The Babe Abides

"That's right keed. It's this big."
"Com'on Babe you must be kidding."
"Nah keed that's were I get all my power. You just have to keep on grabbing and tugging on it. Then someday you might have as big a bat as the Babe."
"Where did you figure that out Babe,"
"In the reformatory St. Mary's. Brother Ignatius taught me. I guess you didn't learn that in the Salvation Army."
"Ok Babe I will follow your advice."
"Good thing keed. Because you know you will always be known as a jerk off."

The Babe Abides

"Hey keed don't stand too close. I don't want to catch no Chinese crud."
"We not Chinese Mr. Root. We Japanese."
"I don't care kid I just know one thing."
"What 's that Mr. Root?"
"You're all pink on the inside."
"Tee heeeeee Mr. Root."
"I just don't want any of youse with a runny nose. Or a runny cunt. I already dealt with that. So line up for inspection. I am going to stick Miller Huggins up there to see what's happening."
"Okey Dokey Mr. Root."

Memories.....Misty water-colored memories of the way we were!

 I used to love Bat Day. Remember those? That was when you went to Yankee stadium and they actually gave you a bat. It was inscribed with the name of one of the players. The first one I ever got was an Elston Howard bat in 1965. That was a real bat. It was heavy. To heavy for a young Trooper York to use in the softball games we used to play in Carroll Park or Red Hook field, You see we used to go to the park with a team made up of kids from the block. We would bring our gloves and bats and a couple of clinchers and get into a game. Sometimes it was almost a tournament. You kept the field if you won. It was usually a triple header. 

I always would bring my Jim Lyttle bat that I got in 1970. It was perfect. It wasn't too heavy and I could whip it around like a wiffle ball bat which is what I had the most practice using. I loved that bat.

Jim Lyttle was an outfielder who had a cup of coffee with the Yankees for a couple of years. He hit 310 in 1970 in a limited role. Those were the Horace Clarke Yankees and it was a punishment from God on Yankee fans because Nuns were leaving the convent and they had the Mass in English. So we had to suck it up and take it like a man. I always followed his career when he bounced around the big leagues and later spent many years in Japan. I would check out the box score in the Sporting News to see how he was doing, Hey that's something nobody does anymore, It is all on the internet,

Jim Lyttle was one of the marginal Yankees that I always rooted for as a fan. I wasn't so much for the big stars like Bobby Murcer or Don Mattingly or even Jeter for that matter. I always rooted the most for the guy who was hanging on. Scrappy get in your face types. Jim Lyttle. Johnnie Ellis, Jim Mason. Steve Kline. Rusty Torrez. Jake Gibbs. Bobby Meachum. David Wells. Those were my peeps.

They don't do Bat Day anymore because I think they are afraid the people with hit each other over the head or something. Another wonderful thing from my childhood like full size Ring Dings and all white neighborhoods that are gone forever.

Still and all I will continue to root for my team. I hope youse guys root for yours. I know Lem will be rooting for his beloved Red Sox. I think he is rooting for them to get a good tan as they are on vacation.

Because as we all know. Boston sucks.

A-Rod Must Go!

So there is a  new controversy with A-Rod today. It seems he was talking with this kid in Baltimore who told him he was going to hit a home run yesterday. And he did.

Now he wants to channel Babe Ruth. Not by doing something cool  like eating nine hot dogs during the game. That would be something. No he wants to do hitting a home run to make a kid happy bullshit which is a myth made up by Christy Walsh the Yankees PR guy in the 1920's. So A-Rod sends out his minions to find the kid and he is nowhere to be found.

This could have been an hallucination of a drug addled mind. More likely just more A-Rod bullshit and part of the circus he brings to town with his nonsense. The only thing that made sense was the number of his home run.

It was number 666.

Congratulations to Nick on his KC Royals kicking ass in the playoffs.

As a Yankee fan I have very fond memories of the Royals even though they cheated in the pine tar game.

I will be rooting for them throughout the playoffs.

LET'S GO ROYAL'S

Congratulations to the Captain

Today was Derek Jeter Day at Yankee Staduim. They had a big ceremony to honor his accomplishments as a Yankee. You can really hate the Yankees and Jeter and still acknowledge that he did it right. Just like I hate Cal Ripken but I can acknowledge that he did the same thing and was a credit to the game. That is why it was appropriate that he came to the field to honor Jeter. They are the same kind of guys. Hall of Famer's who came up with one team and stayed with the same team their whole career. Something that is increasingly rare these days and might be something we will never see again.
The Yankees have a long tradition of these events ever since the first one where they said goodbye to another Captain Lou Gehrig. Then there was the day for Babe Ruth when he was dying and before you know it the ceremony evolved into the old timers game and having Horace Clarkes number retired. But Derek deserved it. Really the first one to deserve the full boat since Mickey Mantle.

Derek will reside in the top five all time Yankees. Ruth. Gehrig. DiMaggio. Mantle. Jeter.

We won't see his like in a long, long time.

Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend (The Next Generation)

"Ladies and Gentleman. Welcome to Yankee Stadium on the day we honor our Captain and Leader Derek Jeter. Now we will send it down to the field for your ceremonies with John Sterling and Michael Kay"

"Welcome everyone to Derek Jeter Day in which we honor our beloved Captain and Leader Derek Jeter. We will bring out many people who were very important to Derek's career. His parents. His family. Joe Torre. His great teammates like Posada and Mariano and O'Neil and Cone and Bern Baby Burn Bernie Williams. Plus people that have nothing to do with him like Harold Reynolds and Cal Ripken and Michael Jordan. We will celebrate Derek's bright and shiny career as a Yankee Legend. What do we have up first Michael?"

"Well John we have the forty three players who played second base in tandem with Derek. Welcome all of these second baseman. We have Mariano Duncan and Chuck Knoblauch and Andy Fox and Pat Kelly and Homer "I Blame" Bush and Miguel "Let's Bomb" Cairo. Let's give them a big Yankee Stadium welcome......."

"BOOOOOOOOO! YOU SUCK!!!!!! GET LOST!!!!!!!!!

"And that's how we do it here in Yankee Stadium John. Perhaps some of them have a few words to say? Here's Chuck Knoblauch to speak on behalf of all of them. Chuck?"

"LOOK I AM NOT CRAZY! SO I BECAME A GARDENER AND MARRIED A DRIED UP OLD BAT FOR HER MONEY! I AM NOT CRAZY! I LOST ALL ME MONEY TO BERNIE MADOFF AND THE THING IS WHEN I THROW HER A FUCK AND MISS SHE DOESN'T"T CARE! I AM NOT CRAZZZZZEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!"

"Thanks for that Chuck.......err maybe the nurses can help him out....so lets continue with our program. The only list that is longer then the second basemen that the Captain has played for is the women he has banged in his Yankee career. So let's have a big Yankee Stadium welcome for all the bitches that Derek Jeter has banged.....Come on down ladies....welcome Jessica Biel and Minka Kelly and Jordan Brewster and Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba and three hundred cocktail waitresses, fifty bartenders, sixty five chambermaids, twelve reporters and of course the one and only Mariah Carey! Welcome Ladies!"

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOO! YOU SUCK!!!!! YOU REALLY SUCK!!!! I MEAN YOU SUCK AT SUCKING OTHERWISE HE WOULDN'T"T HAVE DROPPED YOU!!!!! SHOW US YOUR TITS!!!!"

"So let's get Mariah to step up and speak for all the girls since she was his first celebrity date. Mimi?"

"Thank you John. I just wanted to say that my days with Derek were among the best of my life and even though I am married to Nick Cannon he really only has a pop gun so Derek I want to give my digits ...... wait a minute....what is going on?"

"Sorry Mimi but a stiff wind just blew up and for some reason all of the guests on the field seem to have fainted. Do you smell the ocean.......ARRRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!!"

"BOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! THIS SUCKS!!!!!!!!! WHEN IS THE GIANT GAME STARTING?"

"We will be right back after this word from our sponsor. GET THE HAZMATT TEAM OUT HERE STAT!"

True Yankees

It was pretty interesting that the only baseball players worthy of being in wax were True Yankees. No Cardinals. No Red Sox. No Mets. Just true Yankees.

And of course the greatest Yankee of them all!

Today is one of the best days of the Year

It's Old Timers day at Yankee Stadium.

I remember when I was a kid and all of the Old-Timers were guys who played with Babe Ruth and Lou Gerhrig and Joe DiMaggio. The last guy announced was always Joe. He was a bit of a pussy. He wouldn't come if he wasn't the last one announced as the "Greatest Living Yankee." When Steinbrenner had Billy Martin come out and be announced as the new manager when he got fired.....well Joltin Joe was really pissed off. If he hadn't loved Billy he never would have come back.

All through the years it was guys like Joe and Mickey and Yogi and Whitey Ford and Elston Howard. Then you had the seventies guys like Guidry and Murcer and Roy White and Jake Gibbs. Now it is all the Ninties guys like Tino and Paul O'Neil and Bernie Williams. This year it was the first time for Johnny Damon and Matsui. Holy Cow! Those guys are Old timers now.

I remember one of the highlights was when they recognized the wives of the fallen heros. It was always an emotional moment when they announced the appearance of Mrs. Babe Ruth and Mrs. Lou Gehrig. (Can you guess which is which)

Now we have a lot more lengedary Yankees who have left us too soon. Mrs. Thurman Munson. Mrs. Billy Martin. Mrs. Catfish Hunter. Mrs. Bobby Murcer. They were all there. When they play the Thurman Munson tribute video there is not a dry eye in the house.

I remember all the years I used to go to Old timers games. I was never one for authographes but it was great to see the old timers come out and run around like they were kids. I don't go to the game much anymore. It costs way too much and I have the store and I am too busy. You see I am an Old Timer now. Going to the game takes too much out of me. But I remember it on days like today.

It's great to be a Yankee fan.

Tradition.

Matsui Mania

There used to be a bar next to the one that the wife managed that had this promotion called Matsui Mania. There were two Matsui's in New York baseball at the time. The great Hideki Matsui of the New York Yankees and the hapless Kazuo Matsui who played second base for the worthless New York Mets. Well anytime one of the Matsui's hit a home run everyone in the bar got a free drink! So the Yankees Matsui was a hell of a lot more popular. At least with the drunks on Eight Avenue.

I had to do something to impress the Japs about my multicultural bona fides. So I went to my Bobble Head collection at home and brought my Hideki Matsui Bobble Head to the store and put it in a prominent location where they could see it. They were suitably impressed.

Of course I had to hide the giant stuffed Godzilla doll I had that I used to throw at Mayumi when she worked for me and fucked something up.

You can't win them all.

Yankees pay big money for Japanese pitcher

Unfortunately it is not her.

Lem is still jealous though.

Tanaka gets a boat load of money. The last Jap pitcher we got did ok. Kuroda pitched pretty well last year. The fat pussy toad is dead. Long live the new fat pussy toad.

At least the Yankees are not afraid to spend. I think Carlos Beltran is the key acquisition. He is going to go crazy in Yankee Stadium. He always wanted to be a Yankee and will fit right in. If Jeter can play and give some leadership and we don't have the A-Rod circus we might get somewhere.

Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend.

Toot’s Shors Saloon, September 28, 1961(J Edgar Hoover and Clyde Tolsen walk into the saloon wearing crisps suits and flowers in their lapels)
Toots: Hey look at youse fanooks. How you doin' Eddie. And Clyde. What are you doing with this ugly mug.
Clyde Tolsen: That's for me to know and you to find out sweetie. Come on and give us a kiss.
J Edgar Hoover: Shut up Clyde. We need a table Toots. We just lost a bundle at Aqueduct.
Toots: Eddie, Eddie you got to stop betting like that. What is Jack gonna say? He is gonna fire you. I know Bobby hates your guts. He hates fanooks even more then he hates the  Eyetalians.
J Edgar Hoover: I know that you stupid Sheeny. I need to talk to Joe D.
Toots: Don't get your panties in an uproar there chief. He's in back. And he is with Marilyn. She just got out of the nuthouse so don't say nuthin about how she looks.
(Toots walks them to the back where Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe are sitting at a banquet. Joe is wearing two World Series rings. Marilyn is not wearing any panties. She is wearing a white dress and her makeup is mussed and her hair is disheveled. All of her hair so to speak. She is hot and sticky so to cool off she is queefing non stop. Sort of like a mallard with Tourette’s syndrome.)
Toots: Joe looks who's here. It's the campus couple Eddie and Clyde. Have a seat boys and I will get you a couple of grasshoppers or sumthin.
Joe DiMaggio:
Marilyn: ( stands up and extends her hand. Her twat queefs out the National Anthem. She leans forward to whisper in a breathy sexy voice) Hi Mr. Hoover. And look you brought your girlfriend. Nice to see you again. (She extends her hand shyly and tries to shake with J Edgar Hoover but he avoids it as he thinks girls are dirty, but Clyde Tolsen rushes up and hugs her)
Clyde Tolsen: Oh Norman Jean. I love you. You are so fab. I feel like a candle when I break wind. I want to show you a photo of our rare clumbers. Clouds! Tits! Let me tell you about my bowels.
Marilyn: Oh that's nice. I love you fellas. I used to room with Wally Cox. Right Joe.
Joe DiMaggio:
Marilyn: Joe just helped me check out of the hospital and we are just hanging out.
Toots: Yeah he checked you out of the crazy house you bug house bitch.
J Edgar Hoover: I need to talk to Joe for a minute Miss Monroe. What's that smell? Is somebody eating clams? Is there a dead mackerel in the flower pot or something.
Marilyn: Please don't be angry Mr. Hoover. I don't want to go back to the crazy house.  I know you can do that. I mean you did it to Frances Farmer and Rosemary Kennedy.(She is starting to get anxious and starts queefing up a storm to the tune of the “Flight of the Valkyries.)
J Edgar Hoover: No seriously. Toots. What's going on? It's like somebody is molesting a dead hallibut.
Marilyn: It's just very warm in here. It's Indian Summer and Toots is too cheap to turn on the air conditioner.
J Edgar Hoover: Turn on the air conditioner Toots or I will have to send your wife a copy of that photo of you with your entire head in Joan Blondell’s balloon knot. That's enough to ruin your business right there. Nobody would be able to eat your food again.
Toots: Ok calm down. I will turn it up. Jeeez are you having menopause or somethin’ you old queen?
Clyde Tolsen: Calm down Mary. It's just Marilyn's lady parts. She is sweating a little and there is some dew on the bearded clam. Don't you know anything?
Toots Shor: Blleeaaaahhhh (spits out his drink he’s laughing so hard)
Marilyn: What’s so funny Toots? Why is he laughing so hard Joe? (Marilyn is getting more anxious and excited and she starts queefing even more furiously to the point that she is secreting and spritzing like Uncle Tanoose doing a spit take.)
J Edgar Hoover. Enough the whole of youse. Joe I can't work with this fucking Kennedy anymore. He is pushing me and the photo's I have of him with his dick in his retarded sister aren't enough anymore. I need to do something. I know you know who to reach out to so when you are throwing out the first pitch at the stadium to start the series I want you to slip me a couple of phone numbers. I need Santo’s phone number. Not his regular phone. The other one he does business on. Oh and get me Momo to come up to DC to talk.
Joe DiMaggio:  (Hoover nods at Joe and grabs a protesting Tolsen by the elbow and marches him out of the restaurant)
Marilyn: (visibly calming down) Thank God they left. Angry queens makes me nervous.  That’s why Jeff Chandler always gave me the willies. So Joe do you want to get a bite before we go home.
Joe DiMaggio: Yeah a big smelly plate of Bacala just like my mother used to make. With black olives. You know I love the smell of that.
Marilyn: Oh Joe I love you.

Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend (The Next Generation)

Hello?"

"Hi, is that you Derek?"

"Yes who is this?"

"It's me, Mimi.'

"Mimi who?"

"Seriously Derek, you can't have forgot me already?"

"Is that you Cashman? Stop fuckin around."

"It's me Jeets. Mariah. Mariah Carey."

"I don't believe you."

"Look I can prove it to you.....(she caterwauls a high note that makes Derek’s cat jump off the balcony and falls to it’ death. That was ok because Derek never kept the same pussies around for very long. It is what he is known for.)"

"That doesn't prove anything. Cashman has been a soprano ever since Steinbrenner cut his balls off in 1997."

"Well if I am not me....how would I know that you used to like when I put on that Nurses outfit with the dildo with the numbers printed on it like a thermometer and shoved it up...."

"Ok...Ok so it is you Mimi. Was up? I haven't heard from you in a while."

"I just wanted you to know that I am really lonely these days. I miss you. I have always missed you."

"Aren’t you married and have a couple of kids or something. To that Nick Popgun guy. I bet your cooze is about the size of a manhole cover after you shit out those twins."

"They have an operation for that silly. I am as tight as one of those Japanese school girls they used to send up to Hidecki Matsui’s hotel room. You can come up and try it on for size. I have nothing to do now that I got fired off of American Idol."

"That’s ok Mimi. It might be tight and all but I bet it still smells like the Gowanus Canal on a July night after a dolphin died in it’s own shit."

"Fuck you ….you no good piece of shit I can't believe the Yankees gave you another contract you washed up piece of sh...(Jeter hangs up the phone)"

"Jeeez. Everybody's a critic. How am I going to stop this bat shit crazy whore from busting my chop’s. I know. I will text A-Rod her number. They both have a lot of time on their hands. "

 

See ya Robbie wouldn't want to be ya!

Robbie Cano doncha know is a moron. Not for taking the money. That's fine. But for giving up the chance to be a life long Yankee. Brought up from the farm system he had an impeccable pedigree as a Yankee. He got a very nice offer from the Yankees and they also asked to get a chance to offer more. But he went for the bucks which is fine by me. I always thought he was a loser and now he can prove it with the Pilots. Isn't that the team in Seattle.

When you have a chance to be a life long "True" Yankee you should grab it. Guys get so much more out of it then being a guy who played on a whole bunch of teams. I mean who gives a shit about Sixto Lescano. I had a whole series about him that hardly got any comments. When you a "True" Yankee you can do autograph shows in basements in Staten Island for the rest of your life. Seriously dude.

The Yankees made some good moves so far. I love the Beltran move. He always wanted to be a Yankee. He even offered a discount before he signed with the Mets. He will do great at the Stadium. Ellsbury is a great pickup. Not just as a player but as a player we took away from the Red Sox. I am happy at what they have done so far.

So it looks like the Yankees made a good deal./

They gave out a big contract to the Red Sox's best player Jacoby Ellsbury. I think it is a great move. It takes away from the Sox and adds a lot to the Yankees. We replace Granderson and get a great player who is a winner. So it is all good.

Now a lot of you are gonna say "What about Robinson Cano?" Who gives a shit? He had the chance to be the man this year. There was no Jeter or A-Rod and he had the chance to take the team and lead them to the playoffs. He did squat. So why pay him? He can get his money somewhere else if anyone will give it to him. Offer him a reasonable contract. If he is smart he will stay with the Yankees. If not that is just fine.

Talking Baseball with the Disembodied Head of Ted Williams

"So here we back on the Red Sox network talking baseball with the disembodied head of Ted Williams. So Ted what do you think of the steroid story. I hear that A-Rod might get suspended for a 150 games."
"Like that matters. That greaser is never gonna play again. The Yankees have it all figured out. As soon as his rehab is over the league is gonna suspend him. Bud Selig will do whatever they want. I know the Yankees have a photo of Bud sucking the Milwaukee Bratwurst in the Brewers locker room and he don't want that shit to get out."
"Well why would that be a problem in this day and age Ted?"
"Waddaya mean why would that be a problem. Major League baseball hates the sissies. He could never go into a locker room again. What the fuck do you think this is the WNBA?"
"Well I think you are wrong but whatever. What do you think about the upcoming Yankee /Red Sox series?"
"The Yankees are gonna slaughter em like they always do. What did the fuckin' Sox beat them once in a 100 years. They shot their load. Just like Bud Selig on that Fairy mascot of his."
"But I thought you were a true Red Sox. How can you say that?"
"What do I give a shit about those scumbags. They let my idiot son cut my head off and stick it on a freakin' tuna fish can! Did they do that to Joe DiMaggio? NO! Did they do that to Mickey Mantle? NO! Did they do that to Fritz Peterson or Mike Keckich even though they swapped wives in the middle of the season? NO! The Yankees take care of their guys. Fuck the Red Sox and the toilet they play in. Now put me back in the fuckin' freezer my eyebrows are starting to melt."
"Ok Teddy Ballgame thanks for stopping by. Next up David Ortiz will try to speak English. Now a word from our sponser, Citgo Oil bringing you gas from a dead Venezuelan dictator."

The Captain is on his way back!

Derek Jeter is starting his rehab stint at Triple A tonight. A-Rod started yesterday in Single A.

Just goes to show ya.

In any event he should be up at the show in a couple of weeks. Then we can start to see if he can continue or if it is time to hang the up. I don't Jeter will play if he can't produce at or near the top of his game. He is not like that.

A-Rod on the other hand will hang on until they throw dirt in his face because he has nothing else.

Cano you Cano in Kalamazoo?

Wither Robinson Cano?

He is the biggest star on the Yankees right now and the best player by far. All of the veterans he played with are gone or injured. Jeter. A-Rod. Teixeria. Granderson. Posada. This is his team now.

He is a free agent and wants seven years at over 20 million per year. I just don't think the Yankees should pay that. Now he is an original Yankee in that he came up through the farm system. He is an All-Star. But now is his chance to take the team in his hands and make it his. He needs to be a leader like Jeter. Or put up big numbers like A-Rod. He has done neither. He is a non-factor. Let him go somewhere else for that money. If the Yankees are really worried about the luxury tax lets spend the money on pitching.

Whenever Robbie hits a home run the Yankees radio announcer John Sterling says "ROBINSON CANO DONTCHA KNOW!" 

Well we know Robinson Cano. And a lonely nation turns it's eyes away from you.

Sign with the Dodgers buddy. You ain't showing me shit.

You always remeber the first time

The first time I ever went to a Yankee game was in 1964 with my Dad and my best friend and his Dad. My Dad got tickets from somewhere and we were going to the Stadium. And a night game too!

I went out to box ball on the street that morning as I always did during the summer. All the kids went out on Tompkins Place and we played box ball and stick ball and Skelly and Johnnie on the pony and Ringolevio all day long. So as we are playing there suddenly was a big commotion at the Geraci's house. Their house was weird because the never locked the front door to the vestibule. So you could walk right in without a key!

Well this day a bum went into the vestibule and went to sleep. Now we had bums back then, We didn't call them "homeless." They were bums or derelicts and were chased away from business and homes. There weren't all that many of them in our neighborhood because the Norwegian Seaman's church offered rooms for about $1 a day and most of the people who feel on hard times would go there. So if you were on the street it was your choice. There was one guy we all called Rockafella. He was a former longshoreman and had lost his hand. He would get drunk on cheap wine and rant about Rockefeller and the rich bankers and stuff. You know. Sort of like garage mahal. Everybody ignored him or gave he a dime because he was harmless. But nobody knew this guy sleeping in the vestibule.

Now the Geraci's had a big savage German Shepard. That something you don't see much anymore. The breed is not as popular as it used to be. They were replaced by pitt bulls as the savage guard dogs. But in the sixties everybody had a German Shepard if they felt they needed protection. Well Mrs. Geraci let the dog out on this bum and started biting the shit out of him while she was smacking him with a mop handle. He jumped up and staggered away. And that was that. Now if it happened today it would be an international incident and a hate crime and all kind of shit. But now it was all over. Well except for all the new words we learned that day. You see Mrs. Geraci was cursing and screaming and we learned a few new words. Cocksucker. Motherfucker. Spook. Shine. Spade. And of course the N word.

You see the bum was black. He was in the wrong place in Carroll Gardens in 1964. Just sayn'

Anyhoo after all the excitement that morning we all walked down to the Subway to go to the Stadium. I will never forget the view when the Number 4 train burst out of the tunnel into the light and you could see the Stadium and all the people walking on River Avenue. Buying programs and hot dogs and beers. The excitement was almost too much even before we went up to our seats in the Upper Deck. This was the "old" old stadium with all the pillars and posts that blocked your view. Everybody seemed to be dressed up. Wearing white dress shirts and hats. Lots of the men were wearing ties. It was different back then.

So we are sitting there watching the last great Yankee team before they fell of the cliff. There was Mickey Mantle and Tom Tresh and a new young kid called Mel Stottlemyre. And my favorite player Roger Maris. They still had all the old stars and Yogi was the manager. But they weren't playing all that well and the natives were getting restless. I guess they sensed the team was getting too old and the string had run out. Anyway it was an exciting game. As I remember Johnny Blanchard hit two home runs. He was the backup catcher who couldn't catch but had some pop in his bat. It was in the late innings, maybe even the bottom of the ninth. The score was tied and there was a man on base and they decide to pinch hit for Johnny. which was strange but it was a lefty/righty thing. But everybody started booing and I wanted to get into the spirit of thing. I decided I wanted to use one of those new words I had learned that day. So I stood up and squeaked in my loudest voice "Get that Nigger off the Field!"

My father grabbed me and slapped me off the head. I was stunned. What did I do?

Well you see the pinch hitter was catcher Elston Howard. The first black Yankee. And to top it off there were five black guys sitting right behind us. My Dad turned to them and said "The kid doesn't even know what that means. We don't talk like that." And they were cool. Of course today I would have arrested. But it was a simpler time back in 1964. Dare I say a better time.

I always think of this story on opening day. Oh and on Martin Luther King Day. And of course today on Inaugural Day.

You always remember your first time.....

Sixty Grit said...
Not bad, Ricpic, and it's nice to know that someone around here is more superannuated than I am.

First game I saw was a twinight double header at the old Memorial park in Baltimore in 1961 - the Y*nkees were in town, which means I got to see Maris, Mantle and Berra all out on the field. I remember very little about the games themselves, save the towering enormity of fly balls - damn, those things went up and took forever to come down, and every time either Maris or Mantle came to the plate it seemed the entire crowd leaned forward in expectation of a home run. I don't think either of them hit one, but I am going to assume that nonetheless the Y*nks won both games and the Orioles sucked, which is their default position.

I went back to that park a couple of more times, but was glad when Camden Yards was built - that was a much nicer neighborhood. Saw more games in the '80s and '90s, then moved to Durham, where I became a Durham Bulls fan.

Their old place, where Bull Durham was filmed was a fun park to go to - you could literally lean over the railing and talk to the players - they were no more than a couple of feet away. Well, you could talk to them if you spoke Spanish, that is. Haven't been to a game in years - I am over it by now. Got things to do. I am busier than Earl Weaver in a pit, just sayin'...