Evil Empire State of Mind

It’s no secret the Yankees are the most successful franchise in baseball and have access to the most resources in baseball. I could make the argument that the Yankees are the most successful franchise in professional sports. I mean 27 World Series titles is a very resounding argument. So from the biggest, most self-important, winningest team in baseball, you would expect the biggest, most self-affected, mecca of a stadium. That is Yankee Stadium.

The result is a stadium that absolutely embodies the traits of the team. Yankee Stadium is larger than life, and very business-like with a coldness and austere feeling it emanates. Much like the team, the stadium makes it known that it’s the biggest and best, and it embraces that and uses it as motivation. A sense of regality applies to both the team and the stadium. The Yankees policy of players being well groomed pertains to the stadium as well. Clean lines and a very professional appearance are major part of the stadium. Simply put, the Yankees built the perfect stadium for their franchise.

Along with Citi Field, Yankee Stadium opened in 2009. Towered, Roman Colosseum-type, arched windows dominate the exterior façade as a nod to the original Yankee Stadium. A small urban plaza area sits between the elevated subway line and the main entrance, and there is also a city park across the street with several ball fields. The new stadium duplicates the arched frieze that flanks the top of the upper deck from the old stadium as well as bringing back the manual scoreboards in the left and right field walls.

The stadium is in the same location as the old Yankee Stadium in the Bronx neighborhood in New York. The urban stadium includes a “cut out” so the elevated subway can be viewed very briefly in right field, which is cool. The neighborhood has the urban feel similar to near Wrigley Field, with a stadium in the middle of a neighborhood. It just feels kind of strange to have this huge, brand-new $1.5 billion stadium in this location. The stadium is very nice, but not without its share of criticisms, some of which have validity. A Yankees blog says it is a “mall featuring a baseball game,” which is an apt description. I never got to see old Yankee Stadium, but the term most used to describe it was charm. That is something the new stadium doesn’t have yet.

The Yankees seem to embrace the role of evil empire that so many other teams and opposing fans have bestowed upon them. They even perpetuate that idea by playing John Williams’s “Imperial March” (better known as Darth Vader’s theme song!) when the batting order is introduced before the game. They are perhaps the most hated franchise in baseball, and the team and fans love it.

The whole game experience is unlike any other team. Instead of some used car salesman throwing out the first pitch at some small market team’s home game, it was the CEO of Papa John’s on the field literally throwing out the first pitch as the players were taking the field. That never happens! Most first pitches are 15-30 minutes before the actual start of the game. Papa John was just one of several celebrities that were at the game, and the Yankees surely wanted everyone to know how many famous people were there. They showed Julianna Moore, Paul Simon, and Shaq all on the big screen and even wrote their name on the big screen so fans knew who they were looking at. I would imagine this is a regular occurrence.

For the B4B team, this was one of the best stadium experiences in the way the Yankees worked with our organization. They provided tickets to us in the Delta Skybox360 Suite*. The seats were great, albeit we were a little out of our element watching the game with a bunch of powerful New York businessmen. The Yankees employee who we were working with followed-up with us several times to make sure we were enjoying our time at the stadium. They printed Biking for Baseball on the tickets we used. The Yankees definitely had the small details nailed down, and that kind of stuff really leaves an impression on fans. Fans aren’t just treated as dollar signs, they are treated as people. Nicely done, Yankees.

*Talk about corporate branding. I don’t even know what Delta Skybox360 means. Is it an airplane video game or something? Like Xbox360?

Besides having the PR responsibilities figured out, the video board graphics at Yankee Stadium was by far the best we’ve seen this season. All of the information fans want to know about the player at the plate is easily viewed and displayed in a way that uses common sense other teams lack when it comes to the video board. Clever graphics and great use of information is a typical theme on the Yankees video screen. This picture is a perfect example of the stats being displayed in a very original way, invoking the subway numbers and images all to common for New Yorkers.

Yankees fans have a great tradition at the start of each game. They cheer for each Yankees player by name during the top of the first inning, until that player acknowledges the fans. Who knows if the players appreciate it or think it’s annoying; it’s a pretty cool way for the fans to connect with the players. Another tradition that is my favorite is how Derek Jeter is still introduced to the plate by the late Bob Sheppard. Sheppard was the longtime voice of the Yankees who began his career the same day as Mickey Mantle in 1951, and the Yankees use a recorded clip to introduce Jeter.

The game itself featured the best pitching match-up we’ve seen this season. David Price of the Rays took the mound against C.C. Sabathia of the Yankees. The game wasn’t quite the pitchers duel we had expected, but it was exciting. Both teams are fighting for the postseason, and this time of year every game has a playoff atmosphere. The Yankees couldn’t capitalize on home runs by Curtis Granderson and A-Rod, and the Rays took advantage of a big 5^th inning where they strung together some hits and walks. Russell Martin was definitely struggling behind the plate, and Sabathia was charged with some wild pitches that should have been blocked or could have been passed balls.

The highlight of the game was Jeter’s 3,284 hit to pass Willie Mays for sole possession of 10^th place all-time. The hit came of Price, who also happens to be the pitcher his 3,000^th hit came off of. Crazy. This was a great piece of history to be a part of. Other than that, the game wasn’t what the home team had hoped for. The Rays won 6-4 with Fernando Rodney closing out the game for his league-leading 43^rd save.

We were lucky to have a lot of friends and family come to hang out with us at this game. The unfortunate part was that we couldn’t sit with them in the Delta Suite. Rex and Chase spent the last few innings hanging out with their great family and friends. Thanks for supporting us, Rex’s dad George and his family, and Deanna and Maria!

Yankee Stadium was exactly the regal shrine to the most successful team in baseball that it should be, and we were glad to see it firsthand!

Gm 1- 4/13 @ Safeco Field - Oakland A’s @ Seattle Mariners

Oakland wins 4-0 (WP - Colon, LP - Hernandez)

Gm 2 - 4/24 @ O.Co Stadium - Chicago White Sox @ Oakland A’s
Oakland wins 2-0 (WP - Milone, LP - Floyd, SV - Balfour)

Gm 3 - 4/27 @ AT&T Park - San Diego Padres @ San Francisco Giants
San Diego wins 5-3 (WP - Luebke, LP - Hacker, SV - Street)

Gm 4 - 5/3 @ Angels Stadium - Toronto Blue Jays @ LA Angels of Anaheim
Toronto wins 5-0 (WP - Morrow, LP - Haren)

Gm 5 - 5/7 @ Dodger Stadium - SF Giants @ Los Angeles Dodgers
Dodgers win 9-1 (WP - Lilly, LP - Zito)

Gm 6 - 5/8 @ Petco Park - Colorado Rockies @ San Diego Padres
Padres win 3-1 (WP - Suppan, LP - White, SV - Thayer)

Gm 7 - 5/12 @ Chase Field - San Francisco Giants @ Arizona Diamondbacks
Giants win 5-2 (WP - Cain, LP - Cahill, SV - Casilla)

Gm 8 - 5/20 @ Coors Field -Seattle Mariners @ Colorado Rockies
Mariners win 6-4 (WP - Beavan, LP - Guthrie)

Gm 9 - 5/30 @ The Ballpark in Arlington - Seattle Mariners @ Texas Rangers
Mariners win 21-8 (WP - Beavan, LP - Holland)

Gm 10 - 6/3 @ Minute Maid Park - Cincinnati Reds @ Houston Astros
Astros win 5-3 (WP Lyles, LP - Arroyo, SV - Myers)

Gm 11 - 6/15 @ Tropicana Field - Miami Marlins @ Tampa Bay Rays
Rays win 11-0 (WP - Moore, LP - Zambrano)

Gm 12 - 6/22 @ Marlins Park - Toronto Blue Jays @ Miami Marlins
Blue Jays win 12-5 (WP - Romero, LP - Sanchez)

Gm 13 - 6/30 @ Turner Field - Washington Nationals @ Atlanta Braves
Braves win 7-5 (WP - Minor, LP - Strasburg, SV - Kimbrel)

Gm 14 - 7/6 @ Busch Stadium - Miami Marlins @ St. Louis Cardinals
Marlins win 3-2 (WP - Nolasco, LP - Westbrook, SV - Bell)

Gm 15 - 7/13 @ Kauffman Stadium - Chicago White Sox @ Kansas City Royals
White Sox win 9-8 (WP - Alexrod, LP - Teaford)

Gm 16 - 7/19 @ Target Field - Baltimore Orioles @ Minnesota Twins
Orioles win 4-3 (WP - Chen, LP - Burnett, SV - J. Johnson)

Gm 17 - 7/24 @ U.S. Cellular Field - Minnesota Twins @ Chicago White Sox
White Sox win 11-4 (WP - Jones, LP - Fien)

Gm 18 - 7/26 @ Miller Park - Washington Nationals @ Milwaukee Brewers
Nationals win 8-2 (WP - Jackson, LP - Gallardo)

Gm 19 - 7/30 @ Wrigley Field - Pittsburgh Pirates @ Chicago Cubs
Cubs win 14-4 (WP - Germano, LP - Bedard)

Gm 20 - 8/5 @ Comerica Park - Cleveland Indians @ Detroit Tigers
Tigers win 10-8 (WP - Downs, LP - Perez)

Gm 21 - 8/7 @ Progressive Field - Minnesota Twins @ Cleveland Indians
Twins win 7-5 (WP - Robertson, LP - Perez, SV - Perkins)

Gm 22 - 8/10 @ PNC Park - San Diego Padres @ Pittsburgh Pirates
Padres win 9-8 (WP - Brach, LP - Watson, SV - Street)

Gm 23 - 8/15 @ Great American Ball Park - New York Mets @ Cincinnati Reds
Reds win 6-1 (WP - Leake, LP - Dickey)

Gm 24 - 8/22 @ Nationals Park - Atlanta Braves @ Washington Nationals
Braves win 5-1 (WP - Medlen, LP - Detwiler)

Gm 25 - 8/25 @ Oriole Park at Camden Yards - Toronto Blue Jays @ Baltimore Orioles
Orioles win 8-2 (WP - Johnson, LP - Morrow)

Gm 26 - 8/29 @ Citizens Bank Park - New York Mets @ Philadelphia Phillies
Mets win 3-2 (WP - Harvey, LP - Cloyd, SV - Francisco)

Gm 27 - 9/5 @ Rogers Centre - Baltimore Orioles @ Toronto Blue Jays
Blue Jays win 6-4 (WP - Delabar, LP - Gonzalez)

Gm 28 - 9/11 @ Citi Field - Washington Nationals @ New York Mets
Nationals win 5-3 (WP - Gorzelanny, LP - Dickey, SV - Clippard)

Gm 29 - 9/14 @ Yankee Stadium - Tampa Bay Rays @ New York Yankees
Rays win 6-4 (WP - Price, LP - Sabathia, SV - Rodney)

Just a quick jaunt to Toronto from Philly

Once again, the B4B boys found themselves navigating unknown territory on the ride from Philadelphia to Toronto. After spending a few days exploring Wilmington, Delaware and the City of Brotherly Love, we were back on the bikes towards Canada without knowing what to expect from the 5-day trip. We gathered inspiration from one Rocky Balboa and forged ahead.

It was beautiful riding leaving northern Delaware as we quickly crossed into Pennsylvania. Staying far away from the Philadelphia traffic on the outskirts of town, we discovered many of Pennsylvania’s roads have very small shoulders. GULP! We’ve got several more days in Pennsylvania, and small shoulder means not much space for us bikers from traffic. We were able to find the Schuylkill River Trail, which is a rails-to-trails that is more or less completed for a portion of our ride on the route towards Toronto. Unfortunately, more or less completed means the trail just suddenly ends for a few miles, like this.

It takes a lot of effort to keep finding the trail after it disappears for a few miles, but it is usually worth it to stay off the narrow shoulder roads. It’s usually a much slower day when we have to continually try to find a trail, but we make it work.

We camped at the Blue Rocks campground near Lenhartsville, PA, which might have been one of our best camp spots. Our site was right next to a huge glacial rock deposit flowing down the mountain. At the top of the mountain was the famous Appalachian Trail. For the last few weeks of the trip, we were talking about how good or bad of running shape we would be in when we got home. With the AT a ½ mile from our campsite, we wanted to put our running fitness to the test with a morning trail run.

It turned out to be a lot slower than we anticipated because it was mostly a climb up the mountain. We definitely got our heart rates up while running/hiking to the top. We were rewarded with a great view of the valley and the vast distance of central Pennsylvania.

We enjoy sampling the local beer in each region we visit. One beer that we found that has a very cult following in the central east part of the country is Yuengling. Yuengling is known as America’s oldest brewery, and I think many people identify with that and enjoy the beer as a reminder of the past. We’d had it several times, and all we knew is that it was brewed in Pennsylvania. When we were getting on the road after the morning Appalachian Trail run, we saw a sign for Yuengling.

LIGHT BULBS, “I wonder were they brew Yuengling.”

It turns out that Yuengling is brewed in Pottsville, PA, which is just a quick 25-mile ride from where we were. We decided to make that our mid-point stop for the day, and it was a great idea. We were able to take a tour of the brewery that opened in 1829. It was one of the best brewery tours I’ve been on. They took us 50 feet below street level to the caves were they brewed, and you got to see the bottling line up close. Most places definitely don’t allow that! The tour guide was very knowledgeable, and we left impressed.

Luckily our ride to Toronto wasn’t that long for how many days we were allowing for it, because this day turned into a wash very quickly. We stayed at the brewery for a while, and ended up having pizza at a place in town. After all was said and done, we spent a good chunk of the day in Pottsville. We found a campsite another 20 miles away, and we got back on the bikes and finished right before dusk fell on Pennsylvania. Great day of Appalachian Trail and Yuengling!

Central Pennsylvania is also home to Bucknell University in Lewisburg and the Little League World Series in Williamsport. Bucknell’s athletics are best known for upsetting the Kansas Jayhawks in the 2005 NCAA tournament first round, and Williamsport has hosted the World Series since 1947. If only we were there a week earlier, we could have caught some of the Little League games.

We stopped in Williamsport for lunch, but we knew the ride from there to our end point was going to be dicey. We were fully in the mountains at this point, and Pennsylvania gets very remote north of Williamsport. Little cell phone service and narrow windy mountain roads is what we were dealing with. After ending up on multiple gravel roads, encountering multiple gas company/construction workers on the road we came to a gate and a guard. We had climbed all the way to the top of the mountain, but the gas company people wouldn’t let us past. They were very secretive too. We had to go back down the gravel mountain road and go around the mountain. Whatever, when we finished we were rewarded with a huge festival with tractor pulls and fireworks near our campground. Sweet!

There’s a song by the Talking Heads called “Once in a Lifetime” that we find ourselves quoting the lyrics on a regular basis. The lyrics of the song present different situations that you may find yourself in, and then David Byrne so eloquently says, “You may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?” The campground in rural New York was the perfect example of us asking ourselves, “Where the heck are we, and how did we get here?” The place was unassuming enough, but there were a lot of people. This was the Sunday before Labor Day; so many people were out celebrating the unofficial end of summer.

As we were setting up camp and hanging out before it got dark, we saw a PA system and lights being set-up by the main office. What was going on? We thought maybe a live band was going to play, so we immediately became excited to take the stage as the B4B Band. Rex plays guitar, Chase is a drummer, and Steve has some mad singing skills. It turns out, the PA system was for a DJ who was playing music for a kind of strange, quasi-dance party at the campground. It was an odd mix of little kids and old people dancing to an even more interesting selection of music. Sort of like a wedding reception, but at a campground in rural New York. And the “Cupid Shuffle” was following by a country song. Weird.

The following day we took a detour to stay with Rex’s family in Rochester. They were great, and it was very nice to hangout like normal people and BBQ for Labor Day. Good food and good company in Rochester before making our final push into Toronto.

We crossed the border uneventfully at Niagara Falls on the Rainbow bridge. We had heard from so many people that the Canadian side of the falls was more beautiful, and they were right in that the view of the falls was much better from Canada. The Canadian side also has more flowers and stuff, but that is countered with the extreme amount of touristy stuff like Ripley’s Believe it or Not, and wax museums, and stores that sell Niagara Falls t-shirts.

We snapped some pics in the mist of the falls, and biked towards Toronto. The rain and our inability to use data on our phones made it slow going into the city. But we made it! Toronto, fifth most populous city in North America.

NY Mets & Washington Nationals on 9/11: A fitting tribute

When planning the schedule last year, it just so turned out that we would be at the Mets game in NYC on 9/11. The Mets played the first sporting event in New York after the terrorist attacks in 2001, so there is a very strong bond between the team and the city over the events of 9/11. We were fortunate, and very honored, to be in attendance for the game at Citi Field. It was definitely a highlight of our trip!

Citi Field opened in 2009, replacing Shea Stadium in Queens, New York. Located across a very nice plaza area from the subway station, Citi Field has a great façade that is a nod to the former home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Ebbets Field. The brick is very welcoming and warm, and the main entrance takes stadium patrons to the Jackie Robinson rotunda. The rotunda honors Robinson’s accomplishments, and etched into the archways are Robinson’s nine values: Courage, Excellence, Persistence, Justice, Teamwork, Commitment, Citizenship, Determination, and Integrity. It’s great that the main entryway to Citi Field is a huge museum for one of the most important people to play the game of baseball. Well done, Mets!

One very distinctive feature of the old Shea Stadium was the home run apple. Whenever a Mets player would hit a home run, a huge apple with the Mets logo would rise from its housing beyond the centerfield batter’s eye. Citi Field also features the home run apple, but they’ve moved the original apple from Shea Stadium to the plaza area near the main entrance. It’s a great spot for a photo with the stadium in the background, so obviously we got a picture there. We were worried we wouldn’t see the home run apple during the game, but pinch hitter Scott Hairston* obliged us in the 7^th inning.

*Scott Hairston is a 3^rd generation major leaguer. In total, 5 Hairston’s have played in the big league. His dad Jerry, Sr., his brother Jerry, Jr., his uncle John, and his grandfather Sam.

The interior of the stadium is great. It’s definitely one of our favorite new ballparks. It has great sightlines and was primarily influenced by PNC Park, which was a favorite of Mets owner Jeff Wilpon. The concourse is great except for the wasted space directly where the escalators from the Jackie Robinson rotunda enter the concourse behind home plate. It is basically a blank wall with the luxury suites and press box area obstructing the view of the field. Being unable to see the field from the concourse is a pet peeve of ours. Aside from that, Citi Field is very nice. We like the food selection (Shake Shack!) and great craft beer selections (Brooklyn Beer!). If you’re curious, here’s a link to a NY Times article reviewing Citi Field and Yankee Stadium when they both opened in 2009.

We arrived to the stadium a little earlier than we usually do, so we had enough time to explore some before finding a spot to see the pre-game ceremony to remember the events that took place on 9/11. The Mets had first responders from each agency in the New York metropolitan area bring the colors on the field along with their agency’s individual flags. Both teams lined the infield baseline similar to opening day for a moment of silence. The daughter of someone who was killed in the attacks sang the National Anthem. The girl was young, probably a teenager, so its sad to think that 11 years ago, she was likely just starting kindergarten. The whole ceremony was classy and paid a great tribute to those who were killed.

Aside from the pre-game ceremony, this game marked another special occasion for the B4B team. It was our first foul ball we caught this season! Rex displayed some soft hands and great coordination to snag a foul ball off the bat off David Wright that took a tricky bounce off of the seats next to us. When we originally sat in our seats, we talked about how we were in prime foul ball area directly behind first base about 20 rows up. We just needed a righty to put together a solid at-bat by fouling off pitches to stay alive. That is exactly what Wright did in this at-bat, and Rex was the beneficiary. After catching a few batting practice home runs in previous games, we were finally able to get a game-used ball off of the bat of an MVP candidate. Good job, Rex!

The game featured our friend R.A. Dickey starting for the Mets. He is in the midst of building his case for the NL Cy Young, and this start would be a great time for him to show his stuff against one of the best teams in baseball, the Washington Nationals. Neither Dickey, nor Nats starter Jordan Zimmerman, were very efficient, but both were effective enough to limit the other teams from scoring many runs. Each starter allowed 10 base runners, but they got some huge help from their defense. The Mets turned 3 double plays while the Nats turned 2 double plays.

Zimmerman lasted only 5 innings for the Nats, and he left with his team losing 2-1. The Nats got solid innings from their relief corps while Tyler Moore tagged Dickey for a 2-run homer in the 7^th. Frank Francisco gave up 2 runs to the Nats in the top of the 9^th inning without recording an out. That turned out to be the difference in the game, with the Mets losing 5-3. Bryce Harper had arguably his best game as a big leaguer. He went 4 for 5, becoming the youngest player to have four hits in a game since Andruw Jones did it in 1996. He’s still just 19! Unbelievable!

We had a great time at Citi Field. The stadium and the Mets will be hosts of the All-Star Game next season. This will be a great opportunity to feature the stadium to the national audience will baseball’s best on display. I’m definitely looking forward to watching it. Maybe we’ll be lucky enough to be in attendance.