Counting the ways our visit to Citi Field was perfect

It’s not Shea. It never will be.

But I can’t hold that against Citi Field, the Mets’ beautiful new home.

Wednesday’s first visit to Citi was perfect! And the Mets even won the game, showing some offense and great pitching, smacking around the Cardinals 9-0.

This will be the first of several posts detailing the afternoon, as we had all kinds of adventures.

Dad, Tim, Andrew and I arrived about two hours before game time and went right to work on the punch list, soon to be joined by Greg Prince, who is considered family in the Mets Guy household.

Naturally, tremendous thought went into this mission, including what to wear. Both World Series victories were represented. I went with my classic 1969 Tom Seaver Mitchell & Ness flannel and Andrew showed off the 1986 jersey – my first authentic! – complete with the 25th anniversary patch. You’ll read about Tim’s choice in a minute.

We explored the ballpark, inside and out, top to bottom, checking off items from the punch list along the way. Let’s start!

1) Find my brick. Tim is the benefactor of my slice of Citi Field real estate, located in section 18. Expect photos from every possible angle.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! This was a very emotional moment, to be sure. We found it right there in section 18, just to the left of the front of the ballpark. It would be nice to meet the Franzese Family from Rockville Centre, Mary Scanlon and the Carney Family. After all, we’re neighbors!

Greg was kind enough to show us his brick, too.

The brick makes me feel very connected to the new yard, even though I’m 800 miles away.

2) Find the plaque that shows the location of Shea’s home plate, bases and pitching rubber now located in the parking lot. Recreate the scene from Tom Seaver Day when Tom stood on the mound and bowed to all sections of the stadium.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! The Mets designed the parking lot so no cars would be right on top of the plaques designating where Cleon Jones batted, Robin Ventura and Felix Millan fielded and Keith Hernandez scooped up long throws. We happily recreated Tom’s magical moment, and others.





Bowing just like Tom did on his special day.

Tim is taking a big lead off of Shea's third base. I hope he doesn't have to slide head-first when he heads home!

3) Don the photo-day-worn Freddy Garcia jersey that Dad won during the spring training home opener. Freddy never got to Citi Field, but I think it would be nice for at least his jersey to make it there.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Tim did the honors, and looked great! We hope Garcia enjoys knowing that someone wanted him to get to Citi Field.

4) Revel in the beauty of the giant Mets history mural outside the stadium, stretching from Stengel to Santana.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!! From both sides, I might add. I read the constant complaints that there isn’t enough about the Mets in the Mets’ home, but this mural is pretty spectacular.

5) Look for the silhouettes of Endy’s leap, Swoboda’s dive and Tom’s delivery outside the entrance gates.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! They blend in a little too much, but I think they’re still a very nice touch.

6) Enter through the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, marvel at Jackie’s courage while ignoring that his link to the Mets is, well, not not especially strong. Pose for group photo in front of the giant 42 sculpture; search in vain for the giant 41 sculpture that we know should be there, too.

MISSION ACOMPLISHED! The rotunda is everything advertised, a wonderful tribute to a true American hero. The Mets even placed a pair of cleat marks on the floor in front of the No. 42 so you know the best place to stand. We did lament the lack of a giant No. 41.

7) Squish pennies for my daughter. I hear there is a machine in the main team store off the rotunda that has inaugural year designs. I also hear that the Mets charge $1 per squish instead of the usual 50 cents, and this is outrageous.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Too expensive, but it was nice that the team has special “inaugural year” designs to squish. The machine was easily found in the gift shop, which was huge. There were some nice specials, too.

8) Locate the former Home Run Apple on display in Bullpen Plaza. Pose for many photos.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! How do you not get all weepy posing with the Home Run Apple? A Mets staffer was on hand taking photos for folks. He had some rules, too. A group of Yankees fans wanted to pose. He said he wouldn’t take the photo until they changed, pointing out that there were t-shirts in the gift store for as little as $10, and they needed to go and buy some before they would be allowed an audience with the Apple.

9) Photograph the massive new Home Run Apple. I hope it’s up and on display before the games like the old one was. Given our home run production this year, that might be my only chance to see it.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! And shame on me for lacking confidence in our Mets mashers. The new Home Run Apple was in fact out of its silo for all to see prior to the game. But it came rising out twice, celebrating blasts from David Wright and Angel Pagan.

On the rise after David Wright's bomb. Poor Rick Ankiel is sad, but he is capitvated by the glory of the Apple and watches it, wishing the Cardinals had something that cool at Busch Stadium.

10) Locate the New York Skyline that once graced the Shea scoreboard and now rests above the Shake Shack concession. I’ve never had something from a Shake Shack, but have heard wonderful things.



MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! The skyline looks a lot nicer now that it is down lower and we can get a good look at it. There is a lot more detail than I realized. The Shake Shack line was already long, but we walked right up to the counter at Blue Smoke.


Perfect score so far. We’ll cover No. 11 through 20 in the next post.

Wonderful day at Citi Field, shameless streak now at 2

We had an amazing day at Citi Field! I'll get the details of our adventures ready, but these two shots show some of the glory.

Citi Quest '09: Introductions and new memories

New Yorkers have been warned: We're back!

Last year we headed to Shea Stadium for a game in its final season, and I compiled a “bucket list” of things I needed to see and do before I was ready to say farewell to my baseball home.

We’re headed to Citi Field on Wednesday, and of course there is a whole list of things that must be accomplished.

But a bucket list means you’re preparing to say goodbye, and we’re just being introduced to Citi. Construction folks I know have what they call a “punch list” of things to do as they wrap up new buildings. That seems more appropriate for our Citi debut.

Once again, Dad and Cousin Tim are a part of this expedition, and my 17-year-old son will be attending his first-ever Mets game, which will be an emotional experience, more for me than him. I won’t rule out wearing our bad ass Mets temporary tattoos again because we are dangerous people.

Our view of Citi Field last June.

Since we’re new arrivals, I’m relaying on all the photos and reviews I’ve seen to compile this list. I’m sure there are great and glorious places we’ll discover as we make our way through the new yard.

I don’t expect too many of these to be particularly difficult.

1) Find my brick. Tim is the benefactor of my slice of Citi Field real estate, located in section 18. Expect photos from every possible angle.

2) Find the plaque that shows the location of Shea’s home plate, bases and pitching rubber now located in the parking lot. Recreate the scene from Tom Seaver Day when Tom stood on the mound and bowed to all sections of the stadium.

3) Don the photo-day-worn Freddy Garcia jersey that Dad won during the spring training home opener. Freddy never got to Citi Field, but I think it would be nice for at least his jersey to make it there.

4) Revel in the beauty of the giant Mets history mural outside the stadium, stretching from Stengel to Santana.

5) Look for the silhouettes of Endy’s leap, Swoboda’s dive and Tom’s delivery outside the entrance gates.

6) Enter through the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, marvel at Jackie’s courage while ignoring that his link to the Mets is, well, not not especially strong. Pose for group photo in front of the giant 42 sculpture, search in vain for the giant 41 sculpture that we know should be there, too.

7) Squish pennies for my daughter. I hear there is a machine in the main team store off the rotunda that has inaugural year designs. I also hear that the Mets charge $1 per squish instead of the usual 50 cents, and this is outrageous.

8) Locate the former Home Run Apple on display in Bullpen Plaza. Pose for many photos.

9) Photograph the massive new Home Run Apple. I hope it’s up and on display before the games like the old one was. Given our home run production this year, that might be my only chance to see it.

10) Locate the New York Skyline that once graced the Shea scoreboard and now rests above the Shake Shack concession. I’ve never had something from a Shake Shack, but have heard wonderful things.
Last year we were denied our real knish!

11) Locate the knish stand. My favorite author confirms there are two locations, and since we’re there on a Wednesday, they’ll be open. Explain what a knish is to my son. Yum!

12) Visit with my favorite author and ask him to sign a copy of “Faith and Fear in Flushing.”

13) Cross the black bridge in rightfield that they still haven’t named.

14) Locate the controversial Dwight Gooden signature, sprawled on the wall of the Ebbets Club, removed, framed and now allegedly on display for all to enjoy.

15) Pose with Mr. Met. My friend Dave Pelland says the World’s Best Mascot makes time to greet fans in the area near the Wiffle ball field, which we also shall attempt to crash.

16) Locate, but not pose with, the infamous Cow Bell Man. Just need to see this guy after hearing about him all these years.

17) Purchase something with the awful rectangle Inaugural Season logo, know that it is historic. No team can possibly create a worse logo.

18) Walk past the Aylssa Milano “Touch” boutique. Openly wonder why it exists. Lament that the ballpark has a Aylssa Milano “Touch” boutique but not a Mets Hall of Fame.

19) Find out if we can get down into that field level area in right field under the overhang. Discover what the game looks like from Jeff Francoeur’s perspective.

20) Sit back and enjoy seeing the Mets with some of my favorite people in the whole world. Last year was about reliving memories and saying good-bye. This time is about making memories and saying hello!

We win!

I had the pleasure of coaching one of my church's two co-ed softball teams, consisting of probably the coolest group of people ever.

We're celebrating a big win in Wednesday's tournament, claiming the consolation championship in a 16-3 pounding of the Double-Baggers.

Thanks for a wonderful season!

Place No. 46: Cardinal Gibbons School; Place No. 46A) South High School, home of the Grand Rapids Chicks

Listen closely, and you can hear Madonna sing "This Used to Be My Playgound."

I’m going to flip Josh Pahigian’s book back a few pages.

He tapped the Cardinal Gibbons School in Baltimore as spot no. 46 in the "101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out."

That’s where Babe Ruth was sent as a youngster, when it was named St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, and served as an orphanage and reform school.

The original building burned in 1930s, and the Bambino helped raise money for a new building. It closed in the 1950s, reopened in the 1960s as Cardinal Gibbons. It’s a Catholic secondary school today.

We didn’t go there during our stop in Baltimore, but I offer up something right here in Grand Rapids.

Alternate Place No. 46 A) South High School, former home of the Grand Rapids Chicks.

And it’s where President Gerald R. Ford went to school, too.

I’ve been interested in the All-American Girl’s Professional Baseball League since the early 1990s.

There’s a chance I ticked off my editors in Flint because I kept proposing sports stories. Might not seem like a bad thing, except that I covered schools and local governments.

But in 1991 I bravely pitched one story I suspected they couldn’t resist.

Rickey Henderson was about to break Lou Brock’s record of 939 career stolen bases, and be, as you know "the greatest of all-time."

Except that I knew he wasn’t.

The professional record of 1,114 bases belonged to Sophie Kurys of the Racine Bells. And, best of all, she was from Flint.

I found the "Flint Flash." at home in Scottsdale, Ariz. and was thrilled to hear stories about the league. This was before the movie "A League of Our Own," and not too many people knew about the AAGPBL.

She sent a note a few weeks later thanking me for the story. She liked it — mostly. I could have sworn she said she might watch Henderson break Brock’s record on television if it wasn’t too late at night.

But Kurys chided me, saying she would never fall asleep watching baseball. I was torn between being crushed and pledging allegiance.

Since the movie, some of the players make the rounds at major baseball card shows and All-Star Game FanFests, signing autographs and telling wonderful stories. I always check out their booth to see of Kurys is among the signers.

We moved to Grand Rapids in 1999, and I’ve always thought it was neat that the city hosted one of the teams — and a good one, too.

The franchise originated in 1944 in Milwaukee, won the championship, moved to Grand Rapids and made the playoffs every year until the league folded following the 1954 season.

The team had some great players. Pitcher Connie Wisniewski earned her nickname "Iron Woman" because in 1945 she started 46 games, and finishing with a 32-11 record. She was named "Player of the Year."

Gabby Ziegler earned the honor in 1950, and was one of the league’s longest-serving players.

My wife found a neat Chick’s pennant for me, and the Public Museum of Grand Rapids once had a whole exhibit dedicated to the league.

But I’ve always wondered where the team played. Some sleuthing revealed that they played at South High, except for 1950-1952, when games were played at Bigelow Field in one of the near suburbs. Bigelow Field was destroyed in a fire, and the team returned to South until 1954.

South is better-known in these parts as the place where President Ford attended classes and played football. Today it houses a Jobs Corps program named in Ford’s honor.

I had an assignment there this week, and arrived a little early so I could walk the grounds and see what was left of the stadium where the Chicks played.

Nothing.

There were some rather untended fields, but nothing left of the bleachers or anything else that would lead someone to think that professional baseball was played on the site.

There were two backstops, but I have no idea where the original diamond was situated.



I was surprised, because Grand Rapids does a good job of recognizing its history. We even have a marker noting that we were the place were fluoride was first added to the drinking water.

Old South High does have some neat features. This stone pattern surrounds the door to the auditorium.

Place No. 65: Mall of America/Metropolitan Stadium

Josh Pahigian takes us back to Texas for spot No. 64 in his “101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out,” and I’m going to set that destination aside for a bit and head north to Minnesota.

Josh heads to the Mall of America, built on the site of Metropolitan Stadium for No. 65. There are precious few remnants of the yard on display, and I was able to check them out on a trip to Minneapolis for an education writers’ conference in 1996.

The visit is worth a trip to the archives, because the Met might have had a sweet name, but that’s about the best thing you could have said about it.

Imagine a ballpark so bad that a domed, plastic-grassed multipurpose barn was an improvement.

Picture a ballpark so woebegone that tearing it down and replacing it with a mall was actually a pretty good idea.

We can only be talking about Metropolitan Stadium, home to the Minnesota Twins from 1961 to 1981.

Metropolitan Stadium was built for the Minneapolis Millers of the minor leagues in 1956, but it was clear it was intended to lure a major league team. It had a curved, triple-decked grandstand stretching from first base to third, and some temporary bleachers.

The Washington Senators arrived and were renamed the Twins in time for the 1961 season, and the first and second decks of the grandstand on the first base side were extended down the left field line. But for some reason, only better bleachers were added along the right field line, creating what I’m assuming were some horrible sight lines.

What was already a hodgepodge became even worse when the Vikings football team added a double-decked pavilion in left field, kind of an early version of the disaster in Oakland where the Athletics and Raiders share a stadium.

Given all these issues, it wasn’t long before there was talk of leveling the stadium, with the usual debate about who would be picking up the tab. Apparently maintenance was scaled back to accelerate the pace, and it got so bad that in the ballpark’s final season the third deck was considered a safety hazard because of broken railings.

But a bad setting doesn’t always make for bad baseball. The Twins went to the World Series in 1965 and took the division crown in 1969 and 1970. Zolio Versalles earned an MVP and Jim Perry a Cy Young. Hall-of-Famers Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew played at the Met, along with Jim Kaat, Tony Oliva and Bert Blyleven, players who still get strong Cooperstown consideration.

Metropolitan Stadium was leveled in the early 1980s to make way for the Mall of America, which I learned is only a $1 bus ride away from downtown Minneapolis. I had some time after to conference ended and caught the bus, curious to see if anything remained of the stadium.

The mall itself is not especially exciting. It’s pretty much the same stores you see in every other mall — just more of them — with a small theme park in the middle.
A Camp Snoopy employee pointed me to a plaque in the floor that rests in the approximate location of home plate.

And high on a wall sits a stadium seat — with no way to get to it. That’s the spot where Killebrew hit the longest home run in Metropolitan Stadium history, a 520-foot blast on June 3, 1967.

The Twins escaped to the Metrodome, and I had a pretty neat adventure there, but we’ll save that for spot No. 70.

Reason for Mets 2009 struggles revealed: It's Hallmark's fault. Santana is cursed.

All has been revealed. I now know why the Mets season has gone into the dumpster.

Yes, the injuries. But I’m talking about what caused the injuries.

It’s the Hallmark curse.

I popped into a card store Saturday for the unveiling of the 2009 ornaments, and there, much to my horror, was Johan Santana hanging with the other over-priced Hallmark collectibles.

I’m all for decorating my baseball room Christmas tree in colorful Mets designs. And I even bought a Santana ornament made by Forever last year.

But I didn’t want Hallmark even knowing that the Mets existed. Because every player picked by the company for its “Day at the Ballpark” series soon watches his career and life spiral down.

1996: Nolan Ryan

The series started out with Ryan, a safe, reasonable choice. But there was an obvious faux pas. The ornament depicted The Express as a Ranger, where he is best remembered for giving Robin Ventura noogies, instead of with the Mets, where he won his only championship. And did you see the photo of Ryan with Tom Seaver in the latest Sports Illustrated? He looked like Don Zimmer! Retirement has not been kind.

1997: Hank Aaron

Also safe. Who wouldn’t want Hammering Hank ushering in the holidays? I hang this one front and center on my tree. Sadly, Hank had to watch his glorious career home run record broken under a cloud by Barry Bonds.

1998: Cal Ripken Jr.

The Iron Man, of course, set the consecutive games record several years before this ornament was released. The next season? Ripken went from playing in 161 games in 1998to just 86 in 1999.

1999: Ken Griffey Jr.

It was hard not to love Junior in his Mariners days. Sadly, two months after Christmas, Junior browbeat the M’s into shipping him to the Cincinnati Reds.

2000: Ken Griffey Jr.

After the whole trade debacle, Hallmark asked for a mulligan and issued another Griffey ornament. It was actually the same pose, but with a new paint job. A bad one, in fact. It showed a solid red jersey with only a sleeve patch to indicate it was in fact a Reds uniform. And, of course, Junior has never been the same.

2000: Mark McGwire

This was he first two-ornament year. Hey, why mess with one player’s career when you can trash two? McGwire was hurt for much of 2000, but still hit .305 with 32 jacks and was rewarded with an ornament. The next season a broken-down Mac gimped with a .187 stick and 29 homers and four years later showed up before Congress all weepy and looking like a deflated balloon from the Macy’s parade.

2001: Mickey Mantle

After the double jinx of 2000, Hallmark played it safe by picking a player whose career couldn’t possibly be hurt. Heck, they picked a player who’s life couldn’t be ravaged by the curse – one who was dead for six years. Not that it appears on my tree. I don’t put Yankees on my Christmas tree.

2001: Sammy Sosa

Sammy hit 64 homers in 2001, and then showed up on Christmas trees. He had one more decent season before going from King of the Windy City to corking bats, ticking off teammates and getting run out of town. Next thing you know, Sammy, who seemed to speak English well enough in his assorted television ads, needed a translator to say practically nothing when hauled before Congress. After a season where he seemingly was not quite the Sammy of old, he found himself out of a job, and finally, his positive test from 2003 leaked.

2002: George Brett

Brett, a clean-cut and respected guy, was already in the Hall of Fame when Hallmark decided to test the curse and make him an ornament. Truth be told, a guy like Brett was needed to off-set the horrible karma from the other guy selected for that year.

2002: Derek F. Jeter

Talk about cursed. Derek F. Jeter went from being an over-rated, smug Yankee punk with no range to an even bigger over-rated, smug Yankee punk with even less range. And the Yankees have not won World Series since Hallmark cast him in plastic.

2003: Ted Williams

After the whole Jeter fiasco, Hallmark must have decided that it needed to salvage the whole line of ornaments. And why not the Splendid Splinter? He was one of the best players of all time, though a little crusty in his later years. And he had died the year before, so there was nothing embarrassing that could happen. Except, of course, when it was revealed that his son talked Dad into lopping off his head and freezing his body after death, and having the rest of the family going to court to reclaim the body.

2003: Jason Giambi

Oh, if that wasn’t enough, the second guy selected that year was soon to be linked to an alleged steroid scandal. Did Hallmark learn from Jeter? Apparently not. Look, when you dance with the Yankees, bad things are going to happen.

2004: Willie Mays

Ahhh. Here we go. The Say Hey Kid. No ‘roids, no goofy family members. It’s all good. Except, of course, that the former Met is for some reason depicted as playing for some other team.

2004: Barry Bonds

Well, Barry’s life pretty much went to hell after Hallmark dropped this baby. He barely played the season after the ornament was released, and we all know what’s happened since. Hmmm. With Bonds, Sosa, Giambi and McGwire, you could have a little theme tree working.

2005: Albert Pujols

Hallmark clearly tried to learn from its past mistakes and picked a picked a squeaky clean player from a great baseball city. The next season, Pujols broke down and missed three weeks of the season, losing just enough of the season to allow Ryan Howard to pad his stats just enough for misguided sportswriters give Howard the MVP award.

2006: Alex Rodriguez

OK, let’s see. Since getting his Hallmark ornament, ARod:
-- Slipped into a prolonged batting slump that became so bad that Manager Joe Torre batted him eighth in some post-season games.
-- Used his contract escape clause to get out of his record-setting contract, inviting mountains of criticism, even after taking the Steinbrenners to the cleaners for an even bigger contract.

-- Was caught by the New York Post trailed him leaving assorted establishments in Toronto with a young lady who didn’t appear to be Mrs. A-Rod. Then, he was found leaving Madonna’s apartment, also without Mrs. ARod.

-- Discovered that Mrs. ARod didn’t want to be Mrs. ARod anymore.

-- Was alleged to have tested positive for steroids back in 2003 trying to earn that monster contract, tarnishing whatever positive reputation his still had.

-- came down with a mysterious hip ailment that caused him to miss a chunk of this season.

2007: David Ortiz

Hallmark robbed Ortiz of his power. Big Papi went from 54 homers to 35 to 23 to 11 this year, with his average dipping to .221. Keep in mind that Ortiz is a DH, so all he’s supposed to do is hit. Since he’s not doing much of that anymore, well, the Chowderheads aren’t going to want to keep him around.

2008: Nomar Garciaparra

This was a surprise pick, because Nomar was already in decline when he was fitted for the tree. But 2008 was a nightmare. Battered by injuries – including one that mysteriously came when the Dodgers needed a roster spot for Manny Ramirez – Nomar played in just 55 games and drove in just 28 runs. Now he’s in Oakland, with just two home runs and a weak .267 stick.

And now Hallmark has chosen to curse Our Man Johan. We’ve already seen some of the carnage. The Murphy drop. The disastrous game against the Yankees. The Mets inability to score runs when he’s on the hill. And, finally, the disintegration of the entire team around him, one at a time.

Thanks a lot, Hallmark.

Look, would it be too hard to mix in a couple Phillie ornaments?

Baseball Place No. 63: House of David Museum

Years ago I gained the appreciation of my son’s friends’ parents by stepping up and enduring something painful on their behalf.

I took the boys to the first – and later, the second – Pokeman movie.

They were too young to just drop off. I just had to sit there and take it. It was excruciating.

The only benefit to this has been that I’ve held it over my son’s head ever since.

Well, after a trip to Benton Harbor earlier this year to the House of David Museum, he says we’re even.

He’s wrong, of course. Those Pokeman movies were brutal. And the House of David Museum is very cool.

Josh Pahigian liked the museum, too, naming it place No. 63 in his “101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out.”

I got the impression that the museum was the outgrowth of some folks’ passionate collecting, starting in a room of their houses and spreading a little until their wives gave an ultimatimum.

I can relate. And I loved it.

The House of David was a Christian commune formed in the early 1900s in Benton Harbor, which is in southwest Michigan near the Indiana border. Members of the colony agreed to refrain from sex, smoking, drinking, eating meat, cutting their hair and shaving.

Picture a whole team of Johnny Damons, before he turned traitor.

But there were fine craftsmen and businessmen, running a popular amusement park and selling their products.

And, of course, they were passionate about baseball.

We arrived on a rainy day this spring, warmly greeted by Chris Siriano. He walked us through the museum’s amazing collection,

The House of David’s baseball team barnstormed around the country, using the games as an opportunity to tell about their way of life and send money back to the commune.

The team didn’t just play well; it entertained, kind of like a baseball version of the Harlem Globetrotters. The teams are credited with inventing “Pepper,” and traveled with portable lights to play games at night.

Soon, the commune had several teams touring at once. Siriano said they were good, because if a player on an opposing team displayed great skills, a House of David representative would soon approach him and offer a nice salary to come on board and grow his whiskers.

The teams often played Negro League teams, and demanded their competitors eat and sleep in the same restaurants and hotels. That earned them a spot in the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City.

Every inch of the museum is covered in clippings, posters and displays, including the train from the amusement park that Siriano and friends are restoring. It’s clearly a labor of love.

The House of David was a fascinating group, and I could have spent the day listening to Siriano tell its story.

I would have, too, except for the kids getting bored and Siriano’s dog was running around the museum and I’m violently allergic.

I liked that the museum was a mom-and-pop operation. As much as I loved the impressive Cincinnati Reds museum, with his flashy exhibits and hands-on activities, it was neat to see a small group of folks caring so much about something that they work together to keep a little bit of it alive.

Baseball place No. 62: Yankee Tavern, and No. 62A: The Dugout

Maybe it’s time for Josh Pahigian’s fellow Red Sox fans to call for an intervention.

Because once again, Josh is bringing us to another stinking Yankee haunt as place No. 62 in his “101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out.”

Let me state for the record, I can think of no reason to enter The Yankee Tavern. For one thing, I wasn’t exaggerating when I called it a “stinking” Yankee haunt.

Josh says fans and even players have been showing up in the bar, located at 72 East 161^st Street in the Bronx, since 1923. He claims the walls are covered in artifacts – including some from Derek F. Jeter -- and that fans pack the place after games.

Just imagine the stench of arrogance and entitlement reeking from the walls of that place! It would take more than a Costco-sized vat of Pine-Sol to deal with that.

Obviously, I’ve kept my distance.

But there was a worthy dining establishment not far from home while I was growing up in Massapequa Park. That would be:

Alternative Place No. 62A) The Dugout.

Like Shea, Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds, some baseball landmarks remain only in our memories. The Dugout is one such place.

Co-owned by Ed Kranepool and Ron Swoboda, the restaurant was located at 1000 Broadway in Amityville, N.Y.

The ads in the Mets programs and yearbooks beckoned. “Every day is Banner Day.” “Prime Ribs, Our Specialty.” “Reduced Children’s Menu.” “Birthday Cakes.”

We went to the Dugout on a special occasion one year. I expected to see Ed and Ron there, in uniform. It was the only way I’d ever seen them. And if you had a real Mets uniform, you’d wear it all the time, too.

Alas, they were nowhere to be found. And I have little recollection of what we ate, or even of the décor, other than it being kind of dark.

But I remember in a glass case by the register sat the most glorious collection of treasures I’d ever seen – baseballs autographed by Kranepool and Swoboda.

Later, Dad came back from paying the bill and presented me with one of the inscribed orbs – my first autograph. I was one happy kid.

And for years, the ball was proudly displayed on a shelf in my room with other treasures.

The Dugout didn’t last too many years. Thanks to Google Maps, I checked out 1000 Broadway to see what sits on the site today. It’s a KFC, probably without a plaque or any other marker noting the history of the acreage.

But I’d still rather go to a KFC – which always smells better than it tastes – than that Yankee Tavern.

ABC offers up music and memories of the glorious '80s

I think about the 1980s and see milestones and adventures.

I see graduations from high school and two colleges. Marriage and a Mets championship. A real world job and an apartment.

My life probably changed more in that decade than it will in any other. So the soundtrack for that transition from teen to adult will always be special.

Some people might hear Human League and Flock of Seagulls and the Cars and think bad hair and bubbling synthesizers.

But I’m instantly transported back to first dates, dorm parties and road trips. I’ve blocked out anything bad that might have happened.

So I was pretty geeked to discover that The Regneration Tour was coming to Grand Rapids. ABC would headline, with Tommy Tutone, Cutting Crew and Wang Chung filling the bill.

It was a full-scale ‘80s-a-palooza.

A roadie let me have Martin Fry's set list after the show.

Ticket prices started at $24, but by the week of the show they were two for $20. My 17-year-old son quickly announced he was working at the pool the night of the show, and my wife said she couldn’t stay out that late on a work night.

That left my 12-year-old, who, lacking the excuse of a job or a reason to get up early, became my reluctant companion.

“They’re from the ‘80s and still alive?” she asked. I took this as a bad sign. “What if they die on stage?”

About a thousand people were in attendance, many, I noticed were about my age, and my daughter wasn’t the only child dragged along to relive a parent’s memory.

Tommy Tutone was first, with a fun, short set of what he called “soul twang.” Of course, the crowd erupted at the opening notes of “Jenny (867-5309),” which Tommy Heath and his two sidemen turned into an extended jam with a call-and-response.

Heath, here in 2007, wore the same outfit at Thursday's show.

My mind flashed back to the Vignette’s end-of-year celebration, asking the disc jockey to play the song for a girl named Jennifer I was trying to impress.

Next was Cutting Crew, the act that surprised me the most. I owned “(I Just) Died in Your Arms,” of course. Everybody did. But I was struggling to remember a second song, and didn’t even have a song-specific memory.

But frontman Nick Van Eede absolutely charmed the crowd, darn near stealing the whole show. The new but unfamiliar songs were really good, and I’d forgotten about the balled “I’ve Been in Love Before.”


You got the impression that he’s content with whatever he’s doing these years, and if he can hop on stage once in a while and have some laughs, it’s all good.

Wang Chung followed, and were a little more somber, dedicating the show to Michael Jackson. But Jack Hues and Nick Feldman, who reunited recently, rocked harder than I expected.

Considering the band is named after a Chinese philosopher, its lyrics aren’t especially deep. But it sure was easy for the crowd to sing “Let’s go, baby. Let’s go, baby. Come on!” And people screamed the refrain to “Everybody Have Fun Tonight,” which leads to our fun ‘80s memory.

I was in a University of Missouri Journalism School graphics lab, working with that first wave of Apples Macintoshes with the black and white screens. We were allowed to play the radio while working, and it wasn’t unusual for people to quietly sing along to themselves.

One day “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” came on, and spontaneously a chunk of the room sang the second line of the chorus -- “Everybody Wang Chung tonight” together, then broke out laughing.

Finally it was time for ABC. It seemed like I was the only ABC fan in college. I’d run laps in the Brewer Fieldhouse with my bulky Walkman playing my “Lexicon of Love” and “How to be a Zillionaire” tapes, imagining what the group would sound like live.

Best I knew, the group didn’t play live. Partly because it was really just Martin Fry and side musicians, and also because the lush sound with strings, horns, complicated arrangements didn’t seem easy to replicate on stage.

Fry, in a stylish shiny black suit and skinny tie, was certainly a little older than the dashing figure on the LP covers, but was sure strong in voice.

He was backed by a six-piece band, including one guy who bounced between keyboards and a huge saxophone and a percussionist with an array of bongos and larger drums.

They band tore through Fry’s hits like “Be Near Me” and “Poison Arrow,” deeper tracks like “Date Stamp” and “Tears are Not Enough” and two songs from a recently released CD that I just ordered from Amazon as an import. It was wonderful.

Fry and friends peforming "The Look of Love" in 2006.

I didn’t think too many people are into ABC. But a several people I chatted with asked which of the bands I was most looking forward to seeing. And when replied, they all said, “Me too.” So the concert was kind of like a gathering of people into a semi-obscure 80s band. Very cool.

I left with ears ringing, voice hoarse and memories revisited. My daughter had a t-shirt and candy from a radio station promotion.

And I now realize why some people took offense to a post last year where I bemoaned that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was filled with one-hit wonders from the 1950s.

Where I heard echoy recordings of do-wop singers, they heard their memories.

Baseball Place No. 61: Jackie Robinson Ballpark; and No. 61A) Plant City Stadium

Florida is littered with discarded major-league spring training sites.

Some, like Dodgertown, sit abandoned. Others find new life as minor-league homes. And there are others who lead less glorious lives, but, at least avoid the bulldozer.

Josh Pahigian takes us to one such place in Jackie Robinson Stadium in Daytona Beach as spot No. 61 in his “101 Baseball Place to See Before You Strike Out.”

The original stadium was built in 1914 and for years served as a minor-league stadium and was home to the Dodgers’ minor-league spring training camp in 1946 when Jackie Robinson made his debut in the Dodgers’ organization.

Josh reports that Branch Rickey selected the site because Daytona was fairly progressive in terms of race relations.

And the future Citi rotunda honoree was indeed greeted warmly.

It was expanded to host the Expos in 1972, and today is the home of the Daytona Beach Cubs, who have a sweet cap logo, which looks like a decapitated bear on spring break, with his cool dude shades and backward cap.

The ballpark was named after Robinson in 1990, and added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Alas, I’ve never been, though do have a cap.

But I have been to another small park that once hosted spring training and now has new life.

Alternate Place No. 61A) Plant City Stadium



The Reds trained in Plant City, not too far from Orlando, for 10 years starting in 1988. We caught a game against the Pirates on March 19, 1997.

It’s funny that the program cover reads “Reds and Strawberries Forever.” The strawberries are the local crop and I’m sure they’re still grown there. But the Reds were in their final year in Plant City before moving on to Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota.

Plant City Stadium was nothing fancy. There was lots of concrete like St. Lucie in the early days.

The Ray Knight-led Reds beat the Pirates 10-7, with the Pirates scoring five of their runs in the first inning off Dave Burba.

About the best player the Pirates threw out there was Kevin Elster, and the Reds had future Mets Lenny Harris and Ruben Sierra.

The highlight was walking down the ramp after the game and bumping into Peter Gammons. I tried to do the journalist-to-journalist chit-chat thing, and he humored me. I’m sure I asked him a Mets question, though I can’t recall what it was. I do remember him being very gracious and friendly.

After the Reds fled, the stadium gained new life as a softball hub.

It is now home of the International Softball Federation, and hosts tournaments. And, and, at one time the Tampa Bay FireStix and Florida Wahoos of the Women’s Professional Softball league.

FireStix and Wahoos? Those names don’t seem entirely progressive.