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MLB ROAD TRIP 2001
2001.6.24 <VOL.20> Days 66-70
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*We are in Kansas City, MO
Index
1. We visit Europe, sort of
2. Condiment confusion
3. Negro League Museum and Salute
4. Kauffman Stadium
5. Karsay traded?
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Fulton is in England, Germany, or Missouri?
The answer is, of course, Missouri. But you must forgive us for thinking otherwise. Fulton is located 7 miles south of I-70 between St. Louis and Kansas City and is home to Westminster College, a small school with an enrollment of around 300. So why did we stop there? History buffs will know that Westminster College is where Winston Churchill made a famous speech in 1946 using the phrase "Iron Curtain" to prophetically describe the impending Soviet domination of Eastern Europe. Thus, Fulton is where the words Iron Curtain were first used.
In 1966, in order to commemorate this event, the College arranged to have the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, shipped to Fulton. The church, which had been destroyed in 1940 during the war, was sent stone-by-stone before being reassembled and renovated. It is very strange to be driving down a rural Missouri highway one minute and see this beautiful English church the next. The church is now home to the Winston Churchill Memorial, a small but detailed museum which describes Churchill's life and includes some of his personal effects. It is a must-see for those who have any interest in his life, or in the WWII history.
A recent addition to the campus is just as interesting - a large section of the Berlin Wall stands beside the church. It has been sculpted so that two human figures seem to be coming through. Entitled "Breakthrough", the sculpture is the work of Edwina Sandys, Churchill's granddaughter.
The combination of two famous European symbols along with the memorial museum make Fulton a worthwhile stop for anyone traveling the rather dull I-70 between KC and St. Louis. You can see a couple of pictures on our website by clicking on the Route Maps button and then clicking the St. Louis-> Kansas City drive link at the bottom.
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Subway stupidity
We stopped at Subway, the restaurant for lunch during a recent drive. Nothing unusual about that, but I found what happened rather amusing and would like to share it with you. As you know, at Subway you specify a bread type, a filling, and your condiments. Usually a simple process, but on this occasion, the condiment guy was having a bad day. The conversation went something like this:
Condiment guy: What would you like on your sub sir?
Me: Hmmm, Tomato and onion.....
CG starts to put lettuce on the sub.
Me (shocked): No, no, no lettuce, just tomato and onion...
CG gives me a blank look.
Me: I don't want any lettuce on my sub.
CG: OK, sorry sir, it's just that everyone always orders lettuce.
Me: Well, I didn't order it, so now can we remove the lettuce.
CG removes the lettuce as best he can, apologizing profusely.
CG: Now what did you want on your sub sir?
Me: Tomato and onion and mayo and pepper.
CG then puts tomato and onion on the sub before asking: What else was on that
sub sir?
Me: Mayo.....
CG puts a small dab of mayo and asks "Is this enough mayo, sir?"
Me: No.
CG: Sorry, sir.
CG proceeds to cover my sub in mayo.
CG: What else sir?
Me: Pepper.
CG reaches for the green peppers.
Me: No, no, Pepper!
CG gives me another blank stare
Me: You know, the black stuff.
CG reaches for the olives.
Me (patiently): Noooo, those are olives. I want pepper, you know the
shaker stuff.
CG replies with the now familiar blank stare
Me: You know, pepper comes in a shaker (while make a shaking motion and pointing to the big
shaker labeled "PEPPER").
CG: OH, PEPPER! I'm sorry sir.
CG then completes my sub, no doubt exhausted by the ordeal.
I can only assume this guy is still in his first year of
condiment college - it isn't until second year that they begin differentiating
between veggies and spices. The sub was very good, by the way.
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Negro league weekend
Kansas City is home to the Negro League Baseball Museum which we visited on Friday. It is a great tribute to the many leagues that existed for about 60 years before the major leagues became integrated. There is a lot of memorabilia, and a lot to be learned. I suspect many younger fans are unaware that Hank Aaron began his career in the Negro Leagues, as did Willie Mays and Roy Campanella among others. Even then, it is still clear that most of the history of these leagues was never recorded properly. Nonetheless, for all baseball fans this museum must be visited during a stop in KC; it is simply awe-inspiring to see what these men went through to play the game they loved.
The museum shares a building with the American Jazz Museum which is also worth visiting as a combined ticket only costs $8. The area around the museums is historically significant as one of the great jazz areas in the U.S., but it is currently undergoing renovations, so we didn't get a good chance to explore it.
Coincidentally, the game on Saturday was a Salute to the Negro Leagues. The Royals and Indians played in uniforms from the Negro Leagues and before the game, several Negro league players were honored on the field. As well, all fans received a replica Kansas City Monarchs cap. It was a nice touch and the fans were very appreciative. It would be nice if all teams did something similar one year, simply to increase awareness of some of these great teams.
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Kauffman Stadium
Surprisingly attractive and inexpensive, Kauffman is a great place to watch a game. The field level seats are only $17 and you can always get good seats if you ask for singles - this is because the stadium sections have an odd number of seats in each row. Since most people go to the game in twos and fours, there seems to be a large number of single tickets in the middle of each row. Given the second level club seats are $19 and the cheap seats are $11, the field box seats are the best value. The stadium seems relatively small and open, but has a capacity over 40,000, which is greater than Comerica Park. The fountain beyond the outfield fence really adds to the stadium. Another feature I like is the way the upper deck slopes down as it moves toward the outfield, thus eliminating the nosebleed seats in the outfield corners. This upper deck seems to be a unique feature among parks built in the early 70's, most of which are of the cookie-cutter variety. and have upper deck seats around the entire park, which creates a closed feeling.
The park is located in Harry S. Truman Sports complex along with the Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium. It is just off I-70 and getting in to the parking is easy, but getting out can be a hassle. Food is a bit expensive, but on Friday it was "Buck" night, where hot dogs, small sodas, and small bags of peanuts were only $1. Two of us enjoyed the game for only $50, including parking, one of the best bargains in the majors today.
Given the contemporaries of Kauffman are slowly disappearing (Three Rivers and County already gone, Busch and Veterans on their last legs), I hope this stadium remains as a testament that a good baseball stadium need not be "retro" to be classic.
By the way, a correspondent informs me that the K (Kauffman's nickname) is scheduled to undergo further renovations to improve the concourse area, so I hope that means that it will be around for a while.
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What are you still doing here?
Recently we bought portable radio headphones that let us listen to the game while we watch. This is very useful for getting info that we might not otherwise find out, particularly during minor-league games. On Friday's Indians-Royals game, these headphones gave us a very interesting story.
As most of you know now, John Rocker was traded from the Braves to the Indians on Friday. One of the players that Atlanta received in return was Steve Karsay. This trade was first announced on the radio in the second inning of Friday's game, even though Karsay was still in the Tribe bullpen. Then in the 8th inning, he actually came in to pitch. It appeared as if he did not yet know that he had been traded. It was certainly strange to watch this guy pitching, unaware that he was bound for the National League after the game. He pitched well too, getting a hold in a 6-5 Indians victory.
I guess that the trade wasn't officially announced until after the game, which is why he still pitched. But I am surprised that it was made public during the game, a good heckler could have surprised Karsay with the news and perhaps thrown him off his game.
That's all for this issue, we are heading south to Texas this week, but first we will stop for two minor league games in Oklahoma. Our air-con in the car is temporarily disabled, so first, we should probably get that fixed, don't you think?
Talk to you later,
Sean and Aya
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