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MLB ROAD TRIP 2001
2001.6.20 <VOL.19> Days 60-65
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*We are in St. Louis, MO
Index
1. More on Chicago
2. Food Bank?
3. Independent ball in Springfield
4. St. Louis
5. 2 months and still going
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More on Chicago
As we mentioned in the last issue, we really enjoyed Chicago. Two major league teams helps, but the city is a great place to spend time, and judging from the people we talked to, a great place to live as well. One of the problems of trips like this is that sometimes we have to leave somewhere before we are ready to, and Chicago is one of those places. Let's hope the Cubbies make it to the playoffs so we can return to cheer them on.
Our hotel was about a 20 minute walk to Wrigley, which is a great place. You can see the ballpark lights from a distance as you walk up Clark Street, but it isn't until you hit the corner of Addison and Clark that you can actually see the entire ballpark - it comes upon you so suddenly, you almost lose your breath. It is hard to believe there can still be a major league stadium surrounded by a neighborhood rather than parking garages or other stadiums. It would be great to live a few blocks away and walk to the game, and then party afterward at any one of dozens of bars in the area.
The game we saw was held on "Salute to Ferris Bueller's Day Off" Day so the big Welcome to Wrigley Field sign had "Save Ferris" written on it. We even got "Save Ferris" t-shirts, which have proven to be very good conversation starters in other cities. The Twins were in town for a battle of Central Division leaders and the game did not disappoint. Although it rained before the game started, by 2:20 the sun was out and the Cubs' bats were hot. Home runs from Eric Young, Ricky Gutierrez, and Ron Coomer supplied the offence in a 5-3 Cubs' win. After the game, we walked around the park to get a feel for the north side. The Twins' bus was parked right by the stadium, and some players decided to wander around the neighborhood themselves before getting on the bus. Twins' catcher A.J. Pierzynski took a video camera and disappeared into the crowd, with none of the Cubs' fans realizing who he was. For a lot of the Twins' players, this is their first trip to Wrigley and they were just as enthralled as we were.
As we walked along Waveland Avenue (where Sammy Sosa deposits many of his home runs) we saw a crowd of people surrounding a car. It was Rondell White signing autographs as he left the ballpark. A few minutes later, Sosa came out in his Jaguar, giving everyone the peace sign before driving away. For these guys, it is just like a day job, show up at 9, leave at 5. Must be nice.
After seeing so many new ballparks, it is tough to say that Wrigley is the best - with obstructed view seats, crowded concourses, and free parking far away, it is certainly not convenient. But on a nice summer day, there is nothing better than enjoying a game here; let's hope that it stays for a long while.
We'd like to tell you more about Chicago, but we had to leave. Check the website next week for some info on attractions and other things about the Windy City.
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Food Bank?
I went in to Citibank to cash some travelers checks while we were in Chicago. I have had some trouble cashing these in some towns because they are not American Express. As they are Citicorp checks, I was sure that I would have no problem cashing them at Citibank. I smiled nicely at the teller and told her that I wanted to cash these checks. I displayed my Canadian drivers license and told her my Citibank account was in Japan. She said "I'm sorry, we don't accept Canadian ID's other than a passport". I politely replied that as a Canadian, I do not need a passport in the U.S. and this was the only ID that I had. I wondered how I would get money if Citibank wouldn't even cash their own travelers checks. The future of trip looked dire indeed, but then the manager came over and asked what the problem was. The teller explained the situation and the manager, much to my relief, said "Of course we accept Canadian drivers licenses". I resisted the temptation to scream "Yes!!! Money!!!" but did comment that I was happy that we would be able to eat lunch now. The manager, who was snacking on pretzels, overheard me and must have thought that we were really desperate because she came back and offered me pretzels. This was definitely a first - free food from a bank without opening an account. The teller must have felt guilty for making me worry, because she handed over some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Geez, if there were only a couple of more people working there, we could have had a meal.
Well, I got the cash, we ate lunch, and the trip continued, but I think that all banks should make free snacks a matter of course from now on.
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Springfield, Illinois
On Saturday, we stopped in Springfield to see our second independent league game. Springfield is the capital of Illinois and was the home of Abraham Lincoln for 17 years before he was elected President in 1860. The Lincoln home still stands and it is one of the nicer attractions that we have seen. An entire 4-block area has been maintained as it was during Lincoln's time, with boardwalks and cobblestone streets and a number of period houses that have been restored. A tour of the Lincoln Home itself takes only about 15 minutes, but it has been maintained well and it very interesting. Lincoln is also buried in Springfield; his tomb is another attraction.
The game we saw pitted the Canton Crocodiles against the Springfield Capitals. The "Save Ferris" t-shirt netted a number of comments from other fans, and even a Canton player wondered where I had picked up the shirt. I really enjoyed the evening at the ballpark. The Caps lost 9-7, but put on a good show. Sport, one of the many traveling mascots, was at the game entertaining fans, and there were fireworks after the game. After three games in Chicago, and before three in St. Louis, it was a nice change of pace to relax among a crowd of 945.
For those real baseball fans out there, a bit of trivia: Springfield's manager is Dick Schofield, ex-Angel.
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St. Louis
The Gateway to the West is where we are now. The Arch is famous, as is Mark McGwire, but other than that, St. Louis seems to have moved into the suburbs. The downtown core is really not a place you want to spend much time, especially at night. There are a lot of empty buildings, and not a lot of restaurants or other nightlife. Busch Stadium is downtown, but it is probably better to stay in the suburbs and take the train in, or drive down and find some street parking.
We have spent most of our time here watching baseball, surprisingly. The first-place Cubs are in town for a critical NL Central battle against the second-place Cards. Of course, Sammy Sosa plays for the Cubs while McGwire, recently back from injury, plays for the Redbirds. Monday's game was one of the better ones we have seen, with both Sammy and Mark going long distance in a Cardinals 6-2 win. But the highlight of the night was the first major league at-bat for Stubby Clapp. Born in Windsor, Ontario, Stubby (real name Richard) got the winning hit for the Canadian Pan-Am Team when they defeated the U.S. back in 1999. He has spent 5 years in the minors, including the last 2.5 seasons with Triple-A Memphis, before finally getting his call. When J.D. Drew had his hand broken by a David Wells pitch on Sunday, Stubby was promoted from Memphis. We had seen him play in Salt Lake and were very happy to hear his name called as a ninth-inning pinch hitter. Cards' fans around us seemed encouraged as well, as calls of "Stubbbbbbyyyyyy" resounded around Busch Stadium. Sadly, he struck out swinging, but we will keep you up to date on any Stubby happenings in the next few issues. This just in: Stubby went 0-1 tonight as a pinch hitter in the Cards 9-4 loss to the Cubs.
Cards fans are great as well - most everyone has at least one piece of red clothing on their person. It was fun listening to the heckling they gave the Cubs fans over the last couple of days as the Cardinals won both games, increasing their winning streak over the Cubbies at Busch to 14 games (the streak ended today, by the way).
One of the interesting attractions by the stadium is the Bowling Hall of Fame which also has the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame downstairs. The Cards, who with 9 World Series titles are the National League's winningest team, have an incredible history, with players such as Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Ozzie Smith, and of course Mark McGwire. Unless you are a bowling fan, you can skip right through the bowling part and spend an hour learning about Cardinal history, as well as a few exhibits on the St. Louis Browns. You also get four free frames of bowling with your purchase, and you can combine a Busch Stadium tour if you want.
By the way, Busch Stadium is also scheduled for demolition sometime in the near future, as the Cardinals try to get a new stadium like most other teams. I can't say that I will miss it, as it suffers from the problems that most late 60's ballparks have, but there's been a lot of famous events that have occurred there, most recently McGwire's 62nd and 70th home runs in 1998. The Cards have done a good job upgrading the facility with new party rooms that anyone can enjoy, and adding some attractions for fans, but that can't compensate for the poor seating in a lot of the ballpark. I guess we will have to revisit St. Louis in 3 years to see what the new park is like, but if you are a Cards fan, best to head down in the next couple of years to see a game in Busch before it disappears forever.
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Another anniversary
OK, I know I'm getting out of hand with all these commemorative dates, but we did hit 2 months on the road last week. We have seen more than 40 games now, which is about half of the total we plan to see, so the next few months should be a bit easier. We are moving on to Kansas City tomorrow to see the Indians and Royals and then down to Texas for a battle of also-rans in the A.L. West as Oakland visits the Rangers. Summer begins tomorrow, and with it the pennant races should heat up along with the weather. Florida is making a run in the N.L. East while the A.L. Central is still a two-team race between the Indians and Twins, but don't count out the Chisox just yet. It's going to be a great summer and we will be enjoying it along with all of you.
Talk to you later,
Sean and Aya
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