A Cold Day at Wrigley: Article

[Gregory Pratt]

http://baseballevolution.com/gregory/madduxcold

Shared the article with Balta for review and then decided to post this here. It's about my trip to Wrigley yesterday to watch Maddux.

 

by Gregory Pratt, BaseballEvolution.com

May 16, 2008

 

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way." --Charles Dickins, A Tale of Two Cities

 

Months ago, when Major League Baseball released the 2008 season schedule, I determined when the San Diego Padres would be coming to town and decided to catch what I believe will be Greg Maddux' last game at Wrigley Field. I have long wished that I could have watched him on the North Side of Chicago during the prime of his career, but alas, I was a White Sox fan, and my mother couldn't afford to take me to Wrigley for a Braves game anyway*. Now that I am in college with a little bit of change in my pocket, I knew that I would not allow myself to miss out on this opportunity and I didn't. I invited my best friend, Christopher, to join me and bought two tickets right behind the visiting dugout so that we could get a good view of Maddux. I invited Keith to join us, and it turned out that he would be working the game as a Pitch F/X Operator. I'd never met Keith, but I knew, liked and admired his brother, so we arranged to meet before the game. We went into his workstation and learned a bit more about MLB Gameday, talked about Jim Edmonds, and made general acquaintance. It was a short meeting, and once completed he asked us what section we were sitting in so that he could bring us a scorecard and all of the media notes for the game.

 

Following our farewells, we agreed to meet after the game for an early dinner. Chris and I looked over the new Ernie Banks statue, and then went into Wrigley Field to enjoy the ambiance. We took a few pictures, I bought a few brats and a coke for myself, and a cup of coffee for Chris, who was wearing a Maddux Cubs jersey, but had no sleeves underneath. It was cold! I was wearing a Zito jersey from Oakland, and had to deal with one or two heckles about the now-abysmal left-hander from the Bay. The exchange of small-talk is pleasing to me, even if it is mildly-rude small-talk, so that went well enough. Nothing got out of hand. I made friends with one of the older Wrigley Field ushers, and chit-chatted with her for awhile. "Thank you for being kind. Most people don't want to show me their tickets," she remarked to me as I was getting it out of my pocket before she asked. How anyone could be rude to an usher is beyond me, especially those at Wrigley.

 

I sat down next to Chris as the game was a small while from starting and said, "This is life as God intended." He laughed. "What, watching baseball?" With good friends, I added, beautiful weather (aside from the cold) and a great ballpark. A couple of minutes later, I saw a bag of Sun Chips and Cracker Jacks from the corner of my eye, and it startled me slightly. I looked over my shoulder and there was a smiling Keith Glab with a stack of papers and snacks. I thanked him for his kindness and told him that I'll call when the game is over and we're by the production booth so that we can head out to eat. I was feeling very good, my stomach was happy, and I couldn't have been more comfortable with my surroundings or pleased with the day. The game started a few minutes later and I anxiously watched Ryan Dempster have a quick first inning with the terrible Padre offense, and then Maddux made his appearance.

 

"This is what I came to see," I told Christopher. And then I thought to myself, "Don't be disappointed if Maddux is shelled." The Cubs have a good offense, it's a good park for hitters, and Maddux isn't the same quality pitcher he used to be by a longshot (not that he isn't still amazing, because he is). In the first, he gave up a hard single to Alfonso Soriano and I figured it would be a long game, but I expected him to get a double play off of Theriot, and he did. Then Derrek Lee grounded to third, and the inning was over. In the second, Maddux gave up a double to Aramis Ramirez, who tried to score on a wild pitch after advancing to third on a groundou,t but was tagged by Luke Carlin when the ball bounced back. Maddux then gave up two hard-hit singles, and Jody Gerut had to make a diving catch in centerfield to keep the inning from going on. In the third, Maddux had his only 1-2-3 inning, and his only strikeout (looking) of Ryan Theriot. He gave up a couple of singles in the fourth but got out of it with a double play ball. And then in the fifth, the wheels came off. Maddux gave up four runs and was lifted by Bud Black after pitching four and a third. The crowd rose to applaud the great Greg Maddux, and so did I. But what was supposed to be a satisfying moment watching a legend turned sour when the Cub fan sitting behind me with his terrible 1940s cartoon voice started mocking Maddux. "Hey, yeah -- he's out! Ha ha. Get out of here! Ha ha. You suck! Ha ha. Come back as a Cub when you go into the Hall. Ha ha. It's oooooooooooooover. Ha ha. The hoooooook. Ha haaaaaaaa." I couldn't take his laugh or his lack of respect for the game of baseball, so I turned around and said to him, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself." He gave me a started look and gave a muffled "Pffft." Then I said, "I'll bet you don't even like baseball." His son looked up at his father, and the man didn't say a word then or after about me or Greg Maddux.

 

If you could disrespect Greg Maddux at Wrigley Field, let alone when he's pulled from what could very well be his last game ever at Wrigley, you could disrespect anyone. That was as classless as it gets, and I wouldn't have been able to enjoy the game if someone hadn't said something. So, I said it. A good friend of mine made the remark to me recently that the game of baseball has lost "the fans it needs." I don't think so, because I know a wide-variety of passionate and interested fans, but I can understand how someone could feel that the game and its audience have been corrupted watching scalpers rip people off with tacit-approval from the police department and baseball organizations, or while listening to someone run his mouth about Maddux when he should be telling his very young son that the man exiting the game might well be the greatest pitcher of all-time, or when hearing the news that a Yankee fan literally murdered a Red Sox fan. I'm not much for moralizing, or telling people how to enjoy a ballgame, but this man might well have ruined the day's experience for me if I hadn't taken the initiative in re-affirming the game and its legends. With Maddux out, there was nothing else for me to watch at the game -- I wasn't super-interested in Ryan Dempster's shutting out the most pitiful offense in baseball, although I did give it my attention -- and I sat there thinking about what had happened at this game, what I had seen, heard, experienced, and then I started to consider Maddux' place in baseball history. Baseball is a great game for thought, and I'll share the ones I have about players later. I'm compiling my own top 100 list. (Read Keith's, Asher's, and Scott's top 200 lists.)

 

Keith, Chris and I went to Joey's Brickhouse after the game but they weren't yet open ("Not until five," which I thought was ridiculous), so we headed over to Giordano's and discussed baseball and life for awhile. It was a very good day, and would become a better night when I left these friends for a party with some college friends, but it was ultimately bittersweet. I don't ever want to have to defend a legend again, and I wish we all had positive perspective about the wonders before us. I think I hold respect, fairness, and kindness above all other attributes people ought to have. Fortunately, I was around people yesterday who do, except for one. That's fate.

 

*I didn't make it down to Wrigley Field until midway through my high school years. I am sorry about this.

 

Here's a video of the Wrigley faithful going crazy: http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a110/Zer...nt=MOV03398.flv

I think the disappointment is clear in my expressions, though I'm only there for a second and have a slight migraine.

 

http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a110/Zer...nt=MOV03403.flv

 

And there I'm talking to Keith about a different friend.

[Swingandalongonetoleft]

I know Cubs fans who laughed at Maddux on Thursday also. Most of them would probably never guess Mad Dog's ties to the Cubs (or how he played for them like, you know, 2 years ago). You're right, these are clearly people who know s*** about baseball, yet they're so vocal when their team is doing good. Baseball would be so much better without these kind of "fans".

 

Maddux = My favorite pitcher in the game. I was hoping the one game the Padres did take was his start.

[Gregory Pratt]

To be straight, most of the people at Wrigley gave Maddux all of the respect he deserves. I'm glad someone else considers Maddux his favorite in the game.

[YASNY]

To be straight, most of the people at Wrigley gave Maddux all of the respect he deserves. I'm glad someone else considers Maddux his favorite in the game.

 

Enjoyed your write up, Greg. Good job.

[Gregory Pratt]

Good to hear, friend!

[TheBigHurt]

Good read, very classy.

[RockRaines]

To be straight, most of the people at Wrigley gave Maddux all of the respect he deserves. I'm glad someone else considers Maddux his favorite in the game.

With Clemens being a cheater, Maddux is probably the best pitcher of our era.

[Gregory Pratt]

I rank Maddux higher than Clemens now by default. We know what Maddux has done without steroids. We know that he's won 350 games and we know all of his other numbers. We don't know what Roger Clemens would have done with the remainder of his career -- would he have continued on the pace he would eventually continue? Well, it's possible, but he almost certainly wouldn't have. He might not have even gotten to 300 wins, and I am fairly certain he wouldn't have made it to 354. The rest of his career is now tainted, and it is no longer credible. Therefore, I consider Maddux greater than Clemens by default. I can not in good conscience declare Roger Clemens a "greater" or "better" pitcher than Greg Maddux anymore than I can say that a woman made of plastic is more attractive than a natural woman.

[YASNY]

I rank Maddux higher than Clemens now by default. We know what Maddux has done without steroids. We know that he's won 350 games and we know all of his other numbers. We don't know what Roger Clemens would have done with the remainder of his career -- would he have continued on the pace he would eventually continue? Well, it's possible, but he almost certainly wouldn't have. He might not have even gotten to 300 wins, and I am fairly certain he wouldn't have made it to 354. The rest of his career is now tainted, and it is no longer credible. Therefore, I consider Maddux greater than Clemens by default. I can not in good conscience declare Roger Clemens a "greater" or "better" pitcher than Greg Maddux anymore than I can say that a woman made of plastic is more attractive than a natural woman.

 

I wholeheartedly agree with you.

[Gregory Pratt]

Besides the ethical issues, Maddux was always a more reliable and consistent starting pitcher than Clemens. If we go strictly by the numbers, Clemens' best year is better than Maddux' best year, but Maddux was able to put up amazing numbers from 1992 to 2002 that were simply incredible and completely consistent. Clemens has no stretch as incredible. But largely, their career rankings are as they are with me because of the issues I outlined in the previous post.

[knightni]

But what was supposed to be a satisfying moment watching a legend turned sour when the Cub fan sitting behind me with his terrible 1940s cartoon voice started mocking Maddux. "Hey, yeah -- he's out! Ha ha. Get out of here! Ha ha. You suck! Ha ha. Come back as a Cub when you go into the Hall. Ha ha. It's oooooooooooooover. Ha ha. The hoooooook. Ha haaaaaaaa." I couldn't take his laugh or his lack of respect for the game of baseball, so I turned around and said to him, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself." He gave me a started look and gave a muffled "Pffft." Then I said, "I'll bet you don't even like baseball." His son looked up at his father, and the man didn't say a word then or after about me or Greg Maddux.

 

The truly funny part...

 

Maddux played 8 mediocre years in Chicago, 10 excellent years in Atlanta.

 

How many classless Cub fans, like that loser there, will be shocked when he goes in as a Brave!

[Gregory Pratt]

To be fair, five of his years in Chicago were excellent, but his best years were all with Atlanta, he is most closely associated with his peak and teammates in Atlanta, he went and won the Series in Atlanta, and he will represent Atlanta in the Hall of Fame.