Opening
day is just around the corner, so I figured now was the optimal time to touch
on a few specific instances in regard to the in-game experience at Rogers Centre.
There
are three things above all else – “quirks” if you will – that confuse, confound
and annoy me about Blue Jay fans at Rogers Centre. I’ve tried for years to
figure these out and frankly, I’m stumped. While I have been to baseball games
at a couple of other stadiums, I haven’t been to enough to gauge if this is a
Toronto-only phenomenon. However, I don’t recall experiencing these phenomena
elsewhere, so I feel pretty safe in assuming these are Toronto-centric issues.
In
no particular order, they are:
1) Booing every returning ex-Blue Jay player
I
can understand booing, heckling or giving the ol’ raspberry to the occasional returning
player if the situation warrants it. For example, if a player has committed any
of the following atrocities:
- Forced their way
off the team publicly and without grace;
- Bashed the Blue
Jays franchise or the fans on the way out;
- Quit on the team
and then admitted it;
- Yelled at a
little kid for asking for an autograph;
- Opted out of a
5-year contract and then signed with the frickin’ Yankees;
- Was caught using
steroids, Human Growth Hormone or any other such PEDs.
That
is, or course, only a partial list. My point is simply this: while it’s
occasionally warranted, booing every single returning player, regardless of
circumstance, is ridiculous. If they simply didn’t live up to expectations and
were traded – for instance Eric Hinske or Vernon Wells – so what? Doesn’t that benefit the Blue Jays if they’re no longer
on the team? What if the decision to leave wasn’t theirs, like if a player left
as a free agent because the Blue Jays weren’t willing to ante up (i.e. Carlos
Delgado or Chris Carpenter)? Some people refuse to accept it, but the brutal,
honest truth is that baseball is a business, and players have to look out for
the best interests of themselves and their family.
My
memory isn’t what it used to be, but the only two players I can recall that
weren’t met with piss and vinegar and various levels of vitriol upon return were
Reed Johnson (Toronto sports fans sure like their scrappy “Rudy-type” athletes,
eh?), and Doc himself – Roy Halladay. Sure, there have been part-time or lesser
players that casual fans don’t remember and thus were spared the pointless booing,
but most players of consequence have surely met the fan’s pointless wrath.
Ruthlessly
and blindly booing players strikes me as petty and, for the most part, utterly
unfounded. Boo A-Rod or any other juicer. Boo our divisional rivals. Boo Jon
Lester for “cheating”. Boo any team that claims there was a “Man in White”. Boo
the umpires for every call they make. Boo fans that are cheering for the
opponent. Boo someone for dropping a beer. Boo me for starting this blog. There
are plenty of worthwhile booing options, so there’s no need to invent contrived
ones, the end result of which are boos with no effect. As Darryl Strawberry demonstrated to us, heckling
can be powerful, but not when you oversaturate and waste heckles on a large
number of undeserving players.
2) Thinking every
single ball hit into the air is a homerun
On
many, many occasions at Rogers Centre, a player has hit a ball with a vaguely
upward trajectory. What is the resulting reaction from a significant percentage
of the Rogers Centre attendees? They cheer like it’s the ninth inning, Game Six,
’93 World Series and Joe Carter has just made contact with a hanging MitchWilliams slider. All hyperbole
aside: if a ball is hit into the air, Blue Jay fans cheer. Do they feel
sheepish if the result of the skyward ball is more akin to this: the catcher
calmly stands up, tosses his mask and makes an easy catch behind home plate?
God forbid the ball goes FORWARD. I’ve had the opportunity to sit in many
different locations in Rogers Centre – from the cheap seats to the pimp seats –
and it’s really quite easy to get a fairly-immediate idea how far a ball has
been hit. Here’s a hint: watch the players! If an outfielder doesn’t move an
inch and simply watches the ball go, they’re either Jose Canseco or you might
just have the opportunity to cheer for a homerun.
Here’s
a basic rule of thumb to follow: stop screaming like a moron for every single
ball hit in the air.
Approximately
36% of outs are flyballs, and the number of homeruns hit off those flyballs
hovers at around 10%. That means +/-90% off the time, Blue Jay fans are
cheering for home team outs. Brutal. Source: Fangraphs http://bit.ly/OXgLuM
3) Booing every time
an opposing pitcher throws over to first base
Of
all the quirks, this one might confuse me the most. Actually no, that’s a lie;
they all confuse me the same amount. But, really, what’s wrong with an opposing
pitcher throwing the ball to first base if there’s a Blue Jay baserunner there?
They have to “keep the runner honest”, and try to shorten the runner’s lead as
much as possible. Baseball truly is game of inches, so if that lead can be
shortened simply by playing catch with the first baseman, then it should be
expected. Heck, once or twice in the history of baseball a player or two has
been picked off (it’s helped Mark Buehrle out a wee bit). Ask Kolten Wong what can happen. It’s a free out! Oh,
and it’s also an integral, well-established part of the game of baseball. And
hey, there’s also the chance that said pitcher throws the ball past the first
baseman and whomever is at first base can advance a base or two.
That’s
it! I’m open to hearing explanations or rationalizations if anyone has them.
p.s.
For no reason at all, here’s a gratuitous picture of Kate Upton!
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