New York City Marathon canceled because of coronavirus

125228629_web1_Gary-wegman

Democrat Wegman will face Meuser in 9th Congressional District

The place was cavernous.
				I&rsquo;m talking about the original Yankee Stadium in the Bronx &mdash; thee Yankee Stadium.
				That&rsquo;s where real Yankee players played real baseball games against other real baseball teams.
				It was a time when players wore flannel uniforms and Mickey Mantle scrambled around the three monuments that were in-play in center field, trying to limit extra base hits.
				The dimension were short down either line and center was well over 450 feet.
				This was a ballpark.
				These were baseball players.
				I think about those days as we anxiously await the start of Major League Baseball&rsquo;s 2020 shortened season. The pandemic has caused this delay, and what will be a less-than-fulfilling season.
				I mean 60 games? What is that? What will it really prove?
				But I guess it will still be baseball. Overpaid players guessing at pitches and striking out all too often. There aren&rsquo;t many Mike Trout&rsquo;s out there.
				But there used to be in the 1960s. Every team and a Mike Trout or two or three.
				The Yankees had Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford and more. There were so many great players back then: Hank Aaron, Eddie Matthews, Warren Spahn of the Braves; Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal of the Giants; Roberto Clemente, of the Pirates; Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva and Rod Carew of the Twins; Al Kaline, of the Tigers; Maury Wills, Tommy and Willie Davis, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale of the Dodgers; Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, of the Red Sox; Frank Robinson, Pete Rose, of the Reds; Brooks Robinson, Jim Palmer, of the Orioles; Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, of teh Cardinals; Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Billy Williams, Cubs; Richie Allen, Robin Roberts, of the Phillies; and many more.
				It was always good to see players like these in any game. First of all, these guys always gave 100 percent. They were a pleasure to watch.
				I would love to go back and sit in the stands at Yankee Stadium or Connie Mack Stadium and watch a game start to finish.
				My dad was a true baseball fan. One year, 1962 I think, dad took me and my mom to Pittsburgh to watch a weekend series between the Pirates and the San Francisco Giants. Dad said he wanted me to see some great baseball played by great baseball players.
				Boy was he right.
				During this game, a Giant hit a ball down the right field line into the corner of Forbes Field. The batter/runner decided to try to stretch it into a triple. Clemente ran the ball down, turned and threw a strike &mdash; all the way to third base &mdash; to nail the runner by three feet. It was one of the most amazing defensive plays I have ever seen on a baseball field.
				Dad was right, we witnessed some really great baseball during those three games. Besides Clemente, I saw Mays, McCovey, Marichal and many more.
				Of course, sitting in Forbes Field brought back memories of the 1960 when Bill Mazeroski hit that World Series-ending homer to defeat my Yankees. Just seeing that left field wall where the ball disappeared gave me the chills.
				But that was baseball, pure and simple.
				I hope the 2020 season is played, even partially, and a World Series champ is determined.
				But I doubt we will ever see baseball played like it was in Forbes Field back in the 60s, nor will we ever see players like that again.

Beyond the Byline: ‘Play (real) ball!’