With the ball in the air, the fake crowd noise briefly grew louder, then returned to the usual, dull background level. Thus was answered, once and for all, the eternal, philosophical question:
If a homer is hit in an empty park, does anybody hear?
Yes. The sound guy does. And he turns it up for a moment.
So sad.
There it was, the the first homer of 2020, the first in nine cruel months, the first in the most terrifying time in modern history - a monumental blast - and it barely generated the cheers of a Peter, Paul & Mary concert. Of course, it was a Yankee HR, not from the Nats. And I suspect the sound guy didn't know what to do. Should he crank up the volume when opposing teams homer? Is this covered in the MLB pandemic guidelines? WTF?
The message last night: We can agree that Black Lives Matter, but we're not yet sure if professional sports does. Fake sounds and cardboard cutouts cannot save baseball from one grim reality: Take fans from the bleachers, and what you have is a TV show being played in a studio by well-paid elites, a sports version of Celebrity Jeopardy. Sure, both teams want to win, but when not surrounded by screaming groupies, drunks and desperate nut-jobs, howling for a shred of hope in a world that has stripped them of dignity... it's not the same. It's just professionals going about their business. Last night, that was what Stanton did. And A-Rod said several times, without fans as a distraction (and booing him), he might be on the verge of a great year.
Imagine that.
But here is what I saw last night. Without fans, there was no passion, no electricity, no wild sense that everything in the universe hinges on what was happening there, RIGHT THERE, and that God - just like you and me - was watching on the edge of His seat. Last night, in the empty park, you had the feeling that God had switched channels to Rachel. He wanted to see passion.
Maybe this will change, as a pennant race emerges, as bad blood between teams emerges, and as we grow accustomed to vast stadiums filled with emptiness. Maybe I am just an old fan, unable to learn new tricks. But this old fan, he just dunno.
When last night's game was rained out, beyond the fact that the Yankees were leading, I was happy to let it go.
A shortened win in a shortened season. So be it. Who's in first? WE ARE! But it hit me last night, how whenever old Yankees return, long after their careers have ended, they all say the same thing: What they miss most of all... is the fans. After last night, I know what they mean.
They should turn off that stupid noise, the white noise in the background. The sound guy there should have turned it all the way down when Stanton homered. Crowds are silenced by opposing homers, they're not supposed to cheer. Except in Baltimore, our current home away from home, where 90% of the attendance is Yankee fans.
ReplyDeleteThe Hammer of God
ALL I KNOW IS I WAS HAPPY WHEN THE GAME GOT RAINED OUT, AS I FELT IF THE GAME RESUMED, COLE WOULD BE OUT OF THE GAME AND WE MIGHT SOMEHOW BLOW IT.
ReplyDeleteIT SURE FELT GOOD TO HAVE A "REAL" ACE ON THE MOUND, ESPECIALLY WITH A LEAD.
I WAS STILL AGGRAVATED AT ALL OUR STRIKEOUTS.
SANCHEZ WAS TOTALLY OVERMATCHED.
TYLER WADE HAS INCREDIBLE SPEED.
URSHELA LOOKS LIKE HE DID LAST YEAR AT THE PLATE, WHICH IS HUGE.
FORGET ABOUT THE FANS, MR. DUQUE.
THE GAME IS WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT.
LETS ENJOY EVERY YANKEE WIN.
...AND EVERY MET LOSS. (GO ATLANTA, TODAY).
I've become an old timer, sometime over the past thirty-plus years. IMHO, the fake sound would work IF the sound guy was awake and doing his job. Plus it would take my mind off of A-Rod who must have repeated himself 3-4 times. Maybe he has a script that's only 2-3 pages long that he can't deviate from. I don't understand why ESPN didn't allow us to listen to in-game chatter, the language couldn't be any more salty than our politicians. While I'm on my rant, I can't understand why we never get a behind the catcher (field level) camera shot. Fans have no idea how fast the pitches are, and reaction abilities that ballplayers possess. Go Yankees!
ReplyDelete@ ANON, yeah the strikeouts are aggravating, but what can we do? The team's coaching and upper level management encourages them to swing for the fences. Moneyball, walk and hit a HR. Earl Weaver's old forumula of GP + 3HR = W has now changed into BB + HR + 18K = W (if GP)
ReplyDeleteThe Hammer of God
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