BRONX, NY – Baseball season just started, and I’ve pretty much enjoyed it, so far. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t love watching the Mets do their best to keep Jacob deGrom out of Cooperstown, but I very much welcome “The Summer Game” distractions. Here’s what’s currently floating in and out of the transom of my mind.
Best Baseball Stadiums. I’m fairly old at this point, and have been to quite a few ballparks—majors, minors, whatever—but ya gotta have your favorites. If pressed, I’d still say that Wrigley Field is my baseball venue of choice. Fenway is a classic (especially the way they’ve preserved some of the old racist “charm”), the OLD Yankee Stadium was glorious, and PNC Park, which houses the Pirates, is both fun to walk to and a great place to see a game. But the answer is, at least for now, Jake and Elwood’s fake address. If you haven’t seen a game there, do. The Worst? Nationals Park.
Least Favorite Baseball Player. Wow, so many choices. If we’re including amateurs, McCarthy is always in the conversation. But, let’s stick with the pros. In my lifetime? No shortage of big league jerks: Bobby Bonilla, Joe Torre, Pete Rose… to name a few. If pressed, I guess I gotta go with Paul O’Neill. A whiny crybaby tantrum-thrower, whose many apologists painted as a “fierce competitor.” His Trump endorsement, which was nowhere near as demonstrative as his dugout antics, was merely the cherry atop this Sh!t Sundae.
Best Baseball Movie. After almost no deliberation, it’s the original Bad News Bears. This has been covered before. Let’s move on.
Jacob deGrom. As I mentioned earlier, it’s simply amazin’ how adept the Mets are at keeping deGrom out of the win column. If the best pitcher of his generation has any shot at all in getting into the Hall of Fame, he’ll have to do it on his own, because he’s not getting there at 70 wins with his 33rd birthday looming. Nah, he’ll have to do it the “easy way,” by winning one or two more Cy Youngs, with almost zero help. The good news is, if he does get in, he’ll be able to specifically thank those who helped him during his acceptance speech. I can hear it now: “I’d like to thank Pete Alonso for hitting that solo home run against the Cubs that turned out to be the winning run in that game where I also had two hits and drove in one.”
Table Scraps. Just a few more odds and ends to address. JG Clancy’s Oakland Athletics are off to an 0-6 start, which is even lousier than their usual lousy standards. At this rate they may have to go undefeated in August and September… which they probably will. The Orioles are once again playing the role of “hooker with a heart of gold,” by letting the Yankees f**k them sideways in the Bronx and help them get their confidence. How are the Orioles still allowed to exist? Finally, with the All Star game moving to Colorado, I’m hoping our own Cam James gets a chance to ump. Can we write in umps on the ballots? We should be able to. Anyway, I want to see CJ eject four or five people prior to the first pitch.
That’s it for today’s somewhat late post. Come back tomorrow for Buddy Diaz, who once got ejected from the Yankee Tavern for ordering a Cosmopolitan.
