Usually it seems like it takes forever for the start of the baseball season to get here. While there was some sense of a wait this year, it all became a blur over the past few days. A blur of the past, present and future.
Today marked the opening match for the Eureka Base Ball Club of Newark which played the Flemington Neshanock at the Somerset Patriots home field in Bridgewater (pictured here). It was the first time that I was actually on the field at one of these minor league type stadiums, it was nice, but it didn't feel as intimidating as I thought it would.
It was an interesting match, played by 1864 rules where the major difference is that any batted ball caught on a bounce is an out. It changes the game dramatically as what would be line drive singles today are just ordinary outs. Most 19th century games and their 21st century counterparts are high scoring affairs, but today was exactly the opposite. I am not sure if pitchers were ahead of the hitters early in those seasons, but the cold wind today reminded why opening days in those days was usually in June. Of course, as somebody reminded me, on the other end, they played through Thanksgiving.
Today the Neshanock got off to a 2-0 start in the first, a lead they extended to 5-0 after six. The sixth was the only really bad defensive inning for the Eureka which is a hopeful sign. Last year too many times one or two bad plays let innings and games escalate out of control. The Eureka rallied in the 7th for three runs and then tied it with one out in the ninth. Having the last at bat is always crucial in baseball and it was today as the Neshanock scored quickly to with the match. The game didn't end though as in the 19th century, the bottom of the ninth was played regardless of who was ahead. There was no more scoring, however, so the Eureka dropped their first match of the year 6-5.
It was however, a close match, the Eureka seem to have improved and hopefully it will be a good year. While I could have done without the wind, it was great to be out on a base ball field again and great to see some of the guys who I got to know last year. I am really glad that I decided to get involved in this - I wish it had been around about ten years ago when Paul and I might have been able to play together, but you can't have everything.
The other reason that baseball sort of came on the scene like blur is the opening of the new stadiums for the Yankees and the Mets at the same time that I have been working on the proposal for the Ebbets Field historic ballparks book. I am especially interested in the Mets new stadium with its Ebbets Field like features especially the rotunda - Carol and I have tickets to a game on May 13th and I am really looking forward to it.
As part of my preparation for the proposal, I have been reading the first book in the series which is about Forbes Field. Apparently the relatively new PNC ballpark in Pittsburgh has some nostalgic features based upon Forbes Field. At some point in the book, one of the writers mentions how those kind of features are sort of a nostalgic look back at what is felt to be a simpler time. However, as he points out, when Forbes Field opened in 1909 that was not how people then looked at it - they thought of it as a modern ballpark with many features that incorporated the latest technology. An interesting thought when preparing (hopefully) to write about Ebbets Field - trying to look at it going into the future rather than looking back at it from today.
Clearly I am ready for the 2009 season!
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