STRIKING IT REICH
October 4, 2007
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
Today Billy-Ball is proud to introduce the latest addition to the Billy-Ball staff, Brian Reich (pronounced “Rich”). Brian is a friend, colleague, a visionary, a geek, a funny guy, asoon to be a first-time daddy, and on his way to superstardom. Check out just the first part of his bio and tell me why he would consent to write for Billy-Ball.
Brian is the Direct of New Media for Cone, Inc, a brand strategy and communications agency in Boston. He is a regular writer and speaker on the issues involving the impact of the internet and technology on politics, society, and the media. In addition to editing Thinking About Media, Brian has contributed to National Journal’s The Hotline and is a contributing editor to Personal Democracy Forum (www.personaldemocracy.com), both on the topic of the impact the internet and technology have on politics.
It goes on and includes that Brian served as Vice President Gore’s Briefing Director, both in the White House and during his 2000 presidential campaign. His cool blog site can be found at http://www.thinkingaboutmedia.com/. But when it comes to baseball, we’ve got him as Billy-Ball’s Senior Visionary and his regular column “Striking it Reich”
Here’s Brian’s first effort called:
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
As the regular season progressed and the playoff picture became clear (for most), the focus of most sportswriters and fans turned to records of the best teams in the respective leagues – and who would earn home field advantage.
What’s the big deal?
In the American League this year, thanks in part to the infinite wisdom of television executives, the benefit of owning the best record in the league is the choice of playing formats. In the National League, the schedules match throughout. But the two American League Divisional Series’ will start staggered: one October 3rd, one October 4th. Game 2 will be played on Oct. 5, followed by a travel day, more games on October 7th and 8th, then another travel day before a Game 5 (if needed). The team with the best record at the end of the season can opt for an extra day of rest, a welcome rest for tired arms and aching bodies with a short series ahead. Murray Chass wrote in the New York Times last week “The format, a one-year experiment, could give the best team an edge, if it has two strong starting pitchers.”
In addition, the team that finishes with the best record in each league enjoys home-field advantage through the League Championship Series. And the league that wins the All-Star Game earns home-field advantage in the World Series. So, this year, the team that finished with the most wins in the American League plays at home throughout the postseason.
How important is home-field advantage in baseball? Throughout the history of the sport, the home team has won roughly 54 percent of the time, regular season and playoffs. A 2003 article entitled “Is There a Home Field Advantage in the World Series?”, by Alan Abramowitz (Society for American Baseball Research’s, The National Pastime #23) analyzed the 76 World Series games played under the 2-3-2 home-away-home format adopted in 1925, finding that teams playing the first two games at home have won 58% of World Series played under this format. (The 1943 and 1945 WS did not use this format because of WWII travel restrictions and no Series was played in 1994)
That’s not a huge advantage, but it is an advantage.
For some teams, the advantage is even clearer. The Angels and Rockies both have records away from home below .500, but well-above .500 (27 games and 20 games respectively) at home. And for a team like the Red Sox, the home turf seems support a measurable difference in offensive production -- the Sox have posted an .837 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentages) at Fenway Park this season against a .766 on the road. True, they have homered more away from Fenway than at home (call that the Green Monster effect), but they have more total extra-base hits at Fenway. As Red Sox GM recently noted on local sports radio, "Home field isn't the be all, end all in playoff baseball. Far from it," he said. "But it is better to have home field, especially with our club. We score about a run per game more at home than we do on the road. That's not insignificant."
There are lots of theories for why home field advantage is so important -- most of them are just baseball lore. What is known for sure is that a ballpark can make or break a playoff experience… not just on the field, but for the fans as well. What is it about the ballpark that is so special? Baseball columnist Thomas Boswell once wrote that “Only when you're in the ballpark can the eye grasp and interconnect the game's great distances. Will the wind blow that long fly just over the fence? Will the relay throw nail the runner trying to score from second on a double in the alley? Who's warming up in the bullpen? Where is the defense shading this hitter? Did the base stealer get a good jump? The eye flicks back and forth and captures everything that is necessary.”
And what of the ballparks that will host this year’s playoffs? Who has home field advantage when it comes to the fans?
In 1997, I traveled the country and visited every major league ballpark in the country. The memories of each game I attended, and the venues that hosted them, are as clear as they were then – I can recall every angle, color, sound, and smell as if I was still there today. When I sit down and watch the playoffs starting this afternoon, I will be transported to my seat again. So let me share some of those ballpark highlights with you, as well as some thoughts and memories from friends and fellow baseball fans, to help you transport as well.
ANAHEIM
I haven’t been to a game in Anaheim since my trip in 1997. When I was there the ballpark was under construction. I described it this way: “A friendly halo welcomes fans to Anaheim Stadium and parking is easy (with more than 25,000 parking spots in the lots surrounding the stadium). But that is where the luxury ends with Anaheim stadium for the moment… Most of the stadium is behind curtains or walls indicating ongoing construction. The outfield is closed to fans, no seats are available on the middle level of the stadium (usually reserved for "club seats") and there are no sky boxes or other suites. Most of the seats in the stadium (the entire upper deck and everything beyond the bases on the lower level) are faded and uncomfortable -- the expensive seats behind home plate were replaced in the past year -- but every seat that remains does have a good view of the action on the field. The walls for the outfield are plastic tarps covered with cleat and other markings, the bullpens are dirt floors protected by chain link fences, and a large pile of dirt sits beyond the left field wall (where seats used to be located). There are two scoreboards, both will live action Diamondvision, (neither too impressive in size) and scaffolding for the new scoreboard climbs high up beyond the right field seats spoiling what would be a beautiful view of the California countryside. All in all, this stadium needs some serious help.”
My friend Kevin Arnovitz, who grew up a Braves fan, holds season tickets to the Dodgers, and himself visited every major league ballpark a while back, introduced me to, Wayne Everett, an Angels Fan, to add some more recent perspective on how things turned out with the renovation. Wayne wrote “The only meaningful contribution the Disney Company made to the Angels during their ownership of the team -- no, it wasn't those awful periwinkle uniforms -- was the renovation of the stadium. The old Anaheim Stadium was already a beat-up drab of a place to watch a baseball game, and then they made it worse by modifying it so the L.A. Rams could play football there. During the dark years of the late-'80s through the '90s, so few people attended Angel games that you could shout across the stadium to talk to someone on the other side. After Disney changed the stadium back to a baseball-only venue in 1997, the experience changed dramatically, even if the team still sucked. Expanded gates, new seats, and a fresh coat of paint helped make the place feel like a ballpark instead of a 30-year-old giant rec center. Now all they needed were fans to fill the seats. 2002 changed that. A smart change in uniform and a winning team brought fans to the stadium in droves in the last half of the season. I had never seen so many fans turn up in Angels merchandise. As Darin Erstad squeezed the final out to win the Series for the Angels that year, I realized it was the beginning of a new era for the team and for its fans. Gone were the old ghosts of almost-theres ('86) and colossal meltdowns ('95), and gone were the half-empty seats. Say what you want about fairweather fans who don't know the game, but I for one would rather see fans in the seats than not. You can't have knowledgeable fans without having fans to begin with. Now if they would just sell me their playoff tickets....”
CHICAGO
Wrigley Field is located on the North Side of Chicago, not far from Lake Michigan in a neighborhood that is somewhere between a fully residential neighborhood and one that is designed to accommodate baseball. Ten years ago, when I was last there, I noted that “When you walk around the inside of the stadium you feel the warmth and friendly nature of the park and the fans, "Welcome to the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field." is the key phrase associated with the park. . . nametags, signs, and even the visitors dugout displays the message. The park is clean, small, and still reflects many of the old qualities that make ballparks special. There is no loud rock and roll music playing the background, instead an organ plays all of the music for stadium (often converting the top hits of today into organ songs without words).”
Scott Turow, the author, told me “Because everybody loves Wrigley, the fact nobody mentions is that the Cubs have never won a World Series playing there, and did so often before they moved in 1913. In other words, it might not be the team that Goat cursed, but the place where they wouldn't let him in.” He added, “Occasionally the hype about Wrigley is overdone. Sit behind one of the steel supports in the upper grandstand, or look at the netting overhead that's there to collect the falling concrete and the place can seem outdated. Personally I still lament the lack of a Jumbotron [the stadium scoreboard is manual]. But the intimacy of the park is unrivalled. No seat feels far from the field. I threw out the first pitch some years ago and from the mound, I felt as if I could touch every person in the place.”
Rick Murray, a Vice President in the Chicago office of public relations firm Edelman, added this: “There’s nowhere better on a hot summer day; there’s nothing colder than opening day in April; and there’s nothing worse than seeing it sit empty in October, year after year, after year. I went to my first Cubs game shortly after moving here from Dallas: Section 127, Row 4, Seats 101-104. I forget who won; no one ever lasts the whole game any way. For starters, you start with the cocktails at Murphy’s or Cubby Bear shortly after your first latte. And then there’s the cold: bone chilling without the wind; bloody freezing with it. So after you see one run through the order, the Stadium Club – with its bar, TV’s and clean indoor plumbing – starts looking really good.”
He went on to add “Anyone who’s been to Wrigley knows that the 7th Inning Stretch features a rousing, somewhat Cub-ified version of “Take me out to the Ball Game.” It was Harry Caray’s signature on every game until he died; now we have guest singers. Most are pretty average; I happened to be at games where the two worst guests ever performed -- in August 2005 when Ozzie Osbourne established a new all time low, mumbling through the whole thing and almost fell out of the media box doing it.”
The best memories I have of Wrigley are of this time of year, in years where we’re lucky enough to be in contention. I saw the sudden-death playoff game against the Giants in 2003; the mood was electric, and the entire crowd – some 42,000 strong – stood for the entire game. And that brings us to today. We’re in! Who’d have thunk it back in May when we were 9 games under .500. I took my wife Lea to the last home game of the year last Sunday, having bought two great tickets off of craigslist. When I picked them up, I was stunned: the seats were in Section 127, Row 2, Seats 101-102. What are the odds (well, they’re about 21,000 to 1); still, I’m a big believer in fate, and to be so close at that game last Sunday has to be a sign that maybe, just maybe, this is the year. Oh yeah, the game was great, too: Z pitched 7 shutout innings, we won 8-0 and the Brewers blew a 4-1 lead. No one left at the end of the game, and the Cubs came back on the field to see the magic that is Wrigley first hand.
It’s time to kill the goat. Bring on the playoffs.”
PHILADELPHIA
I haven’t been to Citizen's Bank Park – my last visit to Philadelphia for a game was back when the Vet was still in action. You remember Veterans Stadium, right? I described it as “not the prettiest stadium in the world” when I started my trip there in 1997. I wrote “Veterans stadium is large, and very unfriendly. The Diamondvision isn't very good and leaves fans squinting to see the replays from the field, the organ player (or sound mixer, as the case may be) doesn't play very much music between innings, and the rallying songs and clapping beats are cut off before fans realize what is happening and get involved. It may speed up the game, but it makes for a game where the loudest cheer of the night comes on a nice catch by a fan reacting to a foul ball behind home plate.”
My friend Brian Michael, a rabid Phillies fan and the author of the Phillies Nation blog (http://philliesnation.com/) offered a few thoughts for fans of the Phils. He told me “I was at the last game at the Vet and I'll admit I cried when they tore it down - it felt like a little piece of my childhood was gone. At the time, I though I would always resent the new ballpark, but now four years into our new home, I love it more than the Vet. It helps that the Phils have been contenders since moving a block down Pattison Ave. The Park just won the Food Network award for best food at a ballpark; highlights include - Crab Fries, Rick's Steaks, Schmitter's (cheesesteak, extra cheese, fried onions, grilled salami, tomato, 1000 island dressing), Peace-a-Pizza, and the infamous Dollar Dogs nights. Every seat has an unobstructed view of the field and faces home plate. The concourses are filled with games for kids and also have great views of the action. Add in the Phanatic and you have one of the best new parks in all of baseball.”
ARIZONA
The Arizona Diamondbacks didn’t even exist when I made my driving tour across the country – they were added to the National League in 1998. A few years later, I made a visit to what was then called Bank One Ballpark (The Bob) for a game. I remember it as a marvel of stadium design – a giant empty warehouse with a baseball field, and plenty of amenities, squeezed inside. Today, the Diamondbacks play their home games in the same place, but with a new name -- Chase Field.
Brian Michael, the Phillies fan, wrote this about Chase Field: “When I first went to see the D'backs, I notice large white air ducts wrapped around the stadium. I finally realized the place was air conditioned - even when the dome was open. So besides the prospect of enjoying outdoor baseball in the desert, Chase Field offers a wide range of food selections. Concessions are similar to a mall food court, with McDonalds, Panda Express (Chinese), Taco stands, Pizza, as well as all the regular ballpark favorites. While you're walking around the concourses, just be sure to watch out for the swimming pool in the right-center.”
CLEVELAND
I visited Jacobs Field in Cleveland twice on my trip in 1997, once for a ballgame and once for the All Star Game. The Jake was modeled after Camden Yards, the first of the new generation of ballparks – but on a larger scale. It is very simple in design, very friendly for all fans, and very easily accessible from downtown (a ten minute walk from the heart of the city).
When you arrive, you have the choice of entering behind the stadium or into one of the two courtyards in the outfield. Both areas, one in left field, the other beyond center, give fans a view of the seating bowl and playing field from the street. The seats are all dark green and stretch all around the stadium (but there is not conformity to the design). There are four levels of seats overlapping in different areas of the ballpark in addition to a level of skyboxes. The outfield bleachers sit beneath a mammoth scoreboard (three different diamondvision screens in addition to advertisements) and the bullpens are hidden in two separate cut-out sections of the outfield seats.
The concourses in the stadium are wide and open, with most of the food stands and souvenir stands imbedded in the walls. Many of the support beams are visible from the concourses, and some emerge from large stone foundations that sit in the middle of the concourses and rod iron fences (twenty fee high!) separate the stadium from the outside world, but allow passers by to look in and admire the design. Escalators are located throughout the concourses to bring fans to the upper levels of the stadium and the bathrooms are plentiful and very clean. It is obvious that the stadium is very new, the floors are still spotless and the fans still look around in amazement, but you get a feeling from the surroundings that the ballpark has a lot of history built into it.
Doug Pinkham, the head of the Public Affairs Council, grew up in Cleveland and sent me these thoughts: “I grew up in the 1960s, when the Cleveland Indians were terrible and their stadium was worse. As a kid, I remember sitting in Cleveland Municipal Stadium, which had a capacity of 74,000 for baseball and 85,000 for football, and the announced attendance on a rainy night would be something like 2,109. Then my best friend Arthur and I would actually count the people in the park and come up with a number like 515. (Cleveland Stadium, by the way, was built in 1931 in a failed attempt by city leaders to attract the 1932 Olympics. I’m not kidding.)
But when Jacobs Field opened, not only had the team changed – the fans had changed as well. For one thing, there were a lot more of them. Dads started to take their kids to baseball games again. Corporate sponsors returned. The local community turned out in force to support the Tribe. I remember going to my first game the inaugural year. When you approached the old “Mistake on the Lake,” it was a like walking into a fortress. Lots of cement and steel and long dark runways to the upper deck. But on the walk from downtown to Jacob’s Field, you turned a corner and immediately had a view into the park, where you could see the thousands of people already gathered. It was a totally different experience.”
He added, “I have to admit that since moving from Cleveland I’ve been to far more games at Baltimore’s Camden Yards than at Jacob’s Field. Yet I actually prefer the Indians’ new home because of that stunning view. You feel like you’re part of the game and part of a community that, despite the tough times, still pulls together when the Indians come to play.”
NEW YORK
I try to get down to Yankee Stadium at least once a year – in addition to being one of the great venues in the history of the game, it always presents an interesting experience. This year my wife, Karen, and I took in all three games between the Mariners (my team – I’m a Seattle native) and the Yankees in September. When the Mariners entered the series they were in the thick of the Wild Card race. We all know how well that turned out.
The Mariners poor performance doesn’t diminish for me the experience that is Yankee Stadium. But since I am not a Yankee fan at all, I will let my good friend James Pugner, a die-hard Yankee fan (are there any non die-hard Yankees fans?) do the honors of describing what Yankee Stadium truly offers:
He writes “There are many things that happen at Yankee stadium that the average person might not even notice...and if they do, they might not understand the history, ritual, or importance of what is happening.
- Monument park sits in left center field… there is no other team that can display the numbers of those along the wall where past Yankee greats numbers have been retired. If you are just visiting and not a Yankee fan you might be disappointed that the Yankees don't include the names over the numbers where the retired numbers are displayed. ahhh...that's what makes the Yankees great. They do not display their numbers on their home or away uniforms, fan just know them by their number. After you walk past all the retired numbers you enter monument Park, where the plaques of those retired numbers hang. There is nothing like being able to rub the head of the Babe in the same way Roger Clemens does before he starts every game.
- As you get all cozy in your seat, you hear the distinct voice of Bob Sheppard. "Your attention please, ladies and gentlemen,"...gives me goosebumps everytime. There is no other announcer in baseball that has the voice of Bob Sheppard. Reggie Jackson once said that his words sound like, "the voice of God".
- Before the game begins steal a glance over to what is happening in the Yankee dugout. The Yankees (every game) go through their own kind of ritual around personal handshakes. Each player walks down the aisle, hitting everyone on the bench, each delivering a personalized handshake. Some are wild, even violent seaming. All of them are unique. My favorite is Torre and Matsui...Torre gets off the bench and stands in front of Matsui...and after a series of bumps and high fives, Torre and Matsui share a bow.
- Of course there is Roll Call that happens at every game. After the first pitch is thrown the 'bleacher creatures' begin calling out each of the position players name… Derek Jeter… Derek Jeter… until each player acknowledges the call with a flip of his glove or a turn to right center.
- Freddy. Everyone knows who Freddy is and what he Sez. Freddy is the man with the pan. He can be found in the upper deck the first three innings, the lodge box the next three, and box seats the last 3 innings. Some great Freddy history. During the 2000 world series, he was sick in the hospital and wasn't able to go to the victory party. So Mayor Giuliani went to visit him in the hospital and brought the World Series trophy with him. Another great moment is in 2001 when the Yankees were heading to Arizona for game 7, Mayor Giuliani was flying there and called Freddy to join him because the Yankees needed some good luck. (it didn't work)
- Since 9/11 the Yankees take a moment of silence during the 7th inning stretch to honor the ‘brave Americans stationed around the world,” followed by "God Bless America" performed by Kate Smith.
- Other sounds that are important: "Enter Sandman" by Metallica and "New York, New York" performed by Frank Sinatra. No matter what the score might be, when you hear the first few notes of "Enter Sandman" the place will erupt as Mariano Rivera enters the stadium. The other song that you will ALWAYS hear after the game is, "New York, New York". The one thing that matters is singing it. If Frank Sinatra is heard, that means the Yankees have won. If you hear Liza Minelli well, it's a long trip home.
- And finally, whether you are at the game, in the car, or at home...there is no better voice to hear the play by play calling than John Sterling. The greatest thing you can hear him say is, ""YANKEES WIN! THU-UH-UH-UH-UH-UH-UH-UH-UH YANKEES WIN!"
BOSTON
Fenway Park is the one of the oldest ballparks in the major leagues. When you walk up to the park, you get an overwhelming sense of the history associated with the park including the outdoor food stands and local merchants that have serviced baseball fans for decades. The smells around the stadium are wonderful, the streets are filled with fans, and hours before the game is scheduled to start, fans line up along the walls outside the various gates and fight to get in and watch batting practice and ask the ballplayers for autographs. Fenway has a whole culture outside of the ballpark as well as inside.
When you enter the stadium, you immediately understand why Fenway Park is special. The field is a beautiful combination of rich green grass and brown dirt surrounded by dark green walls and seats. In left field is the famed "Green Monster" a 35 foot high wall (unique in the major leagues) that has baffled hitters for years. In center field, the walls come together at such an intense angle that routine fly balls will bounce and ricochet in so many different directions that outfielders are left scrambling to retrieve a hit and throw it back into the infield. In right field, the foul pole is located only 310 feet from home plate, but the wall (only three or four fee high) loops around and continues for another farther out allowing players to hit home runs with ease down the right field line. When you sit in the stands, you feel as if you are on top of the players, participating in the game, and helping determine the outcome. It is a feeling that no modern ballpark provides.
The fans at Fenway Park are legendary as well. The crowd is very diverse in terms of a economic status, but almost entirely white. Each has an opinion about the game and the teams on the field, which they share willingly with varying degrees of Boston accent. And, they all take the opportunity of their visit to the ballpark to enjoy beer and other baseball foods and try to alter the outcome of the game.
COLORADO
Coors Field is absolutely beautiful -- probably one of the most beautiful visual experiences in all of sports. But, finding that out for yourself assumes that you can actually find the ballpark. The roads around Denver, namely I-25, do not indicate which exit you are supposed to take to access the ballpark. Once you exit, it is somewhat of a challenge to find parking (mostly because all the streets are one way only and many of the parking lot entrances are blocked by construction in the neighborhood). Most of the parking lots are several minutes walking from the ballpark and only reach the ballpark after a series of undulating pathways.
Once you reach the ballpark, all is forgotten. The ballpark is constructed entirely of red brick giving the building (and the surrounding neighborhood) a warm feeling. Dark green iron fences surround the ballpark and large open areas surround the ballpark giving fans an area to congregate before the gates open. Once inside fans are greeted with spacious concourses and signs indicating where seats and other park amenities are located. There is a playground area located beyond the left field stands for parents whose kids aren't fully interested in the game. Video arcade and batting cage areas are located underneath the Rock Pile seating area (with all proceeds going to the Rockies charitable foundation). And, if you are fortunate enough to be sitting in the upper sections of the stadium (behind home plate) you get a magnificent view of the valley and mountains.
The seating bowl is enormous, stretching all the way around the ballpark and extending up four levels (that includes one level for suites and club seating) to accommodate more than 52,000 seats. The seats are all dark green, relatively widely spaced compared to other parks, and a purple row of seats (located in the upper deck) indicates the exact point where the stadium reaches 1 mile high. In left field are bleacher seats which are drenched by the hot mountain sun throughout the game, and in center field is the "Rock Pile" -- a bleacher like area in deep center field (above a literal rock pile and tree garden).
The field is beautifully manicured with different designs being cut into the infield and outfield grass. Because of the high altitude (making the ball fly 9% farther than at sea level) the walls in the stadium are considerable farther away than any other park in baseball -- measuring 415 feet to center field and 347 to left field. The right field wall measures 350 but climbs more than fifteen feet into the air and holds the out-of-town scoreboard. Above the bleachers in left field is the scoreboard, a combination of an immense diamondivision (offering stats and graphics) and a considerably smaller Jumbotron (offering graphics and replays). In right center field (adjacent to the literal "rock pile" (rather than the seating section rock pile")) are the bullpens -- each is adorned with shrubbery. The dugouts are spacious and inviting, comfortable seats are available for both the home team and visitors, and the Rockies dugout has a second set of benches (on a raised level, out in the sun, on the field level instead of depressed like the regular seats) for players to watch the game without having to strain from below field level.
Overall, the park has an intimate feeling to it (considering it seats over 50,000 for a game) and fits into the neighborhood very well. There are plenty of things to do inside the ballpark as well as outside of the ballpark. You won't have to worry about a lack of action on the field to keep your attention though, the ball flies off the bats and the scores are traditionally as high as the altitude. It is certainly one of the most beautiful ballparks in the league and one of the most interesting settings for a ball game -- any fan would truly enjoy an afternoon or evening at this ballpark.
No matter where you watch from, at the ballpark or on your television, I hope you will take a few minutes to look around and see what the ballpark adds to the playoffs as well. Play ball!