Interleague play needs a hiatus!

Ah yes, it’s subway series time! The Yankees highly touted starting pitchers and the Mets lineup being riddled by a variety of injuries has made it a pretty easy time for the Yankees.

I really think ‘interleague play’ has reached a point where it would be good to call a hiatus. The whole concept behind it was to give fans a chance to watch players from the other league that they seldom see play. That was the case in my day when American League fans never got to see Hank Aaron, Willie Mays or Ernie Banks. National League fans seldom saw Mickey Mantle—they had to wait until October! Now, with all the games on television, that’s not the case anymore.

As for the players, it has become a rather unenjoyable experience. Interleague play tends to allow better teams a chance to beat up on weaker rivals from the other league and distorts the real pennant races. I wish they’d drop it for a while and have teams play more games within their own division.

There are a few exciting matchups this season, but not many. The Yankees and Mets are at the top of the series list but it has lost a lot of luster since the first interleague game in the 90’s when Paul O’Neill got a big hit off Johnny Franco to help the Yankees win against the Mets. It’s just not the same anymore.

Honeymooning at the Hall

Most brides would say, “What, we’re going to Cooperstown on our honeymoon instead of Paris?!” Well, my new bride Margie found out it is a great place to honeymoon. The Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown, NY, is a magnificent setting and a serene, romantic spot to relax. The famous wrap-around porch and big rocking chairs overlook Otsego Lake once coined by James Fenimore Cooper as ‘glimmerglass’.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum is a few blocks away in a beautiful village where it appears every homeowner takes pride in maintaining their grounds and many of the storefronts have flower boxes. And what makes Cooperstown particularly special are the baseball fans that make the pilgrimage to the Hall of Fame—they seem to be the purest and truest in the land.

Our honeymoon in Cooperstown coincided with Father’s Day and participation in the first Hall of Fame Classic. The game this year involved former players rather than the traditional game with current teams. My first Hall of Fame game was back in 1966 with the Minnesota Twins playing the St. Louis Cardinals. I vividly remember the Cardinals brought a slender, tall, left-handed pitcher from their AAA team named Steve ‘Lefty’ Carlton. The day he pitched, Ted Williams and Casey Stengel were inducted into the Hall. I was privileged to be at Lefty’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony 28 years later in 1994.  The Baseball Hall of Fame is arguably the most exclusive fraternity in the world.

Along with Kevin Maas and his son, Christian, we took a behind the scenes tour led by Hall of Fame curator, Tom Schieber. It was a thrill to hold Lou Gehrig’s and Babe Ruth’s bat in my hands. We saw old box scores from the 1800’s, many interesting baseball artifacts, and even autograph forgeries. There are millions of dollars generated by this practice and it is under constant investigation---a good reason why players are skeptical and, often times, hesitant to sign items they believe might wind up in the wrong hands.

The game on Father’s Day was very special. Bob Feller (age 90!) threw a few pitches to Paul Molitor, another Hall of Famer and to Jeff Kent. Kent and Steve Finley, who has only been out of the game for a year, look like they could still play in the major leagues. I played left field for an inning then pitched an inning, facing Kent, Steve Lyons and George Foster. I batted against friend, and Hall of Famer, Fergie Jenkins, and grounded out to first.  Luckily, I didn’t get hurt nor did any of the fielders behind me which made it a good day!

Having been to Cooperstown at least 10 times since 1966, this was by far the coolest experience. It made us all very grateful and proud to be former big leaguers. It is always heartwarming to see how much fans appreciate the game.