Jaybird's Jottings

The Cherry Trees

Oh Cherry tree, oh cherry tree

When will you be in peak bloom?

My guess is that it happens once or twice a decade. The random dots align and D.C.’s famous rite of spring works out perfectly. The cherry trees ringing the Tidal Basin bloom their best on the weekend and the weather is just right.

For some reason, the better half and I have been monitoring the peak bloom more this year. We’ve been here 11 years now and have taken them in several times. Once was with out of town relatives. We got lucky as far as the peak happening on a weekend but the weather wasn’t so great.

I feel for tourists who try to be here when they peak. Last week the National Park Service said the peak would be Monday (March 27). Yesterday, they issued an update, saying peak would be today (Thursday). Reading the Washington Post this morning, we noticed that the Metro section said peak is 70% bloom.

The weather gods seem to be cooperating this year with sunny skies today and tomorrow and temps in the high 60s, low 70s. Maybe a shower Saturday morning but clearing up on Sunday.

Resources:

National Park Service

Washington Post Cherry Tree Guide

Transcript of chat with Robert DeFeo, Chief Horticulturalist, National Park Service

Blogging the blooms:

An Innocent Okie in King George's Court

Opening Day Attendance

My article yesterday focused on season openers. This will provide attendance as follows.

OD – At home for the first game of the season.
HO - Opened on road, came back for the home opener.

Notes:

As I noted in the Turned Away article, attendance numbers are not something you can count on to be 100% accurate.

1883 NYG 7 BOS 5, 15,000 (OD)
1884 NYG 15 CHI 3, 10,000 (OD)
1885 NYG 2 BOS 1, 6,000 (OD)
1886 NYG 5 BOS 4, 11,946 (OD)
1887 NYG 4 PHL 3, 4,000 (OD)
1888 PHL 5 NYG 3, 10,000 (HO)
1889 BOS 8 NYG 7, 3,042 (OD)

1890 PHL 4 NYG 0, 4,644 (OD at Polo Grounds)
1890 PLPHL 12 PLG 11, 12,013 (OD at Brotherhood Park)
1891 BOS 4 NYG 3, 17,335 (OD)
1892 NYG 8 WAS, WAS 5 NYG 4, 10,000 (HO)
1893 BOS 9 NYG 2, 15,000 (OD)
1894 NYG 9 BAL 6, 18,200 (HO)
1895 BRO 7 NYG 4, 20,000 (OD) (NY Times admitted it was an estimate)
1896 PHL 3 NYG 1, 16,000 (HO)
1897 WAS 3 NYG 3, 12,500 (HO)
1898 BOS 4 NYG 2, 17,000 (OD)
1899 NYG 5, BAL 4, 6,000 (HO)

1900 BRO 3 NYG 2, 15,033 (OD)
1901 NYG 5 BRO 3, 9,800 (HO)
1902 NYG 7 PHL 0, 24,000 (OD)
1903 BRO 9 NYG 7, 20,000 (OD)
1904 PHL 12, NYG 1, 32,240 (HO)
1905 NYG 10 BOS 1, 40,000 (OD)
1906 NYG 8 BRO 2, 20,000 (HO)
1907 PHL 3 NYG 0, 17,000 (OD)
1908 NYG 3 BRO 2, 25,000 (HO)
1909 BRO 3 NYG 0, 30,000 (OD)

1910 NYG 4 BOS 0 25,000 (HO)
1911 PHL 2 NYG 0, 30,000 (OD)
1912 NYG 6 BRO 2, 18,000 (HO)
1913 BOS 8 NYG 0, 22,000 (OD)
1914 NYG 12, PHL 4, 25,000 (HO)
1915 NYG 16, BRO 3, 20,000 (OD)
1916 PHL 7, NYG 6, 25,000 (HO)
1917 BOS 4 NYG 2, 18,000 (HO)
1918 NYG 6 BRO 4, 30,000 (OD)
1919 NYG 14 PHL 2, 20,000 (HO)

1920 BOS 6 NYG 3, 20,000 (OD)
1921 PHL 6 NYG 5, 25,000 (HO)
1922 BRO 4 NYG 3, 35,000 (OD)
1923 NYG 7 BOS 3, 25,000 (HO)
Note: Beginning in the summer of 1923, capacity at the Polo Grounds went from about 38,000 to 54,500.
1924 BRO 3 NYG 2, 45,000 (OD)
1925 NYG 6 BOS 5, 35,000 (HO)
1926 BRO 3 NYG 0, 45,000 (OD)
1927 NYG 5 PHI 1, 50,000 (HO)
1928 NYG 5 BOS 2, 30,000 (OD)
1929 PHI 3 NYG 1, 30,000 (HO)

1930 NYG 3 BOS 2, 50,000 (OD)
1931 NYG 5 PHL, 45,000 (HO)
1932 PHL 13 NYG 5 25,000 (OD)
1933 NYG 1 BOS 0, 10,000 (HO)
1934 NYG 6 PHI 1, 40,000 (OD)
1935 NYG 6 BOS 5, 47,009 (HO)
1936 NYG 8 BRO 5, 56,000 (OD)
1937 NYG 3 BOS 0, 18,000 (HO)
1938 NYG 13 BOS 1 39,742 (OD)
1939 BOS 10, NYG 3, 14,448 (HO)

1940 PHL 3 NYG 1, 14,840 (OD)
1941 NYG 7 PHL 2, 13,960 (HO)
1942 BRO 7 NYG 5, 50,000 (OD)
1943 NYG 11 BOS 3, 6,946 (HO)
1944 NYG 2, BOS 1, 15,552 (OD)
1945 NYG 10 BRO 6, 24,378 (HO)
1946 NYG 8 PHL 4, 40,000 (OD)
1947 NYG 10 BRO 4, 38,736 (HO)
1948 BRO 7 NYG 6, 48,130 (OD)
1949 BOS 6 NYG 6, 24,321 (HO)

1950 BOS 11 NYG 4, 32,441 (OD)
1951 BRO 7 NYG 3, 30,870 (HO)
1952 NYG 5 PHI 3, 17,472, First night opener (OD)
1953 NYG 6, BRO 3, BRO 12 NYG 4. First game, a make-up for the rain out the day before, was played in the afternoon, 18,307. Second game, the regularly scheduled one, played at night, 29,406 (HO)
1954 NYG 4 BRO 3, 32,397, D (OD)
1955 BRO 10 NYG 8, 29,124 D (HO)
1956 NYG 4 PIT 3, 12,790, D (OD)
1957 NYG 6 PHL 2, 8,585 D (HO)
1958 SF 8 LA 0, D, 23,448, (OD)
1959 CHI 5 SF 2, D, 22,485 (HO)

1960 SF 3 STL 1, D, 42,269 (OD)
1961 PIT 8 SF 7, D, 41,423 (OD)
1962 SF 6 MIL 0, D, 39,177 (OD)
1963 SF 7 HOU 0, D, 40,782 (HO)
1964 SF 8 MIL 4, D, 42,894 (OD)
1965 PIT 3 SF 1, D, 37,784 (HO)
1966 SF 9 CHI 1, N, 40,960 (OD)
1967 STL 2 SF 1, D, 31,900 (HO)
1968 SF 5, NY 4, D, 35,774 (OD)
1969 SF 5, SD 4, D, 30,722 (HO)

1970 HOU 8 SF 5, D, 30,933 (OD)
1971 SF 5 SD 0, D, 29,487 (HO)
Note: In 1971, Candlestick Park was full enclosed. This increased capacity from 42,000 to 58,000.
1972 HOU 7 SF 3, N, 16,898 (HO)
1973 SF 2 SD 1, D, 18,560 (HO)
1974 SF 5 HOU 1, D, 17,527 (OD)
1975 ATL 4 SF 2, D, 17,649 (HO)
1976 SF 4 LA 2, D, 37,261 (OD)
1977 LA 7 SF 1, D, 37,813 (HO)
1978 SD 3 SF 2, D, 36,131 (OD)
1979 SF 4 SD 2, D, 52,115 (HO)

1980 SF 7 SD 3, N, 29,535 (HO)
1981 SD 4 SF 1, D, 54,520 (OD)
1982 SF 3 SD 2, D, 41,410 (HO)
1983 SD 16 SF 13, D, 50,542 (OD)
1984 CHI 5 SF 3, D, 52,700 (OD)
1985 SF 4 SD 3, D, 52,714 (OD)
1986 HOU 8 SF 3, D, 46,638 (HO)
1987 SF 4 SD 3, D, 52,020 (OD)
1988 SF 6 SD 1, N, 54,543 (HO)
1989 LA 7 SF 4, N, 53,015 (HO)

1990 SD 8, SF 3, N, 52,872 (HO)
1991 LA 2, SF 1, N, 55,883 (HO)
1992 SD 4 SF 0, N, 46,238 (HO)
1993 SF 4 FLA 3, D, 56,689 (HO)
1994 SF 8 PIT 0, D, 58,077 (OD)
1995 SF 4 FLA 0, D, 26,403 (HO)
1996 SF 4 CHI 1, D, 45,589 (HO)
1997 PIT 5 SF 2, D, 41,996 (OD)
1998 SF 5 HOU 4, D, 55,370 (HO)
1999 SF 12 SD 4, D, 57,430 (HO)

2000 LA 6 SF 5, D, 40,930 (HO)
2001 SF 3 SD 2, D, 40,930 (OD)
2002 SF 3 SD 1, D, 41,714 (HO)
2003 SF 7 SD 4, D, 41,915 (HO)
2004 SF 7 MIL 5, D, 42,548 (HO)
2005 SF 4 LA 2, D, 42,788 (OD)

Sources:

The New York Times
Retrosheet.org

Trivia Answers

What seasons did the Giants open the season in March?
19??, 20??

What seasons, in addition to 1883, did the Giants open the season in May?

18??, 18??

Opening Day

40,000 fans fill up the Giants’ home park on a sunny April day. Draped bunting marks the special occasion. In pre-game ceremonies, a VIP tosses out the first pitch.

A Giants recent Opening Day?

Yes, it certainly could be. But that also describes the Giants lid lifter in 1905.

With Opening Day about a week away, I decided to republish an article I wrote at my web site in March 2000. It is reprinted here with updates and revisions.

Note: Some writers and websites such as BR.com use the term Opening Day as the first game of the season at home. For my purposes here, Opening Day is the first game of the season.

On May 1, 1883, 15,000 fans poured into the Polo Grounds to watch John B. Day’s new National League franchise play their first game. Not yet known as the Giants, the “New-Yorks” took on the league's eventual pennant winner from Boston. In front of a packed grandstand that included President Grant, the largest baseball crowd in New York City history watched the home team post an early 4-0 lead and hold on to win 7-5. The New York nine featured four players who would eventually be immortalized in Cooperstown.

In between that historic first game and their upcoming season starter in San Diego, the Giants have had many noteworthy Opening Days. Their overall record is 69 and 54. In New York, a paradoxical 38 and 36. In San Francisco, a pleasing 31 and 18.

The main culprit in New York was a terrible streak of nine straight losses from 1893-1901 (set the Major League record, Braves tied it ’72-’80). Those were the dark days of the infamous owner Andrew Freedman who irritated everyone except the scorecard sellers. Fans needed them just to keep track of the hiring and firing of the managers. During this time, Freedman made more than a dozen managerial changes.

The cavalry arrived in 1902. Christy Mathewson snapped the skid with a 7-0 Opening Day win over the Phillies, a victory that foretold of great things to come for the Giants. John McGraw could have given his ace pitcher a lot more O.D. assignments but opted not to. In four tries, Matty went 3 and 1.

Three of the most unique Opening Days for the Giants came in consecutive seasons. After winning their first six openers, the franchise was kicked out of Polo Grounds I in early 1889. They opened the season with a loss to Boston at Oakdale Park in Jersey City. Fans from Manhattan took the ferry to the game.

A year later, cranks had to decide between the Players League Giants and the National League Giants. The former consisted of Buck Ewing, Roger Connor and some other New York Giants who jumped ship to support the Players Rebellion. They drew 12,013 at Brotherhood Park. At the adjacent Polo Grounds II, the National League Giants brought in just 4,644.

In the 1891 opener at the Polo Grounds III, a crowd of over 17,000 watched the players symbolically put the bad feelings behind. As Stew Thornley notes in Land of the Giants, “Before the game, Giants who had remained with the National League team lined up on one side of the field with those who had gone to the Players’ League standing on the other. The two sides then came together to indicate that past differences had been settled and that they were one team again.”

The 1905 opener was quite remarkable. Something like 40,000 fans made their way to upper Manhattan to see the 1904 pennant winners. Thousands were turned away that day. The attendance mark stood as the franchise OD record until 1924 and was also one of the highest attendance marks the Giants had ever had. Before the game, well-wishers lined Broadway to cheer on the two teams who paraded along in automobiles on their way to the ballpark. The defending champs didn’t disappoint, beating Boston 10-1.

Crowd control was a problem in the Dead Ball Era. Witness the 1907 opener. With the Giants trailing the Phillies 3 to 0, New York took the field for the top of the ninth. About a thousand fans jumped over the fences, stood in right field and mocked umpire Bill Klem. He tried to restore order but other fans joined in the disruption and gathered near home plate. Klem declared the game a forfeit.

That opener also contains a piece of equipment history. The Times article noted that Giants catcher Roger Bresnahan used leg guards, perhaps for the first time. “The white shields were rather picturesque in spite of the clumsiness, and the spectators rather fancied the innovation.”

Average attendance for openers during the Dead Ball Era was around 20,000. In September 1923, construction was completed at the Polo Grounds that added upper deck outfield seating. Overall capacity increased from about 38,000 to 54,500. Opening Day 1924 drew 45,000, a new Opening Day high water mark for the franchise. That lasted until 50,000 watched the Giants beat the Braves 3-2 in 1930. Six years later, 56,000 watched the Giants beat the Dodgers 8 to 5 in the 1936 opener. That stood as the best first day mark until 1993 (56,689).

The best single game pitching performance for a Giants came in 1909. Red Ames no-hit Brooklyn through nine innings, had a one-hitter through 10, but lost 3-0 in the thirteenth. In 1933, Carl Hubbell gave up just one run in 11 innings against the Dodgers. A year later 40,000 watched the Meal Ticket beat the Phillies with a four-hit shutout.

Other than Mickey Welch, who got the team off on the right foot the first four times, no other New York Giants pitcher won more than three times on Opening Day. Amos Rusie got the honors five times but lost four. Hard luck Ames, after the heartbreaker in ’09, pitched no-hit ball through six innings in 1910 but lost 3 to 2 in 11 innings. A year later he shutout the Phillies through eighth, but lost 2-0.

As far as home plate stars, Mel Ott stands out with four home runs (1931, 1936, 1938, 1945). All four contributed to a Giants win. Bill Terry set himself apart in 1927 with what was once the rarest of trots, an Opening Day Grand Slam. Terry was the first in the modern era to hit do so.

The New York Giants most common Opening Day opponent was Philadelphia (14-10) followed by Boston (12-11) and Brooklyn (9-11-1). Almost half of the meetings between New York and Brooklyn came between 1936 and 1954.

Opening Day was a gala affair at the Polo Grounds. The Seventh Regiment band played, Old Glory was raised, bouquets presented, retired greats applauded, generals and politicians gathered, the “Old Guard” was appreciated and smiling mayors tossed first pitches. Not all of these traditions were there from the beginning but some, such as the marching of the two teams from centerfield to home plate, were part and parcel of the proceedings for many years.

The 40s marked somewhat of a downward trend. There were still a couple of large Opening Day crowds but also some smaller turnouts. Poor weather contributed to just 6,946 showing up in 1943. That was the lowest since 1899. John Drebinger observed that Opening Day at the Polo Grounds seemed to have lost some luster.

1952 marked the first night lid lifter for the Giants at the Polo Grounds. Bosses were no doubt thrilled but day baseball fans probably weren’t. Their absence and poor weather contributed to just 17,472 showing up. Two years later, sunshine, Willie Mays’s return from the Army and the invading Dodgers helped bring the number up to 32,397. Jackie Robinson made a great catch but the Giants won 4-3 with Mays’s solo shot in the sixth making the difference.

One of the sweetest Opening Day wins for the Giants came in big league baseball’s west coast debut in 1958. In front of a packed house at Seals Stadium, Ruben Gomez three-hit the Dodgers. In attendance was Mrs. John McGraw and about 150 other Giants fans who made the trip from New York.

San Francisco rolled 8-0 in their inaugural, then followed it up with a dramatic win in the '59 opener in St. Louis. Outfielder Jackie Brandt drove in the winning run in the ninth to give the Giants a 6-5 win.

The 1960 opener was one for the record books as the organization unveiled Candlestick Park. 42,269 watched Sam Jones toss a three-hitter as the Giants won a third straight first game of the season. They lost 8-7 in '61, but came back in '62 with a 6-0 win over Warren Spahn and the Milwaukee Braves. The game featured a three-hitter by Juan Marichal and a first inning home run by Willie Mays on the first pitch he saw from Spahn. It was a preview of things to come from the two stars who would thrill Giants fans in the coming season openers.

San Francisco won 11 of their first 16 Opening Day games, thanks in part to both Marichal and Mays. Wonderful Juan established most of the franchise Opening Day pitching records. (Most starts 10; most wins 6; ERA, 1.73; Complete Games, 6; 9 Inning Shutouts, 2; Strikeouts, 10 and 57).

Say Hey Willie went deep seven times on Opening Day. That’s the franchise record and one short of the major league record held by Frank Robinson (8). All seven came in a Giants win. Six of them came when Willie wore the SF hat and all six of those helped Marichal win. Mays twice hit an Opening Day homer on the first pitch he saw ('62 and '71) and in '64, he cracked two in the lid lifter (established the franchise record). Mays also played in every first game from 1954 to 1972.

After the Giants traded Mays in 1972 and Marichal retired in 1973, their Opening Day attendance dipped to 17,527 in '74. In the next 10 years, Opening Day honors went to seven different pitchers. The Giants won only one at Candlestick and lost a team record five in a row from 1980 to 1984. John Montefusco provided a bright spot by giving up just four earned runs in his three starts in 1976-1978.

Starting in 1985 the Giants turned their luck around by winning a record six openers in a row. Notable in this streak were late inning thrillers in 1985 and 1987 in front of 50,000 plus at Candlestick and Dave Dravecky's three-hit (tied the team record) shutout of the Dodgers in L.A. in 1988. Also earning first day glory were Mike Krukow (86 and 87) and Rick Reuschel (89 and 90) who picked up back to back wins. Reuschel’s win in 1990 also tied the three-hitter record.

The '86 opener was quite remarkable. There had been talk the team would be sold and moved, but the Giants stayed where they belong. At the lid-lifter in the Astrodome, San Francisco showed off their new look. GM Al Rosen, manager Roger Craig, first baseman Will Clark and second baseman Robbie Thompson were all new faces. Clark smashed the first pitch he saw off Nolan Ryan for a home run, the Giants won 8-3 and went on to reestablish themselves as contenders and winners.

The schedule makers did the Giants no favors from 1986 to 1996, putting them on the road on Opening Day nine of eleven times. San Francisco didn’t let it bother them, winning six of the nine aways.

Sometimes a correlation is seen between an excellent record in one season and first game attendance the next. This certainly seemed to a big factor in 1994’s great turnout. A franchise Opening Day record crowd of 58,077 Candlestickers (this was also the team's largest regular season crowd until the final game crowd in 1999 was announced as 61,389) watched John Burkett win his second consecutive lid-lifter, an 8-0 victory over the Pirates. Matt Williams chipped in with five runs batted in (the team's record) and two home runs (tied Mays's record).

1995 marked perhaps the most bleak Opening Day in Giants history. The strike produced a late April start. A crowd of 34,045 in Atlanta watched the Braves knock Terry Mulholland out of the box in the third inning. The Giants lost 12-5.

The 1997 opener will be remembered as the start of a new beginning. Of the eight position players, only Barry Bonds and Glen Allen Hill were 1996 Opening Day starters. A robust crowd of 41,996 (minus the famous tailgaters) watched the Giants salute the '58 squad before the game. With greats like Mays and Cepeda on hand, Ruben Gomez recreated the famous first West Coast pitch.

In the last eight years, the Giants have won seven openers. In 1998, San Francisco defeated the Astros in Houston by scoring five runs in the 13th inning. Jeff Kent went on a hitting barrage and recorded the team record for hits (5). The mark tied the ML record. The following year, the Giants also scored big in the late innings and won in Cincinnati.

In 2000, Giants fans would have loved to open the season at Pacific Bell Park, their new downtown ballpark. It would have added a very special chapter to their Opening Day history but the Giants evidently needed the extra time to put on the finishing touches. The opener was in Miami with San Francisco losing 6-4.

With the help of Barry Bonds, whose only absence from Opening Day was last year, the Giants have won their last five openers. Not much of a factor in his first eight opening day games in a Giant uniform, Bonds hit his stride in ’01 - ‘04 with a combined seven hits, six walks, nine ribs and four home runs. Two of these wins were victories against the Dodgers.

The only season opener I have ever attended was in 1997. I hope to improve on my 0 and 1 record, but getting tickets to the coveted first game is not easy. Opening Day, even though it is no longer the year after year tradition of all the teams playing on that first afternoon, is still one of the most special days in all of sport.

Sources:

Opening Day: All Major League Baseball Season Opening Games, by Team, 1876-1998. Don Kerr.
Retrosheet.

New York Times via ProQuest.

Retrosheet.org

Baseball-Reference.com

Land of the Giants, New York’s Polo Grounds, by Stew Thornley.

Trivia

What seasons did the Giants open the season in March?

What seasons, in addition to 1883, did the Giants open the season in May?

I will publish the answers tomorrow along with Opening Day attendance figures.

New D.C. Ballpark

A banner day yesterday here in Washington, one that took an excruciating long time to arrive. City officials unveiled the design for the Nationals' new downtown ballpark.

Features:

Waterfront location, one mile south of the Capitol.

Metro friendly, the Green Line’s Navy Yard stop is a short walk to the ballpark.

41,000 capacity.

Design moves away from brick to one of glass and steel.

Views of the Capitol from the upper deck.

Restaurant, picnic area behind the outfield.

Part of a 43-acre retail and entertainment district.

(They’re saying 2008 for the opening but don’t be surprised if they slip it to 2009).

Reaction is 2 to 1 on the thumbs up side in a local news poll. My first thought is it’s not a home run, but when you haven’t had a hit in a while, a double in the gap can be very satisfying.

There’s also a primacy effect, if you will. Some of the features are ones already in place at the parks built since the early 90s.

Location, location, location, it is good, and it’s always cool when they squeeze a new ballpark in between existing downtown streets a la way back when.

Congrats to all who worked hard to get to this moment.

Further reading:

“Near Southeast” DC Redevelopment Blog

Just A Nats Fan Blog

Andrew Clem’s Baseball & Its Green Cathedrals

Virtual Stadium Tour

DC Sports and Entertainment Commission

New Spring Training Opponents for GIANTS?

Offering plans for a new ballpark and training facilities, Arizona is hoping to draw two Grapefruit teams away from Florida.

The Dodgers are not one of the three teams mentioned (Indians, Orioles and Reds), but it would be interesting if they did move from Vero Beach to the Valley of the Sun. Glendale and Goodyear are western suburbs of Phoenix so this would make for an interesting new chapter to the Giants-Dodgers rivalry. East Side versus West Side or maybe the Battle of the Dales??

If it’s the Indians who move west, this would rekindle a Cactus League affair with the Giants that dates back to 1947. The two teams were the first to spring train in Arizona on a permanent basis.

Spring Training Trip, Southeast Florida

Hi sports fans. I got back this morning from me and my buddy Joe’s fifth annual escape to the Sunbelt Games. This year we checked Southeast Florida off our list, seeing the Twins at Orioles at Fort Lauderdale Stadium and Red Sox at Marlins and Orioles at Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter. This gives us games seen at 11 of 26 parks.

Things were different this time around. I enjoyed seeing some of the WBC games on ESPN but this tournament meant we did not get to see players such as David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Miguel Tejada, Dontre Willis and Johan Santana. The dearth of name players was quite remarkable.

I had never been to Miami so it was fun to fly in. Fort Lauderdale's airport is a nice smaller option but we wanted to see some of Miami. The Giants trained there in ‘34, ‘35, ‘41, ‘42 and ‘46. The Braves, Dodgers, Phillies, Pirates, Reds, Browns and Orioles each tried it at least once. No one actually trains in Miami anymore. Fort Lauderdale is 20 miles or so to the north.

Fort Lauderdale Stadium was built in 1962 and is one of the older ST parks around. We fully enjoyed the shade and ample leg room, the most I have ever seen in any park.

Took the turnpike up to Jupiter for the two games at Roger Dean Stadium. Built in 1998, it's the only shared ballpark in the Grapefruit League (three trips to the Sunshine State and we have yet to see grapefruits). What really sets this one apart are the shops and eateries right across from the stadium. We chowed down at one of the sports-themed restaurants before the game. Excellent food and service.

Wednesday’s game was Boston and the Marlins. Red Sox Nation was in full force with standing room only. Quite remarkable that the away team fans created this. We talked with a couple of Sox fans, the usual snowbird stories.

All in all a good trip. Muchas gracias for the baseball and the warm temps. For the first time in the five trips, the return weather matched it.

Baseball Card Blog

"Sure, there’s still a place for statistics…. but mostly I want to focus on the little things and the long stories about favorite cards and players, those cards that had a way of sticking in my head and those that were utterly forgettable." – Ben Henry.

Came across a great blog the other day. Ben Henry, a lifelong Red Sox fan, is writing about baseball cards. Giants fans will love reading about Jack Clark, Bobby Bonds and others.

I couldn’t help but get nostalgic about my two periods of collecting. The first came when I was a kid, the classic story about Topps, the stick of bubble gum and "trade you Mantle for Mays." Mint? That was something you ate.

I picked up the fascination again in 1984 or so. Mister Caudill, a financial whiz and baseball card collector, worked in the office beside me. We started talking baseball during our breaks. I passed along tidbits about Bill James saber stuff and he lent me his knowledge of card collecting. I started buying the Becketts and going to the shows on Saturday mornings. I remember Jose Canesco’s rookie card was all the talk. I think I bought three at 75 cents. Oh well….

The baseball blogs just keep getting better and this is yet another great one. Keep it coming Ben. As someone who wears glasses, I have to tell you I can relate to that Derrel Thomas tilted glasses look!!