak & CalTrain station.

* Spartan Stadium. Home to San Jose State University sports since 1933, it hosted both the old San Jose Earthquakes, of the original North American Soccer League, from 1974 to 1984; and the new version, of Major League Soccer, from 1996 to 2005. It's hosted 3 games of the U.S. national team, most recently a 2007 loss to China, and games of the 1999 Women's World Cup.

1251 S. 10th Street, San Jose. San Jose Municipal Stadium, home of the Triple-A San Jose Giants, is a block away at 588 E. Alma Avenue. From either downtown San Francisco or downtown Oakland, take BART to Fremont terminal, then 181 bus to 2nd & Santa Clara, then 68 bus to Monterey & Alma.

* Levi's Stadium. The 49ers moved into this suburban stadium in 2014, and the legendary San Fran-based clothing company Levi Strauss has bought the naming rights. It was quickly nicknamed the "Field of Jeans."

It annually hosts the Pacific-12 Conference Championship Game, and hosted Super Bowl L (50) earlier this year. The Sharks hosted an NHL Stadium Series outdoor game there in 2015, losing 2-1 to their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Kings. It hosts 1 match per year for MLS' San Jose Earthquakes, and has hosted games of the 2016 Copa America, including the U.S.' loss to Colombia and Chile's 7-0 Quarterfinal demolition of Mexico; and club teams Manchester United, Liverpool, Barcelona and AC Milan.

The 49ers have made the official address 4900 Marie P. DeBartolo Way, in memory of the mother of current 49ers owner Denise DeBartolo York and former owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. -- and widow of former Pittsburgh Penguins owner Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. The original address was 4701 Great America Parkway, at Old Glory Lane, in Santa Clara, next to California's Great America park, outside San Jose. ACE (Altamont Commuter Express) to Great America-Santa Clara, with San Jose residents being able to reach the same station via VTA Light Rail.

* Stanford Stadium. The home field of Stanford University in Palo Alto, down the Peninsula from San Francisco, was first built in 1921. It was home to many great quarterbacks, from early 49ers signal-caller Frankie Albert to 1971 Heisman winner Jim Plunkett to John Elway. It hosted Super Bowl XIX in 1985, won by the 49ers over the Miami Dolphins – 1 of only 2 Super Bowls that ended up having had a team that could have been called a home team. (The other was XIV, the Los Angeles Rams losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Rose Bowl.)

It also hosted San Francisco's games of the 1994 World Cup, a game of the 1999 Women's World Cup, and the soccer games of the 1984 Olympics, even though most of the events of those Olympics were down the coast in Los Angeles. It's hosted 10 games by the U.S. national team.

The original 85,000-seat structure was demolished and replaced with a new 50,000-seat stadium in 2006. Arboretum Road & Galvez Street & Nelson Road. Caltrain to Palo Alto. Maples Pavilion is right around the corner, at Galvez & Campus Drive. Stanford won college basketball's National Championship in 1942, but didn't get back to the Final Four until 1998.

* California Memorial Stadium. Home of Stanford’s arch-rivals, the University of California, at its main campus in Berkeley in the East Bay. (The school is generally known as "Cal" for sports and "Berkeley" for most other purposes.) Its location in the Berkeley Hills makes it one of the nicest settings in college football. But it's also, quite literally, on the Hayward Fault, a branch of the San Andreas Fault, so if "The Big One" had hit during a Cal home game, 72,000 people would have been screwed, if not all killed. With this in mind, the University renovated the stadium in time for the 2012 season, making it earthquake-safe and ready for 63,000 fans.

The old stadium hosted one NFL game, and it was a very notable one: Due to a scheduling conflict with the A's, the Raiders played a 1973 game there with the Miami Dolphins, and ended the Dolphins' winning streak that included the entire 1972 season and Super Bowl VII. 76 Canyon Road, Berkeley. Downtown Berkeley stop on BART.

Haas Pavilion, formerly Harmon Gym and named for former A's owner Walter Haas, is a 12-minute walk from the stadium, at Bancroft Way & Dana Street. Cal reached the Final Four in 1946, won the National Championship with Darrell Imhoff in 1959, and reached the Final again in 1960.

The University of San Francisco won the National Championship with Bill Russell and K.C. Jones in 1955 and '56, and reached the Final Four again in '57. Santa Clara University reached the Final Four in 1952.

Joe DiMaggio, who grew up in San Francisco and later divided his time between there and South Florida, is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, on the Peninsula. 1500 Mission Road & Lawndale Blvd. BART to South San Francisco, then about a 1-mile walk.

The Fillmore Auditorium was at Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard, and it still stands and hosts live music, if not legendary concerts the way it did in the Sixties and early Seventies. Bus 38L. Winterland Ballroom, home of the final concerts of The Band on Thanksgiving Night 1976 (filmed as The Last Waltz) and the Sex Pistols in January 1978, was around the corner from the Fillmore at Post & Steiner Streets. And the legendary corner of Haight & Ashbury Streets can be reached via the 30 Bus, taking it to Haight and Masonic Avenue and walking 1 block west.

San Francisco, like New York, has a Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), at 151 3rd Street, downtown. The California Palace of the Legion of Honor is probably the city's most famous museum, in Lincoln Park at the northwestern corner of the city, near the Presidio and the Golden Gate Bridge. 100 34th Avenue. Number 38 bus. For those of you who are Trekkies, the Presidio is a now-closed military base that, in the Star Trek Universe, is the seat of Starfleet Command and Starfleet Academy.

The Palace of Fine Arts isn't just an art museum, it has a theater that hosted one of the 1976 Presidential Debates between Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter -- the one where Ford said, "There is no Soviet domination in Eastern Europe." 3301 Lyon Street. Bus 30.

And don't forget to take a ride on one of them cable cars I've been hearing so dang much about.

Oakland isn't much of a museum city, especially compared with San Francisco across the Bay. But the Oakland Museum of California (10th & Oak, Lake Merritt BART) and the Chabot Space & Science Center (10000 Skyline Blvd., not accessible by BART) may be worth a look.

The Transamerica Pyramid, at Montgomery & Washington Streets (with Columbus Avenue extending northwestward from it), went up in 1972, and is 853 feet high. It will remain the tallest building in Northern California until the Salesforce Tower is completed in 2017. The 1,070-foot tower is being built at 415 Mission Street between Mission & Fremont Streets at the Transbay Terminal. However, the Wilshire Grand Tower going up in Los Angeles is also scheduled to be finished in 2017, and will beat it out for the title of tallest building not just in California, but in North America west of Chicago.

Because of its picaresque setting, San Francisco has long been a setting for fiction: Books, movies, television shows. The car chase over the hills in Bullitt and the confrontation between Clint Eastwood and the Scorpio Killer in Dirty Harry are legendary -- and were based on the same man, SFPD Inspector Dave Toschi. (He's now 85 and runs a security service in San Francisco.)

The Golden Gate Bridge, carrying U.S. Route 101 north from the city to Marin County (and south, vice versa), is up there with Los Angeles' HOLLYWOOD sign as the West Coast's greatest icon. (Don't even think about Seattle's Space Needle being a contender.) Movies from The Graduate to
Star Trek IV (not to mention J.J. Abrams' perversions of the Trek mythos)  have used the big red bridge as a cultural marker.

The best-remembered movie set in old, pre-major league, San Francisco is The Maltese Falcon, John Huston's 1941 version of Dashiell Hammett's novel featuring Humphrey Bogart as private detective Sam Spade. According to the novel, Sam's office was at 111 Sutter Street, and the address does exist, at the corner of Montgomery Street: It's known as the Hunter-Dulin Building, and it still hosts commercial offices. Also downtown, in keeping with the fiction of the film, a plaque on a building on the corner of Burritt Alley and Bush Street reads, "On approximately this spot, Miles Archer, partner of Sam Spade, was done in by Brigid O'Shaughnessy." And, although Sam fell in love with Brigid, he was true to his word: In the end, he did not play the sap for her.

The Fan, about a fan's obsession with a Giants player, did some filming at Candlestick Park. So did Experiment In Terror, Freebie and the Bean, and Contagion.

Probably the most famous TV house in San Francisco is the one from the 1987-95 ABC sitcom Full House, and its new sequel series Fuller House. Unlike a lot of TV houses, it actually is in the city in which the show is based, rather than in or around Los Angeles, at 1709 Broderick Street at Pine Street. (But the show was taped in L.A.) On the show, the address was listed as 1882 Girard Street. Like a lot of TV show addresses, this address has a high last 2 digits, so that show fans won't find a real address and the actual house, and disturb the real-life owners. Girard Street does exist, on the city's southeast side, and if 1882 Girard existed, it would be at Wilde Avenue, accessible by the city's 8X bus. 1709 Broderick is in Pacific Heights, at Bush Street.

If you visit, though, remember that it's a private residence, so don't knock on the door and ask if anybody from the cast is home. As Stephanie Tanner (played by Jodie Sweetin) would say, "How rude!" And, as Michelle Tanner (either Mary-Kate or Ashley Olsen) would say, "You're in big trouble, Mister!" So, please, as Jesse Katsopolis (John Stamos) would say, "Have mercy."

*

So, if you can afford it, go on out and join your fellow Met Fans in going coast-to-coast, and enjoy the City By the Bay. Even if you don't accept the connection with the former New York franchise of the National League.

The 30 Members of the 3,000 Hit Club, In Perspective

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Congratulations to Ichiro Suzuki, who now has 3,000 hits in the American major leagues alone. He also had 1,278 hits in the Japanese leagues, giving him 4,278 -- more than U.S. record holder Pete Rose, although no one could be taken seriously in saying that Pete's record has been broken.

For the record, here's the 30 current members of the 3,000 Hit Club, in chronological order of when they reached it:

1. Adrian Constantine Anson, nicknamed "Anse,""Cap" and "Pop," Marshalltown, Iowa, 1852-1922, 1st baseman-manager, Chicago White Stockings (forerunner of the Cubs), off George Blackburn of the Baltimore Orioles (National League version), at West Side Park in Chicago, July 18, 1897.


Blackburn was signed by the Orioles that month, and was released before the month was out, never to appear in the major leagues again. In contrast, Anson played 27 years, and is still generally regarded as the greatest player of the 19th Century, despite his being one of the men responsible for the color barrier that stood from 1887 to 1947. He won National League Pennants with the proto-Cubs in 1876, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1885 and 1886.

Anson's career hit total, and thus the exact moment of his 3,000th hit, or even whether he got that far, is open to debate, due to changes in rules and record-keeping. The Sporting News, known as "The Bible of Baseball" before it took its focus off baseball and started covering other sports (and also auto racing, which is not a sport), says that Anson had 3,012 hits in his major league career, from 1876 to 1897, and Major League Baseball management accepts that aggressively-researched fact to be true. If this is correct, and if this is whose count you choose to accept, then the information I've cited above on his 3,000th hit is correct.

Some sources credit Anson's service in the 1st professional league, the National Association of 1871 to 1875, as "major league," but most sources don't. If you count his stats in that league, then he actually had 3,418 hits, and his 3,000th came a lot sooner. For a long time, The Baseball Encyclopedia (published by Macmillan Publishers and thus often called "The Macmillan Encyclopedia" or "Big Mac") cited him as having had 3,055, then took out 60 hits because of the 1887 season, the one season in MLB history in which walks were counted as hits, dropping him to 2,995 hits. The Baseball Hall of Fame, which relies on the Elias Sports Bureau, credits Anson with 3,081 hits.

All other players on this list (until Jeter) played all or most of their careers in the 20th Century, and all other players on this list have had any disputes as to their totals wiped away.

2. John Peter "Honus" Wagner, "the Flying Dutchman," Carnegie, Pennsylvania, 1874-1955, shortstop, Pittsburgh Pirates, off Erskine Mayer of the Philadelphia Phillies, at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia, June 9, 1914.


Finished with 3,415. If Anson's NA totals are not counted, then Wagner broke his record, and it was Wagner's record that Ty Cobb broke. Nearly a century after his last game, is still widely regarded as the greatest shortstop who ever lived. Led the Pirates to 4 Pennants and the 1909 World Series.

3. Napoleon "Nap" or "Larry" Lajoie (LAH-zhoh-way, apparently no middle name), Woonsocket, Rhode Island, 1874-1959, 2nd baseman-manager, Cleveland Naps (forerunners of the Indians, and yes they were named for him at the time), off Marty McHale of the New York Yankees, at the Polo Grounds in New York, September 27, 1914, the same season as Wagner.

Finished with 3,242. On the short list for the title of the greatest 2nd baseman of all time. However, he is the only member of the Club who never played on a Pennant winner, or even on a postseason team.

4. Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb, "the Georgia Peach," Royston, Georgia, 1886-1961, center fielder-manager, Detroit Tigers, off Elmer Myers of the St. Louis Browns, at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, August 15, 1921.


Had been credited with 4,191 hits, an all-time record until 1985, but research done after Pete Rose surpassed that figure shows that Cobb had 4,189. This is also why his lifetime batting average, so long cited as .367, is usually now listed as .366. Also previously held what were believed to be records for stolen bases in a season and in a career, and runs scored in a career. Those records are gone, but his lifetime batting average is still a record. Won 3 straight Pennants with the Tigers, in 1907, '08 and '09, but lost all 3 World Series, and never got into another.

When the 1st vote for the Baseball Hall of Fame was conducted in 1936, 5 men got at least 75 percent of the votes. Cobb got the most, making him, technically, the 1st member of the Hall of Fame. The others were, in order, Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson (actually tied the Babe in votes), Honus Wagner and Walter Johnson.

There isn't much surviving film of Cobb in his playing days, and even less of Wagner. This clip includes a few seconds of them together, at the 1909 World Series in Pittsburgh. (That's the Carnegie Library in the background. Forbes Field is gone, but the library is still there. The Pirates beat the Tigers in 7 games.) It also shows Cobb at the then-new original Yankee Stadium in the 1920s, before its triple decks were extended around the foul poles. It shows him at the 1st Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 1939, and playing golf with Ruth -- although they didn't like each other much while playing, they became friends afterward.

5. Tristram E. "Tris" Speaker (apparently the E was just an initial, not standing for anything), "the Grey Eagle," Hubbard, Texas, 1888-1958, center fielder-manager, Cleveland Indians (previously starred for the Boston Red Sox), off Tom Zachary of the Washington Senators, at League Park in Cleveland, May 17, 1925.


Finished with 3,514, although I've also seen 3,515 cited, so maybe there was a discrepancy as with Cobb. Regardless, he's one of only 5 guys with at least 3,500. He is also the all-time leader in doubles with 792 (earlier sources said 793), and was hailed as the greatest defensive outfielder of his time. Won the World Series with the 1912 and '15 Red Sox, and as player-manager of the 1920 Indians.

6. Edward Trowbridge "Eddie" Collins, Tarrytown, New York, 1887-1951, 2nd baseman, Chicago White Sox (previously starred for the Philadelphia Athletics), off Harry "Rip" Collins (no relation) of the Detroit Tigers, at Navin Field (Tiger Stadium) in Detroit, June 3, 1925, just 3 weeks after Speaker.


Finished with 3,315. Also a sensational baserunner and fielder, and on the short list for the title of greatest 2nd baseman ever. Won the World Series with the 1917 Chicago White Sox. Also on the White Sox who lost the 1919 World Series, but not implicated in the scandal. Also won the Series in 1910, '11 and '13 with the A's, and returned to them to win in 1929 and '30.

7. Paul Glee "Big Poison" Waner, Harrah, Oklahoma, 1903-1965, right fielder, Boston Braves (played most of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates), off former teammate Rip Sewell of the Pirates, at Braves Field in Boston, June 19, 1942.


Finished with 3,152. Yes, his middle name really was "Glee." And he and his brother-teammate Lloyd were referred to by a Brooklyn sportswriter as "A big person and a little person," hence Big Poison and Little Poison -- except Lloyd was actually taller. Won the 1927 National League Pennant with the Pirates. Number 11 retired. (Each of the preceding played before uniform numbers were worn, although Wagner wore 33 as a Pirate coach, and it was retired for him; while Collins wore 32 as an A's coach, and Speaker wore 43 as an Indians coach.)

8. Stanley Frank "Stan the Man" Musial, Donora, Pennsylvania, 1920-2013, 1st baseman (also played a lot of left field), St. Louis Cardinals, off Moe Drabowsky of the Chicago Cubs, at Wrigley Field in Chicago, May 13, 1958.


Stan was the 1st player to do it on television. Finished with 3,630 -- 1,815 in home games, 1,815 in away games, a stunning balance. Helped the Cardinals win the 1942, '44 and '46 World Series. Number 6 retired.

9. Henry Louis Aaron, "Hammerin' Hank" or "Bad Henry," Mobile, Alabama, born 1934, right fielder, Atlanta Braves, off Wayne Simpson of the Cincinnati Reds, at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, May 15, 1970.


Hank just edged Willie Mays by a few weeks to become the 1st player to have both 500 home runs and 3,000 hits. Finished with 3,771. This means that even if you took away all 755 of Hank's home runs, he still had over 3,000 hits (3,016). Number 44 retired by both the Braves and their successors in Milwaukee, the Brewers. I don't have footage of his 3,000th hit, but I do have footage of his 715th home run. Won the 1957 World Series with the Milwaukee Braves, winning the Pennant-clinching game (not the season finale) with an 11th-inning home run.

10. Willie Howard Mays Jr. (not "William"), "the Say Hey Kid," Fairfield, Alabama, born 1931, center fielder, San Francisco Giants, off Mike Wegener of the Montreal Expos, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, July 18, 1970.


Finished with 3,283. Number 24 retired officially by the Giants, and unofficially (with a couple of brief exceptions) by the Mets. Became the 2nd player, after Aaron, to have 500 homers and 3,000 hits. Won the 1954 World Series with the New York edition of the Giants, including his legendary catch that saved Game 1.

In case you're wondering about the other 2 great New York center fielders of the 1950s, Mickey Mantle had 2,415, and Duke Snider had 2,116. Joe DiMaggio, having missed 3 seasons due to World War II and retiring due to a heel injury at just 37 years old, finished with 2,214.

11. Roberto Clemente Walker (Hispanics put the mother's family name after the father's), "the Great One," Carolina, Puerto Rico, 1934-1972, right fielder, Pittsburgh Pirates, off Jon Matlack of the New York Mets, at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, September 30, 1972. He was the 1st to do it on artificial turf.


Supposedly (I cannot confirm this), he was told, as the 1972 season wound down, that it was no big deal if he didn't get Number 3,000 until the next season, and he said, "I have to get that hit this year. I might die." As it turned out, he was killed in a plane crash in the off-season, and finished his career with exactly 3,000 hitsThe announcer was Bob Prince, the legendary voice of the Pirates, pretty much the only player Roberto let call him "Bobby" instead of his proper given name.

Number 21 retired. Got hits in all 14 World Series games in which he played, winning in 1960 and 1971.

12. Albert William Kaline, Baltimore, Maryland, born 1934, right fielder, Detroit Tigers, off Dave McNally of the Baltimore Orioles, at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, September 24, 1974.


Finished with 3,007. Won the 1968 World Series with the Tigers. The most popular athlete in Detroit history, ahead of Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman, Doak Walker, Barry Sanders, Isiah Thomas, and way ahead of Cobb. Number 6 retired.

13. Peter Edward Rose Jr., "Charlie Hustle," Cincinnati, Ohio, born 1941, 3rd baseman (also played left field, right field, 2nd base and 1st base at various times in his career), Cincinnati Reds, off Steve Rogers of the Montreal Expos, at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, May 5, 1978.


Finished with 4,256. He and Cobb are the only ones with at least 4,000 hits. Still holds the major league career records for games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053), and hits... and also outs (9,797). Won the 1975 and '76 World Series with the Reds, and the 1980 World Series with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Scroll ahead to 2:35 on this clip for his 3,000th. And here's his 4,192nd -- now known not to be the record-breaker, but just trying finding a clip of his 4,190th. 

Aside from the not-yet-eligible Jeter and A-Rod, he and Palmeiro are the only men on this list who are not in the Hall of Fame. It's important to note that, even if Rose were reinstated from Major League Baseball's "permanently ineligible" list, it wouldn't guarantee his election to the Hall. Because of his ban, the Reds have not made the retirement of his Number 14 official, only giving it to 1 player since: Pete Rose Jr., a September callup with the Reds in 1997. Career major league hits: 2.

14. Louis Clark Brock, Collinston, Louisiana, born 1939, left fielder, St. Louis Cardinals, off Dennis Lamp (literally, a line shot off his hand) of the Chicago Cubs, at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, August 13, 1979.


Finished with 3,023. Once held the major league records, and still holds the NL records, for stolen bases in a season and in a career. Number 20 retired. Won the 1964 and '67 World Series with the Cardinals.

15. Carl Michael Yastrzemski Jr., "Yaz," Southampton (Long Island), New York, born 1939, left fielder (also played a bit of 1st base), Boston Red Sox, off Jim Beattie of the New York Yankees, at Fenway Park in Boston, September 12, 1979, a month after Brock did it.


Note that, due to missing 5 years in military service, Yaz's predecessor as Red Sox left fielder, Ted Williams, did not reach 3,000 hits, finishing with 2,654. Yaz finished with 3,419. Number 8 retired. Won the 1967 and '75 AL Pennants with the Red Sox, but his 3,308 regular-season games are not only the most any major league athlete has played with a single team, but the most that any major league athlete has played without winning a World Championship.

16. Rodney Cline Carew, New York City (though born in Panama), born 1945, 1st baseman, California Angels (2nd baseman for the Minnesota Twins for the first part of his career), off Frank Viola of the Minnesota Twins, at Anaheim Stadium, August 4, 1985.


Reached the milestone on the same day that Tom Seaver won his 300th game. A year earlier, Anaheim Stadium (now named Angel Stadium of Anaheim) hosted Reggie Jackson's 500th home run. Finished with 3,053. Number 29 retired by both the Twins and the Angels. Reached the Playoffs with the Twins in 1969 and '70, and with the Angels in 1979 and '82, but never won a Pennant.

17. Robin R. Yount (I can find no record of what the initial stands for), Woodland Hills, California, born 1955, shortstop (also played some center field), Milwaukee Brewers, off Jose Mesa of the Cleveland Indians, at Milwaukee County Stadium, September 9, 1992.


Finished with 3,142. Number 19 retired. Led the Brewers to their only Pennant, in 1982.

18. George Howard Brett, El Segundo, California, born 1953, 3rd baseman, Kansas City Royals, off Tim Fortugna of the California Angels, at Anaheim Stadium, September 30, 1992, 3 weeks after Yount did it.


Finished with 3,154. Number 5 retired. Won 1985 World Series. In fact, the Royals never even reached the Playoffs without him on the roster until 2014.

19. David Mark "Big Dave" Winfield, St. Paul, Minnesota, born 1951, left fielder (also played the other outfield positions), Minnesota Twins (spent his best years with the San Diego Padres and the New York Yankees), off Dennis Eckersley of the Oakland Athletics, at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, September 16, 1993.


The Eck is the only Hall of Fame pitcher to give up a 3,000th hit, and will remain so for the foreseeable future, although Justin Verlander has a shot at it. Winfield, the 1st player to do it with a team that could be called his hometown team, finished with 3,110. Number 31 retired by the Padres, but not the Yankees. Won 1981 AL Pennant with the Yankees, finally won a World Series in 1992 with the Toronto Blue Jays.

20. Eddie Clarence Murray (not "Edward"), Los Angeles, California, born 1956, 1st baseman, Cleveland Indians (had his best years with the Baltimore Orioles), off Mike Trombley of the Minnesota Twins, at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, June 30, 1995.


Finished with 3,255. The 3rd man, after Aaron and Mays, to hit 500 home runs and collect 3,000 hits. Won 1983 World Series with the Orioles, who retired his Number 33.

21. Paul Leo Molitor, "the Ignitor," St. Paul, Minnesota, born 1956, 3rd baseman, Minnesota Twins (had his best years with the Milwaukee Brewers), off Jose Rosado of the Kansas City Royals, at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, September 16, 1996.

Finished with 3,319: Not only are he and Yount the all-time leaders in hits by teammates (they got 4,736 while they were together on the Brewers from 1978 to 1992), but until surpassed by Jeter, Molitor had more career hits than any person born after 1941.

Number 4 retired by the Brewers. When he finally won a World Series with the 1993 Blue Jays, who already had Number 4 occupied, he wore Number 19, in honor of Yount. Like Winfield, did it with the Twins as a Minnesota-born player, although he didn't get the 3,000th at home like Winfield. 

22. Anthony Keith Gwynn Sr., Long Beach, California, 1960-2014, right fielder, San Diego Padres, off Dan Smith of the Montreal Expos, at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, August 6, 1999. The day before, Mark McGwire hit his 500th home run.

Finished with 3,141. He was the 1st to do it outside the United States, in Montreal. Won 1984 and 1998 NL Pennants with the Padres. Number 19 retired.

23. Wade Anthony Boggs, Tampa, Florida, born 1958, third baseman, Tampa Bay Devil Rays (had his best years with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees), off Chris Haney of the Cleveland Indians, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, August 7, 1999, the day after Gwynn did it.


Like Winfield and Molitor, he did it with his hometown team, albeit one that hadn't yet begun play until he was nearing the end of his career. A very unlikely player to be the 1st to hit a home run for his 3,000th hit. Finished with 3,010. Famously lost the 1986 World Series with the Red Sox, and equally (and equineally) won the 1996 World Series with the Yankees. Number 12 retired by the Rays.

24. Calvin Edward Ripken Jr., "the Iron Man," Havre de Grace, Maryland, born 1960, 3rd baseman (spent most of his career as a shortstop), Baltimore Orioles, off Hector Carrasco of the Minnesota Twins, at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, April 15, 2000.


Note that he was congratulated at 1st base by fellow Club member Murray. In case you're wondering about those other legendary Orioles, Brooks Robinson finished with 2,848, and Frank Robinson with 2,943. Like Murray, Molitor and Winfield, Frank Robinson has never really gotten he credit he deserves.

Cal finished with 3,184, and, until surpassed by Jeter, had the most hits of anyone born after 1956. Won 1983 World Series with the Orioles. Number 8 retired.

25. Rickey Henley Henderson, born Rickey Nelson Henley (not "Richard," but he was named after the singer whose real name was Eric Hilliard Nelson), Oakland, California, born 1958, left fielder, San Diego Padres (had his best years with the Oakland Athletics), of John Thomson of the Colorado Rockies, at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, October 7, 2001.


Finished with 3,055. Holds the records for stolen bases in a season and in a career, and for runs scored in a career. Won the World Series in 1989 with the A's and in 1993 with the Blue Jays. Number 24 retired by the A's.

26. Rafael Palmeiro Corrales, "Raffy," Miami Florida, born 1964 (in Havana, Cuba), 1st baseman, Baltimore Orioles, off Joel Piniero of the Seattle Mariners, at Safeco Field in Seattle, July 15, 2005.


The 4th man to have both 500 home runs and 3,000 hits, and the least legitimate. Had 3,020 hits when he was released by the Orioles following the public release of the fact that he had failed a steroid test -- thus proving that he had lied to Congress when he said he never used them -- and while he hasn't gone to jail for perjury, neither has he ever been employed in professional baseball again.

Reached the postseason with the Orioles in 1996 and '97, and the Texas Rangers in 1999 before returning to the O's.

27. Craig Alan Biggio, Kings Park (Long Island), New York, born 1965, 2nd baseman, Houston Astros, off Dan Cook of the Colorado Rockies, at Minute Maid Park in Houston, June 28, 2007.


Oddly, when he got Number 3,000, he was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double. Everyone gathered around 2nd base anyway. Finished with 3,060, and, until surpassed by Jeter, had the most hits of anyone born after 1960. Won 2005 NL Pennant with the Astros, reaching the Playoffs 6 times, but never won a World Series. Number 7 retired.

28. Derek Sanderson Jeter, lived in North Arlington, New Jersey until he was 4, and then grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan, born 1974, shortstop, New York Yankees, off David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays, at the new Yankee Stadium in New York, July 9, 2011.


The only man to do it in a game where he got 5 hits, and only the 2nd to do it with a home run -- and, since he wasn't really remembered as a power hitter, was at least as unlikely to do it as Boggs was.

Finished with 3,465, meaning he has the most hits of anyone born after 1941. He was the 5th player to do it for what could be called his hometown team. Amazingly, he was the 1st to do it in a Yankee uniform, and he got all of those hits in a Yankee uniform. Babe Ruth got 2,873, while Lou Gehrig got 2,721, which was a record in a Yankee uniform until Jeter surpassed it in 2009. Only Musial has more hits with only 1 team, and only Musial, Cobb and Aaron have more hits with any single team. Aaron is the only righthanded hitter with more hits. (Rose was a switch-hitter.)

Won World Series in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009. The Yankees haven't officially retired his Number 2, but who's kidding who?

29. Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez, born 1975 in New York City but grew up in Miami, Florida, 3rd baseman, New York Yankees (formerly shortstop with the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers), off Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers, at the new Yankee Stadium in New York, June 19, 2015.

Despite being born in Manhattan, has never really claimed New York as his hometown, preferring Miami. The 3rd player to do it with a home run, and all with ties to the Yankees. Even did it in Jeter's style, going to the opposite field (although Jeter, ironically, didn't do it that way).

The 5th player to have 500 homers and 3,000 hits, and the 3rd, after Aaron and Mays, to have 600 homers and 3,000 hits -- the milestone hit was his 667th home run. How many he'd have if he hadn't used performance-enhancing drugs -- or hadn't been caught, or if MLB had decided it wasn't worth pursuing -- is open to speculation. Love him or hate him, he'd got the home run and hit milestones. Going into his final game on Friday, he has 3,114 hits and 696 home runs.

Won World Series with Yankees in 2009, 1 of 12 postseason berths in his career. It seems unlikely he'll ever get into the Hall of Fame, although the Yankees giving him a Plaque in Monument Park and retiring his Number 13 once again seem possible.

30. Ichiro Suzuki, Aichi, Japan, born 1973, center fielder, Miami Marlins (but had his best years as a right fielder with the Seattle Marinrs), off Chris Rusin of the Colorado Rockies, at Coors Field in Denver, August 7, 2016.

Ichiro is the 1st non-North American to do it, the 1st to do it without a middle name, and the 1st to do it with his first name on the back of his uniform. Reached the postseason with the 2001 Mariners and the 2012 Yankees, but has never won a Pennant. (And he won't do it with the Marlins, because of the Curse of Donnie Baseball.) The Mariners have not reissued his Number 51 since they traded him, and are probably waiting until he retires from baseball to officially retire it. Barring doing something stupid like Rose or getting caught using PEDs, he's going to the Hall of Fame.

*

After Ichiro, the active player with the most hits is Adrian Beltre, with 
2,880, and, still a productive regular at age 37, he has a very good shot. Next is Albert Pujols with 2,774; at 36, he has more hits than anyone born after 1980. Carlos Beltran has 2,570, but at 39 he probably won't make it. No other active player has 2,500.

As I said, Boggs, Jeter and A-Rod are the only players whose 3,000th hit was a home run. Molitor and Ichiro are the only ones to make it with a triple. Wagner, Lajoie, Musial, Clemente, Kaline, Henderson and Palmeiro hit doubles. The rest hit singles, although Biggio was thrown out trying to stretch his 3,000th hit from a single to a double. Aside from the homers of Boggs, Jeter and A-Rod, and the single by Biggio, I can find no record of whether any of these 3,000th hits drove in any runs.

Seven, more than any other position, played right field for the bulk of their careers: Waner, Aaron, Clemente, Kaline, Winfield, Gwynn and Ichiro. Five played 1st base: Anson, Musial, Carew, Murray and Palmeiro. 
Five played 3rd base more than any other position: Rose, Brett, Molitor, Boggs and A-Rod. Four were shortstops: Wagner, Yount, Ripken and Jeter -- although Yount played a bit of center field and Ripken a bit of 3rd base. Three played 2nd base: Lajoie, Collins and Biggio. Three played left field: Brock, Yastrzemski and Henderson. Three played center field: Cobb, Speaker and Mays. There has never been a catcher with 3,000 career hits; Ivan Rodriguez had 2,844, and, among catchers who have probably not used steroids, the leader is Ted Simmons with 2,472.

Kaline, Winfield, Molitor and Boggs all got their 3,000th hits in their hometowns (or at least their home metropolitan areas, and you could count Jeter), while Wagner, Winfield, Molitor, Boggs, Ripken and maybe Jeter did it while playing for their hometown teams.

Winfield, Boggs, Henderson, Ichiro, and, briefly, Waner all played for the Yankees, but none got his 3,000th hit as a Yankee, and all (with the possible exception of Winfield) are better known for playing on other teams. Jeter was the 1st to do it, and the 1st to do it all, as a Yankee. A-Rod is the 2nd to get it in Pinstripes, although not all of them as a Yankee.


No player got 3,000 hits for the New York Giants, although Willie Mays got 3,187 of his 3,283 as a Giant, in New York and San Francisco combined. He got his last 178 hits as a Met, making him the all-time leader among players who played for the Mets. Mel Ott is the leader among New York-only Giants, with 2,876. Zack Wheat, who played for the Dodgers only in Brooklyn, is the NY-to-LA franchise's all-time leader with 2,804. And the all-time Met leader is David Wright, who came into tonight's action with 1,777 -- in other words, he could have twice as many as he has, 3,554, and he'd still only have 89 more than Jeter. And with his injuries, he may not get many more. (Sounds pathetic, doesn't it? But then, that's the Mets.)

Anson, Wagner, Cobb, Musial, Aaron, Mays, Clemente, Kaline, Rose, Yastrzemski, Yount, Brett, Gwynn, Ripken, Biggio and Jeter are the only players with 3,000 hits for one team. And only Musial, Clemente, Kaline, Yastrzemski, Yount, Brett, Gwynn, Ripken, Biggio and Jeter got all their hits for just one team.

Of the 30, eight grew up (or "were trained as players," if you prefer, a better gauge of "where they were from" than "were born") in the Middle Atlantic States: Wagner and Musial in Pennsylvania; Collins, Yastrzemski, Carew and Biggio in New York; and Kaline and Ripken in Maryland. Seven were from the Southeast: Cobb from Georgia; Aaron and Mays from Alabama; Brock from Louisiana; and Boggs, Palmeiro and A-Rod from Florida. Five were from the Pacific Coast, all from California: Yount, Brett, Murray, Gwynn and Henderson. Five were from the Midwest: Anson from Iowa, Rose from Ohio, Winfield and Molitor from Minnesota, and Jeter from Michigan. Two were from the Southwest, counting both Speaker's Texas and Waner's Oklahoma in this region, rather than in the Southeast. Lajoie was the only one from New England, and from outside the continental U.S., there is only the Puerto Rico born-and-raised Clemente (not counting the Panama-born but New York-raised Carew, or the Cuba-born but Miami-raised Palmeiro) and the Japanese Ichiro.

Nine of them were black: Aaron, Mays, Clemente, Brock, Carew, Winfield, Murray, Gwynn, Henderson and Jeter (mixed). Four were Hispanic: Clemente, Carew, Palmeiro and A-Rod. Ichiro is the 1st Asian to achieve the feat. Of the non-Hispanic white players, six were descended from England (Anson, Cobb, Speaker, Rose, Brett and Boggs), three were French (Lajoie, Yount and Molitor), three were German (Wagner, Waner and Ripken), two were Polish (Musial and Yastrzemski), two were Irish (Collins and Kaline), and one was Italian (Biggio).

In spite of being lefthanded giving a hitter an advantage, being a step closer to 1st base, 12 of the members of the 3,000 Hit Club were lefthanded, 15 were righthanded, and 2 were switch-hitters (Rose and Murray).

Of the 30, 16 did it at what was then their current home field, 13 on the road. Only 8 did it on artificial turf, the rest on grass. Brock's and Molitor's could have been ungenerously ruled errors, but the rest -- at least, from Musial's on forward, as we don't have TV or even film footage of any of the earlier 3Ks -- were clean base hits. 
19 collected 3,000 hits all or mostly in the AL, 11 in the NL.

Anson, Wagner, Lajoie, Cobb, Speaker and Collins never wore uniform numbers as active players. The numbers most commonly worn by the others are: Jeter 2, Molitor 4, Brett 5, Musial and Kaline 6, Biggio 7, Yastrzemski and Ripken 8, Waner 11, A-Rod 13, Rose 14, Yount and Gwynn 19, Brock 20, Clemente 21, Mays and Henderson 24, Palmeiro 25, Boggs 26 (12 as a Yankee), Carew 29, Winfield 31, Murray 33, Aaron 44, Ichiro 51 (31 as a Yankee).

Despite the achievement of 3,000 hits, the following did not finish their careers with a lifetime batting average of at least .300: Kaline, Brock, Palmeiro, Murray, Yastrzemski, Yount, Winfield, Biggio, Henderson, Ripken and A-Rod (.295). In fact, Cal's lifetime batting average was .276, hardly even noteworthy. (Ichiro is at .314.)


But 3,000 hits is still 3,000 hits -- as long as you didn't cheat to get it. Palmeiro and A-Rod are the only ones whose bona fides on the issue are at question, unless you don't count Anson's National Association hits as "major league." 

Eight players got to 2,900 hits, but not to 3,000: Sam Rice (2,987), Sam Crawford (2,961), Frank Robinson (2,943), Barry Bonds (2,935), Jake Beckley (2,934), Willie Keeler (2,932), Rogers Hornsby (2,930) and Al Simmons (2,927). 

The player with the most career hits who's eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame, but not yet in -- and not tainted by steroids -- is Harold Baines, with 2,866. Baseball-Reference.com has him, on their Hall of Fame Monitor, where 100 is a "Likely HOFer," at 66, well short; on their Hall of Fame Standards, where 50 is the "Average HOFer," he's at 44, much closer. But their 10 Most Similar Batters puts him in a better light: 4 are in the Hall of Fame (Kaline, Tony Perez, Billy Williams and Andre Dawson), 1 is an active player with a shot (Adrian Beltre), 2 can have legitimate cases made for them (Rusty Staub and Dwight Evans), 2 aren’t that far away (Dave Parker and Chili Davis), and 1 is tainted by steroid suspicion (Luis Gonzalez).

Among Yankee Legends not yet mentioned, Reggie Jackson had 2,584 hits, Joe Torre had 2,342, Graig Nettles had 2,225. and Yogi Berra had 2,150.

Here's the career home run totals of the club's members: Aaron 755, A-Rod 696, Mays 660, Palmeiro 569, Murray 504, Musial 475, Winfield 465, Yastrzemski 452, Ripken 431, Kaline 399, Brett 317, Henderson 297, Biggio 291, Jeter 260, Yount 251, Clemente 240, Molitor 234, Rose 160, Brock 149, Gwynn 135, Boggs 118, Cobb 117, Speaker 117, Ichiro 113, Waner 113, Wagner 101, Anson 97, Carew 92, Lajoie 82 and Collins 47. It should be noted that Cobb, Speaker, Wagner, Anson, Lajoie and Collins played all or most of their careers in the pre-1920 Dead Ball Era. Of the others, Henderson, Biggio, Clemente, Rose, Brock, Gwynn, Ichiro and Waner played most of their home games in pitcher-friendly ballparks.

Between them, these men won 33 World Series: Collins 6 (1910, '11, '13, '17, '29 and '30), Jeter 5 (1996, '98, '99, 2000 and '09), Rose 3 (1975, '76 and '80), Musial 3 (1942, '44 and '46), Speaker 3 (1912, '15 and '20), Henderson 2 (1989 and '93), Brock 2 (1964 and '67), Clemente 2 (1960 and '71), and 1 each for Wagner (1909), Waner (1925), Mays (1954), Aaron (1957), Kaline (1968), Murray and Ripken (both 1983), Brett (1985), Winfield (1992), Molitor (1993), Boggs (1996) and A-Rod (2009). 

There are 20 members still alive: Aaron, Mays, Kaline, Rose, Brock, Yastrzemski, Carew, Yount, Brett, Winfield, Murray, Molitor, Boggs, Ripken, Henderson, Palmeiro, Biggio, Jeter, A-Rod and Ichiro.


A shocking 126 pitchers have given up 3,000 or more hits, the active leader being Mark Buehrle with 3,350. There have been 39 who gave up at least 4,000. Four gave up 5,000, including Hall-of-Famer Phil Niekro and an early pro pitcher named Bobby Mathews, whom you might have heard of and might be in the Hall if he'd won just 3 more games: Counting his NA stats, from 1871 to 1887 he went 297-248. Jim "Pud" Galvin gave up more than 6,000 hits, and, as you might guess, the all-time leader, as in so many other categories, is Cy Young with 7,092.

Yanks Take 2 of 3 from Cleveland, Head Into Boston

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The Yankees played a home series against the Cleveland Indians this past weekend. On Friday, Michael Pineda allowed 4 runs in 6+ innings, but the Yankees gave him a cushion, including a grand slam by Starlin Castro in the 3rd inning, his 12th home run of the season. Aaron Hicks added a homer in the 7th, his 4th of the year.

Joe Girardi sent rookie righthander Johnny Barbato out to pitch the top of the 8th inning, and he nearly blew it, turning an 11-4 Yankee lead into 11-7. Somehow, it was the much-maligned (by me) Adam Warren who put out the fire. (Maybe it wasn't a totally wasted trade after all.)

The Yankees tacked on insurance runs in the bottom of the 8th, to make the final score 13-7. WP: Pineda (6-10). No save. LP: Josh Tomlin (11-4).

*

The Yankees got the runs to overcome not-so-good pitching on Friday. On Saturday, they didn't. They scored 2 runs in the 2nd inning, but that was it. CC Sabathia allowed single runs in the 4th, the 5th and the 6th, Anthony Swarzak 1 in the 7th, and Nick Goody 1 in the 9th.

And who came on to nail the game down for the Indians in the 9th inning? Why, it was Andrew Miller, who was a Yankee just 9 days ago. Although we can't jump on general manager Brian Cashman for that trade, since Miller isn't the reason the Yankees lost the game. A lack of offense was... and Cashman trading away Carlos Beltran may have had something to do with that.

Indians 5, Yankees 2. WP: Corey Kluber. SV: Miller (10). LP: Sabathia (6-9).

*

The Yankees didn't get much offense on Sunday, either. But this time, they didn't need it, because they got a really good start from Masahiro Tanaka: 6 innings, 1 run, 6 hits, no walks, 8 strikeouts. And Girardi didn't mess it up by removing Tanaka after just 6 innings, either: Warren pitched a scoreless 7th.

The Yankees scored single runs in the 1st inning, the 4th and the 5th. The run in the 4th came on the 13th home run of the season by Didi Gregorius. To put that in perspective: In 20 seasons, Derek Jeter reached 13 or more home runs 10 times. Then again, Derek was a righthanded hitter, hitting into the Death Valley of left-center at Yankee Stadiums old and new; Didi is a lefty, aiming for the short porch.

The reacquired Tyler Clippard came in for the 8th. With 1 out, he walked Jose Ramirez, who tried to steal 2nd, and catcher Austin Romine made a bad throw, letting him get to 3rd. Then Girardi brought in Dellin Betances, who got off to an inauspicious beginning. (I can't really say, "start," can I?) He walked Rajai Davis (not intentionally), then threw a wild pitch that got Ramirez home and Davis, the tying run, to 2nd.

But Betances struck Tyler Naquin out to end the threat. In the 9th, Chris Gimenez touched him for a leadoff single, but he got Carlos Santana (not the legendary guitarist) to ground into a double play, which Indians (and former Red Sox) manager Terry Francona unsuccessfully challenged. Betances then fanned Jason Kipnis to end a tense game.

Yankees 3, Indians 2. WP: Tanaka (8-4). SV: Betances (2). LP: Hector Carrasco (7-6).

*

There are 51 games left over the season's remaining 8 weeks. The Yankees are 56-55. The Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays are technically tied for 1st place in the American League Eastern Division, but the O's are ahead on percentage points, 1 game in the all-important loss column ahead of the Jays. The Boston Red Sox are 2 1/2 behind the O's, 2 in the loss column. The Yankees trail the O's by 7 games, regularly and loss-columnly.

In the race for the AL Wild Card, the Yankees are 4 1/2 games behind the Red Sox, 5 in the loss column.

And guess where the Yankees are now? That's right, Boston, for 3 games against the Sox. Here are the projected pitching matchups:

* Tonight: Luis Severino vs. Rick Porcello.

* Tomorrow: Nathan Eovaldi vs. Pomeranz.

* Thursday: Pineda vs. Steven Wright. (The Sox pitcher, not the "existentialist comedian," although he is a Massachusetts native and a huge Sox fan.)

All 3 games are set for a start time of 7:10 PM. It is unlikely that Alex Rodriguez will play in any of them. Chances are, he will only appear, as scheduled, in the next game, the series opener at home against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.

Until then... Come on you Bombers! Beat The Scum!

How to Be a Yankee Fan In Anaheim -- 2016 Edition

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On Friday, August 19, the Yankees begin a series in Anaheim, against the least-appropriately-named team in Major League Baseball, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

There's no "New York Giants of East Rutherford," or a "Boston Patriots of Foxboro," or a "Washington Redskins of Landover," or a "Miami Panthers of Sunrise," or a "Tampa Rays of St. Petersburg," or a "Milwaukee Packers of Green Bay," or a "Detroit Pistons of Auburn Hills," or a "Dallas Rangers of Arlington," or a "Phoenix Cardinals of Glendale," or a "San Francisco Athletics of Oakland," or a "San Francisco 49ers of Santa Clara," or a "San Francisco Sharks of San Jose," or an "Ottawa Senators of Kanata."

There was never a "Cleveland Cavaliers of Richfield," or a "Dallas Cowboys of Irving," or a "Detroit Lions of Pontiac," or a "Minneapolis Twins of Bloomington."

With the establishment of a "Minnesota Twins," renaming the team the "California Angels" was okay. But "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim"?

In their history, this team has been officially known as...

The Los Angeles Angels, 1961-65.
The California Angels, 1966-96.
The Anaheim Angels, 1997-2004.
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 2005-present.

Also nicknamed the Halos.

Before You Go. Unlike the Seattle and San Francisco Bay Areas, the Los Angeles area has very consistent weather. It's a nice place to visit. If you don't mind earthquakes. And mudslides. And wildfires. And smog.

The Angels' hometown (well, home County, anyway) newspaper, the Orange County Register, is predicting low 70s for daylight and high 50s for evenings throughout the series. The region' (and indeed the Western U.S.') largest newspaper, the Los Angeles Times, mostly concurs. Therefore, short-sleeve shirts should be all that's necessary.

Anaheim is in the Pacific Time Zone, 3 hours behind New York. So there will be some clock & watch fiddling.

Tickets. Unlike the A's and Mariners, the Angels usually do very well at the box office. Last season, their average of 37,194 was 5th in the majors. This season, they're averaging 38,076, 7th. They have averaged over 37,000 per home game since 2003, the year after their World Championship.

And with a capacity of 45,050, that means the Angels are operating at 83 percent of capacity, which, while not good in the other 3 major league sports (the NBA & NHL having half as many home games in a season, the NFL 1/5th as many), is very strong in baseball. So this may be one where it helps to order your tickets beforehand.

Field Box seats (lower level) will be $65, Field Reserved $29, Terrace Boxes (middle level) $55, Terrace Reserved $43, the Outfield Pavilions $18, View Boxes (upper deck) $15, and View Reserved $11.

Getting There. It's 2,789 miles from Yankee Stadium to Angel Stadium). In other words, if you're going, you're flying. You could get round-trip fare on American Airlines from Newark to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for about $550, but you'd have to change planes. For only about $100 more, you can go nonstop on United.

Driving all that way, and all that way back, is not a good idea: Even if you get someone to go with you, and you take turns, one drives while the other one sleeps, and you pack 2 days' worth of food, and you use the side of the Interstate as a toilet, and you don’t get pulled over for speeding, you’ll still need over 2 full days. Each way.

But, if you really, really want to... Take Interstate 80 West across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. Just before leaving Nebraska for Colorado, you'll get on Interstate 76, and shortly before reaching Denver you'll get on Interstate 70 West. You'll take that all the way to its end in Utah, where you’ll take Interstate 15 south. You'll go through a short strip of Arizona before getting into Nevada (where you'll see the Strip, Las Vegas), before getting into California.

Assuming you're not going to a hotel first (and you really should, keeping in mind that those near the stadium will be cheaper than those near Disneyland or in downtown L.A.), you'll get off I-15 at Exit 106, and get on State Route 60, the Pomona Freeway. You'll get off Route 60 at Exit 24, for State Route 57, the Orange Freeway. Take Exit 1E for Orangewood Avenue, turn right, and soon you’ll be able to turn right on State College Blvd. Right after that, you'll turn right onto East Gene Autry Way, and there's the stadium.

Given an average speed of 60 miles an hour, you’ll be in New Jersey for an hour and a half, Pennsylvania for 5:15, Ohio for 4 hours, Indiana for 2:30, Illinois for 2:45, Iowa for 5:15, Nebraska for 6 hours, Colorado for 7:15, Utah for 6 hours, Arizona for half an hour, Nevada for 2 hours, and California for 3 hours; for a total of 46 hours. Factor in rest stops, you’ll need more like 3 full days. And, remember, that's just one way. And if you end up using Las Vegas as a rest stop, well, you might end up missing the series and end up, yourself, as what "stays in Vegas."

That's still faster than Greyhound and Amtrak. Greyhound will take about 65 1/2 hours, you'll be changing buses at least 3 times, and it could cost $528 round-trip, though it can drop to $426 with advanced purchase.

If you do go all the way to Los Angeles for your hotel, it's a 40-minute drive from downtown L.A. to Angel Stadium down Interstate 5, and a 42-minute trip on Amtrak or a 45-minute trip down the Metrolink Orange County Line from L.A.'s Union Station to the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, a.k.a. ARTIC, a.k.a. The Iceberg, at 2626 East Katella Avenue, a short distance from center field at the ballpark.
Anaheim Station, a.k.a. the Iceberg

If you follow this advice, you'll be taking Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited out of New York's Penn Station at 3:40 PM Eastern Time on Friday, arriving at Chicago's Union Station at 9:45 AM Central Time on Saturday, leaving Chicago on the Southwest Chief at 3:00 PM on Saturday, and arriving at L.A.'s Union Station at 8:15 AM Pacific Time on Monday. That's $523 round-trip.

The last train from L.A. that will get you to Anaheim in time for a 7:00 start on Friday night leaves at 5:46 and arrives at 6:31. The fare is $8.75 one-way. Unfortunately, Metrolink is a rush hour-only service, and you'll have to find another way to get back to L.A. An Amtrak Pacific Surfliner leaves Anaheim at 11:10 and gets back to Union Station at 11:52. Unlike the Northeast Corridor, this Amtrak train is relatively cheap: $15 each way. So, round-trip, $23.75. Considering what New Jersey Transit, Metro-North, or the Long Island Rail Road would be to Manhattan, and then the $5.50 round-trip Subway fare to Yankee Stadium or Citi Field, this doesn't sound so bad.
 A Metrolink train

Once In the City. The sales tax in California is 7.5 percent, although it's an even 8 percent in Orange County. The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) sells daily bus passes for $5.00.

Orange County, California is home to 3 million people, about 340,000 of them in the City of Anaheim, a city founded in 1857 and, since its first settlers were German, named it "Anaheim," German for "home by the Ana," meaning the Santa Ana River.

That total of 340,000 people would make Anaheim smaller than the smallest of New York City's Boroughs, Staten Island; but larger than any city in New York State other than New York City (topped by Buffalo with 260,000), New Jersey (Newark has 275,000) or Connecticut (Bridgeport has 145,000). Add neighboring Riverside County, and there's over 5 million people that are, by the standard I use for each of the various teams' spheres of influence, in the Angels'"market."

The Angels have played with that idea over the years. The change of name from "Los Angeles Angels" to "California Angels" upon their move to Anaheim in 1966 was to suggest them as a team for all of California, as an alternative to the high and mighty Dodgers, much more than it was to ride on the coattails of memories of the old Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League. This was also before the A's arrived in Oakland and the Padres arrived in San Diego (like the Angels, replacing a PCL team of the same name), and when both of those teams arrived over the next 3 years, it pretty much took the wind out of the Angels' pan-California sails.

The 2005 change of name to "the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim" was designed to tap into the nearly 10 million people who live in Los Angeles County, and the nearly 18 million people in the L.A. metropolitan area, 2nd in North America behind New York's 19 million. But who's kidding who? Especially now that basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson has bought the Dodgers, there's no way he's going to let Angels owner Arturo "Arte" Moreno outbid his team for the hearts and minds of Southern Californians, let alone Los Angelenos.

Going In. The official address of Angel Stadium is 2000 East Gene Autry Way. Originally known as Anaheim Stadium, built in 1966, the place was known as the Big A (sometimes hyphenated as "Big-A") because of the A-shaped scoreboard in left field.
1966-79 configuration

In 1980, that board was moved out to the parking lot to be used as a message board, and replaced with a smaller A-shaped "crown" over the board on top of the football bleachers, used by the NFL's Los Angeles Rams when they played at the Big A from 1980 to 1994 – increasing capacity from the original 42,000 to 64,593, and getting the stadium tagged "The Bigger A," before those bleachers were demolished in 1996 in an effort to restore a baseball-like sense of intimacy.
1980-96 configuration

As could be expected from a suburban and/or California stadium, there is as much parking as you'll see anywhere. Parking is $20.
Anaheim Stadium was renamed Edison International Field of Anaheim, or "Big Ed," in 1998, and held that name when the Angels finally won a World Series in 2002. In 2003, new owner Moreno changed the name to Angel Stadium.
The Big A scoreboard today, as seen over the right field stands

You'll most likely be going into the stadium through the home plate entrance. When you do, you're going to think you've been here before, even if you haven't. Arthur "Red" Patterson, former publicity director for the Yankees (and the man who coined the phrase "tape measure home run" to describe the wallops of Mickey Mantle) and the Dodgers (including when they moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles), worked for the early Angels, and wanted a stadium that would be like Yankee Stadium, but modern – in other words, no support poles, and more bathrooms and concession stands. The result ended up being very much like an updated old Yankee Stadium, and the 1973-76 renovation of the Bronx ballyard made it resemble the Big A in main structure (though not in color).
The sign reading ANGEL STADIUM behind the home plate entrance is held up by giant crossed bats, and flanked by giant red Angel batting helmets.
Like all the West Coast ballparks, the Big A has real grass. The field points northeast, but the view is ordinary, as Anaheim doesn't exactly have a skyline. You can, however, see the Ducks' arena, the Honda Center, beyond the center-field fence.

The field is not quite symmetrical: It's 330 feet down the foul lines, 387 to left-center, 370 to right-center, and 400 to center.  Like all the current West Coast ballparks, it is generally considered to be a pitchers' park.  The longest home run in the stadium's 52-season history is fairly recent, a 484-footer hit by outed PED user Nelson Cruz in 2012.
Beyond the outfield, installed as part of the 1997 renovation, there is a fountain, "the California Spectacular," which sends geysers of water down a tree-lined rocky area – and brings up thoughts of Royals Stadium/Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. And, while the old Big A scoreboard still stands, the biggest scoreboard inside the stadium has is no longer in left field but in right, echoing the home of the original Los Angeles Angels, Wrigley Field. (More about this West Coast version of Wrigley later.)
And on top of the scoreboard is an ad for... the Los Angeles Times, not the Orange County Register. Moreno has decided to do what the owners of the other "second teams"– the Mets, the Chicago White Sox and the Oakland Athletics – have in recent times refused to do: Fight the older, established teams for a majority of fans in the metro area. He won't move the team into the County, much less into the City, of Los Angeles -- after all, why waste a perfectly suitable, if not perfect, ballpark? -- but he was the one who changed the names of the team and the ballpark, so that it would no longer be an Anaheim or an Orange County team, but a team that, theoretically, would represent all of Southern California.
Which was exactly the opposite of what was intended when the Walt Disney Company bought the team from Gene Autry's widow Jackie: They figured that Orange County, growing like gangbusters during the team's existence, now over half a century, was enough, and building loyalty to Orange County would work. They were right: It did. But Moreno thinks bigger, and he is fighting the Dodgers for command of the metropolitan area.

It hasn't quite worked: 2011, the 51st season of combined play by the two area teams, was the first time the Angels had a higher attendance than the Dodgers: 39,090 to 36,236. But with Magic running the Dodgers and heavily committed to restoring their former glory, Moreno -- who went from being the richest MLB owner on the West Coast to being the poorest MLB owner in the Los Angeles area -- is in one hell of a fight for area fans' hearts and minds. Still, the Angels have been seen as a model franchise the last few years, and the Dodgers, under the ownership of Frank McCourt, were not. And since the Angels have reached the postseason 6 times in the last 12 seasons, while the Dodgers have done so in 5 out of 10, the Angels have become the more successful team recently.

In addition to the Angels and the Rams, Angel Stadium, under the Anaheim Stadium name, was the home field for the Southern California Sun of the World Football League in 1974 and '75, the California Surf of the old North American Soccer League from 1978 to '81, and college football's Freedom Bowl from 1984 to '94. It has hosted 2 games by the U.S. soccer team, within 4 days of each other in January 1996, both wins, over Trinidad & Tobago and El Salvador.

The StubHub Center, home of the Galaxy, is 24 miles away; the Staples Center, home of the Lakers, Clippers and Kings, 30; Dodger Stadium, 31; the Los Angeles Coliseum and the Sports Arena, about to be demolished for the new soccer stadium for Los Angeles F.C., 32; the Forum and the proposed site of the new L.A. football stadium in Inglewood, 33.

Food. Aramark Sports & Entertainment, the successor corporation to the Harry M. Stevens Company that invented ballpark concessions, provides food and beverage services for the Big A. However, there is little that is unusual or special about Anaheim food.

In fact, back in 1985, when the football bleachers were up, Bob Wood, a junior high school history teacher who was going to all 26 ballparks then in the majors, reported for his book Dodger Dogs to Fenway Franks that the main purpose of the Anaheim Stadium scoreboard (the successor to the Big-A board) was not to give you details about the game you were watching, but "to remind you... that Coke is It!" (Hey, at least it wasn't that giant "This Bud's For You" sign on top of the Shea Stadium scoreboard, which, during the scoreboard's electronic rotation, would occasionally remind you to not drink and drive.)

A recent Thrillist article discussed the best food at each MLB stadium. What's the best in Anaheim? Fish, specifically trout, in honor of Mike Trout? Nope: They named Chronic Tacos, a local chain with a stand at Section 223. The article calls them "Five-tool tacos (delicious, cheap, pork, spicy, for sale)." Sounds like typical suburban Southern California: They want the benefits of Los Angeles multiculturalism without actually having to be around large numbers of people in said cultures.

Team History Displays. A series of flagpoles beyond the left-field fence has pennants for the Angels' 2002 World Series win and their AL West titles of 1979, '82, '86, 2004, '05, '07, '08, '09 and '14.
The team's retired numbers are displayed beneath the big scoreboard in right field: 11, Jim Fregosi, shortstop 1961-71 & manager 1978-81; 26, Gene Autry, owner 1961-98 (number chosen for him because he was "the 26th Man"); 29, Rod Carew, 1st base 1979-85; 30, Nolan Ryan, pitcher, 1972-79 (obtained in a trade with the Mets for Fregosi, just thought I'd rub that in); 50, Jimmie Reese, coach 1972-94 (also L.A. area native, and Yankee teammate of Babe Ruth); and the universally-retired Number 42 of Jackie Robinson.
Not officially retired, but removed from circulation, are: 15, Tim Salmon, right field 1992-2006; and 34, Nick Adenhart, pitcher, 2008-09, killed by a drunk driver at the start of his 2nd big-league season.

The team has an Angels Hall of Fame, although I don’t know where in the ballpark the display is. Members include:

* From the 1960s: Autry, Fregosi, pitcher Dean Chance (Number 31), 2nd baseman Bobby Knoop (Number 1).

* From the 1979 Division Champions: Autry, Fregosi, Reese, Knoop (now a coach), Ryan, Carew, 2nd baseman Bobby Grich (Number 4), outfielder-DH Don Baylor (Number 25), and catcher Brian Downing (Number 5).

* From the 1982 Division Champions: Autry, Reese, Knoop, Carew, Grich, Baylor, Downing, and pitcher Mike Witt (Number 39).

* From the 1986 Division Champions: Autry, Reese, Knoop, Downing (by this point, a left fielder), Witt, and pitcher Chuck Finley (Number 31).

* From the 1995 team that led the Division most of the way, but had an epic collapse and lost a Playoff to the Seattle Mariners: Autry, Knoop, Finley, Salmon, and left fielder Garret Anderson (Number 16).

* From the 2002 World Champions, and the 2004, '05 and '06 Division Champions: Salmon and Anderson.

* From the 2007 and '08 Division Champions: Anderson. As yet, no players who played on the 2009 or 2014 Division Champions has been elected.

Oddly, some of the Baseball Hall-of-Famers who played for the Angels are not in the Angels Hall of Fame, including ex-Yankees Reggie Jackson ('82 & '86 Division titles), Dave Winfield and Rickey Henderson. Nor is Cooperstowner Bert Blyleven, who gave up a home run to Mark Grace to give the Cubs a World Series win over the Angels in the 1990 film Taking Care of Business – with Joe Torre playing himself as a broadcaster.

(In 1990, the idea of either the Cubs or the Angels reaching the World Series was "fantasy baseball": It could only take place in the movies. The Angels also won a Pennant in the 1994 version of Angels In the Outfield, in which they, like the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1951 original version, were considered so bad that they needed divine intervention. The Angels were also the home team in the 1988 film The Naked Gun, with Leslie Nielsen doing his deadpan comedy/dumb hero bit, as Lieutenant Frank Drebin trying to stop a brainwashed Reggie from assassinating Queen Elizabeth II: "I... must kill... the Queen." Drebin stopped Reggie. Of course, this wasn't in October.)

There is also a statue of Autry, near the front entrance. It shows him removing his cowboy hat, and bending down and reaching out, as if to shake hands with a child.
In 1999, Ryan was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. That same year, he, Crew and Reggie were named to The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Players. In 2006, Angels fans chose Carew, rather than Ryan or Reggie, in the DHL Hometown Heroes poll.

Stuff. The Angels have Team Stores in a few locations in the Big A. Additional merchandise locations and novelty kiosks are open throughout the stadium during all home games. I do not know if they sell plastic halos or stuffed Rally Monkeys, but it would understandable (if silly) if they did.

There haven't been a whole lot of books written about the Angels, in spite of their no longer being an expansion team. Amazon.com lists The Official History of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as being available, and there are a few generic books about the team, including Salmon's recently-released memoir Always an Angel: Playing the Game With Fire and Faith.

There is no team-history DVD available, no Essential Games of the Angels or Essential Games of Angel Stadium DVD collection. But the 2002 World Series official highlight film is available.

During the Game. A recent Thrillist article on "Baseball's Most Intolerable Fans" ranked Angel fans 16th, right in the middle. The article suggests that Angel fans aren't particularly smart: "Deep down they all know 'Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim'" is the dumbest shit ever, but none of them will actually admit it."

There is no team, except maybe the Dodgers, that Angel fans hate more than the Yankees, but they do fit the Southern California "laid-back" stereotype. They will not initiate violence against you.

Before the Saturday game, the Angels will induct Garret Anderson into their team Hall of Fame. After it, there will be fireworks. After the Sunday game, they will let kids run the bases.

The Angels take the field to the song "Calling All Angels" by Train – not to be confused with "Trouble In Paradise" by the Brooklyn doo-wop group Johnny Maestro & the Crests, which starts with the words "Calling all angels." I like that song, but I don't like the Train song. They hold auditions for National Anthem singers, instead of having a regular.

The Angels don't have a guy in a suit to act as a mascot, but they do have the Rally Monkey. Thankfully, the damn thing only appears on the video board if the Angels are losing or tied during the 7th inning, holding a sign saying, "RALLY TIME!" and jumping to the song "Jump Around" by House of Pain – whose frontman, Erik "Everlast" Schrody, is a Long Island native who, due to his New York and Irish heritage, sometimes calls himself "Whitey Ford." (He even titled an album Whitey Ford Sings the Blues and another Eat at Whitey's.) I hope both Everlast and the Yankees' Whitey Ford get royalties from the Angels. If the Angels win, he returns to the video board, holding up a sign saying, "ANGELS WIN!"
The damn thing

The Angels also appear to have been the first North American sports team to give their fans those annoying long plastic balloons called Thunderstix. Like the damn monkey, that, alone, is a reason to be furious with them.

During the 7th Inning Stretch, after playing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," they play "Build Me Up Buttercup" by the Foundations. I don't like that song, either. (Remember, just because it's an old song doesn't necessarily mean I like it.) Their postgame victory song is "Celebration" by Jersey City's Kool & the Gang.

After the Game. Angel Stadium is yet another of those 1960s-70s suburban islands in a sea of parking, so you won't be in any neighborhood, much less a bad one.

The closest thing I could find to a Yankee-friendly bar near the stadium is the Katella Grill, at 1325 W. Katella Avenue in Orange, about 3 miles away. It's gotten some praise from New Yorkers as a nice place.

O'Brien's Irish Pub at 2226 Wilshire Blvd. is the home of the local fan club of the New York Giants football team. Rick's Tavern On Main is at 2907 Main Street. And West 4th & Jane, at 1432 4th Street, is owned by a New Yorker and is an L.A.-area haven for Met fans. But all 3 are in Santa Monica, all the way across the L.A. metro area, 43 miles away from the Big A. Even further is On The Thirty, at 14622 Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks, home of the L.A. area Jets fan club. And, after 9 innings (or more) of baseball, do you really want to deal with L.A. area traffic?

Anyway, by public transit: O'Brien's and Rick's can be reached by Bus 733 to Main & Marine; West 4th & Jane, by the Metro Expo Line, to Broadway & 4th station; and On The Thirty by Bus 150 to Ventura & Cedros.

Sidelights. The Los Angeles metropolitan area, in spite of not having Major League Baseball until 1958, has a very rich sports history. And while L.A. is still a car-first city, it does have a bus system and even has a subway now.

* Honda Center. Previously known as the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, it is across the railroad, the Orange Freeway and Katella Avenue from Angel Stadium. It has been home from the beginning of the franchise in 1993 to the NHL's Anaheim Ducks – formerly the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and I still tend to call them the Mighty Dorks and the Mighty Schmucks (and one of my regular readers likes to call them the Lame Ducks). The NBA's Los Angeles Clippers, with their typical luck, had to move one of their few home Playoff games there in 1992 during the South Central riot. 2695 E. Katella Avenue. Anaheim Metrolink stop.

* Dodger Stadium. Walter O'Malley's Temple of Greed has been home to the Bums since 1962 -- shockingly, for those of us raised on the myth of the Brooklyn Dodgers, that not only means it's lasted longer than Ebbets Field did, but it's now the 3rd-oldest stadium in the majors, behind only Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. (Angel Stadium is 4th, a few months older than the Oakland Coliseum.) However, the place is now in the process of being modernized, little by little, and Magic fully intends that, having seen a 50th Anniversary, the Chavez Ravine amphitheatre will see a 100th.

The Dodgers groundshared with the Angels from 1962 to 1965, although the Angels, not wanting to promote the Dodgers, printed tickets that gave the name of the neighborhood, "Chavez Ravine," instead of "Dodger Stadium." Fed up with O'Malley, Gene Autry had the Anaheim stadium built, and got out.
The Dodgers clinched the World Series over the Yankees here in 1963, and took 3 straight from them in 1981; the Yanks took 2 of 3 in 1977 and clinched here in 1978. Sandy Koufax & Don Drysdale, Maury Wills, Tommy & Willie Davis, Steve "Not My Padre" Garvey, Don Sutton, Fernando Valenzuela, Orel Hershiser, Kirk Gibson. Just don’t wear San Francisco Giants gear here, or they might try to kill you. No, I’m not kidding: Against all other teams, they show up in the 3rd inning and leave in the 7th Inning Stretch; against San Fran, they turn into Raiders fans.

It has never hosted a pro football or soccer team, but there have been college football games played there. The Beatles played their next-to-last concert here on August 28, 1966.

1000 Vin Scully Avenue (formerly Elysian Park Avenue), Los Angeles. Too far to walk from the nearest subway stop, and while there is a Dodger Stadium Express bus, it only operates on Dodger home game days.

* Wrigley Field. Yes, you read that right: The Pacific Coast League's Los Angeles Angels played here from 1925 to 1957, and the AL's version played their first season here, 1961. The PCL Angels were a farm team of the Chicago Cubs, and when chewing-gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. bought them both, he built the Angels' park to look like what was then known as Cubs Park, and then named this one, and then the Chicago one, Wrigley Field. So this ballpark was Wrigley Field first. The Angels' PCL rivals, the Hollywood Stars, shared it from 1926 to 1935. Its capacity of 22,000 was too small for the Dodgers, and the AL Angels moved out after one season.
The PCL Angels won 5 Pennants while playing here: 1926, 1933, 1934, 1947 and 1956. They won these on top of the 7 they won before moving in: 1903, 1905, 1907, 1908, 1916, 1918 and 1921. So that's 12 Pennants total. The Stars won Pennants here in 1929 and 1930. It hosted a U.S. soccer loss to England in 1959 and a draw vs. Mexico the next year.

Torn down in 1966, it lives on in ESPN Classic rebroadcasts of Home Run Derby, filmed there (because it was close to Hollywood) prior to the 1960 season. Mickey Mantle was a fixture, but the only other guy thought of as a Yankee to participate was Bob Cerv (then with the Kansas City A's). Yogi Berra wasn't invited, nor was Moose Skowron, nor Roger Maris (who had yet to play his first game in Pinstripes).

42nd Place, Avalon Blvd., 41st & San Pedro Streets. Metro Red Line to 7th Street/Metro Center station, transfer to Number 70 bus. Be careful, this is South Central, so if you're overly nervous, you may want to skip this one.

* Gilmore Field. Home to the Hollywood Stars, this 13,000-seat park didn't last long, from 1939 to 1957.  The Stars won PCL Pennants here in 1949, 1952 and 1953. A football field, Gilmore Stadium, was adjacent. CBS Television City was built on the site. 7700 Beverly Blvd. at The Grove Drive.  Metro Red Line to Vermont/Beverly station, then either the 14 or 37 bus.

* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Probably the most famous building in the State of California, unless you count San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge or the HOLLYWOOD sign.  The University of Southern California (USC) has played football here since 1923. The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) played here from 1928 to 1981, when they inexplicably moved out of the Coliseum, and the city that forms their name, into a stadium that could arguably be called USC's other home field.

The Coliseum was the centerpiece of the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games. It was home to the NFL's Rams from 1946 to 1979 and the Raiders from 1982 to 1994, and to a number of teams in other leagues, including the AFL's Chargers in 1960 before they moved down the coast to San Diego.

The Dodgers played here from 1958 to 1961 while waiting for Dodger Stadium to be ready, but the shape of the field led to a 251-foot left-field fence, the shortest in modern baseball history. They got the biggest crowd ever for an official baseball game, 92,706, for Game 5 of the 1959 World Series; 93,103 for Roy Campanella’s testimonial, an exhibition game against the Yankees on May 7, 1959; and the largest crowd for any baseball game  played anywhere in the world, 115,300, for a preseason exhibition with the Red Sox on March 29, 2008, to celebrate their 50th Anniversary in L.A.

A crowd of 102,368 on November 10, 1957, for a rivalry game between the Rams and the San Francisco 49ers, stood as a regular-season NFL record until 2005. Ironically, the first Super Bowl, held here on January 15, 1967 (Green Bay Packers 35, Kansas City Chiefs 17) was only 2/3rds sold -- the only Super Bowl that did not sell out. Super Bowl VII (Miami Dolphins 14, Washington Redskins 7) was also played here.

It has hosted 20 matches of the U.S. soccer team -- only Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington has hosted more. The U.S. has won 9 of those games, lost 7 and drawn 4.

Officially, the Coliseum now seats 93,607, and will be the stopgap home for the returned Rams in the 2016, '17 and '18 seasons, until their new stadium is built in Inglewood. Oddly, since both teams moved away after the 1994 season, the Oakland Raiders seem to be the most popular NFL team in Los Angeles County, but the much closer San Diego Chargers, 90 miles away, are the most popular team in Orange County. Both teams have been rumored to be among those moving to Los Angeles. The Jacksonville Jaguars have also been mentioned as a possibility.

* Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Next-door to the Coliseum, it opened in 1959, and hosted the Democratic Convention the next year, although John F. Kennedy gave his acceptance speech at a packed Coliseum, debuting his theme of a "New Frontier."

The NBA's Lakers played there from 1960 to 1967, the NHL's Kings their first few home games in 1967 before the Forum was ready, the NBA's Clippers from 1984 to 1999, the ABA's Stars from 1968 to 1970, the WHA's Sharks from 1972 to 1974, the 1968 and 1972 NCAA Final Fours (both won by UCLA even though it was USC's home court, the 1st over North Carolina, the 2nd over Florida State), USC basketball from 1959 to 2006, and UCLA basketball a few times before Pauley Pavilion opened in 1965 and again in 2011-12 due to Pauley’s renovation.

Due to its closeness to Hollywood studios, the Sports Arena was often used for movies that need an arena to simulate a basketball or hockey game, a fight (including the Rocky films), a concert, or a political convention. Lots of rock concerts were held here, and Bruce Springsteen, on its stage, called the building "the joint that don’t disappoint" and "the dump that jumps."

Bruce played the Sports Arena's last event. It is about to be demolished, so that the home of the Major League Soccer expansion team, Los Angeles F.C., can be built on the site.

3900 Block of S. Figueroa Street, just off the USC campus in Exposition Park. The California Science Center (including the space shuttle Endeavour), the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and the California African American Museum are also there, and the Shrine Auditorium, former site of the Academy Awards, is but a few steps away. Metro Expo Line to Expo Park/USC. Although this is on the edge of South Central, you will probably be safe.

* Rose Bowl. Actually older than the Coliseum by a few months, it opened in 1922 and, except for 1942 (moved to Durham, North Carolina for fear of Japanese attack right after Pearl Harbor), it has hosted the Rose Bowl game every New Year’s Day (or thereabouts) since 1923. As such, it has often felt like a home away from home for USC, Michigan and Ohio State. UCLA has used it as its home field since the 1982 season.

It hosted 5 Super Bowls, including the first ones won by the Raiders (XI) and Giants (XXI), plus the all-time biggest attendance for an NFL postseason game, 103,985, for SB XIV (Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Rams 19, the "home" field advantage not helping the Hornheads). And it hosted the 1983 Army-Navy Game, with Hollywood legend Vincent Price serving as the referee. The transportation of the entire Corps of Cadets, and the entire Brigade of Midshipmen, was said to be the largest U.S. military airlift since World War II.

It's hosted 17 games of the U.S. soccer team, the most recent being a 3-2 loss to Mexico in last year's CONCACAF Gold Cup. It's hosted several games of the 1994 World Cup, including a Semifinal and the Final. It also hosted several games of the 1999 Women's World Cup, including the Final, a.k.a. the Brandi Chastain Game.

Rose Bowl Drive & Rosemont Avenue. Number 485 bus from Union Station to Pasadena, switch to Number 268 bus.

* Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion. Following their 1964 (and soon their 1965) National Championship, UCLA coach John Wooden wanted a suitable arena for his ever-growing program. He got it in time for the 1965-66 season, and it has hosted 9 more National Championships, making for 11 banners (10 coached by Wooden).

The building was named for an oil magnate who was also a Regent of the University of California system, whose donation to its building went a long way toward making it possible.  Edwin Pauley was a friend of, and appointee to several offices by, Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, but the student protests of the 1960s led him to switch sides and support Ronald Reagan for Governor.

Pauley Pavilion was the site of the 2nd debate of the 1988 Presidential campaign, where CNN anchor Bernard Shaw asked the question that shattered the campaign of Governor Michael Dukakis – not that the Duke helped himself with his answer. Oddly, he held his Election Eve rally there, despite being a Bostonian. (In contrast, Boston's JFK held his Convention in the Coliseum complex but his Election Eve rally at the Boston Garden.)

Metro Purple Line to Wilshire/Normandie station, switch to Bus 720, then walk up Westwood Plaza to Strathmore Place. A few steps away is Drake Stadium, the track & field facility that was home to 1960 Olympic Decathlon champion Rafer Johnson and another UCLA track star you might've heard of, named Jackie Robinson. On the way up Westwood Plaza, you'll pass UCLA Medical Center, now named for someone who died there, Ronald Reagan. (John Wayne, Coach John Wooden and Michael Jackson also died there.) The UCLA campus also has a Dykstra Hall, but I'm 99 percent sure it wasn't named after Lenny Dykstra.

* The Forum. Home of the Lakers and the Kings from 1967 to 1999, built by their then-owner, Jack Kent Cooke, who went on to sell them and buy the NFL's Washington Redskins. Known from 1988 to 2003 as the Great Western Forum, after a bank. The Lakers appeared in 14 NBA Finals here, winning 6, with the Knicks clinching their last title over the Lakers here in 1973; the Kings appeared in just 1 Stanley Cup Finals here, losing it.

Now owned by the Madison Square Garden Corporation, thus run by James Dolan, which means it's going to be mismanaged. Elvis Presley sang here on November 14, 1970 and May 11, 1974. The Forum is not currently being used by any professional team, but was recently the stand-in for the Sunshine Center, the arena in the short-lived ABC sitcom Mr. Sunshine.

3900 W. Manchester Blvd. Hollywood Park Racetrack is on an adjacent site. Metro Silver Line to Harbor Transitway station, switch to Number 115 bus. (Be careful, this transfer is in South Central.)

* City of Champions Stadium. The site of the Hollywood Park horse racing track in Inglewood was cleared to make way for a 70,000-seat retractable-roof stadium that will become home to the Rams in September 2019. The designers planned for expandability to 100,000 seats for events like the Super Bowl, the Final Four, the Olympics (L.A. is America's bidding city for the 2024 Games), and the World Cup. Super Bowl LV will be held there on February 7, 2021. Same access as for the Forum.

* Staples Center. Home of the Lakers, Clippers and Kings since 1999, and usually the home of the Grammy Awards. The Kings won the Stanley Cup over the Devils here in 2012, and the Lakers have won 5 of their 7 NBA Finals since moving in. The Democratic Convention was held here in 2000, nominating Al Gore.

1111 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles. Nearest Metro stop is Westlake/MacArthur Park, 8 blocks away. Yes, that MacArthur Park, the one where songwriter Jimmy Webb used to take the girlfriend who ended up leaving him and inspiring the song of the same title recorded by Richard Harris and later Donna Summer, and "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" by Glen Campbell, and "The Worst That Could Happen" by Johnny Maestro's later group, the Brooklyn Bridge. The worst that could happen there now, you don’t want to know: Since the 1980s, it's been a magnet for gang violence, although this was significantly reduced in the 2000s.

* Titan Stadium. On the campus of California State University, Fullerton, this 10,000-seat facility is better known for soccer, having been used for NCAA Tournament games, U.S. Open Cup matches by the Los Angeles Galaxy, and 8 games by the U.S. national team -- which is undefeated there, winning 4 and drawing 4. 800 N. State College Blvd. Metrolink Blue Line from L.A. to Buena Park, then Number 24 bus. Or Number 57 bus from Angel Stadium.

* StubHub Center. Formerly the Home Depot Center, this 30,500-seat stadium opened in 2003 as the home of MLS' Los Angeles Galaxy. Chivas USA also played there from their 2005 founding to their 2014 folding.

It's hosted 12 games by the national team, winning 8, losing 2 and drawing 2. The last was a 2-0 win over South Korea on February 1, 2014. It hosted 6 games of the 2003 Women's World Cup, including the Final, in which Germany beat Sweden.

18400 Avalon Blvd. in Carson, adjacent to Cal State-Dominguez Hills. Metro Silver Line to Avalon/Victoria, then Number 130 bus.

* Hollywood Bowl. This 17,376-seat outdoor amphitheater in the Hollywood Hills, with the HOLLYWOOD sign in the background, is one of the best-known concert venues in the world. Opening in 1922, it should be familiar to anyone who's seen films such as the original 1937 version of A Star Is BornDouble Indemnity, Xanadu, and Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl. The Beatles played here on August 23, 1964, and again on August 29 & 30, 1965.

2301 N. Highland Avenue. Metro Red Line to Hollywood/Highland Station, then walk almost a mile up Highland.

* Academy Award ceremony sites. The Oscars have been held at:

** 1929, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, 7000 Hollywood Blvd. at Orange Drive.
** 1930-43, alternated between the Ambassador Hotel, 3400 Wilshire Blvd. at Alexandria Ave.; and the Biltmore Hotel, 506 S. Grand Ave. at 5th Street, downtown.
** 1944-46, Grauman's Chinese Theater (more about that in a moment).
** 1949-60, Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd. & Argyle Ave., Los Angeles.
** 1961-68, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium (which also hosted The T.A.M.I. Show in 1964), 1855 Main Street at Pico Blvd., Santa Monica (Number 10 bus from Union Station).
** 1969-87, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave. at Temple St., downtown.
** 1988-2001, Shrine Auditorium, 665. W. Jefferson Blvd. at Figueroa St., Los Angeles. (Metro Silver Line to Figueroa/Washington, transfer to Number 81 bus; Elvis sang here on June 8, 1956.)
** 2002-present, Kodak Theater (which also hosts American Idol), 6801 Hollywood Blvd. at Highland Ave. (Metro Red Line to Hollywood/Highland).

All of these still stand, except the Ambassador, demolished in 2005. The site of a legendary nightclub, the Cocoanut Grove, and filming site of a lot of movies, the last movie filmed there was Bobby, in honor of the building's most tragic event, the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy on June 5, 1968. (Directed by Emilio Estevez, one of its stars was his father Martin Sheen, who may be the only actor ever to play both Jack and Bobby Kennedy, although not in this film.)

In addition to the above, Elvis sang at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium on June 7, 1956, the Pan Pacific Auditorium on October 28 & 29, 1957; the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino on November 12 & 13, 1972, and May 10 & 13, 1974; the Long Beach Arena on November 14 & 15, 1972 and April 25, 1976; and the Anaheim Convention Center on April 23, & 24, 1973 and November 30, 1976.

The Los Angeles area is home to a few interesting museums, in addition to those mentioned at Exposition Park. The Getty Center is an art museum at 1200 Getty Center Drive, off I-405. The Autry National Center, 4700 Western Heritage Way at Zoo Drive, was founded by the Singing Cowboy and Angels founder-owner to celebrate and study the Western U.S. and Native Americans. (Metro Red Line, Hollywood/Western.) Also at Griffith Park, the Griffith Observatory, at 2800 E. Observatory Avenue, should be familiar from lots of movies (including Rebel Without a Cause) and TV shows.

The Hollywood section of town (not a separate city) has a few interesting sites,and the studio tours may be worth it, but do yourself a favor and skip the tours of stars' homes. You're probably not going to see any of the celebrities. You've got a better chance of seeing one back home on the streets of New York.

And stay away from the HOLLYWOOD sign. You might remember the shot of it in the ESPN film The Bronx Is Burning, when the Yankees went out to L.A. to play the Dodgers in the 1977 World Series, their shot of the sign was accurate: In 1977, it was falling apart, a genuine ruin. A year later, it was restored, but it’s still no big deal up close. It was meant to be seen from afar.

Grauman's Chinese Theater, with its cemented signatures and footprints of stars, is the centerpiece of the Hollywood Walk of Fame at the legendary intersection of Hollywood Blvd. & Vine Street (6931 Hollywood Blvd. at Orange Drive, also at the Hollywood/Highland Metro stop).

If you're interested in American history, especially recent history, Southern California is home to 2 Presidential Libraries. Richard Nixon's is not far from Anaheim, built adjacent to the house where he was born in 1913 at 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd. in Yorba Linda, Orange County. (All year long, they are running commemorations of his 100th birthday this past January 9.) Metrolink Orange County Line from Union Station to Fullerton, then Number 26 bus to Yorba Linda.

His "Western White House" at San Clemente can be reached by I-5 or by Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner to San Juan Capistrano (the former Spanish mission where, as the song goes, the swallows return on the first day of spring) and then transferring to the Number 191 bus; however, the house, which Nixon called La Casa Pacifica, is privately owned (not by the Nixon family), and is not open to the public.

Ronald Reagan's Library is at 40 Presidential Drive in Simi Valley in Ventura County. (Reagan was born in 1911, in Tampico, Illinois, about 130 miles west of Chicago, and grew up in various northern Illinois towns before moving to California to start his acting career.) Unfortunately, the Reagan Library is next to impossible to reach without a car. Reagan's Western White House, Rancho del Cielo (Ranch in the Sky) outside Santa Barbara, is owned by a private foundation that can be contacted for tours.

Until her death a few weeks ago, Nancy Reagan still lived at their post-Presidential home, at 668 St. Cloud Road in the Bel Air section of L.A. Bus 2 from downtown will get you close, but remember that this is still a residential area, so don't disturb anyone. It's been remarked that the ranch was his
home, whereas anyplace they lived in "Hollywood" was hers.

The tallest building on the West Coast, for now, is the U.S. Bank Tower, formerly named the Library Tower. It stands at 1,018 feet at W. 5th Street & Grand Avenue downtown. The Wilshere Grand Tower will surpass it in 2017, at 1,100 feet -- unless a tower planned for San Francisco the same year ends up taller -- at 900 Wilshere Blvd. at Figueroa.

For Yankee history buffs, Casey Stengel and his wife Edna (they had no children) are buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. 1712 S. Glendale Avenue, in Glendale, Los Angeles County. Lots of major Hollywood stars are also buried there, including Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart. Bus 90 or 91 can get you to the corner of Glendale and Cerritos Avenues, then an 8-minute walk east.

Did I forget anything important? Oh yeah, Anaheim's original tourist destination. Most people I've talked to who have been to both Disneyland in Anaheim and Walt Disney World outside Orlando, Florida have said that the Florida one is a lot better.

Anyway, the address is 1313 S. Harbor Blvd. in Anaheim, and if you're staying in Los Angeles, just drive down I-5. Public transportation is possible, but it's a mile and a half from the closest bus stop to Disneyland's gates.

Also nearby is another theme park, Knott's Berry Farm, which preceded Disneyland by 15 years (opening in 1940). With its association with the Peanuts characters such as Charlie Brown and Snoopy (much as Disneyland and Disney World have Mickey Mouse and friends, and Six Flags uses the Warner Brothers cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny), it remains one of the top 15 most-visited theme parks in North America. Its Supreme Scream rollercoaster, 312 feet tall, is currently the tallest structure of any kind in Orange County.

8039 Beach Blvd., Buena Park. About 6 miles due west of downtown Anaheim, 9 miles northwest of Angel Stadium, 22 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. From Anaheim, Number 50 bus to 29 bus. From Los Angeles, Number 707 to Number 460.

*

So, if you can afford it, go on out and join your fellow Yankee Fans in going coast-to-coast, and enjoy the Yanks-Angels matchup, and enjoy the sights and sounds of Southern California. In spite of the fact that this coming weekend may be one of those rare occasions where New York's weather will be just as good.

Yanks Lose In Boston; John Saunders, 1955-2016

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Last night, the Yankees opened a 3-game series against the despised Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Luis Severino, so good in his late-season callup last season, got off to a terrible beginning this season, got sent down to Triple-A Scranton, did well there, got called back up, did well in the bullpen, and was returned to the rotation last night.

The Yankees gave him a 2-0 lead after the top of the 3rd inning. But he let the Sox tie it up in the bottom of the inning. It was still 2-2 going to the bottom of the 5th, but Yanks-Sox games usually don't end up low-scoring, especially at Fenway. They tagged Sevy for 3 runs, and he was removed.

Between them, Tommy Layne (who pitched for the Sox last season), Anthony Swarzak and Chasen Shreve gave the Yankees 3 2/3rds innings of scoreless relief, with only 3 baserunners. But the damage was done. The Yankees got a run in the 9th, but no closer.

Red Sox 5, Yankees 3. WP: Rick Porcello (15-3). SV: Matt Barnes (1). LP: Severino (1-7).

The series continues tonight. Nathan Eovaldi starts against Drew Pomeranz.

*

John Saunders has died. While ESPN gets a lot of criticism, it rarely revolved around him. He was one of the shining lights of the network.
John Peterson Saunders was born on February 2, 1955, in the Toronto suburb of Ajax, Ontario, and grew up in Montreal. Despite being black -- not African-American, but comparatively rare African-Canadians -- he and his brother Bernie Saunders played hockey, attending Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. Bernie would play 2 seasons for the NHL's Quebec Nordiques.

John's talent turned out to be for media. He became the news director for an Ontario radio station, and the sports anchor for first an Ontario TV station and then one in the Province of New Brunswick. He became the sports anchor for Toronto's CITY-Channel 44, and then at WMAR-Channel 2 in Baltimore.

ABC/ESPN hired him in 1986. He hosted their NFL Primetime from 1987 to 1989, and was the studio host for their broadcasts of the NHL from 1993 to 2004, college football, and the 1995 World Series. He did play-by-play for their NBA games in the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons, and then in 2004-05 and 2005-06, he was the studio host of their NBA Shootaround. From 1995 to 2001, he was the 1st TV play-by-play man for the NBA's expansion Toronto Raptors.

He is probably best known for succeeding the late Dick Schaap as host of The Sports Reporters in 2001, a show that is known for frequently calm, sometimes intense, but always intelligent debate about serious issues surrounding sports. Like Dick, John kept it that way. He was also a great fundraiser for the fights against diabetes and cancer, through the Jimmy V Foundation, which ESPN founded in memory of Jim Valvano, the former North Carolina State basketball coach and ESPN analyst who fought cancer until his death in 1993.

John died this morning, at the age of 61. A cause has not yet been publicly revealed, but he was not widely known to have been ill. He leaves a wife, Wanda, and 2 daughters, Aleah and Jenna.

When Stuart Scott died, it was after a long battle with cancer, and, while deeply saddened, his ESPN colleagues were not surprised. John Saunders' death has come as a terrible surprise.

Jeremy Schaap, son of the man Saunders succeeded as host of The Sports Reporters (and possibly a successor to the job himself), said, "I will miss my friend John Saunders. Talented. Generous. Kind. Too young."

And Stephen A. Smith, whose superb writing and sometimes over-the-top TV presence makes him something of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of sports journalists, said, "Devastating doesn't even begin to describe how I'm feeling right now. John Saunders was a wonderful man."

Yanks Survive Nate Injury, Beat Sox!

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If I had told you before last night's game, against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, that Nathan Eovaldi would leave the game due to injury after only 1 inning, you might have guessed that manager Joe Girardi would have gone through the entire bullpen, and we would have lost badly.

You would have been half-right. Thankfully, the good half!

Chasen Shreve and Blake Parker -- a.k.a. "Why him?" and "Who's he?" -- each allowed a run, and it was 2-0 Sox after 4 innings. The Yankees got a run in the 5th, and Nick Goody pitched a scoreless 5th, but Tommy Layne allowed 2 runs in the 6th, to make it 4-1 Boston. Not terrible, and at the little green pinball machine in the Back Bay, hardly impossible. But, at the rate the Yankees have hit for almost 4 full years now, a 3-run deficit looked insurmountable.

Then Sox manager John Farrell removed starter Clay Buchholz, who had put together the best start of what has been a terrible season for him, for Fernando Abad. Big mistake. Didi Gregorius led off with a single. Gary Sanchez, who may have been a big find as a successor to catcher Brian McCann, followed with another. Austin Romine singled Didi home. 4-2.

Girardi sent Alex Rodriguez up to pinch-hit for Aaron Hicks. In what might be his next-to-last game, the New England crowd gave this player that they long hated a nice reception. He flew to right, and Brett Gardner struck out. Two out, and it looked like a nice little rally was over.

It wasn't. Ex-Red Sock Jacoby Ellsbury singled home Sanchez. 4-3. Chase Headley singled home Romine. 4-4. Farrell removed Abad for Junichi Tazawa, best known for giving up a walkoff home run in the 15th inning in his big-league debut in 2009. Another mistake. Tazawa walked Mark Teixeira to load the bases. Starlin Castro doubled home Ellsbury and Headley. 6-4 Yankees.

In the 8th, Sanchez hit his 1st major league home run. Romine drew a walk. Farrell replaced Tazawa with Robbie Ross. Rob Refsnyder singled. A wild pitch moved the runners over. Ross got Gardner to fly out, but walked Ellsbury. He threw another wild pitch, to bring home Romine. He got Headley to pop up, but he threw a 3rd wild pitch, bringing home Refsnyder.

Between them, Tyler Clippard, Adam Warren and -- a 5-run lead is never safe at Fenway, so Girardi did the right thing by bringing in his closer -- Dellin Betances pitched 3 scoreless innings to nail down the win. Yankees 9, Red Sox 4. WP: Clippard (3-3). No save. LP: Abad (1-6).

The series concludes tonight. Michael Pineda started against knuckleballer Steven Wright. Then, tomorrow, the Yankees return home to face the Tampa Bay Rays, and to play A-Rod's last game.

Come on you Bombers!

How to Be a Yankee Fan In Seattle -- 2016 Edition

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A week from next Monday, on August 22, the Yankees begin a series in Seattle, against the Mariners at Safeco Field.

Yes, that really is Seattle. Yes, that really is a nice blue sky overhead. When the clouds part, and you can see Lake Washington and the Cascadia Mountains, including Mount Rainier, it's actually a beautiful city. It's just that it rains so much, such a sight isn't all that common.

Before You Go. Seattle is notorious for rain, but Safeco Field has a retractable roof, so the games will not be rained out. Before you go, check the websites of the Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer for the weather forecast. Right now, they're predicting the low 80s for daylight and the high 50s for evenings.

Seattle is in the Pacific Time Zone, 3 hours behind New York. Adjust your timepieces accordingly.

There is high-speed passenger ferry service from Seattle to the Canadian city of Victoria, the capital of the Province of British Columbia. But it takes 2 hours and 45 minutes, and costs a bundle: $187 round-trip. (The scenery in Washington State and British Columbia is spectacular, and this is clearly part of what you're paying for.) From there, you can easily get to Vancouver.

If you want to make this trip, you will have to give confirmation within 48 hours of booking. And it's a passenger-only ferry service: No cars allowed. If you'd like to make a side trip to Vancouver, you're better off driving or taking the train. But any way you go over the border, you should have your passport with you.

(Vancouver does have a baseball team, a farm club of the Toronto Blue Jays, and they won their league's Pennant as recently as 2013. The 5,157-seat Nat Bailey Stadium is a classic, built in 1951 with support poles holding up an overhanging roof like old-time parks. But the team is no longer Triple-A: It's in the Northwest League, short-season Class A like the Staten Island Yankees and the Brooklyn Cyclones.)

Tickets. The Mariners are averaging 28,722 per home game this season, about 57 percent of capacity, and up 1,700 from last season. Still, even for a game against the Yankees, getting tickets shouldn't be a problem.

Infield Lower Boxes will set you back $100, outfield Lower Boxes $76, Upper "View Boxes" $40, View Reserved $24, left field Bleachers $30, and center field Bleachers $22 – and you'll be a lot closer than you would have been if you'd had similar seats at the Kingdome. The upper deck outfield seats in that concrete toadstool might as well have been in Spokane.

Getting There. It's 2,854 miles from Times Square to Pioneer Square in Seattle, and 2,856 miles from Yankee Stadium to Safeco Field. In other words, if you're going, you're going to want to fly.

After all, even if you get someone to go with you, and you take turns, one drives while the other one sleeps, and you pack 2 days' worth of food, and you use the side of the Interstate as a toilet, and you don’t get pulled over for speeding, you’ll still need over 2 full days to get there. One way.

But, for future reference, if you really, really want to drive... Get onto Interstate 80 West in New Jersey, and stay on that until it merges with Interstate 90 west of Cleveland, then stay on 90 through Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, into Wisconsin, where it merges with Interstate 94. Although you could take I-90 almost all the way, I-94 is actually going to be faster. Stay on I-94 through Minnesota and North Dakota before re-merging with I-90 in Montana, taking it through Idaho and into Washington, getting off I-94 at Exit 2B.

Not counting rest stops, you should be in New Jersey for an hour and a half, Pennsylvania for 5:15, Ohio for 4 hours, Indiana for 2:30, Illinois for 2 hours, Wisconsin for 3:15, Minnesota for 4:30, North Dakota for 6 hours, Montana for a whopping 13 hours (or 3 times the time it takes to get from New York to Boston), Idaho for 1:15 and 6:45 in Washington. That’s 50 hours, and with rest stops, you’re talking 3 full days.

That's still faster than Greyhound (70 hours, changing in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Minneapolis and Missoula, $362 round-trip) and Amtrak (67 hours, changing in Chicago, $746 before booking sleeping arrangements).

On Amtrak, you would leave Penn Station on the Lake Shore Limited at 3:40 PM Eastern Time on Friday, arrive at Union Station in Chicago at 9:45 AM Central Time on Saturday, and board the Empire Builder at 2:15 PM, and would reach King Street Station at 10:25 AM Pacific Time on Monday.

King Street Station is just to the north of the stadium complex, at S. King St. & 3rd Ave. S., and horns from the trains can sometimes be heard as the trains go down the east stands of CenturyLink Field and the right-field stands of Safeco. The Greyhound station is at 811 Stewart St. at 8th Ave., in the Central Business District, about halfway between the stadiums and the Seattle Center complex.

A round-trip flight from Newark to Seattle, if ordered now, could be had, although not nonstop, on American Airlines for around $550. You can get a nonstop on United Airlines for around $850. Link Light Rail can get you out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac), and the same system has Stadium Station to get to Safeco and CenturyLink Fields. The fare is $2.75.

Once In the City. Founded in 1853, and named for a Chief of the Duwamish Indians, Seattle is easily the biggest city in America's Northwest, with 635,000 people within the city limits and 3.6 million in its metropolitan area. Just as Charlotte is called the Queen City of the Southeast, and Cincinnati the Queen City of the Midwest, Seattle is known as the Queen City of the Northwest. All its greenery has also gotten it the tag the Emerald City. With Lake Washington, Puget Sound, and the Cascade mountain range nearby, including Mount Rainier, it may be, on those rare clear days, America's most beautiful metro area.

East-west street addresses increase from Puget Sound and the Alaskan Way on eastward. North-south addresses are separated by Yesler Way. 

The Times is Seattle's only remaining daily print newspaper. The Post-Intelligencer is still in business, but in online form only. This is mainly due to the high cost of both paper and ink, and has doomed many newspapers completely, so Seattle is lucky to still, sort of, have 2 daily papers.

Sales tax in the State of Washington is 6.5 percent, but in the City of Seattle, it's 9.5 percent. Off-peak bus fare in Seattle is $2.25. In peak hours, a one-zone ride (either totally within the City of Seattle or in King County outside the city) is $2.50 and a two-zone ride (from the City to the County, or vice versa) is $3.00. The monorail is $2.25. The light rail fares, depending on distance, are between $2.00 and $2.75. Fares are paid with a farecard, or, as they call it, an ORCA card: One Regional Card for All.
Going In. The official address of Safeco Field is 1516 First Avenue South. It is in a neighborhood called SoDo, for "South of Downtown." This led to M's fans saying their hyped-up but ultimately failed 2001 team had "SoDo Mojo." First Avenue is the 3rd base side, the 1st base side is Atlantic Street/Edgar Martinez Drive, the left field side is Royal Brougham Way (Royal Brougham was not a car or a brand of booze, but the name of a Seattle sportswriter who championed the city as a site for major league sports), and the right field side is the railroad.
Parking is $20. With Safeco being at the southern edge of downtown, if you drive in and park, you're likely to enter on the left field or 3rd base side.

Michael Kun and Howard Bloom, Red Sox fans and the authors of The Baseball Uncyclopedia, have said that Safeco is the best ballpark ever built, better than their beloved Fenway, mainly because it’s more comfortable and convenient. It's certainly a far cry better than its predecessor, the hideous concrete King County Domed Stadium, a.k.a. the Kingdome (1976-2000).
But there are 2 things that I believe damage Safeco's atmosphere. The roof hanging over right field makes it look less like a ballpark and more like an airplane hangar. (The same effect is worse in Houston, worse still in Milwaukee, and worst of all in Phoenix.) And being next to King Street Station, you're going to hear almost as many train horns as you would hear planes in Flushing Meadow. But it's still a pretty good ballpark.

Seating capacity is 47,476. The field is natural grass, and asymmetrical, and points northeast. Outfield distances are as follows: 331 feet to left, 388 to left-center, 405 to center, 385 to right-center, and 326 to right.

Unlike the homer-happy Kingdome, Safeco is a pitcher's park, leading to Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez wanting to leave the Mariners, and convincing Felix Hernandez to stay. (Although it didn't convince Cliff Lee to stay. Randy Johnson was already gone by the time Safeco opened in 1999.)

Richie Sexson hit the longest home run at Safeco Field so far, a 467-foot shot in 2006. Mark McGwire hit the longest at the Kingdome, a 538-foot drive off Randy Johnson in 1997.
The Kingdome. It served its purpose, getting Seattle
into MLB and the NFL, and was thankfully replaced.

The Emerald Bowl, an end-of-season college football game, is played at Safeco. On March 2, 2002, it hosted a soccer game between the national teams of the U.S. and Honduras, and the U.S. won.

CenturyLink Field, formerly Seahawks Stadium and Qwest Field, home of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and MLS' Seattle Sounders, is just to the north of Safeco, across Royal Brougham Way, on the site of the Kingdome. It is regarded as the loudest outdoor facility in the NFL (especially now that the Washington Redskins have left compact RFK Stadium and moved to their far less atmospheric stadium in the suburbs), and it has one of the better soccer atmospheres in the U.S. as well. The U.S. soccer team has played at CenturyLink 4 times, and won them all. It also hosted the 2009 MLS Cup Final.
Safeco Field, with CenturyLink Field behind left field

In case you're wondering, Safeco is an insurance company, and CenturyLink is a telecommunications outfit, which bought similar company Qwest.

Food. As a waterfront city, and as the Northwest's biggest transportation and freight hub, it is no surprise that Seattle is a good food city, with the legendary Pike Place Market serving as their "South Street Seaport." Fortunately, Safeco lives up to this.

They have the usual ballpark fare, and baseball-named stands like the Batter Up Bar at Section 6, Big League Burger at 106, High Cheese Pizza at 109, 132, 141, 241 & 329; Grounds Crew Espresso at 111, The Natural (I'm guessing organic, or at least food with no artificial flavors) at 131, the Asian-themed Intentional Wok at 132, Double Play Chicken & Sausage at 137 & 341, Grounders Garlic Fries (the snack made famous by the San Francisco Giants) at 148, 326 & 337; Bases Loaded at 212, the Hot Stove Broiler at 218, Frozen Rope Ice Cream at 313 & 330, Good Hops Beer (as opposed to "bad hops") at 320 & 330, the Sweet Spot at 332, and the Caught Looking Lounge behind the bullpen.

The Left Field Gate has a stand called Blazing Bagels and a bar called the Flying Turtle Cantina. There are local favorites like Ivar's Seafood & Chowder, and ShishkaBerry's chocolate-dipped strawberries. There's no Starbucks or Seattle's Best Coffee stand at Safeco, but the city's coffee-soaked reputation is backed up with Grounds Crew Espresso.

As far as I know, Safeco is the only ballpark that has a vegetarian-only concession stand, All American Vegetarian, under Section 132. The ING Direct Hit It Here Cafe is behind the right field fence and provides views of the field. In the tradition of Boog's Barbecue in Baltimore and Bull's Barbecue in Philadelphia, Mariner legend Edgar Martinez opened Edgar's Cantina at Safeco last season.

According to a recent Thrillist article on the best food at each MLB stadium, the best thing to eat at Safeco is Liege waffles -- Liege being a city in Belgium, a country known for its waffles among other things -- at Sweet Iron at Section 136.  

Former Yankee and Mariner 3rd baseman Mike Blowers, who grew up near Seattle and is now a Mariners broadcaster, started a food-related team tradition in 2007. During an Interleague game against the Cincinnati Reds, a fan tried to catch a foul ball along the right-field line, but instead spilled his tray of fries along the track. While chatting on the air and seeing the mishap, Blowers' partner, former WCBS-Channel 2 & WFAN announcer Dave Sims, suggested that Blowers should send a new tray of fries to the fan. Blowers agreed, and sent his intern to deliver a plate of fries to the man. During the next game, fans made signs and boards, asking Blowers for free fries as well. Coincidentally, every time the fries were delivered, the Mariners seem to score or rally from a deficit, and thus the Rally Fries were created.

This became so popular with the fans that signs were even seen when the Mariners were on the road, though Blowers doesn't award winners on the road. Sometimes, in the tradition of the game show Let’s Make a Deal, fans wear costumes to get Blowers’ attention. Silly? Sure, but it beats the Angels' stupid Rally Monkey.

Team History Displays. The Mariners began play in 1977, and have never been to the World Series. There are only 3 teams in the 4 major North American sports that have waited longer to get to the Finals: The NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs (1967) and St. Louis Blues (1970), and the NBA's Atlanta Hawks (who have played in Atlanta since 1968, and haven't reached the Finals since they were in St. Louis in 1961). If you count multiple cities, add the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals (1969/2005) and the NBA's Sacramento Kings (have only played in Sacramento since 1985 but haven’t reached the Finals since they were the Rochester Royals in 1951, beating the Knicks).

Nevertheless, the Mariners have won 3 American League Western Division titles, in 1995, 1997 and 2001, and also won the AL's Wild Card in 2000. In 1995, they beat the Yankees in a remarkable AL Division Series before losing the AL Championship Series to the Cleveland Indians. In 1997, they lost the ALDS to the Indians. In 2000 they beat the Chicago White Sox, and in 2001 they beat the Indians. But in both 2000 and '01, they lost the ALCS to the Yankees. (Remember: 116 wins don’t mean a thing if you don't get that ring! Then again, we didn't get it that year, either.)


The 3 Division Title banners hang in right field. The one for 2001 mentions the 116 wins. There is also a single banner for all 3 ALCS berths.
There is no mention (as far as I know), anywhere in the stadium, of the Mariners' Pacific Coast League predecessors, known as the Indians 1903-37, the Rainiers 1938-64 and again 1972-76, and the Angels 1965-68. Seattle won PCL Pennants in 1924, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1951 and 1955.

So if you count Triple-A Pennants won by current MLB cities, Seattle has waited longer for their next Pennant than any other city except Washington, D.C. (the 1933 Senators). And every other minor league city that has become a major league city, but one, has won an MLB Pennant since: Milwaukee in 1957, Los Angeles in 1959, San Francisco in 1962, Minneapolis-St. Paul in 1965, Baltimore in 1966, Oakland in 1972, Kansas City in 1980, San Diego in 1984, Atlanta in 1991, Toronto in 1992, Miami in 1997, Phoenix in 2001, Houston in 2005, Denver in 2007, and Tampa Bay in 2008. The only other exception is Montreal, which came so close in 1981, and had another chance cut short in 1994.


Indeed, it can be said that Seattle is an underachieving city in sports, period. Until the Seahawks won the Super Bowl in early 2014, the city had won only 2 World Championships, ever: The 1917 Stanley Cup (I'll get to that in "Sidelights") and the 1979 NBA Championship. And since the SuperSonics' back-to-back Finals appearances in 1978-79, the city's only trips to the Finals had been the 1996 Sonics and the 2005-06 Seahawks, until the recent Seahawk Super Bowls.

There's a Mariners Hall of Fame display under the 3rd base stands. Members include 1984-91 1st baseman Alvin Davis, 1987-2004 designated hitter Edgar Martinez (now back as a coach), 1988-2001 right fielder Jay Buhner (as a Yankee Fan, you may remember him), 1989-98 pitcher Randy Johnson, 1989-99 and 2009-10 center fielder Ken Griffey Jr., 1994-2005 catcher Dan Wilson, 1996-2006 pitcher Jamie Moyer, 1993-2002 manager (and former Yankee outfielder and manager) Lou Piniella, and Dave Niehaus, who broadcast for the M's from their 1977 debut until his death following the 2010 season. There is also a statue of Niehaus on the center field concourse.
Johnson was the 1st player with significant production as a Mariner to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, but his plaque shows him wearing an Arizona Diamondbacks cap. Griffey just became the 1st to go in with his plaque showing him wearing a Mariner cap.

Although Gaylord Perry (who won his 300th game against the Yankees at the Kingdome in 1982), Goose Gossage, Rickey Henderson, manager Dick Williams and executive Pat Gillick have all been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, none have gotten in due to anything they did while employed by the Mariners' organization. Niehaus has been awarded the Ford Frick Award, considered the broadcasters' equivalent to Hall of Fame induction. Martinez is eligible for the Hall, but is not yet in.

Griffey also just became the 1st Mariner to have his number retired, 24. They have also retired Number 42 for Jackie Robinson. When they signed Robinson Cano in the 2013-14 off-season, they gave him 22, which he had worn for the Yankees until Roger Clemens' return, rather than the 24 he had been wearing for the Yankees.
Martinez's 11 and Buhner's 19 have not been given out since they left the team. But Johnson's 51 was given out to Ichiro Suzuki, for whom it will likely be retired someday. Left fielder Greg Halman had "cups of coffee" with the Mariners in the 2010 and '11 seasons, but was then stabbed to death by his brother in his native Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He was only 24, and his Number 56 has not been reissued. Piniella's 14 was withheld until this season, when it was given to Manny Acta, their new 3rd base coach.

The M's also have not issued Number 00 since Jeffrey Leonard left the club, as the number is worn by their mascot, the Mariner Moose. Previously, the Moose wore the year as his number, i.e. he wore 95 in the club's most iconic season.

In 1999, despite still being active and only 29 years old, Griffey was named to both The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Baseball Players and the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 2006, Mariner fans chose Griffey in a poll conducted for the DHL Hometown Heroes contest.

Stuff. The main Team Store is located along the 3rd base side. Additional merchandise locations and novelty kiosks are open throughout the stadium during all home games. As far as I know, they don't sell hats resembling sailor's caps with the team logo on them, keeping with the "mariner" image; or hats resembling the antlers of the Mariner Moose, but if they do, I'll bet they're a big seller.

Having never been to the World Series thus far, the Mariners don't commemorate their history with many books, but there is an Essential Games of the Seattle Mariners DVD collection. It features only 4 games, as opposed to most of these (including the Yanks' and Mets') having 6: The 1995 AL West Playoff with the California Angels (as the Anaheim team was then officially known), forged when the Halos had an epic collapse and the M's an equally amazing comeback; 1995 ALDS Game 5 (known to us as Donnie Baseball's swan song), 2000 ALDS Game 3, and the 2001 AL West clincher against the Indians (not to be confused with the '01 ALDS clincher, also against the Indians).

There are books about the Mariners, in spite of their comparative lack of history. The staff of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer chronicled the club's most important season, the one that got fans to vote to get Safeco built and save Major League Baseball in the Northwest, in A Magic Season: The Book on the 1995 Seattle Mariners. C.N. Donnelly wrote Baseball's Greatest Series: Yankees, Mariners, and the 1995 Matchup That Changed History. (It may not have been the greatest postseason series in baseball history, but it sure did change history: Not only did it save baseball in Seattle, but it forced the Yankees to make the changes that led to the 1996-2003 dynasty.) A more acerbic look at this glory-hungry franchise is Shipwrecked: A People's History of the Seattle Mariners, published in 2012 by Jon Wells.

During the Game. A recent Thrillist article on "Baseball's Most Intolerable Fans" ranked the Mariners' fans 20th -- just above the most tolerable 1/3rd of baseball fans. The article pointed out that...

The highlight of Mariners fandom was winning a divisional playoff game in 1995. People born after that game will be able to legally drink soon. There are kids in Seattle high schools right now who don't even remember the team being relevant. So M's fans are now made up of older people with revisionist history about how "fun" the Kingdome was, and younger people who go to Safeco and talk about the Seahawks. Seattleites have shown they can be great fans when a team even tries to win, but despite spending the GNP of Fiji on free agents, the Mariners haven't made a playoff push in over a decade. 

Well, there was the 116-win season of 2001, but 21-year-olds would then have been 5, so they don't really remember that, either. But at least they don't remember how inadequate as a baseball facility the Kingdome actually was.

Wearing Yankee gear in Seattle, including inside Safeco Field, will not endanger your safety. Although Mariner fans hate the Yankees more than any other team, including their AL West opponents (the Angels, A's and Texas Rangers), they are generally nonviolent. Laid-back, even: When Clay Bennett bought the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics and moved them to Oklahoma City, there was a lot of sadness, but not much of a protest, even though the Sonics were the city's 1st major league sports team, had usually been good, and won what was then the city’s last major championship.

This is the Mariners' 40th season, but they are not wearing a uniform patch commemorating this. They may be waiting until next year, their 40th Anniversary.

The Monday night and Tuesday night games will not be promotional dates. But the Wednesday afternoon game will be one for which the Mariners will give a Mariner Moose piggy bank to all kids 14 and under.

The Mariners hold auditions for National Anthem singers, instead of having a regular. They don't have a lot to hold your attention during a game. Aside from the Rally Fries, there's no special "Get Loud" device, unless you want to count the playing of "Louie, Louie" by Northwest-based band the Kingsmen, which is played after "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at the 7th Inning Stretch. Their postgame victory song is "Fire" by Seattle native Jimi Hendrix. Since Edward McMichael, a.k.a. Tuba Man, died, there's been no really noticeable Mariner fans like New York cowbell men Freddy "Sez" Schuman and Milton Ousland (Yankees) and Eddie Boison (Mets).

In 2011, the Mariners' marketing staff came up with an idea to encourage the growing fanbase of Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Félix Hernández -- a.k.a. "King Felix." (Funny, but I thought you had to have a crown to be a king. He's never even seen a postseason game except on television. In fact, since he got to Seattle, the Mariners have never even come close.) Every Hernandez start at Safeco is now accompanied by a King's Court section, a place for his fans to sing, dance and cheer while donning custom-made shirts. The team encouraged fans to dress like Larry Bernandez, Hernandez's alter ego from a Mariners TV Commercial, or show up in wacky costumes, rewarding the best with a ceremonial turkey leg. (The favorite snack of 16th Century English monarch King Henry VIII.)

Do they know this is a ripoff of a section at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium, where fans used to wear werewolf masks and call themselves The Wolf Pack when Randy Wolf pitched for the Phillies? Those same fans also put on sombreros for Vicente Padilla and called themselves the Padilla Flotilla, and big fake mustaches for Sal Fasano and called themselves Sal's Pals.

Fitting in with the Pacific Northwest's image, the team's mascot is the Mariner Moose. You may remember a real moose walking through the streets of Cicely, Alaska in the opening sequence of the TV show Northern Exposure. That sequence was filmed in Roslyn, Washington, 82 miles down I-90 to the southeast of Safeco.

You may also remember that, during the 1995 ALDS between the Yanks and M's, the Moose was doing the artificial-turf equivalent of water-skiing behind an ATV, when he lost control and his rollerblades led him to crash into the outfield wall, breaking his ankle. He continued performing on crutches (though not doing the skating) through the rest of the Playoffs. He wore Number 95 at the time, matching the year, but has worn Number 00 since 2000.
The Moose with his pals: Squatch,
of the now-lost SuperSonics, and Blitz of the Seahawks.

After the Game. SoDo is not an especially high-crime area, and, as I said, Mariner fans do not get violent. You might get a little bit of verbal if you're wearing Yankee gear, but it won't get any worse than that.

Two bars are usually identified with Mariners and Seahawks games. Sluggers, formerly known as Sneakers (or "Sneaks" for short), is at 538 1st Avenue South, at the northwest corner of CenturyLink Field. A little further up, at 419 Occidental Avenue South, is F.X. McRory’s. Keep in mind, though, that these will be Mariner-friendly bars.

As for Yankee-friendly bars, while there are Yankee Fans everywhere, I couldn't find anything specific on the Internet. I've been told that the following are good for football Giants fans, but I cannot confirm any of these: Buckley's (232 1st Ave. W. at Thomas St.), Goldie's (2121 N. 45th Street), the Lucky 7 Saloon (12715 NE 124th Street in Kirkland) and Big Daddy's Place (13420 NE 177th Place in Woodinville). Buckley's is just to the west of Seattle Center, near the waterfront. The rest are a fur piece from Safeco or even downtown: Goldie's is 6 miles north of the ballpark, the Lucky 7 is 18 miles northeast, and Big Daddy’s is 22 miles northeast.

Sidelights. Aside from the KeyArena and the Safeco/CenturyLink complex, Seattle doesn't have a lot of sports sites worth mentioning. But these should be mentioned:

* Sick's Stadium. The PCL team played 2½ miles southeast of Safeco, first at Dugdale Field (1913-1932) and then at Sick’s Stadium (1938-68 and 1972-76, built by Rainiers' owner Emil Sick). The Seattle Pilots also played at Sick's, but lasted only one year, 1969, before being moved to Milwaukee to become the Brewers, and are now chiefly remembered for ex-Yankee pitcher Jim Bouton’s diary of that season, Ball Four.
The book gives awful details of the place's inadequacy: As an 11,000-seat ballpark, it was fine for Triple-A ball in the 1940s, '50s and '60s; expanded to 25,420 seats for the Pilots, it was a lousy place to watch, and a worse one to play, baseball in anything like the modern era.

Elvis Presley sang at Sick's on September 1, 1957 (since it had more seats than any indoor facility in town); supposedly, Hendrix, then 15, was there. A few days prior, Floyd Patterson defended the heavyweight title there by knocking out fellow 1956 Olympic Gold Medalist Pete Rademacher.

Demolished in 1979 after the construction of the Kingdome (whose inadequacies were very different but no less glaring), the site of Sick's Stadium is now occupied by a Lowe's store. 2700 Rainier Avenue South, bounded also by McClellan & Bayview Sts. & Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Mount Baker station on the Link light rail system.

Husky Stadium. The home of the University of Washington football, the largest stadium in the Pacific Northwest (including Canada) is right on Lake Washington, and is one of the nicest-looking stadiums in college football. A rare feature in major college football is that fans can dock right outside and tailgate by boat.  (The only others at which this is possible: Neyland Stadium at the University of Tennessee, and Heinz Field for University of Pittsburgh games.)

It opened in 1920, making it the oldest stadium in the Pacific-12 Conference. The Seahawks played a few home games here in 1994, after some tiles fell from the Kingdome roof, and played their games here in 2000 and 2001 between the demolition of the Kingdome and the opening of what's now CenturyLink Field. In 1923, it was the site of the last public speech given by President Warren G. Harding before his death in a San Francisco hotel.

Sadly, The Wave was invented here in 1981, by university yell leader (think male cheerleader) Robb Weller, later one of Mary Hart's co-hosts on Entertainment Tonight.

A major renovation was recently completed, necessary due to age and the moisture from being on the water and in Seattle's rainy climate. Pretty much everything but the north stand of the east-pointing horseshoe was demolished and replaced. The Huskies played the 2012 season at CenturyLink, and moved into the revamped, 70,138-seat Husky Stadium for the 2013 season. Rutgers University will play its 1st game of the 2016 football game against Washington here, on Saturday, September 3.

3800 Montlake Blvd. NE, at Pacific St. Bus 545 to Montlake & Lake Washington Blvd., then walk half a mile across Montlake Cut, a canal that connects Lake Washington with Lake Union. Or, Bus 511 to 45th St. & 7th Ave., then Bus 44 to Pacific & Montlake, outside UW Medical Center, then walk a quarter of a mile.

* Edmundson Pavilion. Adjacent to Husky Stadium, at 3870 Montlake, is Alaska Airlines Arena at Clarence S. "Hec" Edmundson Pavilion, the home of "U-Dub" basketball since 1927. Hec was the school's longtime basketball and track coach, and "Hec Ed" hosted the NCAA Final Four in 1949 (Kentucky over Oklahoma A&M, the school now known as Oklahoma State) and 1952 (Kansas over St. John's). It has also hosted the State of Washington's high school basketball finals.

UW has been to the Final Four only once, in 1953, although they've won the regular-season title in the league now called the Pac-12 11 times, including 2012; and the Conference Tournament 3 times, most recently in 2011. Washington State, across the State in Pullman, reached the Championship Game in 1941, but hasn't been back to the Final Four since.

The Kingdome hosted the Final Four in 1984 (Georgetown over Houston), 1989 (Michigan over Seton Hall), and 1995 (UCLA over Arkansas). It also hosted 3 U.S. soccer team matches: A win, a loss, and a draw.

* Seattle Ice Arena. The Seattle Metropolitans played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association from 1915 to the league's folding in 1926, and won 5 league championships: 1917, 1919, 1920, 1922 and 1924. In 1917, they defeated the National Hockey Association champion Montreal Canadiens, and became the 1st American team to win the Stanley Cup. This would be Seattle's only world title in any sport for 62 years.

They played at the Seattle Ice Arena, which seated only 4,000 people, and was demolished in 1963. The IBM Building, a typically tacky piece of 1960s architecture, now stands on the site. 1200 Fifth Avenue at University Avenue, downtown.

* Seattle Center and Key Arena. Erected for the 1962 World's Fair (as seen in the Elvis film It Happened At the World's Fair), Seattle Center, north of the sports complex at 400 Broad St. at John St., includes the city's trademark, the Space Needle. Admission is $22, less than the cost of the Empire State Building, and it's open 'til 11:00 PM, with great views of the region's natural splendor.

Seattle Center also has the Pacific Science Center (think of it the Northwest’s version of the American Museum of Natural History and its Hayden Planetarium), the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (not sure why Seattle was chosen as the Hall’s location, although the city is a major aerospace center).

Also in this complex is Memorial Stadium, a high school football stadium built in 1946. It used to host the old North American Soccer League version of the Sounders, and now hosts the women's soccer team, the Seattle Reign. On June 24, 1975, it hosted a game between the national teams of the U.S. and Poland, ending in a draw.

Also in this complex is the KeyArena, home of the WNBA's Seattle Storm and formerly the SuperSonics. (The KeyArena was built on the site of the Sonics' previous home, the Seattle Center Coliseum.) The Storm's Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson were named to the NBA's 15th Anniversary 15 Greatest Players in 2012. A high school football stadium is also on the site. Number 33 bus, although the nearest Link station is several blocks' walk away.

On May 12, 2014, the New York Times printed a story that shows NBA fandom by ZIP Code, according to Facebook likes. With the loss of the Sonics, Seattle fans not only refused to accept their former heroes as Oklahoma City Thunder (Thunders? Thundermen?), but also refused to accept the next-closest team, their former arch-rivals, the Portland Trail Blazers, 171 miles away, as their new team. They seem to divide their fandom 4 ways, none of which should surprise you: The Chicago Bulls, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. But if Seattle should ever get another team, these fans would certainly get behind the new Sonics.

At 967 feet high, Columbia Center, a.k.a. The Black Tower, is the tallest building in the Northwest, and, for the moment, the tallest building in North America west of the Rocky Mountains except for the U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles. (A building going up in San Francisco, and another in Los Angeles, are both expected to top the Black Tower by 2017.) If you're wondering about Seattle's most famous icon, the Space Needle was once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River, but at 605 feet it is well short of the Black Tower.

Aside from Seattle Center and its Space Needle, and the stadiums, Seattle's best-known structure is the Pike Place Market. Think of it as their version of the South Street Seaport and Fulton Fish Market. (Or Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market, Baltimore's Harborplace, or Boston's Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall.) It includes the 1st-ever Starbucks store, which is still open. Downtown, 85 Pike Street at Western Avenue.

If Seattle ever got a new NBA team, it would rank 17th among NBA metro areas in population. It would also rank 17th in the NHL. The closest NHL team is the Vancouver Canucks, 144 miles away.

Aside from the Pacific Science Center and the Science Fiction Museum, Seattle isn't a big museum city, although the Seattle Art Museum, at 1300 1st Avenue at University Street, might be worth a visit.

Not many TV shows have been set in Seattle. Northern Exposure was filmed in the State of Washington, and Twin Peaks was both filmed and set there, but not in the City of Seattle. The science-fiction series Dark Angel, which vaulted Jessica Alba and Michael Weatherly to stardom, was set in a dystopian future Seattle, but was filmed in Vancouver. So was Millennium. So was Smallville, but that wasn't meant to be Seattle. Arrow, about another superhero, is filmed in Vancouver, and perhaps due to Green Arrow wearing a green costume, I've often thought of his hometown of Star City (Starling City on the show) as being DC Comics' analogue for Seattle. While Frasier was set in Seattle, and Grey's Anatomy still is, there were hardly any location shots.

Nor have there been very many movies set in Seattle. The most obvious is Sleepless in Seattle, and the city was home to Matthew Broderick's and Ally Sheedy's characters in WarGames (in which Broderick's computer hacking has much greater consequences than it would 3 years later in the Chicago-based Ferris Bueller's Day Off).

Singles came along in 1992, at the height of grunge and the rise of Starbucks, which helped make Seattle the hippest city in the country in the years of George Bush the father and Bill Clinton's first term -- or, as Jason Alexander put it on Seinfeld, "It's the pesto of cities." It also reminded us of how good an actor Matt Dillon is, how gorgeous Kyra Sedgwick is, and that Bridget Fonda (daughter of Peter, niece of Jane and granddaughter of Henry) and Campbell Scott (son of George C. and Colleen Dewhurst) were worthy of their genes.

*

So, if you can afford it, go on out and join your fellow Yankee Fans in taking over the Mariners' ballpark. And if they bring up 1995, feel free to bring up 2000 and 2001.

How to be a Met Fan In St. Louis -- 2016 Edition

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The Mets will visit St. Louis for a 3-game series with the Cardinals, starting on Tuesday, August 23.

The Mets and the Cards had fights for the National League Eastern Division title in 1973, 1985 and 1987, and faced each other in the NLCS in 2000 (Mets won) and 2006 (Cards won). As the great college football broadcaster Keith Jackson would say, "These two teams just don't like each other." Or, more accurately, their sets of fans don't.

Before You Go. The website of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is predicting heat. Afternoons will reach the high 80s, maybe the low 80s next week, and the nights will be in the high 60s. St. Louis is known for its heat. The new Busch Stadium is open, unlike the previous one, which, as Casey Stengel put it, really held the heat well. But it could still be hot.

St. Louis is in the Central Time Zone, an hour behind New York. Adjust your timepieces accordingly.

Tickets. The Cardinals always sell well, even in off years. They averaged 43,467 fans per home game last season. This year, they're averaging 43,082, nearly a sellout every time, 2nd in the majors only to the Dodgers. So tickets may be hard to come by.

At least tickets should be cheap: Infield Boxes will be $51, and 1st & 3rd Base Field Boxes $33, Infield Pavilion $26, Infield Terrace $16, Bleachers $16.

Getting There. Busch Stadium is 961 miles from Citi Field, and the same distance from Yankee Stadium. Knowing this, your first reaction is going to be to fly out there.

If you order tickets on American Airlines now, you could conceivably get a round-trip fare from Newark Liberty to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport for a little over $400. You will, however, have to change planes, most likely in Chicago. If you order on United, you could get a nonstop flight for under $600. (Albert Bond Lambert was a St. Louis golfer and an early aviator.)

MetroLink, St. Louis' light rail system, will get you directly from Lambert to the ballpark. Of course, if you're going for the whole series, you should get a hotel. And whatever you do, if you take a taxi instead, do not call the dispatcher "a slab of meat with mittens" like Steve Martin did at that same airport in Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

Bus? Not a good idea. Greyhound runs 8 buses a day between Port Authority and St. Louis, and only 4 of them are without changes. The average time of these trips is around 24 hours, and costs $274 round-trip, although it can drop to $210 with advanced-purchase. The Greyhound terminal is at Union Station, downtown at 430 S. 15th Street.
Union Station is also their train hub. You could board the Lake Shore Limited at Penn Station at 3:45 Eastern on Sunday afternoon, arriving at Union Station in Chicago at 9:45 Central on Monday morning, transfer to the Texas Eagle at 1:45 in the afternoon, and be at St. Louis' Union Station at 7:21 that night. Which would get you there a little under 24 hours before the Tuesday game. That's 26 hours and 36 minutes.  onger than the bus, but cheaper, and you get to be in Chicago for 4 hours, which is cool. It will be $319 round-trip.
If you decide to drive, it's far enough that it will help to get someone to go with you and split the duties, and to trade off driving and sleeping. You'll need to get on the New Jersey Turnpike, and take Interstate 78 West across New Jersey, and at Harrisburg get on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which at this point will be both I-70 and I-76. When the two Interstates split outside Pittsburgh, stay on I-70 west. You'll cross the northern tip of West Virginia, and go all the way across Ohio (through Columbus), Indiana (through Indianapolis) and Illinois. When you cross into Missouri, Exit 9 will be for the Sports Complex.

If you do it right, you should spend about an hour and 15 minutes in New Jersey, 5 hours in Pennsylvania, 15 minutes in West Virginia, 3 hours and 45 minutes in Ohio, 2 hours and 30 minutes in Indiana, 2 hours and 30 minutes in Illinois, and 15 minutes in Missouri before you reach the exit for your hotel. That’s going to be nearly 17 and a half hours. Counting rest stops, preferably 6 of them, and accounting for traffic in both New York and St. Louis, it should be about 24 hours.

Once In the City. St. Louis, settled by the French in 1764 and named for Louis IX, the Crusader King, the only monarch of France to have been canonized as a Saint, has a history out of proportion to its size. There's a mere 320,000 within the city limits, about half of what it was in 1950. But, like a lot of cities, especially in the Midwest, the "white flight" went to the suburbs, keeping the population of the metropolitan area roughly the same, in this case 2.9 million. Or, roughly, the population of Brooklyn alone.

Market Street divides the city's north and south street addresses, and on the east-west streets, the numbers increase westward from the Mississippi River. The sales tax in the State of Missouri is 4.225 percent, but it's over double that in St. Louis City: 8.49 percent. And St. Louis City is independent of St. Louis County, a confusion we usually don't have, because nobody outside County courthouses and Manhattan Borough Hall refers to Manhattan Island as "New York County."

Metrolink light rail has a $2.25 base fare, and the Metro buses are $2.00.  A Day Pass for the entire system is $7.50. If you're staying for the entire series, a Weekly Pass is $25. Do yourself a favor: Do not, even on Metrolink, go across the river into East St. Louis, Illinois. The joke is that the crime rate has dropped because there's nothing left to steal.
Going In. The old Busch Stadium was bounded by Broadway (left field), Walnut Street (3rd base), 7th Street (1st base) and Spruce Street (right field). The new stadium was built next-door, and is bounded by Poplar Street and Interstate 64 (1st base), 8th Street (3rd base), Clark Street (left field, extended through the site of the old stadium) and Broadway (right field). The Metrolink station for the stadium is on 8th, between Clark and Spruce, putting you outside the left field gate.

The official address of Busch Stadium is 700 Clark Street. Parking is $27.50.

Busch Stadium has real grass. Its predecessor started out that way in 1966, but had artificial turf from 1970 to 1995, and switched back in 1996. The turf was designed to help the traditional Cardinal game of pitching, defense and speed, as exemplified in the Sportsman's Park era by the likes of Pepper Martin and Enos Slaughter, and in the turf era by Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith and Vince Coleman.

August Anheuser Busch Jr., a.k.a. Gussie Busch, was the grandson of the founders of the Anheuser-Busch breweries: Adolphus Busch and August Anheuser. When he bought the Cardinals in 1953, he wanted to rename Sportsman's Park "Budweiser Stadium," so he could advertise his flagship beer. Commissioner Ford Frick told him no, it would be too commercial. Imagine that: A Commissioner of a professional sports league prohibiting a team owner from giving his venue's name to a corporation!

Gussie protested: Chewing-gum magnate Philip K. Wrigley let the Cards' ostensible arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, play at Wrigley Field. Frick responded that Wrigley was the man's name, and that he didn't rename the ballpark Doublemint Stadium for the specific purpose of trying to sell gum. So instead of a dismissal of his complaint, Gussie accepted that as a hint to take, renamed the old yard Busch Stadium, and introduced the Busch brand of beer.

Regardless, Gussie Busch -- and especially the man then the voice of the Cardinals, Harry Caray -- did use the team to sell Budweiser. It worked like a charm, as by the time the Cards won their next Pennant in 1964, Budweiser had become America's biggest-selling brand of beer, and pushed a lot of once-big brewing companies out of business or to the local margins. Harry was the greatest salesman any brand name has ever known in the history of American capitalism -- unless you count the way Coca-Cola used Santa Claus, also white-haired and sometimes wearing glasses, but a bit thinner than Harry.

All 3 Busch Stadiums have been heavy on Bud advertising. Gussie had the Sportsman's Park/original Busch Stadium scoreboard replaced with one topped by the Anheuser-Bush logo, the giant A with the eagle flying through it. When a Cardinal hit a home run, the scoreboard operator would push a button, and the eagle's mechanical wings would flap. This was in 1953, 7 years before Bill Veeck ordered the fireworks-shooting "exploding scoreboard" for Comiskey Park in Chicago. When Busch Memorial Stadium opened in 1966, the mechanical eagle was replaced by an electronic one.

On special occasions, such as Opening Day or World Series home games, the Bud jingle "Here Comes the King" (as in "Budweiser: King of Beers") would play over the speakers, while Gussie himself, waving a big hat with a big peacock feather in it, would ride in the cab of a Budweiser carriage pulled by the company's iconic Clydesdales. You think horse manure looks bad on real grass? Imagine that on the pale green of artificial turf.

Gussie died in 1989, leaving the brewery and the team to his son, August Anheuser Busch III, a.k.a. Augie Busch. Augie sold controlling interest in the team in 1996, and the family sold controlling interest in the brewery in 2006, but the Busch family and the brewery still own pieces of the ballclub. The new Busch Stadium, opening in 2006, still has signs featuring A-B brands (Budweiser, Bud Light, Bud Dry, Michelob, et al.) all over the place.

Busch Stadium I (Sportsman's Park) was well north of downtown. Busch Stadium II (Busch Memorial Stadium) was right downtown, and St. Louis' greatest icon, the Gateway Arch, built right before the stadium was, could be seen over its left-field fence, and the idea was incorporated into the park's design, with an arched roof that gave the stadium a very distinctive look that separated it from the other multipurpose concrete circle/oval stadiums of the 1960s and '70s.

Busch Stadium III has a brick look on the outside that suggests an old factory -- or perhaps a brewery. And the Arch is visible beyond straightaway center field, much more so than it was in the preceding stadium, due to the new one's open outfield.

Other than that, though, the view isn't especially impressive: St. Louis has never exactly been known as a city of impressive skyscrapers, unlike such other Midwestern cities as Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and, if you want to count Western Pennsylvania as being "Midwestern" instead of "Northeastern," Pittsburgh. Besides which, the stadium is 5 blocks from the River, so there's not a lot of room to build anything especially impressive -- aside from the Arch, which is one block from the River.

But there is one other notable structure that can be seen from the park: The Old Courthouse can be seen beyond the left field fence. This was where two of the most infamous court cases in American history began, both later settled unfairly by the U.S. Supreme Court in decisions that were overturned by Constitutional Amendments: Dred Scott v. Sanford, in which a slave sued in 1846 to be declared free after his master took him into a State where slavery had already been abolished; and Minor v. Happersett, in which a woman sued in 1872 to be allowed to vote.

The seating capacity of the new Busch Stadium is officially listed as 43,975, but it can be boosted with standing room. For this season's Opening Day, they shoehorned 47,492 into the place; for a 2013 soccer game between Chelsea and Manchester City, 48,263. The park’s outfield distances are 336 feet to the left field pole, 375 to left-center, 400 to straightaway center, 375 to right-center, and 335 to the right field pole. Like its predecessor, the new Busch Stadium is usually regarded as a pitcher's park.

You might guess that Albert Pujols hit the longest home run in the current Busch Stadium, and he did hit one 465 feet in 2011. But in 2012, Matt Holliday topped that with a 469-footer. At the nd Busch, Mark McGwire, understandably, hit the longest, in his 1998 asterisk season, hitting one measured at 545 feet. One of the earliest homers hit there, in 1966, is believed to be the longest hit there without cheating, a 515-foot shot by Willie McCovey of the San Francisco Giants.

Figuring out who hit the longest at Sportsman's Park/Busch Stadium I is problematic, as both left field (known as the "bleachers") and right field (covered by a roof and known as the "pavilion") had narrow seating sections over which quite a few balls were hit, including by Mickey Mantle in 1953 (to left, supposedly 530 feet) and Babe Ruth several times (to right, who knows for sure).

The U.S. soccer team played a 2018 World Cup Qualifier against the Caribbean nation of St. Vincent & the Grenadines at Busch Stadium last November 13. English power Liverpool FC and Italian giant AS Roma played each other there on August 1.

Food. St. Louis has a reputation for great barbecue, and Busch Stadium has a stand called Broadway BBQ in Section 509, near the Bleachers.

They also have stands named for Cardinal legends: Dizzy's Diner, for Dizzy Dean, Sections 139, 161 and 446; Gashouse Grill, for the 1934 World Champions known as the Gashouse Gang, Sections 132, 146, 150, 154, 233 and 450; and El Birdos Cantina, for the Latino-influenced 1967 World Champions (if you'll excuse the fact that it should have been "Los Pájaros" or "Los Cardinales"), Sections 141 and 148. They also have Hardee's stands at 135 and 358.

Keeping with the Midwest's rural image -- St. Louis may be a big city, but even the Royals and the Braves may not have as countrified fan base as the Cards -- they have a Farmer's Market at 136, across from Hardee's; and the Prairie Farms Family Pavilion at 507.

Section 144 is home to the Food Network Hot Dog Bar. According to a recent Thrillist article on the best food at each big-league ballpark, the best thing to eat at Busch Stadium is this bar's St. Louis-style hot dog: Potato chips, barbecue sauce and shredded cheese atop a frankfurter..

Team History Displays. The Cardinals fly flags representing their World Championships atop the scoreboard in right field: 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967, 1982, 2006 and 2011. Those 11 titles are the most of any National League team, and are 2nd in all of MLB only to the Yankees.
They do not fly flags for their National League Pennants when they went on to lose the World Series: 1928, 1930, 1943, 1968, 1985, 1987, 2004 and 2013. Nor do they fly flags for their 1996, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2009, 2014 and 2015 NL Central Division titles, or for their 2001 and 2012 Wild Card berths. Nor for their 1885, 1886, 1887 and 1888 Pennants in the old American Association, when they had the name that would later be used by the American League team now known as the Baltimore Orioles: The St. Louis Browns. (They became the Cardinals in 1900 with a change of uniform color.)

The Cardinals have their retired numbers on the left field fence: 1, Ozzie Smith, shortstop, 1982-96; 2, Albert "Red" Schoendienst, 2nd base, 1945-56, and at least a coach almost continuously since 1961, including stints as manager 1966-76 and briefly in 1980 and 1990, now 93 years old and a "special assistant coach," essentially the Cards' Yogi Berra or Johnny Pesky; 6, Stan Musial, 1st base and left field, 1941-63; 9, Enos Slaughter, right field, 1938-53; 10, Tony LaRussa, manager, 1996-2011; 14, Ken Boyer, 3rd base, 1955-65, manager, 1978-80; 17, Jay "Dizzy" Dean, pitcher, 1930-37; 20, Lou Brock, left field, 1964-79; 24, Dorrel "Whitey" Herzog, manager and general manager, 1980-90; 42, universally retired for Jackie Robinson but also retired here for Bruce Sutter, pitcher, 1981-84; 45, Bob Gibson, pitcher, 1959-75; and 85, Gussie Busch, owner, 1953-89. The Cards' board of directors decided to honor Gussie on his 85th birthday, hence the number; he did not order it retired for himself.

Also honored with the retired numbers are Jack Buck, who broadcast for the Cardinals from 1954 until his death in 2002, represented with a picture of a microphone; and Rogers Hornsby, a 2nd baseman who played in St. Louis with the Cardinals from 1915 to 1926, and again in 1933, and with the Browns from 1933 to 1937. He also managed the Cardinals in 1925 and '26, winning the World Series in the latter year; and managed the Browns from 1933 to 1937, and again briefly in 1952. When he had Hall-of-Famer Rogers Hornsby playing for him at or near his peak, Rogers Hornsby the manager won; when he was past his prime as a player, and then retired, he was a lousy manager. He wore a few numbers during a career that predated them, most commonly 4, and so no number is retired for him, an "STL" logo standing in for his number.
Outside the Gate 3 entrance stands a bronze statue of Musial. It was first unveiled outside the old Busch Stadium in 1968, and was moved to the new stadium. It shows him in his famed "corkscrew" batting stance, and the base includes a quote delivered by Commissioner Ford Frick at Musial's retirement ceremony at Sportsman's Park on September 29, 1963: "Here stands baseball's perfect warrior. Here stands baseball's perfect knight."
Other statues that previously surrounded Busch Memorial Stadium are now displayed at the corner of 8th & Clark, outside the team store: Cardinal Hall-of-Famers Hornsby, Smith, Schoendienst, Slaughter, Dean, Brock, Gibson and Buck; Browns star George Sisler, 1st base, 1915-27; and James "Cool Papa" Bell, a Negro League star whose teams included the St. Louis Stars. (Sisler remained in the major leagues until 1930, just before uniform numbers were adopted, so no number was ever retired for him; and besides, since the Browns no longer exist, they couldn't do it for him anyway.)

There's another statue of Stan at Lester's Restaurant, at 9906 Clayton Road in Ladue, not far from Stan's longtime home; one of Brock at Lindenwood University in nearby St. Charles (which is where the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers come togethre); and one of Albert Pujols (who now plays for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) at Westport Plaza, at the intersection of Interstate 270 (St. Louis' beltway) and State Route 364. And a new bridge carrying Interstate 70 across the Mississippi, opened in 2014, was named the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge.

There are now 34 inductees in the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame:

* From their 1880s American Association Pennant winners: None as yet, but players from this team that are in the main Hall of Fame in Cooperstown are 1st baseman and manager Charles Comiskey (later the Chicago White Sox owner) and pitcher James "Pud" Galvin.

* Between their 1888 and 1926 Pennants: Again, none. In Cooperstown are 1st baseman Jake Beckley and left fielder Jesse Burkett. Also during this era, Taylor Spink inherited his family's publication, The Sporting News, then known as "the Bible of Baseball." He ran it for the rest of his life, 1914 to 1962, and the Hall of Fame named its award for sportswriters for him, giving him the first one.

* From their 1926 World Championship: Hornsby, pitcher Jesse Haines, 1st baseman "Sunny Jim" Bottomley, left fielder Charles "Chick" Hafey, owner Sam Breadon and general manager Branch Rickey. Future Pennant-winning manager Billy Southworth was on this team as well. In Cooperstown but not in this Hall: Pitchers Grover Cleveland Alexander and Burleigh Grimes.

* From their 1928 and 1930 Pennants and their 1931 world Championship: Haines, Bottomley, Hafey, Breadon, Rickey, and 2nd baseman Frankie Frisch.

* From their 1934 "Gashouse Gang" World Champions: Haines, Breadon, Rickey, Frisch (now also the manager), pitcher Jay "Dizzy" Dean and left fielder Joe "Ducky" Medwick (of Carteret, New Jersey). Shortstop Leo Durocher is in Cooperstown, mainly for what he did as a manager for other teams.

* Between their 1934 and 1942 Pennants: 1st baseman Johnny Mize.

* From their 1942, '43, '44 and '46 Pennant winners: Breadon, Dean (as broadcaster), Southworth, Musial, Slaughter, shortstop Marty Marion, center fielder Terry Moore and scout George Kissell. In 1946, Schoendienst and, as a broadcaster, Caray arrived, although Caray is not yet in the team Hall.

Also playing in this era, and elected to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown as a broadcaster, was Joe Garagiola. Also elected, to the sportswriters' wing in Cooperstown, is Bob Broeg, who began writing for the Post-Dispatch in this era, and is said to have given Musial his nickname, having heard Brooklyn Dodger fans, knowing that he liked to hit at Ebbets Field, say, "Uh-oh, dat man is back in town! Here comes dat man again!" So it was apparently Broeg who dubbed him "Stan the Man." He also pushed for better pensions for ballplayers, and advocated for the Hall elections of Hafey, Slaughter and Schoendienst.

* From their 1964, '67 and '68 Pennant winners: Busch, Schoendienst (coach 1964, manager 1967 and '68), Kissell, Buck, Boyer, Gibson, Brock, center fielder Curt Flood, and left fielder Mike Shannon. Elected to Cooperstown, but not yet the Cards' Hall of Fame, are Caray, 1st baseman Orlando Cepeda (better known for what he did with the San Francisco Giants) and pitcher Steve Carlton (better known for what he did with the Philadelphia Phillies).

* From between their 1968 and 1982 Pennants: 1st baseman-3rd baseman, later manager, Joe Torre; and catcher Ted Simmons.

* From their 1982, '85 and '87 Pennant winners: Busch, Buck, Schoendinest, Kissell, Shannon (now a broadcaster), Herzog, Sutter, Smith, pitcher Bob Forsch and center fielder Willie McGee. Note that 1st baseman Keith Hernandez, 1979 NL batting champion and co-MVP, and 1982 World Series-winning 1st baseman, has not been elected.

* From their 1996 Division title: Schoendienst, Kissell, Buck, Shannon, Smith, McGee and LaRussa.

* From their 2000 Division title: Schoendienst, Kissell, Buck, Shannon, LaRussa and center fielder Jim Edmonds. Note that Mark McGwire, with them at this point, has not been elected.

* From their 2004 Pennant and their 2006 World Championship: Schoendienst, Kissell, Shannon, LaRussa, Edmonds and pitcher Chris Carpenter. Presumably, 1st baseman Albert Pujols will be elected when he retires as a player.

* From their 2011 World Championship: Schoendienst, Shannon, LaRussa and Carpenter.

* From their 2013 Pennant: Schoendienst and Shannon.

It is strange for fans of my generation and later to think of Caray, whose broadcasts and outsized personality symbolized the Chicago Cubs, as being the voice of the Cubs' arch-rivals, the Cardinals. After all, his statue is outside Wrigley Field, not Busch Stadium. Yet he broadcast for the Cards from 1945 to 1969, along with Schoendienst bridging the gap between the Musial Pennants and the Brock-Gibson Pennants. He was fired after allegedly having an affair with Augie Busch's wife -- which he never denied. The Chicago White Sox picked him up, and, when his contract with them ran out, he had offers from both Chicago teams, but saw the Cubs signed up with WGN's "Superstation" project, and the White Sox hadn't. He later said that if he'd stayed with the White Sox, he'd soon be "Harry Who?" The rest is history.

There is a St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, but it was moved from the old Busch Stadium to the new Blues arena, now known as the ScotTrade Center. Cardinals elected to it are, in chronological order: Hornsby, Frisch, Dean, Medwick, Musial, Marion, Schoendienst, Boyer, Gibson, Brock, Torre, Simmons, 1970s-80s 1st baseman Keith Hernandez, Herzog, Smith, Sutter, Edmonds, 1990s-2000s coach Dave Duncan, Busch, and broadcasters Buck, Garagiola and Bob Costas.

Also elected are Browns Sisler, Ned Garver and Roy Sievers, St. Louis natives Yogi Berra and Earl Weaver, and Erma Bergman, who played for a St. Louis team in the women's league that played during World War II. There is a Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, but it's all the way across the State in Springfield.

When the 1st All-Star Game as played in 1933, the Cardinals had 4 representatives named: Frankie Frisch, Pepper Martin, Bill Hallahan and Jimmie Wilson. To its 100 Greatest Baseball Players in 1999, The Sporting News (which was long based in St. Louis, but has since moved its headquarters to Charlotte) named Cardinals Hornsby, Alexander, Frisch, Dean, Medwick, Musial, Gibson, Brock, Carlton, Smith and McGwire; Browns Sisler and pitcher Satchel Paige; and Bell of the Negro Leagues' St. Louis Stars. In 2006, Cardinal fans, fully over their McGwire bender and hangover, voted Musial in as St. Louis' representative in the DHL Hometown Heroes contest.

Stuff. Team Stores are located on Level 1, behind the left field and right field corners. The usual items that can be found at a souvenir store can be found there.

Books about the Cardinals are not exactly well-known outside the St. Louis area. Peter Golenbock did his oral-history thing, which he'd previously done for the Yankees, Cubs and Brooklyn Dodgers, with The Spirit of St. Louis, which also included the Browns.

The legendary 1930s club was nicknamed for the Gashouse District, an area of gas tanks and slums which was torn down in the 1940s to make way for Stuyvesant Town. John Heidenry has the best account of that club: The Gashouse Gang: How Dizzy Dean, Leo Durocher, Branch Rickey, Pepper Martin, and Their Colorful, Come-from-Behind Ball Club Won the World Series -- and America's Heart -- During the Great Depression.

Many baseball observers have suggested that, due to his playing away from the media centers of New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, he is one of the most under-appreciated great players ever. But once he approached the age of 90, and now that he has died, there have been a few books to boost his historical reputation. The latest is Stan Musial: An American Life, by the legendary New York Times sportswriter George Vescey. It should be as good a guide as any into the 1942-46 Cardinal champions.

David Halberstam's October 1964 does a good job of showing how the Cardinal champions of the 1960s came together, and also how the Yankee dynasty of the 1950s and early '60s began to fall apart, with civil rights and the Cold War as backdrops. Doug Feldmann continues the story with (again, grammatically incorrect, but that's the nickname that was used at the time) El Birdos: The 1967 and 1968 St. Louis Cardinals, which was really the first team to succeed using a well-balanced mixture of white, black and Hispanic players. (The early San Francisco Giants, Cepeda among them, had the mix, but not quite the success, winning just 1 Pennant.)

Whitey Herzog got together with Rob Rains and Alvin Reid to write Whitey's Boys: A Celebration of the '82 Cards World Championship. James Rygelski and Robert Tiemann wrote 10 Rings: Stories of the St. Louis Cardinals World Championship, which became out of date at the end of the season. Rains tells how that happened in Wild Cards: The St. Louis Cardinals' Stunning 2011 Championship Season.

There are 3 World Series highlight films collections for the Cardinals. Since the official highlight films only started with the Yanks-Cards matchup of 1943, the previous year's Cards win over the Yanks is not included. But the 1943, '44 and '46 Series are packaged together, as are the Series of 1964, '67 and '68, and the Series of 1982, '85 and '87 -- even though the Cards lost 4 of those 9. The 1982, 2006 and 2011 Series are packaged separately as well.

There is, as yet, no Essential Games of the St. Louis Cardinals DVD collection, but there is The St. Louis Cardinals - Greatest Games of Busch Stadium. The games are: 1968 World Series Game 1 (Gibson strikes out 17 Tigers to set a Series record), 1982 World Series Game 7, 1985 NLCS Game 5 (Ozzie Smith, of all people, hits a walkoff homer), 1987 World Series Game 3, September 8, 1998 (Mark McGwire's record-breaking 62nd homer), and 2004 NLCS Game 7.

During the Game. A recent Thrillist article on "Baseball's Most Intolerable Fans" listed the Cardinals' fans 2nd -- behind only L.A.'s, and ahead of Boston's, the Yankees', Philly's, San Francisco's, the Cubs' and the Mets' in that order:

Every last Cardinals fan believes right down to the marrow of their custard-fortified bones that, by golly, the Cards are just a special franchise blessed by whatever deity you believe in (oh, who are we kidding, it's the Christian one) with the capacity to just do things the right way.


They fancy themselves the best fans in baseball to such a degree that it's become a punchline within baseball circles and a dynamic blessed with its own must-read, hypocrisy-exposing Twitter account where you can read all the horribly racist things they continue to say about Jason Heyward for daring to, you know, choose his employer. Oh, and their front office broke federal laws hacking into the Houston Astros computer system, which has somehow received about 1% the attention that Tom Brady's taste for slightly more grippable balls did.
Okay, they can be annoying. And, because they've got a lot of Eastern Missouri, Southern Illinois, Western Kentucky, Northern Arkansas and Western Tennessee people, there may be some Tea Party, neo-Confederate bigotry going on. And I wouldn't go onto the streets of St. Louis or into Busch Stadium wearing Chicago Cubs gear.

But most Cardinal fans are fine. Because of their Great Plains/Heartland image, they like a "family atmosphere." They don't much like New York, but they won't bother Met fans just for being Met fans. They will not directly antagonize you. At least, they won't initiate it. But don't call them rednecks, hicks, hillbillies or (to borrow a term from British soccer) sheep-shaggers.

Cardinal fans wear red. Bright red. Cardinal red. Nearly all of them. This seems to be a requirement. The entire stadium seems to be covered in it, and not just because the seats at Busch are red (as they were at its predecessor).

All of the games in this series will be promotions. On Tuesday night, the Cards will honor the 2006 World Champions on their 10th Anniversary, including a Chris Carpenter bobblehead doll. They will also be holding Beatles Tribute Night -- the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles' show at Busch Memorial Stadium falling on August 21, while the team is on the road. There will be a special Beatles and Cardinals T-shirt and a pregame mini-concert by a tribute band. Wednesday night will be Nurses Night and Y98 Night, raising money for breast cancer research in honor of Jen Myers, a disc jockey at Y98 (KYKY-FM) battling it. Thursday will be College Night.

The Cards have a mascot, with perhaps the dumbest name of any mascot in the big four major league sports: Fredbird the Redbird. He's no Phillie Phanatic, or even a Mr. Met.

The Cardinals hold auditions for National Anthem singers, instead of having a regular. They don't play a song after "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th stretch. But, as I said earlier, in the middle of the 8th inning they play the old Budweiser TV commercial jingle "Here Comes the King," as in "Budweiser, King of Beers.""When you say Budweiser... you've said it all!" After the game, win or lose, they play "Meet Me in St. Louis," the theme from the 1944 Judy Garland film about the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. (So, even that long ago, it was already a nostalgia piece.)

After the Game. St. Louis has a bit of a crime problem, but since the stadium is right downtown, this will probably not affect you. As I said, leave the home fans alone, and they'll probably leave you alone.

A "Ballpark Village" is being built around the stadium, with retail outlets and restaurants. A similar project, with the same name, has been planned for the area around Yankee Stadium since the renovation project for the old Stadium 40 years ago, but has never happened. Hopefully, the Cardinals will have more luck.

Mike Shannon's Steaks and Seafood, owned by the 1960s Cardinal right fielder and longtime broadcaster, is at 620 Market Street at 7th Street, 2 blocks north of Busch Stadium.

If you want to be around other New Yorkers, Bar Louie is the home of the local Giant fans. 14 Maryland Plaza at Euclid Avenue, on the West Side. MetroLink to Central West End, then a short walk. The local Jet fans’ hangout is BoBecks, but it's 20 miles south of downtown St. Louis, across the River in Waterloo, Illinois. 1234 Jamie Lane. MetroLink to 5th & Missouri, then switch to 2X bus, then walk a mile south.

Sidelights. Busch Memorial Stadium, home of the Cardinals from 1966 to 2005, the NFL Cardinals from 1966 until 1987 when they moved to Arizona, and the Rams for 3 games in 1995 because the new dome wasn't ready, was across Clark Avenue from the new stadium.
While it was never a major venue for football -- unless you count those "Bud Bowl" commercials during Super Bowls, where the arched roof of old Busch was easily recognizable -- there were 6 World Series played there, with the Cardinals winning in 1967 and 1982. But only in 1982 did they clinch there; the Detroit Tigers clinched there in 1968, and the Boston Red Sox did so in 2004, with Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon filmed by the Farrelly Brothers in their improvised rewritten ending to the U.S. version of Fever Pitch, with Major League Baseball giving them permission to film on the field after the game.
The 1980s, the era of the White Rat,
the Wizard of Ozz, 3 Pennants and artificial turf.

Busch Memorial Stadium hosted 7 games by the U.S. national soccer team, and the Stars & Stripes were undefeated in them, winning 5 and tying 2.
* Edward Jones Dome. Home to the NFL's Rams from 1995 until last year, it has a St. Louis Football Ring of Fame, but most of the honorees are ex-football Cardinals. The only St. Louis Rams honored on it are Marshall Faulk, coach Dick Vermeil, and team owner Georgia Frontiere, who moved the team out of Los Angeles because she hated the black neighborhood around the L.A. Coliseum, Anaheim was a lousy stadium for football, and St. Louis was her hometown.

Now, with Frontiere dead, and former minority owner Stan Kroenke in full control, the Rams have gone back to Los Angeles, meaning that St. Louis has now lost 2 NFL teams in less than 30 years, meaning that, regardless of how hard they try to get a replacement for the Dome built, the NFL won't try to put another team there.

The Dome has hosted the Big 12 Conference Championship Game, and the 2005 NCAA Final Four, with North Carolina beating Illinois in the Final. The Dome is at 6th Street & Broadway, 9 blocks north of Busch Stadium. Metrolink to Convention Center.

* Site of Sportsman's Park. From 1866 onward, several ballparks stood on this site, including the one used by the Cardinals, then known as the St. Louis Browns, when they won 4 straight Pennants in the old American Association from 1885 to 1888.
Those Browns were owned by Chris von der Ahe, a German immigrant (as were thousands of people in St. Louis at the time), and he was an outsized personality owning a baseball team decades before George Steinbrenner or Gussie Busch were born.

"Der boss president of der Browns," as he called himself in his accent, built one of the first amusement parks, adjacent to the ground, and a beer garden which could be called the first sports bar -- though this is disputed by Bostonians stumping for Michael "Nuf Ced" McGreevy's Third Base Saloon, which also opened in the 1880s. But the ballpark burned down in 1898, and von der Ahe was ruined. The new owners moved the team to Robison Field.

The team's name became the Cardinals with a change in uniform color in 1900, and the American League's Browns arrived in 1902, after spending the AL's first season in Milwaukee. The AL Browns set up shop at the existing Sportsman's Park, and built a new one on the site, the last one, in 1909.

Those Browns remained until 1953, when Bill Veeck realized that Gussie Busch's purchase of the Cards meant the Browns simply couldn't compete. The Cards had moved back to the site in 1920 and by 1926 had set the tone: The Browns were the landlords but legendary losers, while the Cardinals were the tenants but wildly successful. Ten World Series were played in that ballpark, from 1926 to 1964, including the all-St. Louis "Trolley Series" of 1944, when the Browns led the Cards 2 games to 1 but the Cards won the next 3 straight to take it, ruining the Browns' best (and perhaps last) chance to take the city away.
Gussie knew that his Cards -- and the NFL's Cardinals, who played there after moving from Chicago in 1960 -- couldn't stay in a 30,804-seat bandbox tucked away on the North Side with no parking and no freeway access, so he got the city to build him the downtown stadium. Sportsman's Park, the first Busch Stadium, the home of George Sisler, the Gashouse Gang and Stan the Man, was demolished shortly after the Cards left in 1966. The Herbert Hoover Boys Club is now on the site, and, unlike most long-gone ballpark sites, there is a baseball field there.

Oddly, the two teams had different addresses for their offices: The Cards at 3623 Dodier Street, the Browns at 2911 North Grand Blvd. Metrolink to Grand station, transfer to Number 70 bus. Definitely to be visited only in daylight.

* Site of Robison Field. Home of the Cardinals from 1898 to 1920, it was the last mostly-wooden ballpark in the major leagues. Moving out was the best thing the Cards could have done, as -- hard to believe, considering what happened to them over the next quarter-century -- they were the town's joke club, while the Browns were the more-regarded team. It was torn down in 1926 to make way for Beaumont High School, which still stands on the site.

3836 Natural Bridge Avenue, at Vandeventer Avenue. Six blocks north and two blocks west of the site of Sportsman's Park. Again: Do not visit at night.

* Scottrade Center, site of Kiel Auditorium, and St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame. The NHL's Blues moved into this new arena in 1994, after 27 years at the old Arena. Originally, it was known as the Kiel Center in honor of the previous building on the site, and then the Savvis Center, after a company that would go bust in the tech bubble. They've only reached the Conference Finals once since moving in, but at least they're stable and not in danger of being moved. The building also hosts the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, known as "Arch Madness" instead of "March Madness."

The previous building was built in 1934, as the Municipal Auditorium, and in 1943 was renamed for the late Mayor Henry Kiel, who got it built. St. Louis University played its home basketball games there for its entire existence, 1934 to 1991, before moving temporarily to the Arena and then to the Scottrade Center, before opening its new on-campus Chaifetz Arena in 2008.

The NBA's Hawks played there from their 1955 move from Milwaukee until their 1968 move to Atlanta, winning the Western Conference title in 1957, '58, '60 and '61 and the NBA Title in 1958.

1401 Clark Avenue (known on that block as Brett Hull Way in honor of the Blues legend) at 14th Street, 5 blocks west of Busch Stadium.  Metrolink to Civic Center.

On May 12, 2014, the New York Times printed a story that shows NBA fandom by ZIP Code, according to Facebook likes. Being between several NBA cities but not especially close to any of them (242 miles to Indianapolis, 284 to Memphis, 295 to Chicago, 498 to Oklahoma City), the St. Louis area divides up its fandom among the "cool" teams: The Bulls, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat. However, not far into St. Louis' Illinois suburbs, you begin to get into solid Bulls territory. If St. Louis had an NBA team, its metropolitan area would rank 20th in population among NBA markets.

* Site of 1904 World's Fair and St. Louis Arena. The Louisiana Purchase Exposition was held at Forest Park in honor of the centennial of the start of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark heading out from St. Louis to explore the Louisiana Purchase.

The Exposition is remembered as the birthplace of the hamburger, the hot dog, iced tea, peanut butter, cotton candy and Cracker Jacks. While they may have all been nationally popularized at that place and at that time, all of these claims of origin are dubious at best, except for Cracker Jacks, which are definitely a St. Louis creation. Equally dubious was the 1904 Olympics, which were essentially a sideshow of the World's Fair; it wasn't until London in 1908 that they became an institution in and of themselves.

Very little of the Fair remains. The Administration Building is now Brookings Hall, a major building of Washington University. The Palace of Fine Art is now the St. Louis Art Museum.

The Arena opened in 1929 across Oakland Avenue from Forest Park. At 14,200 seats, it was then one of the largest arenas outside the Northeast Corridor, and in terms of floor space only the recently-built "old" Madison Square Garden was larger.

It was the home of several minor league hockey teams until the NHL expansion of 1967 brought in the Blues. At first, the NHL purposely put all the new teams in the same division, thus giving them an equal chance of reaching the Stanley Cup Finals. The Blues reached the Finals in their first 3 seasons, 1968, '69 and '70, due to having signed some legends at the end of their careers, such as Jacques Plante, Doug Harvey, Dickie Moore and Glenn Hall. They haven't reached the Finals since, and only reached the NHL's round of 4, under whatever name, twice in the last 44 years.

In 1977, the Arena had been expanded to 17,188 seats, and with Ralston Purina then being majority owners of the Blues, their "Checkerboard Square" logo was plastered everywhere, and the building was renamed the Checkerdome until 1983. It hosted the NCAA Final Four in 1973 (Bill Walton hitting 21 of 22 shots for UCLA over Memphis State) and 1978 (Jack Givens' Kentucky defeating Mike Gminski's Duke).

But it was seen as being inadequate for a modern sports team, and the Blues moved out in 1994. The Arena was demolished in 1999, and apartments and a Hampton Inn are on the site today. 5700 Oakland Avenue at Parkview Place. Metrolink to Central West End, then Number 59 bus.

* St. Louis Walk of Fame. Honoring famous people from the St. Louis area, including from across the river in southern Illinois, these plaques run from 6150 to 6699 Delmar Blvd. Of the 137 current honorees, 25 are connected to sports: Cardinals figures Rickey, Hornsby, Dean, Musial, Schoendienst, Gibson, Brock, Ozzie Smith,  Caray, Garagiola, Buck and Costas; the Browns' Sisler; the Negro Leagues' Bell; St. Louis native and New York baseball legend Berra; football Cardinals Dierdorf and Jackie Smith (as yet, no Rams); Hawks Pettit and Macauley (as yet, no Blues); boxers Henry Armstrong and Archie Moore; tennis stars Dwight Davis and Jimmy Connors; bowler Dick Weber; and track legend Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Metrolink to Delmar station.

At 6504 Delmar is Blueberry Hill, the rock-and-roll-themed restaurant associated with -- but not, as I once believed, owned by -- St. Louis' own Chuck Berry, who, of course, has a plaque on the Walk of Fame, as does his pianist Johnnie Johnson. They are 2 of the 15 musical personalities on the Walk, including both Ike and Tina Turner, ragtime inventor Scott Joplin, jazz superstars Josephine Baker and Miles Davis, and opera singer Robert McFerrin, father of "Don't Worry Be Happy" singer Bobby McFerrin.

* Gateway Arch.  Built on the traditional founding site of the city, on the Mississippi River, on February 14, 1764, the Arch, 630 feet high with its legs 630 feet apart at ground level, represents an old city. But it is, surprisingly, not an especially old landmark, opening to the public in 1967.

An underground visitors' center leads to a tram that takes you to the top, which is higher than any actual building in town, and serves as St. Louis'"observation deck." Like the Empire State Building, it has lights cast on it at night in honor of various occasions. Admission is $10. 200 Washington Avenue at Market Street, access via Walnut Street.

The Arch is treated as the tallest "building" in the State of Missouri, but the tallest real building in town is One Metropolitan Square, built at Broadway & Olive Street in 1989: 593 feet tall. Ordinary, by New York's standards.

* Brewery. The world's 2nd-largest brewery is the Anheuser-Busch plant on U.S. Routes 1 & 9, across from Newark Liberty International Airport. The largest is A-B's corporate headquarters, south of downtown. Public tours of the brewery are available. 1 Busch Place, Broadway and Arsenal Street. Number 30 or 73 bus.

* Museum of Transportation. A rail spur of the old Missouri Pacific Railroad (or "Mopac," later absorbed by the Union Pacific) enabled this museum to open in 1944. It houses trains, cars, boats, and even planes. From a New York Tri-State Area perspective it has one of the last 2 surviving New York Central steam locomotives, one of the last 2 surviving Delaware, Lackawanna & Western steam locomotives, an Erie Lackawanna diesel locomotive, and the 1960 DiDia 150, a.k.a. the "Dream Car" made famous by New York singing legend Bobby Darin.

3015 Barrett Station Road in Keyes Summit (though St. Louis is still the mailing address), west of downtown. Bus 58X to Big Bend & Barrett Station Roads, then a 15-minute walk north on Barrett Station.

* Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site. The closest the St. Louis area comes to having a Presidential Library, this park was built on land owned by the family of Julia Dent, the wife of the Union General and 18th President who is on the $50 bill.

7400 Grant Road, Grantwood Village, St. Louis County, southwest of downtown. It's tough to reach by public transportation: You'd have to take Metrolink to Shrewsbury station, transfer to the Number 21 bus, ride it to Walton and Grant Roads, and walk a little over a mile down Grant Road.

The Democratic Party had its 1876 Convention at the Merchants Exchange Building, at 3rd Street between Chestnut and Pine Streets, nominating Governor Samuel J. Tilden of New York for President. The building stood there from 1875 to 1958.

The St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall stood from 1883 to 1907, and was the site of the Conventions for the Democrats in 1888 (renominating Grover Cleveland) and 1904 (nominating Alton Parker), and the Republicans in 1896 (nominating William McKinley). It stood at the southeast corner of 13th and Olive Streets.

The St. Louis Coliseum stood from 1908 and 1953, at the southwest corner of Washington Blvd. and Jefferson Avenue. The Democrats held their 1916 Convention there, renominating Woodrow Wilson. It also staged boxing.

The Washington University Field House has hosted Presidential Debates in 1992 (George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot), 2000 (George W. Bush and Al Gore) and 2004 (George W. and John Kerry). 330 N. Big Bend Blvd. Metrolink to University City-Big Bend.

According to the best source I can find, there have been 7 TV shows set in St. Louis. The only recent one is Defiance, a postapocalyptic show now entering its 2nd season, for which a damaged Arch is a landmark. So if you're looking for locations in the city that have been on TV, guess what, the Arch itself and Busch Stadium are your best bets.

*

St. Louis has a history out of proportion to its size, and Cardinal fans like to think of their town as the best baseball town in America. You are under no obligation to agree, but it is one of the best baseball cities, and every fan who can get out there should.
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