|
|
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 2,170
I have gas. 2000+ posts
|
OP
I have gas. 2000+ posts
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 2,170 |
Here's the latest from The Philadelphia Inquirer:  By Larry Eichel Inquirer Staff Writer All that remains of Veterans Stadium, where the Phillies and Eagles played for more than three decades, is a vast pit ringed by shattered concrete and mangled steel. On the edge of the pit, a ticket window remains in one spot, strangely untouched. In other places, stumps of the outer pillars yet stand, some erect, others leaning inward. Elsewhere, there is nothing to suggest that once there was a 62,000-seat sports arena at Broad Street and Pattison Avenue. Precisely at 7 a.m. today, the Vet was imploded. The event took 62 seconds. A barrage of 2,800 separate explosions, racing clockwise around the stadium at nearly 30 m.p.h., made the shell of the gutted structure collapse inward upon itself. An elevator tower on the north side seemed, initially, to resist the power of all that nitroglycerin, remaining intact for a second or two as the brunt of the implosion went past. But in the end, it, too, tumbled to the ground. Even the wind cooperated. It carried the thick, brown dust cloud due east, sparing nearby residential neighborhoods and covering the new Citizens Bank Park, where the Phillies are to start playing baseball in less than two weeks. "It was as if the gods were spreading the ashes of the old park on the new one," said a teary Bill Giles, the Phillies chairman. As the implosion's planners repeatedly had promised, the blast appeared not to have done any damage to the 225 homes closest to the site, those located in the area bounded by Broad, 13th and Geary Streets and Pattison Avenue. "Anyone who puts in a damage claim is going to be laughed at," said Ron Conti, 59, who watched the implosion from his home on 13th Street. "There were no tremors, nothing. Even the noise wasn't as loud as I thought it would be." One reason the implosion was designed to last a minute, an extremely long time by industry standards, was to minimize the ground vibrations and thus any risk of broken windows or cracked foundations. And much of the innards of the stadium had been stripped away and hauled out in advance, thereby reducing the impact and keeping down the dust. Spectators by the thousands turned out to witness the implosion on a cold, gray morning. They watched from the official viewing area on the south side of Packer Avenue, from two nearby hotels in South Philadelphia, from Center City high-rises and from across the Delaware River in New Jersey. Hundreds more, eager for a close vantage point, poured onto the westbound lanes of Interstate 76 near the Walt Whitman Bridge the moment police closed the highway to traffic. The official ceremony, set up by the Phillies, who had the responsibility for demolishing the city-owned stadium, was brief and almost perfunctory. Phillies president David Montgomery spoke, saluting the old facility. Mayor Street called the event historic and a sign of progress for Philadelphia. The Eagles, who had left the Vet after their 2002 season and have never exhibited much fondness for the place, did not participate. With Street providing the countdown, the Phillie Phanatic and former Phillie slugger Greg "the Bull" Luzinski pushed a ceremonial red plunger, labeled "The Final Bull Blast." The actual buttons were pushed by two demolition workers, identified as Stephen Bill and Frank Bardanoro. Street shouted, "Fire! Fire!" Then, the real show began. A minute later, it was over. "It was probably the most incredible implosion I've ever seen," said Steve Pettigrew, vice president of operations for Demolition Dynamics, the Tennessee-based company that performed it. "And I've been in this business for 27 years. "The breakage inside the bowl is tremendous. On the south side, some of the debris is five feet below grade, which will make life easier for the next phase of work." That next phase, which will be carried out by Brandenburg Industrial Service Co., calls for the steel to be removed and the concrete to be crushed in place - so that the site can be converted into 5,500 spaces for parking by fall. On the parking lot, once finished, will be several reminders of the old stadium, including the painted outline of where the infield was and granite markers for the bases, the pitcher's mound and home plate. Conceived in the 1960s, the Vet was the largest of a family of round and nearly round, municipally owned outdoor arenas. The design allowed these stadiums to accommodate both baseball and football, although neither very well. Hailed as state-of-the-art at its birth, it was much-maligned in its final years, castigated for its artificial turf as well as its lack of character, intimacy or creature comforts. The people from Demolition Dynamics spent two months figuring out how to do away with the stadium, then two months on site, drilling 2,800 holes for the 3,000 pounds of explosives. To prevent any premature explosions, they refrained from loading the nitroglycerin until last Monday and waited until Thursday to start installing more than four miles of detonation cord. They didn't tie it all together until the wee hours of this morning. In the end, the implosion went exactly as planned. The blasts in each of the 103 remaining columns around the Vet's shell - one had been removed in advance by conventional means - started on the inside at the bottom, moved rapidly to the outside, then up. This caused the shell to fold forward onto what had been the 200-level seating area. And it brought to an end the life of Veterans Stadium: dedicated April 4, 1971, demolished March 21, 2004.
"You kind of get tired giving the other team credit. At some point you've got to look in the mirror and say 'I sucked.'"
Alex Rodriguez, after the NY Yankees were eliminated from the 2006 ALDS by the Detroit Tigers.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 2,170
I have gas. 2000+ posts
|
|
OP
I have gas. 2000+ posts
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 2,170 |
Even though a lot of players complained about the Vet, so much history happened there. Funny how players and even some owners grow up playing in the street, maybe using a broomstick for a bat or a an old tennis ball for a football and it's no problem then. Now they have to play on a Kentucky/Rye grass blend with a sand/topsoil base and an elaborate drainage system underneath it or a FieldTurf surface. Ah, how times change...
"You kind of get tired giving the other team credit. At some point you've got to look in the mirror and say 'I sucked.'"
Alex Rodriguez, after the NY Yankees were eliminated from the 2006 ALDS by the Detroit Tigers.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 784
500+ posts
|
|
500+ posts
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 784 |
gee, it was only a 30+ year old building, of course they had to be torn down to make way for newer things 
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 14,896
10000+ posts
|
|
10000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 14,896 |
If there is a God, he/she/it has my thanks on this day.
I hate that fucking stadium with every fiber of my being. I hate what it represented, I hate the large percentage of assholes that filled it regularly, I hate just the damn thing itself.
It was poorly constructed, poorly repaired, poorly maintained....hell, it was probably poorly demolished, too. In a world of shit, it was the brownest, dirtiest and smelliest of all the shits.
I doubt any stadium has ended as many careers as the Vet did, the most dearest to my heart being that of Michael Irvin, who was booed as he laid motionless on the field, and was booed as he was carried off on a stretcher with his neck in a brace. If that didn't epitomize the Philly fans, then Santa Clause being booed certainly did.
Yes, there were many great moments that took place there over the years, but frankly, they were all blown away by the avalanche that is the countless number of bad ones. Speaking of avalanches, winter brought perhaps the worst of all such memories, as the hard-packed snow provided ammunition to a drunken set of lunatics. Refs, players, coaches, even those of the home team were not safe from pelting. What horrible irony it was that this all took place what's called "the city of brotherly love". It was not those of foreign allegiance that endured the heaviest barrage(by snow or simple insult), but those who played FOR Philadelphia. When Donovan McNabb was drafted by the Eagles with the 2nd pick in 1999, the Philly fans in attendance not only booed the selection, but yelled insults at McNabb, who had no part in the decision. 4 Pro Bowls and 3 NFC Championship games later, McNabb has proven just how fucking lucky those jackasses really are.
Rest in shit.
MisterJLA is RACKing awesome.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 12,353
Award-Winning Author 10000+ posts
|
|
Award-Winning Author 10000+ posts
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 12,353 |
I'm going to miss that place. I was never big into baseball, but even I have some fond memories of The Vet. I saw Mike Schmidt hit the cycle there (a double, a triple, and a home run), and my high school band played the national anthem for one of the games. That was memorable becausre the fanatic came out during the song and started screwing around behind the drum major. Godd times.
Knutreturns said: Spoken like the true Greatest RDCW Champ!
All hail King Snarf!
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 14,896
10000+ posts
|
|
10000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 14,896 |
Man, that Kentucky really did piss me off. Heh.
MisterJLA is RACKing awesome.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 2,170
I have gas. 2000+ posts
|
|
OP
I have gas. 2000+ posts
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 2,170 |
If they would have put in some good FieldTurf and maybe take out some seats in the lower levels to open things up I think the Vet would have been a stadium comparable to Busch Stadium. Kinda like when the put in grass and took out the outfield seats at Riverfront Stadium and all of a sudden Riverfront had character.
"You kind of get tired giving the other team credit. At some point you've got to look in the mirror and say 'I sucked.'"
Alex Rodriguez, after the NY Yankees were eliminated from the 2006 ALDS by the Detroit Tigers.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 7,030
6000+ posts
|
|
6000+ posts
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 7,030 |
"Even though a lot of players complained about the Vet, so much history happened there."
Yawn. Like what? The Phillies won their only World Series in that building, and the Eagles won one NFC title game there. Other than that, not much. Plus, it had the reputed worst turf in sports. I wonder how many careers ended on that crap...
We all wear a green carnation.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 7,030
6000+ posts
|
|
6000+ posts
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 7,030 |
"Schmidt hit the cycle there (a double, a triple, and a home run"
that would be a single, double, triple, and HR. Gotta have all four hits.
JJ
We all wear a green carnation.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 14,896
10000+ posts
|
|
10000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 14,896 |
Quote:
Animalman said:
I doubt any stadium has ended as many careers as the Vet did
Quote:
Jim Jackson said:
I wonder how many careers ended on that crap...
...?
MisterJLA is RACKing awesome.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 577
500+ posts
|
|
500+ posts
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 577 |
I went to the vet on many occasions. Saw Pete Rose, Mike Schmidt, Luzinski, Ozzie Virgil, Von Hayes, Steve Carlton, Tug McGraw, Gary Maddox, Larry Bowa, to later guys like Lenny Dykstra, John Kruk, Terry Mulholland, Darren Daulton, Pete Incaviglia, Wes Chamberlain, and the last season I went, I saw Big Red (Mark McGwire) hit 3 400+ footers out off of Curt Schilling and Wayne Gomes. Could have had four, but Schilling gave him a Int Walk with a man on second and a 2-0 count. I would have loved a 4 homer game.
That ball sailed out of there... Year was 2000. Loved it.
Words not violence, break the silence. Maybe.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 2,170
I have gas. 2000+ posts
|
|
OP
I have gas. 2000+ posts
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 2,170 |
This piece of crap replaced the Vet though. Disgusting.  Aw....who am I kidding? Actually, I work across the street from the design firm that came up with this. I'd love to work there.
"You kind of get tired giving the other team credit. At some point you've got to look in the mirror and say 'I sucked.'"
Alex Rodriguez, after the NY Yankees were eliminated from the 2006 ALDS by the Detroit Tigers.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 28,009
Inglourious Basterd!!! 15000+ posts
|
|
Inglourious Basterd!!! 15000+ posts
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 28,009 |
I went to the last night game at the Vet (it was a Friday game vs the Braves) I was in the left field nosebleed seats. What amazed me (being used to the...cozy...confines of Fenway Park) was just how huge the stadium seemed. It wasn't a great ballpark (in terms of view and size), but it wasn't awful.
What I most remember:
1) Phillies fans boo EVERYONE. Not just the opposing teams. Their own team. The umpires. Any celebrities that happen to be in the stadium. Everyone.
2) Having said that, Phillies fans are a damn knowledgable bunch. Especially about their own team. Without talking to anyone, I got a pretty decent edumacation about National League baseball.
3) Bad food. Fenway Park has spoiled me for any other stadium food, I guess. But your hotdogs, as plump and red as they were, tasted AWFUL!!! And there wasn't much of a selection at that. Of course, I missed out on...
4) Funnel Cake. Buy it early. Buy it often. It sells out quickly, as I discovered.
I had a great time at the game. And the new stadium looks pretty good. I'm planning on making a return trip soon...
Uschi said:I won't rape you, I'll just fuck you 'till it hurts and then not stop and you'll cry. MisterJLA: RACKS so hard, he called Jim Rome "Chris Everett." In Him, all porn is possible. He is far above mentions in so-called "blogs." RACK him, lest ye be lost! "I can't even brush my teeth without gagging!" - Tommy Tantillo: Wank & Cry, heckpuppy, and general laughingstock ![[Linked Image from i6.photobucket.com]](http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/JoeMama13/RedSoxBanner05.png)
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 784
500+ posts
|
|
500+ posts
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 784 |
phillys a weird town when it comes to sports. they seem to hate everyone.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 14,896
10000+ posts
|
|
10000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 14,896 |
Quote:
Joe Mama said:
Having said that, Phillies fans are a damn knowledgable bunch.
Not too knowledgable about drafting quarterbacks.....
MisterJLA is RACKing awesome.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 5,813
I Am Groot 5000+ posts
|
|
I Am Groot 5000+ posts
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 5,813 |
Quote:
jafabian said:
Here's the latest from
The Philadelphia Inquirer:
By Larry Eichel
Inquirer Staff Writer
All that remains of Veterans Stadium, where the Phillies and Eagles played for more than three decades, is a vast pit ringed by shattered concrete and mangled steel.
On the edge of the pit, a ticket window remains in one spot, strangely untouched. In other places, stumps of the outer pillars yet stand, some erect, others leaning inward.
Elsewhere, there is nothing to suggest that once there was a 62,000-seat sports arena at Broad Street and Pattison Avenue.
Precisely at 7 a.m. today, the Vet was imploded. The event took 62 seconds.
A barrage of 2,800 separate explosions, racing clockwise around the stadium at nearly 30 m.p.h., made the shell of the gutted structure collapse inward upon itself.
An elevator tower on the north side seemed, initially, to resist the power of all that nitroglycerin, remaining intact for a second or two as the brunt of the implosion went past. But in the end, it, too, tumbled to the ground.
Even the wind cooperated. It carried the thick, brown dust cloud due east, sparing nearby residential neighborhoods and covering the new Citizens Bank Park, where the Phillies are to start playing baseball in less than two weeks.
"It was as if the gods were spreading the ashes of the old park on the new one," said a teary Bill Giles, the Phillies chairman.
As the implosion's planners repeatedly had promised, the blast appeared not to have done any damage to the 225 homes closest to the site, those located in the area bounded by Broad, 13th and Geary Streets and Pattison Avenue.
"Anyone who puts in a damage claim is going to be laughed at," said Ron Conti, 59, who watched the implosion from his home on 13th Street. "There were no tremors, nothing. Even the noise wasn't as loud as I thought it would be."
One reason the implosion was designed to last a minute, an extremely long time by industry standards, was to minimize the ground vibrations and thus any risk of broken windows or cracked foundations.
And much of the innards of the stadium had been stripped away and hauled out in advance, thereby reducing the impact and keeping down the dust.
Spectators by the thousands turned out to witness the implosion on a cold, gray morning. They watched from the official viewing area on the south side of Packer Avenue, from two nearby hotels in South Philadelphia, from Center City high-rises and from across the Delaware River in New Jersey.
Hundreds more, eager for a close vantage point, poured onto the westbound lanes of Interstate 76 near the Walt Whitman Bridge the moment police closed the highway to traffic.
The official ceremony, set up by the Phillies, who had the responsibility for demolishing the city-owned stadium, was brief and almost perfunctory.
Phillies president David Montgomery spoke, saluting the old facility. Mayor Street called the event historic and a sign of progress for Philadelphia.
The Eagles, who had left the Vet after their 2002 season and have never exhibited much fondness for the place, did not participate.
With Street providing the countdown, the Phillie Phanatic and former Phillie slugger Greg "the Bull" Luzinski pushed a ceremonial red plunger, labeled "The Final Bull Blast." The actual buttons were pushed by two demolition workers, identified as Stephen Bill and Frank Bardanoro.
Street shouted, "Fire! Fire!" Then, the real show began. A minute later, it was over.
"It was probably the most incredible implosion I've ever seen," said Steve Pettigrew, vice president of operations for Demolition Dynamics, the Tennessee-based company that performed it. "And I've been in this business for 27 years.
"The breakage inside the bowl is tremendous. On the south side, some of the debris is five feet below grade, which will make life easier for the next phase of work."
That next phase, which will be carried out by Brandenburg Industrial Service Co., calls for the steel to be removed and the concrete to be crushed in place - so that the site can be converted into 5,500 spaces for parking by fall.
On the parking lot, once finished, will be several reminders of the old stadium, including the painted outline of where the infield was and granite markers for the bases, the pitcher's mound and home plate.
Conceived in the 1960s, the Vet was the largest of a family of round and nearly round, municipally owned outdoor arenas. The design allowed these stadiums to accommodate both baseball and football, although neither very well.
Hailed as state-of-the-art at its birth, it was much-maligned in its final years, castigated for its artificial turf as well as its lack of character, intimacy or creature comforts.
The people from Demolition Dynamics spent two months figuring out how to do away with the stadium, then two months on site, drilling 2,800 holes for the 3,000 pounds of explosives.
To prevent any premature explosions, they refrained from loading the nitroglycerin until last Monday and waited until Thursday to start installing more than four miles of detonation cord. They didn't tie it all together until the wee hours of this morning.
In the end, the implosion went exactly as planned.
The blasts in each of the 103 remaining columns around the Vet's shell - one had been removed in advance by conventional means - started on the inside at the bottom, moved rapidly to the outside, then up.
This caused the shell to fold forward onto what had been the 200-level seating area.
And it brought to an end the life of Veterans Stadium: dedicated April 4, 1971, demolished March 21, 2004.
Goodbye and good riddance,that's what I say.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 2,170
I have gas. 2000+ posts
|
|
OP
I have gas. 2000+ posts
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 2,170 |
Evidently, ESPN agrees with you in regards to the Vet. I'm sure Animalman will like this as well if he hasn't already seen this.
"You kind of get tired giving the other team credit. At some point you've got to look in the mirror and say 'I sucked.'"
Alex Rodriguez, after the NY Yankees were eliminated from the 2006 ALDS by the Detroit Tigers.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 14,896
10000+ posts
|
|
10000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 14,896 |
Man, Olympic Stadium must really, really, really suck if it can't even beat out the Vet's score.
MisterJLA is RACKing awesome.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 5,813
I Am Groot 5000+ posts
|
|
I Am Groot 5000+ posts
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 5,813 |
Quote:
Animalman said:
Man, Olympic Stadium must really, really, really suck if it can't even beat out the Vet's score.
It couldn't beat out a Little League park's score,that's how bad it is.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 577
500+ posts
|
|
500+ posts
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 577 |
I can explain The Philly Education--
It comes from years of horrid losing. Not sure where it stands now, but as of 2001, the Phillies were the losingest team in the HISTORY of sports. Yikes. And football? As John Madden said, if the Eagles could go to three NFC title games--two on their home field and lose all of them, then SHAME ON THEM. They don't deserve to win. Flyers? Legion of Doom. Eric Lindros. Talented, winning teams always near top of division, never won a championship. Allen Iverson, won an MVP award and few scoring titles... took Sixers to Championship series vs lakers, and they lost.
So... the town of Philly is used to Disappointment. It's a big market, my friends. One of the largest. 4th largest, behind NYC, LA, and Chicago. But... Yankees have World Series titles, Jordan dominated basketball in the the 90s, the Lakers had a small claim... and Football is hard to determine. I thank the salary cap for that. Keeps teams from holding onto players for more than 5 years.
So Philly fans get excited when things heat up, then they realize... "Wait, this has happened before... Back in 93, 2003, 1999, whenever" Then they look to see what could possibly make this different then other failures. See, while other cities have that optimism, Philadelphia has a long paved road of disappointment, which connects struggles to failure.
Talented players have struggled, and it's hard to for people who invest so much emotion in the game to watch as somebody--ANYBODY, chokes at the plate, or jumbles a play, or goes for a rushed 3-point attempt instead of waiting and passing to an open teamate for the easy layup.
Watching the lead disappear becomes torturous, the failed comeback, the same. You get angry and wonder what the fuck "Dem Bums" were thinking.
A lot changed in the 80s when Carpenter sold the Phillies to... a group of people I don't quite understand. Part of it was the Buck Brothers,---eh point is, these people were all Billionaires or multimillionaires. But they had little or no interest in baseball. It was perhaps an investment, if even that. Not like Jeff Lurie, who owned the Eagles, and was a fan.
The Phillies owners bought in together because of reasons like wanting a closer parking space to EAGLES games at the Vet. Spending money on the team wasn't a priority obviously, and it led to the failure of the team to do much following the success of 1980. Okay, they did go to the World Series in 1983, but I don't know how that happened. In spite of themselves.
Much like the Vet itself, the Phillies were just about playing whatever players could be put together and made to look decent... enough to sell tickets. The owners forgot that a WINNING team would bring attendance up towards 3 million.
Then, the time came when it was obvious the Vet was going to die. Other teams were building ballparks, and the Eagles were going for a stadium. Scott Rolen was complaining about leaving if they didn't do something (perish the thought!) and players were getting injured on the shitty turf. So... the Phillies used this as a good incentive to start building a team of the future, with a specific date in mind... 2005-2007
Cole Hamels and Gavin Floyd both will be in red pinstripes by 2006, and the Phillies are thinking positive. Maybe the lack of a 700 section would mean less booing. Or perhaps booing with an English accent. "Boo! I say! Boo!"
Words not violence, break the silence. Maybe.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 14,896
10000+ posts
|
|
10000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 14,896 |
Quote:
Soy un perdedor said:
Not sure where it stands now, but as of 2001, the Phillies were the losingest team in the HISTORY of sports.
Well....they're also the 9th winningest in sports history. That's when happens with a 120-year old team that plays in a sport with the most games per season.
Infact, most of the Philly teams are historically winners. Like the Phillies, the Sixers had great eams in the 70s and 80s, as did the Eagles and Flyers. Julius Erving, Mike Schmidt, Randall Cunningham, they've had just as many great players as other cities.
Every city has had their share of dissapointments.
MisterJLA is RACKing awesome.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 2,170
I have gas. 2000+ posts
|
|
OP
I have gas. 2000+ posts
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 2,170 |
Quote:
Animalman said:
Man, Olympic Stadium must really, really, really suck if it can't even beat out the Vet's score.
For the most part the new parks seemed even in the scoring. The Ballpark in Arlington was rated well. I think I might rate Camden over Pac Bell though. That right field porch at Pac Bell is too short for my tastes,
"You kind of get tired giving the other team credit. At some point you've got to look in the mirror and say 'I sucked.'"
Alex Rodriguez, after the NY Yankees were eliminated from the 2006 ALDS by the Detroit Tigers.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 14,896
10000+ posts
|
|
10000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 14,896 |
I don't think the dimensions of the field itself played much of a factor in the ratings, though, but rather the seats, facilities, food, prices, etc.
MisterJLA is RACKing awesome.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 577
500+ posts
|
|
500+ posts
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 577 |
There was a reason a lot of Bonds' home runs ended up in the water. Shortest part of the ballpark.
Course, this is all give and take. Deep ballparks mean you need athletic fielders with strong arms to cover them, and it's less stress on the pitchers, for low scoring affairs.
Smaller parks mean more homeruns. Duh
Words not violence, break the silence. Maybe.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 14,896
10000+ posts
|
|
10000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 14,896 |
Pac Bell isn't a small park, though. Infact, SportingNews statboys rated it as the #1 pitchers' park going into last year. Yes, there is a short right field porch, but it's only the far right, a section that sort of jumps out. Most left handed power hitters aren't dead on pull hitters, they go more to right-center, where Pac Bell is deepest(420 ft). This explains why Pac Bell has statistically been one of the toughest parks for lefties to hit in. Bonds just happens to be one of the best pull hitters in the game.
MisterJLA is RACKing awesome.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 2,170
I have gas. 2000+ posts
|
|
OP
I have gas. 2000+ posts
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 2,170 |
I always run into this. Sporting News says one thing, ESPN says another. But right field at Pac Bell is only 305 feet. One of the shorter right field porches in the league. I could hit it into the water if I was at home plate. Well, with a golf club, sure.
"You kind of get tired giving the other team credit. At some point you've got to look in the mirror and say 'I sucked.'"
Alex Rodriguez, after the NY Yankees were eliminated from the 2006 ALDS by the Detroit Tigers.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 7,030
6000+ posts
|
|
6000+ posts
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 7,030 |
"It comes from years of horrid losing. Not sure where it stands now, but as of 2001, the Phillies were the losingest team in the HISTORY of sports. Yikes. And football? As John Madden said, if the Eagles could go to three NFC title games--two on their home field and lose all of them, then SHAME ON THEM. They don't deserve to win. Flyers? Legion of Doom. Eric Lindros. Talented, winning teams always near top of division, never won a championship. Allen Iverson, won an MVP award and few scoring titles... took Sixers to Championship series vs lakers, and they lost."
What annoys me about this remark, though, is that Philadelphia is one of the few cities in America that can boast of championships in all four professional major sports, and all within the last half-century.
The Phillies won it all in '80. The Eagles won it last in 1960 (yeah, I know a long time ago, but still, it happened), the Flyers in '74 and '75, and the Sixers in 1983.
Fans in a lotta other cities wouldn't mind that history...
Jim
We all wear a green carnation.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 14,896
10000+ posts
|
|
10000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 14,896 |
Quote:
jafabian said:
I always run into this. Sporting News says one thing, ESPN says another.
Actually, the two are a bit different. ESPN just tells you how many runs were scored last year. Sportingnews was weighing it against league average and taking into account the dimensions and climate. With Pac Bell the numbers are skewed a bit, considering how amazing a hitter Barry Bonds is.
MisterJLA is RACKing awesome.
|
|
|
|
|
