Baseball Between Us by Mike Luery

Author:Mike Luery [Luery, Mike]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Sports & Recreation, Travel, Family & Relationships, Family Relationships, Essays & Travelogues, Baseball, Sports, Special Interest, (¯`'•.¸//(*_*)\\¸.•'´¯), Essays & Writings
ISBN: 9780983274407
Publisher: Sleuth Publishing
Published: 2012-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

Coney Island.

“I’ve always wanted to visit that famous beach,” Matt said.

“Yeah, it’s got dozens of rides and should be fun.”

Coney Island is actually more like a peninsula today and no

longer the hub of activity it was in the early 20th century. The

wooden boardwalk planks run parallel to the beach, but we

found the sand to be dirty and littered with cigarette butts.

The amusement park rides also seemed to have lost their

luster, so we quickly headed back to the hotel in Manhattan.

After a quick change of clothes, we hopped the “Q” line to

Shea Stadium, located at Flushing Meadows in Queens. On

the field, we saw “Mr. Met,” a giant baseball head mascot that

reminded me of a silly song from the Mets’ early days.

In my experience, Shea Stadium will always be associated with

windy conditions and lousy food. The hot dogs we bought were

both pre-cooked and wrapped in foil and tasted like cardboard.

The sight lines for the park made it tough to see all the action,

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BASEBALL BETWEEN US

depending on where your seats were located. And unlike modern

parks, there was no panoramic view of the downtown skyline. The

new Citi Field can’t correct that problem, but it does recreate

the brick façade of Ebbets Field as you enter the park.

The game itself was a good one, with 45,000 fans cheering

the Mets to a 3-0 shutout over the Florida Marlins. Mets third

baseman David Wright hit a two-run jack in the first, while in

the fourth inning, Carlos Delgado had a solo shot over the wall

in left center.

The best part of the game was sitting next to four guys from

Ohio who just happened to be traveling on their own baseball road

trip. Matt and I expressed our admiration for Great American

Park in Cincinnati and Jacob’s Field (now Progressive Field)

in Cleveland. We were getting along just great until someone

brought up college football.

“Matt,” said one of the guys from Ohio, “where do you go to

school?”

Matt proudly proclaimed he was a faithful Trojan from USC.

“Well, Ohio State will kick your butt this year,” the Buckeye

boasted.

“Doubt it,” Matt replied. “We’ve got Mark Sanchez at

quarterback and a great crop of linebackers who will crush your

offense.”

As it turns out, Matt was right. Five weeks later, USC would

destroy Ohio State 35-3 in the opening game of the 2008 season.

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26

Citizens Bank Ballpark

Philadelphia Phillies

Saturday, August 9, 2008

“I’ve always wanted to play.”

ED SPRAGUE, JR.

We left New York’s Penn Station via Amtrak and enjoyed

the train ride to Pennsylvania in air-conditioned comfort. Along

the way, we passed through Newark, Princeton and Trenton,

New Jersey’s capital, before arriving in Philadelphia, where we

lined up to see the Liberty Bell and the Betsy Ross House – the

place where, according to legend, a local seamstress designed

the American flag.

The Luery boys also explored Independence Hall, where the

Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence in

1776.

After feasting on a local treat – a Philadelphia cheese

steak – Matt and I walked over to the National Constitution

Center, where we got into a heated debate over free speech.

The argument was sparked by a legal exhibit involving a

case known as Texas vs. Johnson,

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