The View from Cooperstown

By Lou Parrotta

I must begin by apologizing for two mistakes in last week's column.  I mentioned that this year's World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Anaheim Angels was the second all-California World Series.  I inadvertently forgot the 1988 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland A's.  How I could forget that series where the underdog Dodgers defeated the A's and one of Major League Baseball's top ten greatest moments occurred is beyond me.  For the record, the moment was the Game One, ninth inning, pinch-hit home run Kirk Gibson hit despite being hobbled by two bad knees.  He basically hit the home run off of legendary closer Dennis Eckersley using just his arms.  It was pure magic. [Editor's Note: Both Lou and I missed the 1974 encounter between LA and Oakland, this is the fourth California Series.]

The second error I made was when I said that all players in the World Series this year were neophytes.  That is untrue.  Two that stick out with series experience are Livan Hernandez and Reggie Sanders of the Giants.  Hernandez pitched the Florida Marlins to the title in 1997 over the Cleveland Indians, winning the series' Most Valuable Player Award, and Sanders helped the Arizona Diamondbacks stop the New York Yankees' quest for four straight titles in last year's series.  I apologize for the errors.

As for this year, I watched Game One in the Grandstand Theater of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown for the first time.  As a "Friend of the Hall of Fame," which anyone can become by visiting the Hall's website, I was privileged to watch the game in a baseball-like setting at the Hall.  When you entered the lobby, you were given a button that qualified you for one of dozens of terrific door prizes that only the Hall of Fame could give.  Once inside, you could purchase this year's World Series program if you wished - even though the Series was 3,000 miles away!  You were ushered to your seats and on the way were able to enjoy the many delicacies of the ballpark - hot dogs, sodas, popcorn, cracker jacks, peanuts, etc.  It was like being at the game but only it was inside.  In between innings, Bruce Markusen, longtime voice of Sportswatch on WIBX radio, quizzed the audience on World Series' of the past and doled out prize after prize to very grateful fans.  It was an experience I will look forward to every year from now on. 

While watching the game, I realized one thing - it was truly a California World Series.  Celebrities were out in profusion.  Superstars like Danny Devito, John Travolta, Tim Allen and former Angel starter Chuck Finley were all there to take in the game.  The only other time I have seen this many celebrities was when the series was in New York City, the original party town.  The sun was shining and people were in their glory watching these two unlikely opponents begin a World Series that no one would have believed could have happened except for the participants.

In the near future I will write about some World Series highlights resulting from this series and records from previous ones.  Also on deck is an interview with the National Baseball Hall of Fame's President Dale Petroskey, an interview with Oneonta-native and big league pitcher Tim Christman, and a look at Notre Dame's "Return to Glory."  Until then, stay warm.