Ballparks

Craig Biggio Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

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Former Houston Astro Craig Biggio was elected to the 2015 Class of the Baseball Hall of Fame on his third year of eligibility.

Having missed out on being inducted last year by two votes, Biggio made his third time on the ballot truly a charm.

Joining Biggio in the Hall’s first four person induction class in 60 years are pitchers Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz, who each were elected on their first year of eligibility.

The selection of Johnson, Martinez, and Smoltz marks the first time that a trio of pitchers was inducted in the same Hall of Fame class.

Craig Biggio will become the first member of the Baseball Hall of Fame to be enshrined wearing a Houston Astros cap. Photo R. Anderson
Craig Biggio will become the first member of the Baseball Hall of Fame to be enshrined wearing a Houston Astros cap.
Photo R. Anderson

Failing to make the cut this year were a pair of Biggio’s former teammates, Jeff Bagwell and Roger Clemens.

Biggio received 82.7 percent of the votes (549 ballots cast). Johnson received 97.3 percent, Martinez received 97.1  percent and Smoltz received 82.9 percent.

While each of the three pitchers elected to the Hall played on multiple teams during their careers, Biggio spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball career from 1988 until 2007 with the Houston Astros.

Biggio is the 49th Hall of Famer to have played his entire career with one organization.

The seven-time All-Star will become the first player enshrined in an Astros cap when the induction ceremony is held on July 26, 2015 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

It is fitting that the Astros first Hall of Famer was born the same year that the team took on the Astros name since perhaps no other player has been so widely associated with the Astros brand as Biggio.

There are of course other players in the Hall of Fame who have played for the Astros during a portion of their career, including Nolan Ryan, whose last year with the Astros was Biggio’s first season with the team.

However, each of those players were inducted wearing another team cap on their Hall of Fame bust since the bulk of their success occurred on teams other than the Astros.

Craig Biggio was an Astro to the core and is often mentioned by fans as their ideal manager candidate to lead the team back to the glory days that seemed to disappear right around the same time that he retired. Photo R. Anderson
Craig Biggio was an Astro to the core and is often mentioned by fans as their ideal manager candidate to lead the team back to the glory days that seemed to disappear right around the same time that he retired.
Photo R. Anderson

In fact, fellow 2015 inductee Randy Johnson also briefly played for the Astros as a teammate to Biggio.

Johnson, aka the Big Unit, will not be enshrined wearing an Astros cap. Instead, Johnson will most likely have an Arizona Diamondbacks cap on his bronze statue since he won the only World Series title of his career in the desert.

Biggio was an Astro to the core and is often mentioned by fans as their ideal manager candidate to lead the team back to the glory days that seemed to disappear right around the same time that Biggio retired.

Whether he was playing catcher, outfield, or second base one consistent component of Biggio’s game was his performance at the plate.

As a member of the exclusive 3,000 hits club, Biggio finished his career with 3,060 hits to become one of only 28 players to have at least 3,000-hits. Photo R. Anderson
As a member of the exclusive 3,000 hits club, Biggio finished his career with 3,060 hits to become one of only 28 players to have at least 3,000-hits.
Photo R. Anderson

As a member of the exclusive 3,000 hits club, Biggio finished his career with 3,060 hits to become one of only 28 players to have at least 3,000-hits.

Biggio is fifth all-time in doubles and first among right-handed hitters with 668.

Whenever Biggio would come to the plate, the entire Ballpark would chant B-G-O in unison.

In true remember the glory days fashion, the Astros will honor Biggio with a public celebration at Minute Maid Park on Friday at 5 p.m. and it is likely that the B-G-O chant will once again echo through the rafters as fans pay their respects to a player who gave his all whenever he stepped onto the field.

The Astros will also offer fans a seven-game ticket plan centered on games where Biggio will be honored this season.

No word yet on whether those seven games will fall under the umbrella of dynamic pricing, or if they will be made affordable for the every day fan.

As the Astros continue to rebuild and move forward, there will no doubt be many moments this upcoming season where they look back at what was during the Biggio years.

There were certainly many memories generated during those two decades with the Astros.

I started following the Astros towards the tail end of his career, but even in that short time, Biggio became on of my favorite players while also reminding me of a player I grew up following, Cal Ripken, Jr.  Like Biggio, Ripken also played the game the right way while spending his entire career with the same team.

In this era of free agency and trading for prospects, it is entirely likely that Biggio will be the last member of the Astros to spend 20 years with the team.

Such are the economics of baseball where teams trade away their players in the same way that children used to trade baseball cards with their friends.

But once in awhile a team will stick with a proven commodity and the results can truly be Hall of Fame worthy.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to dust off my Biggio shirt for one more trip to the Ballpark.

Copyright 2015 R. Anderson

Ballparks, Beyond

Some Ticket Stub Collectors are Buying Memories

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Last week, I mentioned that I wanted to dig up my ticket stub from the 1984 Citrus Bowl that I attended with my mother, grandmother and cousin.

I have pretty much every ticket stub from every sporting event I have ever attended. So, I knew that if I dug deep enough I would most likely find the stub in question.

Sure enough, in the wee hours of the morning Saturday I found the long lost ticket stub and a few others in a shoe box under my bed.

In 1984 endzone seats for the Florida Citrus Bowl went for $18. They have gotten much more expensive in the 30 years since. Photo R. Anderson
In 1984 end zone seats for the Florida Citrus Bowl went for $18. They have gotten much more expensive in the 30 years since.
Photo R. Anderson

As luck would have it, the shoe box was not the first place I looked for the ticket stub. I searched countless plastic totes in my quest to unearth the 30-year-old relic.

And while it took several days to find the ticket stub, and while I probably should have checked under the bed first, I did discover many other lost treasures, which made the entire search quite successful.

However, the main find, and the entire motivation for the search, was the 1984 Citrus Bowl ticket.

Some fun facts about that particular ticket stub is that an end zone seat at the1984 Citrus Bowl was only $18.

I doubt that one could even get parking at a bowl game nowadays for $18 let alone a ticket to the game.

By comparison, the cheapest ticket to attend the 2014 version of the Citrus Bowl was $45 and went up and up from there. Tickets for the National Championship game this year are averaging around $1700.

Economists will say that with inflation and other factors the $18 back then is comparable to today’s prices, but something tells me it is still more expensive to attend a bowl game today than it was back then based on the epic growth that college football has gone through the past three decades.

I was certainly pleased that I was able to find the ticket stub. However, thanks to the world of EBay and ticket stub collectors, I could have saved myself the trouble of digging through all of those plastic totes and just purchased a ticket from the game online.

I never once considered the idea of purchasing a ticket online, and quite frankly am surprised that there is a market for such things.

Each of the ticket stubs in my collection are attached to a memory of a game I attended as opposed to something I bought online. This particular ticket stub is from the game where I met Earl Weaver who I had looked up to for many years. Photo R. Anderson
Each of the ticket stubs in my collection are attached to a memory of a game I attended as opposed to something I bought online. This particular ticket stub is from the game where I met Earl Weaver who I had looked up to for many years.
Photo R. Anderson

As I mentioned before in another column, there are three items that I try to get as a memento whenever I attend a game. Those items are a ticket stub, a game program, and a souvenir cup.

Each of these items are tangible extensions of my memories of attending the game and I collect them for my pleasure without worrying about what I can sell them for later.

Apparently, there is an entire industry based on selling programs, ticket stubs, and souvenir cups to anyone with an internet browser who is willing to pay the shipping and processing.

I get that if you lost a ticket stub for a game you attended as a youngster you may want to replace the item to help maintain a tangible piece to go with your memories of the game, but a larger segment appears to be buying ticket stubs for games that they did not attend.

Big sellers in the ticket stub business appear to be from marquee games.

Want to pretend you witnessed one of Nolan Ryan’s no hitters despite not even being born yet when the game took place?

There is a ticket stub online for that.

A selection of Orlando Rays tickets are just some of the items in my collection. Photo R. Anderson
A selection of Orlando Rays tickets are just some of the items in my collection.
Photo R. Anderson

Want to add a Super Bowl ticket to your collection despite never setting foot in one?

Click, click pay and it is yours.

Have you always wanted to pretend that you were there the night Kirk Gibson hit that big home run in the World Series?

You know what to do.

Want to show your American pride by purchasing Olympic tickets from years gone by?

You get the idea.

In this way, people are purchasing other people’s memories since they did not go to the games that they are buying the ticket stubs from.

I suppose if someone wants to spend the money to own a ticket stub it is entirely their business. However, in all of the years I have collected ticket stubs I have never once thought about trying to make a profit on them.

Every ticket stub in my collection is from a game that I physically attended. From professional football, baseball, hockey, basketball and various college sports, each ticket stub represents a seat that I occupied to witness that particular game with my own eyes.

Some of the ticket stubs are water logged reflecting that I battled through rain to see that particular game.

Others are slightly bent from being stuffed in my pocket while I watched the game.

Each year for Spring Training I try to attend at least one Baltimore Orioles game. The tradition started in the mid 80's and has taken me to all sides of Florida. Photo R. Anderson
Each year for Spring Training I try to attend at least one Baltimore Orioles game. The tradition started in the mid 80’s and has taken me to all sides of Florida.
Photo R. Anderson

While I certainly do not need to own the ticket stub to prove that I was at the game, selling that ticket stub to someone else just seems like it would cheapen the experience and make me party to a fraud.

I certainly could be over thinking the whole buying and selling of ticket stubs, and may change my opinion at some future point, but for now the ticket stubs shall remain with their rightful owner.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot of plastic totes to stuff back into my closet.

Copyright 2015 R. Anderson

Beyond

New Year, Same Old Resolutions

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Today marks the second day of 2015.

Today also marks the time when people drag out their New Year’s resolutions, which for many are the same as last year’s resolutions.

The most popular resolutions year after year tend to revolve around weight loss based on the amount of commercials flooding the airwaves this time of year for gyms and diet programs.

Turn on almost any channel, and the odds are pretty good that in any given commercial break a commercial of some sort of weight loss supplement, program or device will be on.

I revolved to get healthier this year. That resolution will likely be accomplished through weight loss the old fashioned way and will not be accompanied by any crash diets or expensive gym memberships.

More power to those people who will be partaking of the fad diets, but they are not for me.

Another popular resolution this time of year involves many people searching for better jobs.

The better job can be in the form of higher salaries or just increased happiness.

Having a job where one is paid well, challenged and appreciated is always a good thing to find so it is certainly a valiant resolution to find such a thing.

Of course, having a job that one enjoys can go a long way as well.

Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to have many jobs where it was a joy to go to work. In some cases, this was because the people I worked with made the day more bearable. In other cases, it was the work that was a joy to complete.

These jobs allowed me to cover many memorable events. They also helped me feel like I was part of a worthwhile cause that made a difference.

There have also been jobs that I have had that sucked the creative juices out of me and were a complete drag to go to. These jobs offered little more than a chair that spun and paychecks that cleared on time.

For all of those people in those mind numbing jobs, I wish them more fruitful career pursuits in the New Year. I also hope that they find a rewarding job where their talents are fully utilized.

The new year is also a time for many in the media to compose lists containing the best and worst “fill in the blank” of the previous year.

Over the past few weeks, I have read lists of everything from the best television shows of the last year, to the best plays in college football.

These lists are subjective and are 100 percent in the eye of the beholder. However, it can be fun to see what people found amusing in the previous year.

For the record, I will not be compiling any year end wrap up lists of what I think was the best and worst from the past year.

Another tradition this time of the year is the inclusion of predictions for the year ahead.

This can come in many forms. Predictions often involves an “expert” weighing in on who they feel will be the best in a given sport during the coming year.

As I have mentioned before, I do not really believe in predictions involving sports teams.

There are just too many factors that can impact the outcome of a game, let alone a season. So, trying to predict what will happen really holds little weight in my book.

The College Football Championship Game will feature Oregon and Ohio State this year. While there were certainly some people who saw that coming at the start of the year, I am sure the bulk of people figured it would be Alabama and Florida State.

Despite a game that was not predicted by the majority of “experts,” I feel that the stage is set for one of the more competitive finals in recent years.

In the world of baseball, the consensus preseason favorites for the World Series were noticeably absent in October. Instead, many unexpected teams crashed the playoff party.

In both cases, the games were entertaining despite defying the predictions from the enlightened minds.

My resolution for the New Year would be for people to rely less on what the “experts” say will happen in a game and to spend more time watching the games and letting them unfold as they should.

After all, if all of the outcomes in life were predetermined, life would truly be a boring thing to go through.

Instead of making resolutions that will come and go, just make the most of each day and be the best person that you can be.

If you can do that, the rest will fall into place without the need for crash diets of celery and grapefruit.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some exercise to get to.

Copyright 2015 R. Anderson

Ballparks, Beyond

College Football Playoff is Still not Perfect Solution

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Last Monday, December 22, marked the 30th anniversary of the first college football game I ever attended.

The game was the Florida Citrus Bowl between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Florida State Seminoles.

Joining me for my first in person taste of gridiron glory from our seats among the “Zonies” on a warm 80 degree Orlando, Florida winter day were my mom, grandmother and cousin.

Thanks to the magic of the internet, I was able to watch a grainy broadcast of the game yesterday to see if I could find any shots of my family in the stands. Sadly I did not.

With two family members rooting for each side, it was probably for the best that the game ended in a 17-17 tie. That way, each of us could feel like we won.

In 1984 my mother, grandmother, cousin and I watched the Georgia Bulldogs and Florida State Seminoles battle to a 17-17 tie in the Florida Citrus Bowl. Photo R. Anderson
In 1984 my mother, grandmother, cousin and I watched the Georgia Bulldogs and Florida State Seminoles battle to a 17-17 tie in the Florida Citrus Bowl.
Photo R. Anderson

I had the opportunity to attend many other games at the Citrus Bowl Stadium during my time as both a student and as a Sports Information Office intern at the University of Central Florida. However, 1984 marked my only trip to a bowl game.

While the UCF Knights no longer play at there, the Citrus Bowl will once again be filled with screaming fans tomorrow as the college football bowl season is in full swing.

There are 39 bowl games on the schedule this year from coast to coast.

Bowl games were even played beyond the continental United States in Hawaii and the Bahamas.

Plans call for even more games next year as cities and companies try to capitalize on the popularity of college football and bring the bowl experience to their cities.

Bowl games are profitable and allow schools who are “bowl eligible” to play one more game, while the schools who did not make the cut get an early start on next year.

Bowl games also allow sports networks to sell lots and lots of commercials to pad their pockets before the lean months of the sporting calendar begin.

The Bowl system has changed dramatically since younger me saw his first game. This year offers college football’s version of a playoff where four teams were chosen to battle for the National Championship.

I know that we are all supposed to rally behind the playoff selection committee and say that a college playoff is good and just, but the fact remains that it still boils down to a subjective selection, if not a full blown popularity contest.

While not getting into details on the four chosen teams and whether or not they belong, the fact remains they were chosen by human beings; instead of the way other sports select their playoff teams.

In every other professional sport, and let’s not kid ourselves by thinking that college football is not a professional sport, playoff teams are selected based on either winning your division or being a wild card team.

While this system in the NFL brought us a division winner with a losing record, everyone knows the rules going into it.

There is no room for debates on strength of schedule, or other subjective factors. It is very cut and dry as to who is in and who is not in the playoffs.

It is likely that college football will never be able to remove all of the subjective nature of the playoffs based on the number of teams involved and other factors such as wanting teams from the power conferences to always be involved in the championship game.

The College Football Playoff system is not perfect and it never will be.

A March Madness type tournament where 64 basketball teams are whittled down to a single champion would likely not be feasible based on the number of days needed to recover after a football game, but I hold slightly more faith that a Final Four basketball Champion is more worthy than a football playoff champion.

So, this bowl season enjoy your bowl games and cheer on your alma mater, but do not think that the four best schools in the country will always be represented in the playoffs.

That is not to say that it is time for the tin foil hat society to look for conspiracies and call Mulder and Scully to straighten things out. The Bowl Championship Series that preceded this year’s playoff format was equally flawed when it came to objectivity.

There is just too much room for error and too many cooks in the kitchen with agendas of their own for a football champion that all will agree on to be crowned.

And that bygone era where a Bowl game ended in a tie to allow everyone to leave happy is never coming back.

In the new era of college football there are winners and losers after every game.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I am off to see if I can find my ticket stub from the 1984 Citrus Bowl.

Copyright 2014 R. Anderson

Beyond

Joy Even in Times of Loss

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As the song sung by Charlie Brown and his friends goes, Christmas time is here. Or at least it will be here tomorrow.

And while there is certainly happiness and cheer, as well as snowflakes in the air in certain parts of the world during Christmas time, for many people, this marks the first Christmas without a loved one.

This is the position that I find myself in following the death of my Grandmother in November.

While I knew that my Grandmother was gone, I was reminded again last Sunday that this would be the first Christmas without her. While I was tidying up my desk, I came across a pile of Christmas cards from last year. Among the cards in the pile was one from my Grandmother.

I recently found the last Christmas card my Grandmother sent me which served as a reminder to find joy even in times of loss. Photo R. Anderson
I recently found the last Christmas card my Grandmother sent me which served as a reminder to find joy even in times of loss.
Photo R. Anderson

While more and more people are choosing electronic ways to send Christmas greetings, my Grandmother, who never owned a computer, never sent a Christmas tweet, nor posted anything other than framed pictures on her “wall,” always sent a traditional Christmas card with the help of the United States Postal Service.

As I was reading the card from last year, I realized that for the first time since I could remember, there would not be any more Christmas cards from her.

While I was saddened by this thought at first, I looked at the card again and saw two doves and the word joy on it.

The stack of cards has been on my desk undisturbed for nearly a year. However, by going through them this past weekend I was reminded from beyond the grave to have joy for the season despite the feeling of loss.

While I was thinking about my Grandmother Sunday, I remembered that I was to attend my final holiday concert of the season that evening and needed to decide what I would wear.

As part of my preparations for being a pall bearer at my Grandmother’s funeral, I bought a new suit jacket since I had increased in circumference since the last time I wore a suit.

The black suit jacket I found was both stylish and befitting my circumference allowing me to join my cousins in our official duties at the funeral.

Since returning from the funeral in November, my suit jacket has sat neglected and alone in a dark closet devoid of purpose, aside from perhaps striking up conversations with the other jackets that are also hanging in there.

Since returning from the funeral in November my suit jacket has sat neglected and alone in a dark closet devoid of purpose aside from striking up conversations with the other jackets that are also hanging in there.
Since returning from the funeral in November my suit jacket has sat neglected and alone in a dark closet devoid of purpose aside from striking up conversations with the other jackets that are also hanging in there. Photo R. Anderson

Now I know that my suit jacket is just thread and material, so any anthropomorphic tendencies to believe that it has feelings of its own would be futile.

Instead, it was me who needed to have a better memory of wearing the suit beyond my Grandmother’s funeral.

So, I decided that I would wear the suit to put a bow on my final holiday concert of the season so to speak, and, in a way, bring my Grandmother along in spirit as well.

As I was driving to the concert in my spiffy suit and tie I realized that I was hungry and should probably eat something before the concert.

I decided to go to Dairy Queen, which as coincidence would have it was a favorite of my Grandmother’s. While walking through the Dairy Queen door I heard a small child say to his parents, “Wow, he sure got dressed up to get ice cream.”

The joke was on the child though. I did not in fact order ice cream and had a steak finger basket instead. But yes, I was probably a little overdressed for the Dairy Queen.

As it turned out, I may have been slightly overdressed for the concert as well as I was one of the few people wearing a suit who was not part of the performance, but it still felt nice to dress up.

I am glad that I decided to wear the suit to the concert to add a new memory that did not involve a funeral and carrying my Grandmother’s casket.

Beyond the Christmas card encouraging me to approach the season with joy, I will continue to remember my Grandmother in many other ways in the coming years, including when I watch her beloved Atlanta Braves play, or whenever I am shelling pecans.

I am blessed to have decades of memories of my Grandmother to call upon to help through any sad times that may arise.

Memories are certainly powerful things to be cherished. Or as Paul Simon would say, “preserve your memories, they’re all that’s left you.”

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go hang my stocking by the chimney with care. Merry Christmas to one and all.

Copyright 2014 R. Anderson

Beyond

Holiday Shopping Made Easy

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If you happen to be reading this on the day that it was written, it means that you only have three shopping days left until Christmas.

Of course, if you are reading this after Christmas, consider this an early reminder to get started on shopping for next year.

Much like there are different types of philosophies regarding whether it is best to build a baseball roster through free agency or through the farm system, there are also different schools of thought on how to best tackle Christmas shopping.

For some people, Christmas shopping involves battling the crowds at the stores the day after Thanksgiving in search of the best Black Friday deals.

Lines of toy soldiers were the only lines I wanted to see this Christmas season. Photo R. Anderson
Lines of toy soldiers were the only lines I wanted to see this Christmas season.
Photo R. Anderson

For others, Christmas shopping is a mad dash to find items at the last minute as if the other 364 days of the year were not good enough to shop on.

My style of Christmas shopping has varied through the years. Although, I am pleased to say I was never a buy everything the day before kind of shopper, or a get up before the sun for Black Friday kind of shopper.

While the methods have fluctuated, the common denominator through all of my shopping usually involved me trying to avoid crowds at all costs and be done as early as possible.

Usually the crowd avoiding version of shopping involved going to stores at off hours when the bulk of the world was either at work or asleep.

This style of crowd avoidance shopping was very easy to accomplish when I used to work the night shift at newspapers.

However, once I switched over to a more standard day time work schedule, I found that I no longer had the advantage of shopping when others were not around.

This year, I decided to try an entirely new way to Christmas shop and fully embraced shopping online as a way to spread Christmas cheer.

One side effect of buying all of one's Christmas gifts online is that a lot of boxes are generated. Photo R. Anderson
One side effect of buying all of one’s Christmas gifts online is that a lot of boxes are generated.
Photo R. Anderson

While I had certainly experimented with buying a few gifts online over the years, this was the first yule tide season when more gifts came through the mail than through me walking through a brick and mortar big box retailer.

Shopping online seemed like the perfect solution for avoiding the crowds, while allowing me the convenience to shop at the hour of my choosing without needing to worry about how crowded the store was going to be.

With my handy laptop and the whole wide internet a mere mouse click away, I proceeded to click my way through my Christmas shopping list over the course of an hour or so.

Instead of being limited to what was in the stores within driving distance, I was able to pick and choose from a variety of items which could not be found near me.

During this online shopping bonanza I also discovered the joy of winning auctions on EBay, but that is a column unto itself for a later time.

The only downside to online shopping was the fact that unlike a brick and mortar shopping trip where I leave with the goods as soon as they are paid for, with online shopping I had to wait for the goods to be delivered to my door.

While I have worked hard through the years at being a more patient person, the sad fact is, I still can be a very impatient person at times.

This patience is definitely tested when shopping online and having to wait a varying number of days for items to arrive depending on which region of the country they were departing from.

In a perfect world, items purchased online would instantly appear via some sort of “Beam me up Scotty” transporter system.

Order the item, pay for the item, and within seconds see the item appear on your mini transporter pad or replicator device faster than you can say, “make it so.”

Actor James Doohan is best known for playing Mongomery Scott on Star Trek. Among his duties was beaming up away teams from alien planets. I transporter sure would make shopping online faster.
Photo R. Anderson

Of course, the world we live in does not include transporters and in home replicators.

Although Amazon is looking into the use of drones and one hour delivery in some markets; which will certainly lessen the wait time for those online goodies.

Another obstacle I discovered as a result of my conversion to shopping online, was the package pickup stage of the transaction.

While I was free to order items at any time of the day or night, I was only able to pick up the packages during the hours that the community center of my apartment complex was open.

This led to me making daily trips after work to rescue my goodies from the clutches of the parcel closet, which basically was like a day care for boxes waiting for their owners to come and get them.

Much like the guy that wears the red suit this time of year, the online buying experience also led to me creating a list and checking it twice to track the anticipated and actual arrivals of each package to ensure that no gift was left behind in closet of misfit gifts.

I also kept in virtual contact with my shipments through text messages and emails that informed me of where my package was in its journey.

While there was some concern that a package or two might get delayed along the way, thankfully all of the items arrived before Christmas and are wrapped and awaiting their recipients.

So, while there were certainly some pros to an all online form of shopping, the jury is still out on whether I will continue to embrace that form of holiday commerce next year, or if I will return to once again braving the crowds in the stores.

Of course, we may all be shopping by transporter or 3D printer next year.

I won’t be holding my breath on that though. After all,  I am still waiting on that personal jet pack and moon base that I was led to believe would have arrived by now.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get ready for some holiday ham.

Copyright 2014 R. Anderson

Ballparks, Beaches, Beyond

The United States to Normalize Cuban Relations after Nearly 60 Years

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The other day, it was announced that after the United States would seek to normalize relations with Cuba after nearly 60 years of trade embargoes and other restrictions that have made it difficult for the average American to travel to the nation 90 miles south of Florida.

The closest I ever came to visiting Cuba was on a cruise ship in the late 80’s when the ship was heading back towards Miami from the U.S. Virgin Islands.

As we approached the island, the captain made an announcement along the lines of if you look out to our starboard side you will see Cuba.

I recall that the island was covered in a sort of rainy haze which made it both intriguing and beckoning at the same time. I also remember briefly thinking that I hoped the captain did not drift into Cuban waters by mistake and lead to an international incident.

Stories of the pre-Cuban Missile Crisis and Bay of Pigs Cuba have always fascinated me. I was not alive during the tense days when the U.S. Naval blockade was in place to keep Russian ships from supplying missiles to the island. So, it is likely that my opinion towards Cuba may be different if I had lived through those tense days that almost led to World War III.

Earnest Hemingway’s home in Cuba is where he wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea. Photo R. Anderson
Earnest Hemingway’s home in Cuba is where he wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea.
Photo R. Anderson

Instead, for me Cuba represents a land where Earnest Hemingway and other figures spent their days fishing and their nights in smoke filled rooms, or crowded ballparks enjoying the freshest of Cuban cuisine and culture while getting from point A to point B in various cars from Detroit.

I guess one could say I want to experience the vision of Cuba that I have in my head. I want to sit and watch a baseball game played in a ballpark where the air and the accents are both thick and rich with history.

I want to sit in a roadside cafe and eat my weight in Cuban pork and plantains while watching the hustle and bustle along the street.

I want to visit Finca Vigia, Earnest Hemingway’s home in Cuba where he wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea.

I want to see those old cars that were on the road when Hemingway walked the streets and are still being driven today due to the ingenuity of the Cuban people to keep those cars roadworthy for all these years.

I had always held out hope that the embargo would be lifted during my lifetime so that I could visit all of the sights and sounds of the island mentioned above. Now, it appears to be the case.

Of course, normalizing relations with Cuba, and opening up a United States Embassy on the island, takes time. Even with the lifting of some restrictions, certain travel restrictions will still be in place for the foreseeable future.

So, a trip to ring in the new year on Cuban soil is out of the question at this time. But it does seem closer to becoming a reality today than it did before the President’s announcement.

Cuban cigars that were once traded on the black market due to sanctions against Cuba will soon be available without fear of prosecution. Photo R. Anderson. Photo R. Anderson
Cuban cigars that were once traded on the black market due to sanctions against Cuba will soon be available without fear of prosecution.
Photo R. Anderson.

Make no mistake, there are serious issues that still need to be resolved in Cuba. Lifting an embargo that was either effective, or ineffective, depending on what side of the fence you are on, is merely the first of many steps.

The news of normalized relations was met with both elation and protests within the Cuban American communities of Florida.

Throughout the embargo, many people have risked their lives to escape Cuba and build a better life for themselves and their families in America. Countless more lost their lives making the journey or were intercepted and sent back to Cuba.

The issues that led to those harrowing water crossings will not change overnight, and they should not be forgotten. But, normalizing relations between Cuba and the United States could lead to grass roots changes that take shape in the decades to come.

Another huge issue with the announcement that has yet to be fully fleshed out as a result of the open relations with Cuba is the impact on Major League Baseball.

Shortly after the President announced the change in posture with Cuba, Major League Baseball issued a statement of its own stating in part that they were actively monitoring the situation and would respond when appropriate.

Just as I am sure there are regular citizens on both sides of the issue of opening relations with Cuba, I am sure there are people in the ranks of baseball that are on both sides of the issue as well Cuban.

The Baltimore Orioles became the first Major League Baseball team in 40 years to play a game in Cuba in 1999. With normalized relations with Cuba coming it is likely one will not need to wait another 40 years for another game in Cuba involving MLB teams. Photo R. Anderson
The Baltimore Orioles became the first Major League Baseball team in 40 years to play a game in Cuba in 1999. With normalized relations with Cuba coming it is likely one will not need to wait another 40 years for another game in Cuba involving MLB teams.
Photo R. Anderson

For years, baseball players from Cuba have risked their lives and left their families behind defecting in hope of finding greener pastures elsewhere.

While it has become easier for MLB teams to sign Cuban player over the past couple of years, there are still hurdles that only impact Cuban players.

It is entirely possible with the normalized relations that Major League Baseball teams will set up academies in Cuba similar to the ones that are in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and other countries to evaluate international talent.

Major League Baseball has a history in Cuba with the Giants, Dodgers and Pirates all having held their Spring Training camps in Havana at one time or another. Additionally, the Havana Sugar Kings were the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds from 1954 to 1960.

After a 40-year absence, Major League Baseball made a brief return to Cuba in 1999 when the Baltimore Orioles and the Cuban national team played an exhibition game in the Estadio Latinoamericano in Havana. The Orioles won 3-2 in 11 innings.

With many issues left to resolve, it will likely be years before the floodgates open wide to Cuban players. When the flood gates do open it will lead to additional competition to be one of only 1200 players to be on one of the 30 Major League Baseball teams’ roster.

Realistically, in the near term, it will be far more likely that one will still need to travel to Cuba to see a roster filled with Cuban baseball players. A day will likely come though when almost every team in the Major Leagues has some sort of Cuban influence.

Of course, the Cuban influence I would most like to see return to American Ballparks is some good quality Cuban pork. Are you listening Minute Maid Park?

Now if you’ll excuse me, I am off to try and find an authentic Cuban sandwich.

Copyright 2014 R. Anderson

Ballparks

Huntsville Stars Fell Out of Alabama

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Not that long ago, it was announced that the Huntsville Stars of the Southern League are moving from Alabama to Mississippi to become the Biloxi Shuckers beginning with the 2015 season.

It is not uncommon for baseball teams to move from one city to another, but there are two sides to every move.

For the city getting the team there is the excitement of welcoming baseball to town and having new options for entertainment.

For the city losing the team there are the thoughts of what could have been done differently to keep the team in town.

Although I never made it to Huntsville, Alabma to see them play I did see the Huntsville Stars in action against the Orlando Rays in 1990. Since that time the Rays moved to Alabama and changed their name to the Biscuits while the Stars are headed to Mississippi to become the Shuckers. Photo R. Anderson
Although I never made it to Huntsville, Alabama to see them play I did see the Huntsville Stars in action against the Orlando Rays in 1990. Since that time the Rays moved to Alabama and changed their name to the Biscuits while the Stars are headed to Mississippi to become the Shuckers.
Photo R. Anderson

For Huntsville, the decision to move to Biloxi was Ballpark driven. After a deal to construct a new Ballpark in Huntsville failed to materialize, the team was sold and moved to a brand new Ballpark in Biloxi.

There are doubts about whether the new Biloxi Ballpark will be done in time for the scheduled home opener.

Ballpark delays create a possible awkward scenario where the team may still play some games in Huntsville next year, even though, for all intents and purposes the days of baseball in Huntsville are done for now.

As I have said many times, I grew up on Southern League baseball at Orlando’s Tinker Field.

Despite several facelifts through the years, Tinker Field was, by all accounts, a very old ballpark which lacked luxury boxes, suites, organic concession stands and the other must haves in today’s Ballparks.

While some found the lack of amenities as a negative, for me, the lack of those features added to the charm and made the games more fun to watch.

In my opinion, a Ballpark should be a little gritty and show some wear and tear. I want to feel like generations of people before me sat in similar chairs and watched nine innings played on a humid summer night under the stars sipping sweet tea and trying to catch a foul ball in the stands.

Although I never managed to catch a foul ball there, Tinker Field always gave me that time capsule feeling whenever I saw a game.

Unfortunately for Tinker Field, a new Ballpark was built up the road at Walt Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex at the end of the 20th Century and the Orlando Rays, the Double-A Affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, moved to the Ballpark that the Mouse built in 2000 and left Tinker Field without a Minor League Baseball team.

Despite moving to what they thought was greener pastures, the Orlando Rays broke their 10-year lease with Walt Disney World’s Ballpark and left the Orlando market entirely following the 2003 season to become the Montgomery Biscuits.

Orlando’s loss became Montgomery, Alabama’s gain.

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are another Southern League team that moved in the last couple of years. The team formerly known as the Carolina Mudcats made the westward journey from North Carolina to the sugar sand shores of Florida in 2012.

In 2012 the Pensacola Blue Wahoos were born when the team formerly known as the Carolina Mudcats made the westward journey from North Carolina to the sugar sand shores of Florida. Photo R. Anderson
In 2012 the Pensacola Blue Wahoos were born when the team formerly known as the Carolina Mudcats made the westward journey from North Carolina to the sugar sand shores of Florida.
Photo R. Anderson

Since moving to Pensacola, the Blue Wahoos have been named one of the best organizations in baseball and have had their Ballpark, which they sell out routinely, listed at the top of several polls.

The Shuckers appear to be trying to follow the Pensacola model of running a franchise where a new baseball starved market replaces a market and/or Ballpark that is deemed to be outdated.

While there are certainly nice features in the new Ballparks being built, I think in the era of Ballpark building people forget that the main reason to go to a Ballpark should be to see the actual game.

In recent years, I have seen more and more people at baseball games that probably don’t even know that there is a game going on.

It is certainly an individual’s right to pay for a ticket and then spend nine innings reading a book or sitting with their back to the field the whole game. However, the actual baseball game should still be the main attraction at a Ballpark.

Pensacola quickly moved to the top of the Southern League ballparks when they took the field in 2012. Biloxi is looking to duplicate that success when they open their new Ballpark next year. Photo R. Anderson
Pensacola quickly moved to the top of the Southern League ballparks when they took the field in 2012. Biloxi is looking to duplicate that success when they open their new Ballpark next year.
Photo R. Anderson

I will admit that when I am watching a game at home on television I will often find myself doing two or three other things at the same time. So, my attention is not fully on the game.

But when I am watching a game in person, I could not fathom spending nine innings not watching the game.

Of course, these new Ballparks are not always built for the regular fan in mind. Instead, they tend to cater more to businesses who use their suites as places to hold corporate events or other functions.

I am sure that Biloxi will be a fine city for baseball, and I look forward to adding it to my list of cities to catch a game in. And while Biloxi is certainly close for me to get to then Huntsville, I do feel bad for the people who lost their team.

I know how I felt when Orlando lost their Minor League Baseball foothold; it is definitely rough for the fan bases that are left behind.

While I am a firm believer in keeping Ballparks free of distractions that take away from the game I will admit that I enjoy watching the boats go by when I attend games in Pensacola. It is also possible to see the Blue Angels flying home to Pensacola Naval Air Station some nights. Photo R. Anderson
While I am a firm believer in keeping Ballparks free of distractions that take away from the game I will admit that I enjoy watching the boats go by when I attend games in Pensacola. It is also possible to see the Blue Angels flying home to Pensacola Naval Air Station some nights.
Photo R. Anderson

The Southern League currently has teams playing in Birmingham, Alabama, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Jackson, Tennessee, Montgomery, Alabama, Kodak, Tennessee, Biloxi, Mississippi, Jacksonville, Florida, Pearl, Mississippi, Mobile, Alabama, and Pensacola, Florida.

By comparison, the cities represented by the Southern League in 1992 were Memphis, Tennessee, Charlotte, North Carolina, Greenville, South Carolina, Knoxville, Tennessee, Raleigh, North Carolina, Huntsville, Alabama, Orlando, Florida, Jacksonville, Florida, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Birmingham, Alabama.

It is likely that the Southern League has not seen the last team relocation. There are already rumblings that Huntsville is going to try to get a team to replace the one that they lost. Panama City, Florida is also rumored to be looking to add a team. For either of those cities to gain, another must lose.

While there can be only one when it comes to certain sword wielding movie immortals, in the Southern League there can only be 10.

With only 10 slots available at any given time that leaves a lot of southern cities fighting to join the league. I just hope no one loses their head in the process.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I am suddenly in the mood to watch the Highlander.

Copyright 2014 R. Anderson

Ballparks

Cyber Monday Deals of the Baseball Variety

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Today is known across much of the internet connected world as Cyber Monday.

While Black Friday involves sales from the brick and mortar stores, Cyber Monday is the chance for online retailers to lure shoppers in with discounts and free shipping on everything from Apple Computers to Zenith televisions. (Granted Zenith is now owned by LG but I needed something that started with the letter Z for the sake of an A to Z analogy).

Personally, I have never understood the herd mentality that has people camping out at stores to save a few bucks on an off brand appliance or some fleece pullovers.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good bargain as much as the next person. I am just not going to body check hundreds of other people trying to get the same item.

Online shopping provides the ability to get deals without feeling like one has survived a heavyweight title fight, but it still only includes savings on the items that the retailers want you to buy.

So, instead of getting corralled into buying things that I don’t need on this Cyber Monday, I am going to focus on four baseball teams and what needs they should address in terms of their holiday shopping.

After losing Nelson Cruz to the Seattle Mariners the Baltimore Orioles are in need of a new designated hitter under the Birdland Christmas tree this year. Photo R. Anderson
After losing Nelson Cruz to the Seattle Mariners the Baltimore Orioles are in need of a new designated hitter under the Birdland Christmas tree this year.
Photo R. Anderson

Let us begin with the defending American League East Division winning Baltimore Orioles.

Earlier today, it was announced that the O’s had failed to sign free agent Nelson Cruz. Instead, Cruz is taking his league leading home run bat west to Seattle for the next four years.

In the end, it may prove to have been a wise decision by the Orioles to not overpay for a slugger who has battled injures throughout his career.

Recent history is full of examples of teams who have overpaid for players long past their productive years. The contracts of Josh Hamilton, Alex Rodriguez and Prince Fielder come to mind.

But in the short term, the Orioles need to do something to replace the bat of Cruz if they want to defend their division title. With that in mind, for the residents of Birdland, I will put find a new Designated Hitter on their Christmas list.

Further down the American League East, in both geography and the standings, sit the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Tampa Bay Rays are looking for only their fifth manager in franchise history following the unexpected departure of Joe Maddon at the end of last season. Photo R. Anderson
The Tampa Bay Rays are looking for only their fifth manager in franchise history following the unexpected departure of Joe Maddon at the end of last season.
Photo R. Anderson

The Rays have already traded several players since the end of the season. They will likely make more tweaks to the roster as they look to regroup and rebuild after a disappointing 2014 season that started with preseason predictions of a playoff run, and ended with the team’s first losing season in six years.

The Rays were also left with the departure of manager Joe Maddon, who decided to take his muscle cars and hoodie up to Wrigley Field.

While it is unlikely that the Rays can find a manager right out of the gate with the same skill set as Joe Maddon, they need to find a manager who can handle the challenges the Rays face in a way that sees them remain competitive and not fall into the devilish ways of their pre-Maddon years.

Failure to find a strong manager who can find a way to remain competitive in the toughest division in baseball against retooled Orioles, Yankees and Red Sox could very well doom the Rays for decades to come.

So, while many may think replacing Tropicana Field is the team’s biggest need this Christmas, I maintain finding the right manager is the most crucial holiday need. I just hope that one of the three identified finalists becomes at least a fraction of the manager Joe Maddon is.

After suffering their first losing season since a name change and new uniforms the Tampa Bay Rays may need to dust off the old uniforms if a new manager fails to maintain their winning ways. Photo R. Anderson
After suffering their first losing season since a name change and new uniforms the Tampa Bay Rays may need to dust off the old uniforms if a new manager fails to maintain their winning ways.
Photo R. Anderson

If he does not, then even a new Ballpark would not be enough to help the team’s long term future.

At that point, they may as well dust off the green uniforms that took the field for many previous losing campaigns.

For our third holiday need, we travel west from St. Petersburg, FL and find ourselves in Houston where today marks the 50th anniversary of the Astros being called the Astros.

For most of their five decades of existence, the Astros found themselves in the National League. The 2015 season will mark the team’s third season of American League play, and yet another season of rebuilding as the front office tries to find the right formula for building a winner on a budget.

Of course, the build a winner on a budget approach only works when the other teams in the division play along. With skyrocketing salaries within the American League West and the Mariners, Angels and Athletics entering an arms race, the best the Astros can realistically hope for in the coming years is to do better than their in state rivals the Rangers.

With a steady diet of Mike Trout and other power sluggers in the American League the Houston Astros are likely hoping a return to the more friendly National League Central is in their stocking this year. Photo R. Anderson
With a steady diet of Mike Trout and other power sluggers in the American League the Houston Astros are likely hoping a return to the more friendly National League Central is in their stocking this year.
Photo R. Anderson

A division title is likely not in the cards for the Astros in the American League any time soon. One can preach the sermon of rebuilding until they are blue in the face, but that does not “make it so” when other teams aren’t reading from the same playbook.

With that said, my Christmas gift for the Astros would be a move back to the National League. Of course, like that brown Matchbox police car that Santa could never locate for younger version of me despite the best of intentions, a move back to the National League is likely another unattainable wish no matter how much one wants it to happen.

For our final stop along the holiday gift giving trail, we move a little south of Houston to Sugar Land, TX home of the Sugar Land Skeeters. The Skeeters, who play in the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, will start the 2015 season as defending champions of their division and with new ownership in place.DSCN7359

With all of their opponents located on the Atlantic Coast, my gift to the Skeeters, were it in my power, would be closer opponents to make those road trips not so long.

There are plans to expand the Atlantic League’s footprint in Texas in the coming years. So, it is likely that the Christmas wish will become reality before too long.

Those are my four Cyber Monday gift ideas that are not available in stores. However, if they were, they would certainly make the perfect stocking stuffers for the Orioles, Rays, Astros and Skeeters.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to take care of a little Christmas shopping while I am in the Holiday spirit.

Copyright 2014 R. Anderson

Beyond

Violent Protests Have No Place in Sports or in Life

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The other day, protests turned to riots in Missouri following the release of a grand jury decision.

While I am certainly glad to live in a society where one is free to peacefully protest through civil disobedience when they disagree on an issue, I have never understood why some protests turn against their own community.

For much of Monday night, images on television showed burning police cars and buildings along with reports of gunfire and items being thrown at members of law enforcement and the media.

Surely this is not what is meant by peaceful civil disobedience.

It is likely that a small minority of protestors escalated things to the level of violence. So, any generalizations about the behavior of all of the protestors would be false. Sadly, the actions of the few far out shadow any peaceful message that the many may have been trying to share.

When the dust settles, it is the images of the burning police cars and buildings that most people will remember more than any peaceful demonstration that may have occurred.

Protests and riots are not limited to issues pertaining to the courts and government. The world of sports is full of examples of times where fans riot in the streets following either a victory or a loss.

Baseball and hockey fans have been known to take to the streets and tip over cars and start fires following championship wins, or in some cases losses by their teams.

In the world of football, fans have been known to charge the field of play and tear down the goalposts as part of a celebration.

When it comes to the biggest riots in sports, that honor tends to fall to soccer teams where riots in the stands have turned violent and even caused deaths in some cases.

In each of these sports related riots, innocent victims were affected and large costs to property were incurred.

While it is unlikely that the students of Rice University will ever tear down a goalpost. In October both of the goalposts at Ole Miss were torn down by fans celebrating a victory over Alabama. According to published reports, replacing both goalposts cost $11,000 each. Additionally the fan incursion onto the field drew a $50,000 fine from the Southeastern Conference on top of $3,000 for miscellaneous repairs that were also needed. The total cost of the fan riot was $75,000. Photo R. Anderson
While it is unlikely that the students of Rice University will ever tear down a goalpost. In October both of the goalposts at Ole Miss were torn down by fans celebrating a victory over Alabama. According to published reports, replacing both goalposts cost $11,000 each.
Photo R. Anderson

In October, both of the goalposts at Ole Miss were torn down by fans celebrating a victory over Alabama. According to published reports, replacing both goalposts cost $11,000 each.

Additionally, the fan incursion onto the field drew a $50,000 fine from the Southeastern Conference, on top of $3,000 for miscellaneous repairs that were also needed.

The total cost of the fan riot was $75,000.

Alumni of Ole Miss set up a collection site and raised over $85,000 to cover the repairs and new goalposts. So, the University did not have to pay for the conduct of the fans.

However, the fact remains celebrating a win by tearing down goalposts should not be allowed, even if the Alumni are willing to pay for it.

Just think of all of the better ways that the $85,000 could have been spent at Ole Miss, compared with using it to replace goalposts and pay fines.

The cost of replacing two goalposts in a college football stadium is nothing compared to the costs that have been incurred by the riots of Missouri.

Goalposts can be replaced within a matter of days. The damage of one violent night in Missouri will take months, if not years, to repair.

With at least a dozen businesses burned to the ground, and others falling victim to looting, there is a very real cost being felt by the owners of those businesses.

Unlike the big time colleges who have Alumni willing to write a check for a new goalpost without blinking, many small business owners have their entire life savings tied up in a business to the point that even the slightest disruption in sales can have devastating impacts.

Aside from the small business owners being affected by the actions of a select few trouble makers, employees of those burned businesses are also affected and could see their incomes disappear.

History is full of examples of riots, such as the one in Missouri. There will likely be another event in the future that will lead to protests just like the ones taking place this week.

That is part of the freedom Americans have. We are given free speech and the ability to show are displeasure with things in a way that very few other countries have.

But there are limits to the protection of free speech. Just as it is illegal to yell “fire” in a crowded theater when there is no fire, it is also illegal to burn buildings and other property as a form of protest.

Again, I know that the violent acts are being performed by a small percent of the protestors and should not be looked at as representing the entire group..

However, the violence and destruction over the past few days takes away from those members of society who are trying to peacefully demonstrate and have their voices heard.

Regardless of whether one agrees with the protesters or not, one should agree that they have the right to demonstrate within the boundaries of the law.

It is when those protests fall outside the boundaries of the law that action must be taken to ensure that innocent people are not harmed.

That goes for social justice protests in the streets as well as victory celebrations inside stadiums.

The next time your team wins that huge upset victory, celebrate the win from your seat and leave the goalpost firmly planted in the ground.

Also, continue to protest for causes if you are so inclined, but keep the protest peaceful so that innocent victims are not impacted.

The current protests in Missouri will end at some point and the impacted businesses will either be rebuilt or will relocate.

But there will still be scars below the surface just as there are with any riot.

One need only ask the citizens of cities where protests have left the citizens and buildings scarred to understand just how long those scars last..

The key is to let the scars serve as a reminder that can be learned from so that the events are not repeated.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get ready for a weekend of Thanksgiving football and food.

Copyright 2014 R. Anderson

Observations from the cheap seats, the beach seats and everywhere in between