I was just recalling my trip to Brooklyn in 2008 and found Ebbet's Field. Here are some pictures of what I discovered.
Ebbet's Field was torn down in 1962, it used to be situated on a garbage dump called, 'Pigtown.' After the wrecking ball got to it, the land was then converted into tenement-style apartments.
It was hard to find, and was located in the worst part of town. It's a wonder anybody wanted to go there at all. It was on the wrong side of Flatbush, close to a rough-looking supermarket and a couple of chop shops.
The schools around it still adorn pictures of Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, and Duke Snider. When you got there though, you sense a detachment to all of this. They made it look like a novelty.
I tried to picture the old entrance, visualizing where things would have been over 50 years ago, before my team, the Dodgers, left it in 1957, and demolished in 1962.
Was I standing where the rotundas would have stood? Where would the grandstands have been? Is this where the short right field fence once was? Where was Jackie Robinson patrolling the infield with Pee Wee?
When I went and explored the old remnants of Ebbet's, I was trying to feel the magic that happened long before I was born. There was no evidence of any of that. Of course, it was 50 years since all this happened, but still! It wasn't as special as I envisioned it to be.
OTHER THINGS
Baseball is over for now, but here's a few things that I have in my possession that would keep me warm on those long cold winter nights . . . With the exception of your mom, of course.
- The Tenth Inning - Ken Burns' documentary lives on, so that I don't need to replay all nine innings in my collection. New things on the agenda like the steroids and more steroids. I really enjoy the 'Ichiro,' passage. It would make a perfect Christmas present to your favourite foul-mouthing, heavy-metalling, mom-loving, blogger. (HINT HINT!)
- Baseball books I re-read - My all-time favourite baseball books to revisit:
The Artful Dodger, by Tommy Lasorda
The Wrong Stuff, by Bill Lee
Good Enough To Dream, by Roger Kahn
I use all of Tommy's parable-like stories and apply them in real life. All of my friends hate it when I start a conversation with, 'let me tell you a story about . . .'
Bill Lee's frank and smart-alecky recollection of his days with the Red Sox and the Expos make ME want to drink and do drugs . . . and throw bullshit junk left-handed. It might land me a contract!
In Good Enough To Dream, 'Macho Studley,' has never sounded more noble.
- New baseball books to explore - I gather up all kinds of books about baseball from all kinds of nooks and crevices. If you have some that you think I don't already have, give me a quick tickle on my G-SPOT and let me know, but believe me, I have a ton of books! I never get rid of them! Here is my list of reading material for winter 2010:
Tomorrow I'll Be Perfect, Dave Stieb
The Duke Of Flatbush, Duke Snider
A Dream Season, Gary Carter
Nine Innings, Daniel Okrent
Anyway, stay warm, check in with me once in a while to catch up. And don't fret, pitchers and catchers report for duty in a span of a couple of months!
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