It’s a little weird to think that a full year has come and gone since I got kicked out of the MLB Fan Cave. Nothing about my termination surprised me; I had been telling the other Cave Dwellers that I was going to be the first person let go before the end of the first full week of the season. It was a damn shame too. The entire concept of what the Fan Cave is sold as is a fantastic concept; however, the execution has been questionable. Based on my experience, and the experience of others, it has very little to do with interacting with the fans. It’s merely a smoke and mirrors marketing ploy. I realize it makes me sound bitter, but nothing could be further from the truth. With the money I made in the short time I was there I traveled the continent, hitting 27 of 30 Major League stadiums, numerous Minor League facilities and catching an array of concerts. On my journey I made some amazing friends, got to meet some great players, got a few more MLB tattoos and most important, I met the love of my life Angie Kinderman (@sconnieangie). I’ve done my best to not rip on or really say anything negative about the Fan Cave because after all, I have nothing to give but my gratitude as none of this would have happened without my experience. I just really wish there was way more fan involvement with the outside, like I tried to and have been incorporating every day.
This particular hat carries quite a bit of importance behind
it as it was involved in one of the last challenges we were assigned before the
first elimination. The concept was that we had to take a photo of something
having to do with Memorial Day and the person who received the most likes on
Facebook would win. Not a prize or anything, just a win. I knew this challenge
was going to end with another loss for me due to the fact that anything
involving fan voting of Facebook was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I never
finished dead last though; usually somewhere in the Top-four. When we had some
time off we all went our separate ways, scouring the city for a great photo.
Fleet Week happened to be going on in New
York City so a few of the other Cave Dwellers made
sure to include men and women in uniform in their photos. I really had no idea
what I wanted to do so I went over to the New Era Flagship store across the
street from the Fan
Cave to mull it over.
Now, I’ve been a novice photographer for years. I’ve taken
quite a few classes for a number of years on the subject. Hell, I used to be
able to develop my own photos. I bring this up because a lot of you who may
follow me on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook have probably seen a few of my
photos. Actually, if you read my blog you see my photos every time. I need to
point out that in almost every case I don’t try to take a Pulitzer Prize worthy
photo; however, sometimes I do. As I was walking through the shop I was talking
with the store manager Antoine, asking how he had been. You know, being
friendly. I had my camera in my hand but I couldn’t find anything in there to
shoot. Plus, the camera I was using was a Sony Powershot, not even one of my
fancier cameras. As I said my goodbyes to Antoine and the staff I noticed the
new Stars and Stripes display they had on the wall in the front of the store. I
missed it when I walked it, but I definitely saw it on the way out. It was a
block of cubby holes, all of which had New York Mets and New York Yankees hats
inside of them. I couldn’t tell you why, but as I really took my time to look
over the display and imagine popped into my head from an article I had read in
my media ethics class at the University of Oregon. The article, from 2009,
talks about the ban that was lifted after 18 years which prevented media
organizations from showing photos of caskets containing soldiers who had dies
during war. This topic is an interesting paradox because politicians were
basically preventing the public from seeing the real casualties of war. The
photo shown in the article I linked is a different one than what I saw, but
still the same concept. As I looked at the hats on the wall I had an idea of
telling a story through a photo, like I always do; however, this contest was
strictly photos, no captions. So, with that in mind, I took this.
This photo was not cropped; I had to line it up perfectly without the use of a tripod. As I mentioned above, we were using Sony cameras, and I could have taken a
much better photo with my camera. What you’re seeing, or at least my
interpretation of it is a casket and the light shining above it Heaven. Upon
looking at multiple photos of caskets being transported back from Iraq and
Afghanistan there was almost always a common thing shown in all of them; closed
in, almost claustrophobic shots with a light coming from above. I thought that
this display was a perfect representation, especially with the tie-in with the
Memorial Day theme. I took about 22 shots. Yes, 22, and yet with that camera
this was the best I could get.
We weren’t allowed to use Photoshop or any doctoring
program, so I was a bit out of luck on cleaning this photo up. Maybe I’m being
too critical. Anyway, I emailed my photo in and didn’t tell anyone about it
except for Tyler Hissey, the guy in charge of the Fan Cave Twitter account and
Facebook page. The only reason I brought it up to him was because I was working
on an article about the hats, covering their purpose and how the proceeds go to
Welcome Back Veterans. You know what, here’s what I wrote…
For those who know me really well, it’s almost
a given that I rarely go anywhere without a New Era MLB cap. Not only is it
incredibly stylish, it also serves as a beacon for what I’m most passionate
about: baseball. Baseball is more than a game; it’s a symbol of what make our
country great. Baseball is fair. Baseball is just. And most importantly,
baseball has been a positive token for our brothers and sisters who have fought
for our country since the Civil War and served as an icon of goodwill when
spreading diplomacy with other nations.
Since 2008 New Era has
produced caps for all 30 Major League teams for both players and fans to
celebrate our love of the game and our love of our country for Memorial Day and
the 4th of July. In each of the past few years New Era released a
white front panel with a red or navy back panel, and the logo for each team
encapsulating the stars and stripes. In all years the proceeds went to Welcome
Back Veterans, a program which addresses the needs of returning American
Veterans and their families. For 2012 New Era is releasing a new design.
The panels of the new
caps are of the traditional team colors for all 30 clubs; however the inside of
each logo is filled with a digital camouflage appliqué similar to that of the
uniforms worm by the men and women who serve. As the son of a veteran I can’t
think of a more fitting tribute to those who give their time and their lives
for the values and livelihood we all hold sacred; a fitting tribute to those
who watch and play the game as we do, and yearn to come home to watch the games
with their friends and family. This Memorial Day I will be proud to represent
my team, but more importantly, I will be proud to give back and represent those
who give everything they have.
Once again, for what it was, it was pretty good. Now, as
soon as I told him this he then told me, “Oh that’s great. It’ll be good to get
a second perspective.” The word second confused me, so I asked him to
elaborate. This is when he told me that Kyle Thompson, the St. Louis Cardinals
fan, had all ready done an article, but Hissey was really happy I did one too.
Well, no shit I was going to write one. I don’t mean to get territorial, but in
this case everyone who knew me, including the fine folks at New Era, all knew
that wearing, writing and talking about New Era Caps was what I loved to do.
Almost everyone else in the Fan
Cave had at least one New
Era Cap. Kyle had two; I was sitting on about 174 at the time. Soooooooo… I was
a bit irked that Kyle would go behind my back and do that. This of course was a
common theme for me as I assisted (or had other material stolen by) other people (mostly Kyle) throughout the two-and-a-half
months I was there, and yet, I was not “contributing creatively” enough.
Ummmmmmm… yaaaaaahhhh…
The Yankees have always had a longstanding, solid relationship
with our nation’s military. I mean, with a name like Yankees it’s hard to
shake. This last week a member of the front office was honored with a
tremendous medal from the US Army in gratitude and tribute of all the hard work
she had been doing since 1985. Senior Vice President of Marketing Deborah A.
Tymon received the "Outstanding Civilian Service Award" from in
recognition of her decades of service in support of the military. The award is
the third-highest public service honor the U.S. Army can bestow upon a
civilian.
Since joining the New York Yankees front
office in 1985, Tymon has spearheaded many of the Yankees' initiatives
involving the military and veterans. Among her many accomplishments, Tymon has
been instrumental in developing the Yankees' close relationship with the
Wounded Warrior Project, making injured veterans the focus of hundreds of
public and private ceremonies and events. She has also been a regular
contributor to the Wounded Warriors' annual Soldier Ride.
Tymon has organized the
donation of thousands of tickets to active military members and veterans and
was deeply involved in the creation of Military Appreciation Day at Yankee
Stadium.
On behalf of the
Yankees, Tymon has led the effort to deliver thousands of care packages, including
clothing, snacks, books and memorabilia, to active servicemen and servicewomen
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Most recently, she worked with the USO to send thousands of gift packages to
soldiers in the Middle East last holiday
season.
"I'm incredibly
honored and overwhelmed," Tymon said. "Over the years, I have had the
great privilege of meeting countless members of the armed services. Their
stories of sacrifice always leave me breathless. It has been an honor for me to
give back to them with the support of the Yankees and show them the
appreciation they deserve."
Tymon's father, James
Tymon, served in the 6th Marine Division and 29th Regiment during the Battle of Okinawa in
World War II. –newyorkyankees.com
Since 1971 the Yankees have gone 23-18 while only missing
three games on Memorial Day due to travel or days off. Surprisingly there isn’t
really much to say in regard to patterns or teams faced other than the fact
that they’re 4-1 against the Boston Red Sox and 0-3 against the Baltimore
Orioles on Memorial Day. Sorry. I though I was going to find more.
After combing through record books and biography pages I
picked a few solid, “lesser-known” members of the Yankees in which to pay
tribute to with my marks. Some of you may not agree with my choices, no matter.
I have my reasons and stick to my guns.
#8- He started out as #10 for his first year in the Majors
1929, but changed to #8 in 1930, which he kept until his final game in 1946.
No, it’s not Yogi Berra. Prior to a few months ago I really didn’t know too
much about this player other than his name, team he played for and a few
notable moments throughout his playing career and I really have my friend
Vanessa Demske (@vdemske) to thank for sparking my curiosity. See, Vanessa was
a Top-30 finalist in this year’s production of the MLB Fan Cave as the representative for the
Oakland Athletics, much like myself. We chatted a bit on Twitter and such
during her campaign, but we became really good friends when we got together for
Opening Day down in Oakland
after she, unfortunately, didn’t make the final cut. Now, you’re probably
wondering where I’m going with this, well, like myself, Vanessa has a few MLB
tattoos herself; two of which I will cover in these blog posts. The first, of
which is a full portrait of this particular player, Bill Dickey.
Dickey was Vanessa’s grandmother’s favorite player, and even
though we didn’t go into much detail about that, I can confidently assume that
Vanessa and her grandmother were really close.
Dickey made his
major-league debut at Yankee Stadium on August 15, 1928, subbing for Benny
Bengough. He broke into the hit column nine days later, on August
24, with a triple off George Blaeholder of the St. Louis Browns. Dickey played in ten
games to close out the year and was a spectator as the Yankees won their third
straight pennant and swept the Cardinals to take their second World Series in a
row.
The 1929 season began
the transition from the famed Murderers’ Row teams that had dominated the
American League in the late 1920s to the Bronx
Bombers era of the ’30s. As great as the Yankees were during the
Murderers’ Row period, they were relatively weak at one position,
catcher. Benny Bengough, John Grabowski, and Pat Collins shared the
catching duties, but none of the three stepped up to take ownership of the
position. Dickey’s arrival changed that; all three were gone from
the Yankees roster within two years. “He’s going to be a great one,”
Yankees manager Miller Huggins predicted of Dickey. Indeed, starting in 1929,
Dickey caught in at least 100 games for the next 13 seasons. –Joseph Wancho
SABR Project
Dickey played for 17 seasons from his 10 games in 1928 until
the end of the season in 1946. As a catcher he is still one of the greatest
hitter of all-time, batting .313 lifetime with 202 home runs and 1969 hits
under his belt. While this may not seem like much for 17 years, something you
need to take into account is that he did not play every game of each season.
During his peak years (1929-1941) Dickey only averaged 119 games a season; the
highest point being 140 games in 1937 and the lowest point being 104 games in
1934. From 1933-1946 Dickey made the All-Star team every season except 1935 and
1944-1945. From 1936-1939 he finished in the Top-six for the American League
MVP award, the most notable being 1938 when he finished in second place behind Jimmie
Foxx of the Red Sox after going .313/27/115. Foxx went .349/50/175 in 14 more
games; no argument here. Dickey played in eight World Series, winning seven. He
would win seven more as a coach from 1949-1956. In 1,708 games behind the
plate, his fielding percentage was .988. His career batting average was
.313, and he owned a .382 on-base percentage. In 6,300 career at-bats,
Dickey struck out only 289 times.
Dickey entered the Navy on June 3, 1944, with the rank of
lieutenant junior grade. He served as an athletic officer in the Pacific and
managed the Navy team that won the 1944 Service World Series in Hawaii. He was
honorably discharged in 1945.
He was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers
Association of America in 1954, his 10th year on the ballot. Dickey
passed away at the age of 86 in 1993.
Perhaps the greatest compliment that can be bestowed on a
player is one that comes from a fellow Hall of Famer from a rival team, “Bill
Dickey is the best (catcher) I ever saw,” said Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob
Feller. “He was as good as anyone behind the plate, and better with the
bat. There are others I’d include right behind Dickey, but he was the best
all-around catcher of them all. I believe I could have won 35 games if
Bill Dickey was my catcher.”
#42- No, this is not Mariano Rivera. Lt. Colonel Jerry Coleman was born on September 14, 1924 in San Jose, California. He
joined the United States
Marine Corps and began his military career on October 23, 1942, as a naval
aviation cadet in the V-5 program in San
Francisco, California.
After going through pilot training in Colorado,
Texas, and North Carolina, he was commissioned as a 2nd
Lieutenant in the Marine Corps. He received his wings of gold, signifying
he was a naval aviator, on April 1, 1944 at Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, Texas.
He was assigned to Naval Air Station, Jacksonville,
Florida, where he was trained to fly the Douglas SBD Dauntless Dive Bomber. He was briefly
stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point,
North Carolina, and then was transferred to
Marine Corps Air Station El Toro,
California. He then boarded
a troop ship and was sent to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands as a replacement
pilot.
He arrived at Guadalcanal in August, 1944, and was assigned to
VMSB-341, known as "The Torrid Turtles". He flew 57 combat missions,
flying close air support, which VMSB-341 was the first squadron in the Marine
Corps specifically designated to do, and flew missions in the Solomon Islands
and the Philippines. In July, 1945, his squadron, along with other Marine Corps
squadrons, was called back from the Pacific to form carrier-based squadrons in
anticipation of the amphibious assault on Japan. With the sudden ending of
the war in the Pacific, he remained stationed at Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, North
Carolina. In January, 1946 he was transferred from
active duty to the inactive reserve list, and resumed his baseball career,
playing second base for the Yankees. –HighIronIllustrations.com
Coleman was originally signed to play for the Yankees back
in 1942; however, he didn’t make his Major League debut until April 20, 1949.
From ’49 until 1951 he had his best years, finishing third for the AL Rookie of
the Year award behind Roy Sievers of the St. Louis Browns and Alex Kellner of
the Philadelphia Athletics. Coleman made the All-Star team in 1950, the only
time in his career. That season he hit .287, had 150 hits, six home runs, six
triple and brought in 69 runs. From 1952-1957 Coleman’s playing time dwindled
at the keystone after the Yankees brought up on of their prospects; a kid by
the name of Billy Martin.
In 1958, Yankees' General Manager George Weiss named Coleman
personnel director, which involved Coleman scouting minor league players. Roy
Hamey terminated Coleman from that position, when Harney became the Yankees'
General Manager. It was only after Coleman met with Howard Cosell
that Coleman considered becoming a broadcaster.
In 1960, Coleman began a broadcasting career with CBS
television, conducting pregame interviews on the network's Game of the Week
broadcasts. His broadcasting career nearly ended that year; he was in the midst
of an interview with Cookie Lavagetto when the national anthem began playing.
Coleman kept the interview going through the anthem, prompting an avalanche of
angry letters to CBS.
In 1963 he began a seven-year run calling New York Yankees'
games on WCBS radio and WPIX television. Coleman's WPIX call of ex-teammate Mickey
Mantle's 500th career home run in 1967 was brief and from the heart: Here's
the payoff pitch... This is IT! There it goes! It's out of here!
After broadcasting for the California Angels for two years,
in 1972 Coleman became lead radio announcer for the San Diego Padres, a
position he has held every year since but 1980, when the Padres hired him to
manage (predating a trend of broadcasters-turned-managers that started in the
late 1990s). He also national regular-season and postseason broadcasts
for CBS Radio from the mid-1970s to the 1990s. Coleman is also famous for his
pet phrases "Oh Doctor!", "You can hang a star on that
baby!", "And the beat goes on", and "The natives are
getting restless". During an interview in the height of the steroids
scandal in 2005, Coleman stated "if I'm emperor, the first time 50 games,
the second time 100 games and the third strike you're out", referring to
how baseball should suspend players for being caught taking steroids. After the
2005 World Series, Major League Baseball put a similar policy in effect.
He is known as the "Master of the Malaprop" for
making sometimes embarrassing mistakes on the microphone, but he is nonetheless
popular. In 2005, he was given the Ford C. Frick Award of the National Baseball
Hall of Fame for broadcasting excellence, and is one of five Frick award
winners that also played in the Major Leagues (along with Joe Garagiola, Tony
Kubek, Tim McCarver, and Bob Uecker).
In the fall of 2007 Jerry was inducted to the National Radio
Hall of Fame as a Sports Broadcaster for his years as the play by play voice of
the Padres.
#38- This number only represents one year of this Hall of
Famer’s career. It’s a lesser-known number he wore, the first of three to be
accurate, but the first nonetheless which he wore in 1946. Lawrence Peter
Berra, better known as Yogi, was signed as an amateur free agent by the Yankees
in 1943; however, he joined the Navy not too long after his 18th
birthday that same year.
"I sit and I thank the good lord I was in the Navy.
We ate good, clean clothes, clean bed. You see some of these Army men, what
they went through, that's the one I felt for." –Yogi Berra
In February 1944, he sailed for the British Isles on the USS Bayfield, where he was as a
gunner's mate on board a rocket-launching landing craft in the D-Day invasion
at Omaha Beach, "It
was just like a Fourth of July celebration," he later recalled. "Being
a young guy, you didn‘t think nothing of it until you got in it. And so we went
off 300 yards off beach. We protect the troops." For the next 12 days his
boat was ordered to shoot down enemy aircraft. On one occasion they
accidentally shot down an American plane, but were able to save the pilot. He
served in a second assault on France
for which he received a medal from the French government. Berra
also served in North Africa and Italy,
and was sent home to the United
States after suffering a hand wound. He was
then stationed at the New London Sub Base until his discharge. Six years after
his time in the war he received the Lone Sailor award from the U.S. Navy
Memorial, an honor given to sailors who use skills learned in the service to
advance their careers. The president and Navy Memorial CEO said, "Our
honorees are living examples of how service to country changes lives and helps
develop leaders."
On September 22, 1946 Berra made his Major League debut
wearing the #38. I’m not going to focus too much on Berra’s career today, as I
have some larger slated down the road. The importance of this; however, is that
Berra was a budding superstar like a lot of the other guys throughout the
history of war; he was still a prospect. Prospect’s weren’t protected and sent
to play baseball for their branch of service. At any given time Berra could
have been killed, but like the men of his generation, love of one’s country
trumps everything else. I honor Berra with his original number because he could
have just as easily not have been wearing a number altogether. In my eyes, he’s
the greatest player to ever don a Yankees uniform, and one of the few people to
ever really live up to that name, a Yankee.
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