Palladino: New Yankee Stadium Distractions Make One Long For Old Days
By Ernie Palladino
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Not to sound like an old fogy, but think about this for a second.
Do we really need all the bells and whistles owners are throwing into baseball stadiums these days? When, exactly, did fans lose sight of the game itself and develop the need for something more than a hotdog and a beer to fulfill their pleasure during a visit to the ballyard?
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The Yankees' recent announcement of the stadium enhancements due for 2017 has triggered a pang for the old days, an era where the game itself was the star. Even now, as a totally enjoyable and fun World Series took shape, it was hard to accept that a good number of fans at Cleveland's Progressive Field directed their time and dollars more toward the prospects of a wine and cheese snack than the sight of the Cubs and Indians battling for a first Series title since 1908 and 1948, respectively.
This organizational misdirection has been going on ever since the newer stadiums and skyrocketing player salaries caused the steep rise in ticket prices. The Arizona Diamondbacks actually put a pool in their stadium. Stay up late enough for a Mets game in Phoenix and inevitably at least one shot of adults and children taking a watery frolic in the seventh inning of a one-run game will flash upon the screen.
Speaking of the Mets, they have a food court to beat all food courts, including a Shake Shack stand where fans in an endless cue will happily blow an hour of field action below for one of their famous burgers.
And does Yankee Stadium really need more stuff? It already has a vast array of food choices, not to mention a high-class steakhouse in center field and waiter service for the Brahmans who sit in the high-rent section behind the plate.
It all makes a geezer wonder why these people even bother to show up. The first thing our dads did when they took many of us old-timers to our first ballgames was to buy a scorecard. They cost about a quarter back in the mid-60s, and you got a free pencil with it.
You'd get to your seat, sit down, and the first thing dad would teach you was how to use said scorecard. He wrote in the lineup -- name and position -- checking off the starters on the roster below so you knew who remained on the bench for later duty. Then he explained the numbering system for the fielders -- 1 for pitcher, 2 for catcher, and so on -- and the stack of dashes he used to denote singles, doubles, triples and homers. And how to mark steals and caught stealings and sacrifice flies, and all the rest of what happens on the field.
He'd do that for an inning or two and then hand the scorecard over. "Your turn," he'd say.
It's how countless young fans learned to appreciate a beautiful, if sometimes long, game. You see, one has to pay attention to keep a good scorecard.
That still left time for conversation, just not for the breathless recaps of the Housewives of New Jersey that goes on around today's hoidy-toidy concessions. The old stands were filled with talk about whether Mickey Mantle would hit a homer that day, or whether the Mets had enough to beat the high-kicking Juan Marichal.
That was plenty to keep us occupied. More than enough, actually.
Swimming? In a pool? At a ballpark? That was something one did at home if you were lucky enough to have a back yard, or the community pool if you weren't. To think about taking a dip at the stadium was, quite simply, preposterous.
You got hungry? The hotdog and peanut and Cracker Jack vendors would come around often enough. You stayed put watching the game, learning the players, keeping score, until you had to go to the bathroom.
Then you got up. And only then.
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It's not like that anymore. By the time the 2017 season opens, Yankee Stadium will have pulled out nearly 2,100 seats to make room for a miniature baseball field to keep the kiddies occupied before and during the game, a sports lounge featuring satellite TV service, party decks that feature several shaded bar areas, and several social gathering areas where friends in various areas of the ballpark can convene to shoot the bull.
All while somebody's got a no-hitter going through six.
But why would that matter? It's all about distraction and misdirection now.
Anything but the game itself.
Follow Ernie on Twitter at @ErniePalladino
