So the real purpose of my trip Stateside was not to see how many different types of public transportation I could take, nor was it to clog up my arteries by consuming a mountain of fast food. No, it was to watch a couple of games of baseball.
My first game was at the magnificent Oriole Park at Camden Yards. This has got to be one of the best sports venues in the whole world -- an ultra modern arena interwoven with heritage and history. If ever they redevelop White Hart Lane this is the kind of place I hope they build. As impressive as places like the Emirates Stadium and the new Wembley are they are just 'cookie cutter' stadiums relying on steel, glass and concrete. Modern and architecturally impressive, but ultimately fairly cold and vacuous. I know the new owners of Liverpool F.C. have revised the designs of their new Stadium so that it has an element of individuality. If it's like the Arlington Stadium of the Texas Rangers (owned by Tom Hicks who is also a co-owner of Liverpool) then it should be good and will hopefully will provide an alternative to the IKEA-isation of football stadium design.
Anyway back to baseball. I know people in the U.K. trash it as simply 'glorified rounders' but that just shows a degree of ignorance and maybe insecurity. I think it is a great game. A sport for individuals masquerading as a team game. A sport whose history provides a distillation of that of the U.S. A sport where there is such a degree of 'luck' that they play so many games to reduce its significance. A sport where they care so much about the 'game day experience'.
Anyway, I had a great 'game day experience' watching the Baltimore Orioles take on the Oakland Athletics. In same ways it reminded me of the Hong Kong 7s where often events on the field of play were secondary to things like having a few beers, chomping on some hotdogs and generally enjoying yourself. In this case the 'enjoyment factor' was certainly helped by the fact that the Orioles gave 'the A's' a right old tonking!
The second game I went to was the New York Yankees against the LA Angels. This had an entirely different feel to it. The Yankees are used to winning and have won more World Series than the Red Sox, Dodgers, Giants and Cardinals combined. However, this year their season has started pretty poorly. Yankee Stadium is not brand spanking new, but it's still pretty impressive (in fact a brand spanking new stadium is being built). The crowd, though, were pretty boorish. I guess this comes when you expect to win almost all the games you play. Maybe it's also a result of the fact that the fans are 'New Yorkers' who don't take any crap? In some ways the experience is how I'd imagine going to a Chelsea game would be like -- the similarities with regard to money spent on players are definitely there!
The Yankees got off to a good start, but it all started to unravel when their starting pitcher was replaced by the reliever. In one innings the Angels took the lead without actually hitting the ball -- the Yankees pitcher kept walking the Angel's batters when the bases were loaded. The booing by the crowd was amazing -- and I've been at White Hart Lane when home players have been booed. The Yankees ultimately lost and their slump continued.
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