It been a hectic week of taking care of business back here while the roomie swelters away in Selma. But there was a bit of a reprieve last evening as I was able to take in some MLB in the nations premier park–PNC. The New York Yankees came to Pittsburgh this week for a three day visit. They hadn’t been here in the past 48 years when Bill Mazeroski delivered a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the ninth (game seven) of the 1960 World Series. I remember it well. I was in the third grade and walking home from school on still a warm October afternoon. My transistor radio was glued to my ear. We thought all was lost earlier until Tom Tresh, the Yankee shortstop took a bad hop in the neck to keep a drive alive and allow catcher Hal Smith to tie the game at 9. Old Forbes Field is gone now, since replace by Three Rivers Stadium and then again by PNC Park. So there was an anticipation of nostalgia as I prepared to attend a game that’s been a sellout for year.
The magic of the park, with its scenic vista, hovering over right center field inspires me every time I attend there but after that I was left a bit hollow. The Yankees went on to blow the game wide open and eventually finish with a 10-0 shellacking. But my expections, that of seeing the Bronx Bombers, America’s team, was just not what I expected. One would think going to a foreign city, which is about the same during inter-league play, that the Yankees would put on a display like no other. But to me, they appeared to be just another baseball team in the same drab gray uniforms. C’mon guys, put those pinstripes on. Wow me!! Bring back those glory days of old and take me back to the 50’s again.
