Oct 29 2016

World Series 2016 Game 4: Indians @ Cubs

Surprisingly enough Wrigley Field is not the oldest active Major League Ball Park. That would be Fenway which I’ve been to a few times and is remarkable for its physical smallness besides (old) Yankee Stadium (a creaky vast minepit) and Shea (a modernist version of the same with long skinny escalators that never failed to kill 1 or 2 people a season).

Fenway opened 2 years before Wrigley (1912 to 1914) and has always been home to the Red Sox, but Wrigley belonged to the Federal League Whales who went belly up the year after it opened becoming host to the Cubs only in 1916, 8 years after their last World series title.

It’s called Wrigley after William Wrigley Jr. who was kind of the Steinbrenner of the Cubs between 1921 and 1932. Yeah, he’s the gum guy and originally gave it away as a bonus for buying his scouring powder (yum) and baking soda. He also was one of the prime developers of Catalina Island in California.

What Wrigley is know for today is the ivy covered brick outfield wall and the frequently asked question is- so what happens if they lose a ball in there? Well, truth is that it’s only about a couple of inches deep so it’s quite unlikely and also it’s a Ground Rule Double just like any quirky hit that touches the field of play before exiting the boundaries of the park.

It is in fact nick-named “The Friendly Confines” though that’s kind of a generic term like Kleenex or Xerox today for any team’s Home Field. The phrase was popularized by Ernie Banks, “Mr. Cub”, who was the Cubs first Black player and also played with the Negro League Monarchs and the Harlem Globetrotters Basketball team.

Most of the other throwback goodness of Wrigley has fallen to modernization. It was the last Major League Ball Park to install artificial lighting for night games in 1988 (the Regular Season schedule is still weighted to day games). It was also the last to install a mechanical scoreboard though the old hand operated one is operated in parallel out of tradition and sentiment.

One of the more interesting community traditions is that many of the 3 and 4 story Brownstones in the neighborhood (which is called Wrigleyville) have Bleacher Seats installed on the roof by the owners and because of nostalgia and quaintness they are some of the most sought after. This year they are a sold out bargain averaging about $3000 for all three games as opposed to the same just for Standing Room at the Park.

rustymancuso581

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  1. Bryant grounds out to end the 5th innig

    Cleveland 3 – Cubs 1

  2. So much for home field.

  3. Top of the 6th: Mike Montgomery pitching for the Cubs, in for Lackey

  4. Lindor lead off wlk

  5. Shit. Leadoff Walk

  6. Santana singles on a line drive. Lindor to 2nd

  7. Error. 2 On

  8. Force at 2nd. Corners

  9. Ramirez singles. Santana out at 2nd. Lindor to 3rd

  10. Sacrifice Fly. Indians 4 – 1

  11. Chisenhall sac fly to center. Lindor scores

    Cleveland 4 – Cubs 1

  12. Perez walked. 2 on; 2 out

  13. Another Walk. 2 On 2 Out. New Arm

  14. Cubs pitching change: Justin Grimm in for Montgomery

  15. Justin Gruyer, hitting for Naquin, struck out to end the top of the 6th inning

  16. KO. Bottom 6th

  17. Well at least they beat the dodgers.

  18. Bottom of the 6th: Corey Kluber pitching for Cleveland

  19. Rizzo lead off double

  20. Leadoff Double Off the Ivy

  21. Zobrist flies out to left. Rizzo holds at 2nd

  22. Fly. No Advance

  23. Contreras struck out. 2 out

  24. Ugh. KO? #6

  25. Russell grounds out to end the th inning

    Cleveland 4 – Cubs 1

  26. Top of the 7th: Justin Grimm pitching for the Cubs

  27. Top 7th

  28. Coco Crisp, hitting for Kluber, lead of double

  29. Double. Arg.

  30. Crisp to 3rd on a wild pitch

  31. Wild Pitch. Runner Advances

  32. Davis hit by a pitch

  33. HBP. Corners

  34. Next Arm

  35. Cubs pitching change: Travis Wood in for Grimm

  36. Kipnis 3 run home run

    Cleveland 7 – Cubs 1

  37. 3 RBI HR. Indians 7 – 1

  38. Lindor grounds out

  39. Santana singles. Lindor to 2nd

  40. And another Single

    1. Oh, there was a Ground Out before that

  41. Ramirez struck out

  42. Ugh.

  43. And a KO for 2

  44. Chisenhall struck out to end the top of the 7th

    Cleveland 7 – Cubs 1

  45. KO. Bottom 7th

  46. Bottom of the 7th: Andrew Miller pitching for Cleveland

  47. Heyward grounds out

  48. 2nd to 1st. Out

  49. Baez popped out. 2 out

  50. Pop Out

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