The Georgia
shoebox—or envelope or drawer or whatever it was—that held those old photos of
Comiskey Park is now officially empty.
The last two came in the mail yesterday, again from 1946 or thereabouts,
this time showing two New York Yankees, identified on the back as “Hendricks”
and “Dutch Schultz,” only nobody by those names ever wore Yankee pinstripes.
With a little
digging, I was able to match near-names and faces to Tommy Henrich and Johnny Schulte,
a left-handed power-hitting outfielder and coach/scout, respectively. Henrich
managed four homeruns in four World Series while Schulte had a hand in scouting
Phil Rizzuto and Whitey Ford. What I
really like about the Schulte photo, though, is that wall clock attached to the
centerfield wall. This time, it really stands
out.
Did I say ten
feet tall? It’s higher than the leftfield
wall and has to be closer to seventeen feet.
And now I can make out the words on top of the clock: Gruen Watch Time. Cool.
By the way, Schulte is posed in such a way so that the clock looks to be
next to his right elbow and the American flag atop the centerfield flagpole is
on a stick attached to his baseball cap.
In contrast, Henrich merely looks like another in a long line of New
Yorkers ready to break South Side hearts with their bat or glove.
So, here I am
all excited by what used to be my ballpark, now gone 26 years and
counting. And the Sox? Why, they’re busy unveiling Craft Kave, where
fans can go sample 75 craft beers. The
team has also signed on with not one, not two, not three, but four, Yes! Four regional
breweries. According to a team press
release, the companies will each receive “prominent in-park exposure through a
branded interactive kiosk.” Wow.
This should
bring at least three million fans to the park, maybe four. Who needs winning baseball?
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