The Mets Police

April 17, 2009

New Yankee Stadium: Too Quiet?

While there’s no truth to the rumor that the Yankees may rename the new stadium after Sammy Hagar, the reviews are about the same as when Sammy took over as singer for Van Halen…..it’s ok, they’ll sell out, we still love the guys…but it’s just not as cool.

If you’re heading to Sammy Hagar Stadium today prepare to be “too hot.” I say that because Michael Kay on Yes told me yesterday that the weather “couldn’t be better for baseball.” He told me that while the graphic told me it was 55 degrees…so if you’re on your way to Hagar, expect to be about 15 degrees warm sitting there in the sunshine.

As the reviews come in….they are all what we’ve been saying since the Cubs games, and some of the other blogs have been saying….and it’s interesting that the mainstream media is already cracking, and this is before the average fans have started going to games.

First up, from The Post

Incredibly, after all the anticipation and hoopla, the sellout crowd at this grand opening had about the same zeal as grandmothers playing mahjong. Why? The ticket prices mean a lot more corporate patronage in the seats close to the field, which means far fewer diehards near the action, screaming, taunting, making it uncomfortable for the opposition

The claustrophobic feeling an opponent encountered in tough times is gone forever now. The upper deck no longer drapes over the action, but is rather higher and inclined away from the field. The bleachers — and their creatures — are now further recessed. The Yanks have played class warfare with their tickets and the result is that their most ardent fans — those who helped create a 10th-man feel across the street — will have to all bring microphones to be heard in full in this facility.

In that article Joel Sherman also talks about how Yankee fans now honor the 1996 guys over folks like Berra and Ford.

The Times warns that buyers beware, especially on the secondary market…..and remember that this warning is about seats that the team has admitted are obstructed. Mets fans need to be doubly cautious.

The Yankees had previously recognized that these seats were not ideal and lowered the price for them, independent marketplaces like StubHub and eBay leave it up to the sellers to disclose whether or not a view is obstructed.

That is how a visibly upset Adrian Rea, a Yankee fan from Binghamton, N.Y., wound up spending $1,200 for four tickets in Section 201. Rea had no idea that he would not be able to see right field.

â€œIf Iâ€™d known, I wouldnâ€™t have bought them,â€ he said. â€œI would have even paid more if I could have had seats that werenâ€™t obstructed.â€

Finally let’s hear from some of the more famous folks….the big time Yankee fan Rudy Giuliani (who rooted for Boston in the playoffs. huh?) and Yogi Berra who probably knows something about being a Yankee. From nj.com

“Well, it’s bigger,” former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani laughed as he headed to the gates after a 10-2 loss to the Indians. “But they’ve evoked enough of the old place where you feel like you’re at Yankee Stadium.”

“I think they’ve got too much room in the clubhouse,” the 10-time world champion (Berra) said. “It is awfully big. If you want to talk to a guy, you have to walk a half mile!”

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April 17, 2009

Mets Police Exclusive – Babe’s Great-Grandson "Put Up A Statue"

Is there room for the Babe in the House That George Built? Brent Stevens, the great-grandson of Babe Ruth, and co-founder of Babe Ruth Central (http://www.baberuthcentral.com/) shares his thoughts on this exclusively for the Mets Police.

From a Ruth descendant – Thoughts on the Babe’s “presence” at the New Yankee Stadium and “Should there be a statue?”

As one of the great grandsons of Babe Ruth, the day I learned that “The House That Ruth Built” would be replaced with a new stadium, I certainly felt a sense of loss – not only of family heritage, but also a loss for the fans who won’t get the opportunity to see where he accomplished his legendary feats. Last year, my grandmother, Julia Ruth Stevens, was repeatedly asked how she felt about the House that Ruth built being replaced and she responded, “I guess all good things must come to an end. I hate to see ‘Daddy’s House’ go, but perhaps it’s time to move on.”

The Yankees invited The Ruth-Stevens family to a couple of games during the Yankees last season in 2008. Julia was given the ultimate privilege of throwing out the final ceremonial first pitch in old Yankee Stadium. That day, I was extremely proud of the Yankees, of my heritage, and of my grandmother (I might add it was a great throw for a 92 year old) and I’m very grateful to the Yankee organization for the honor bestowed upon the family. However, as a descendant of the Babe, I am concerned about his ongoing legacy within the new Stadium and the Yankee organization as a whole, which has emphasized that the new stadium will not be recognized as “The House That Ruth Built”. The Yankees, while acknowledging the past, are moving in a new direction with a significant focus on the future of the Yankees.

Of course as a major league franchise and a business, it’s important that the Yankees always look ahead to new opportunities, new championships and new heroes. And they’ll be doing just that, in their brand new stadium. I haven’t had the opportunity to visit it yet, so my comments are not first hand. But, based on feedback from friends, it sounds like Babe is given his due in Babe Ruth Plaza (outside the park on the first base side). Unfortunately, I have also heard that Monument Park is completely hidden from view behind an eight foot wall. In my opinion, Monument Park is hallowed Yankee ground and should be readily visible, to not only recognize the legends that made the Yankees what they are today, but also to arouse the curiousity of the younger generations and encourage them to learn about the Yankee players who set the benchmark for baseball greatness.

A statue would be most fitting. After all, Babe is not only a huge part of the Yankees’ legacy, but of baseball’s legacy as a whole. He has been singlehandedly credited with having saved baseball after the severe disappointment and sense of betrayal that came with the “Black Sox Scandal” of 1919. His ability to hit home runs like no other, before or since, forever changed how the game is played. As a fan of baseball and its history (and not just a Ruth relative), I think it’s important for today’s fans to know just how important the Babe was to baseball and how fortunate the Yankees were to have him as a founding member of their franchise. The Giants have a statue of Willie Mays, the Cardinals have statues of Roger Hornsby and Stan “The Man” Musial, and the Braves have “Hammerin’ Hank”. Can it seriously be said that the Babe is any less important? A statue of the Babe out in front of the New Yankee Stadium would be a perfect “passing of the torch” from the old “House That Ruth Built” to the new “House That George (Steinbrenner) Built”. The Yankees should do all they can to promote their heritage and legendary players. Hopefully, they will be open to new opportunities to do so. And what better way, than with a statue of the Babe, front and center of the new stadium. It’s the right thing to do.

Brent Stevens – great grandson of Babe Ruth and co-founder of BabeRuthCentral.com

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@metspolice

April 17, 2009

Mets Citi Field Obstructed View Promenade Section 503

We are inviting any Mets fans with pictures of obstructed views to email them to [email protected]

This one came to us via email on Thursday.

hi
i went to citifield last night.
pic was taken in section 503, row 4, seat 1.
horrible horrible seat.
so sad that they thought T shirts and pulled pork were more important than watching the game.
thanks for helping get the word out.
(emailer) in queens

My choice to block the name. I’d hate to jam anyone up.

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@metspolice

April 17, 2009

Mailbag: Mets Uniform Choices, Ignoring Mets History and the Mets Museum

Jackie Robinson night and the Rotunda brought up a lot of frustration from Mets fans about the team ignoring their own history.

One of the main things the Mets Police hate are the black uniforms.

The following is direct form the Mets own website.

The Mets’ colors are Dodger blue and Giant orange, symbolic of the return of National League baseball to New York after the Dodgers and Giants moved to California. Blue and Orange are also the official colors of New York State.

So…on a night when the Mets honored a Dodger, did they wear the official color Dodger Blue hats? Nope..they wore black. Why?

The below was a comment posted to Mets Police article Why Are Mets Uniforms a State Secret?

They should go back to what they were wearing when they first entered the league: no names on the back, no number on the front, and darker hue of blue, and the current road uniform without piping.

No black…you can sell anything you want in stores, just keep it off the field. And by the way this is the year to do it (2009) as they enter into a new park that is suppose to emulate Ebbets Field.

I agree. Sell whatever the heck you want. Just don’t wear it. It also makes no sense to have names on the back every day of the year, except when everyone wears #42. If you didn’t need them on JR night, you never do. It looks better without them. People know who #7 is. If not the PA announcer, Howie Rose and Gary Cohen can tell them.

Mailbag: Bad Yankee Stadium Review

Robert…on Yankee Stadium reviews.

There are but a handful of people speaking about this atrocity. Hats off to you guys. What happened at Queens could only be an upgrade. The bad news for the Yankees is that they MOVED SHEA to THE BRONX! 1.5 Billion dollar frieze (and someone tell me how to pronounce this word). Everyone is too far from the action (unless you forked over 2500 for the seat) and the outfield/beachers is symmetric poured concrete. How could they screw this up? They only had since the 80s to think about it….

What they should have done was raze the old stadium, move the Yanks to Shea for two years, and then build around the field of Ruth, Gehrig,DiMaggio, and Fred (the chicken) Stanley.

The stadium looks nice on TV (well except for the netting) but when you’re there it’s just not great. As I’ve been observing, it’s Yankee fans saying it!

Sad Yankee Fan has left a new comment on your post “New Yankee Stadium: Just Seems Wrong“:

Met Fans, You have the better stadium. Those green seats make it more real and baseball like. It’s more New York City. It’s a true baseball park feel. Your place will rock in the playoffs! We sacrificed one of the great places you could ever be at for sports in our country. We now have a bogus theme park that could have been built on the Las Vegas Strip. Mr Wilpon really gave thought to old time baseball from his childhood in Brooklyn. The Yankees only cared about maximum earnings potential!