Fundamentals of Interactive Journalism

The Rays are in the playoffs. The Yankees are not.

The Phillies are in the Playoffs. The Mets are not.

The Rays are in the World Series. The Red Sox are not.

The Phillies are in the World Series. The Cubs and Dodgers are not.

Philadelphia and Tampa Bay. Not New York, Boston, Chicago or Los Angeles.

Tampa Bay and Philadelphia are two cities not know for their winning sports team. Of the four major sports, the two cities teams combine for two titles in the past 25 years. Both by Tampa. In 2002, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Superbowl and the Tampa Bay Lightning hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2004.

While Tampa has had success in this decade, Philadelphians are championship starved. Philly hasn’t had a champion in it’s city since 1985 when Rocky Balboa defeated Ivan Drago in Rocky IV and no real life champ since 1983 when Dr. J and the 76ers won the NBA title. The Flyers haven’t won the Stanley Cup in over 30 when they defeated the Buffalo Sabers back in 1975 and the last time the Phillies won the World Series, 1980 when they beat the Kansas City Royals.

Even though Tampa has had recent memories of championships, the town is more synonymous with losing rather than with winning. For years the Bucs were looked upon as the doormats of the NFL. The Lightning were nothing more than another 90’s expansion team until their surprise to the cup run in ‘04. And now the team formally referred to as the Devil Rays has joined the lineage of underdog Tampa teams rebuking their inept past and quickly turning their fortunes around.

The Rays, a team who had never won more than 70 games in their 11 year history now finds themselves in the World Series. The Rays, a team who have more than twice the amount of victories, 97, than they do millions spent on salary, 43, in an age when the highest paid team, the New York Yankees had less than half as many wins, 89, than they did in millions spent on salary, 207.

Despite the lack of championships in Philadelphia, for years fans have still packed stadiums, filled arenas and cheered for-or booed at-their teams. Famous or notorious for their passion and fervor, Philly fans have always turned out in droves.

Tampa fans are less enthusiastic. 

A full crowd at a Rays or Lightning game is a rarity. Tropicana field, home to the Rays, in 2008, a season where they finished in first place for the first time in team history, averaged only 22,000 in attendance-less than half of the 45,000 capacity.

No matter what happens over the next two weeks, one of these cities will be celebrating a championship. It will be either a town just getting use to idea of being a winner or a city whose realization of a championship dream is long over due.

Now that the gates have officially closed at Yankee Stadium, fans may be craving a little nostalgia from the good old days of baseball.  Julia Ruth Stevens, who threw the last “first” pitch at Yankee Stadium Sunday night in the house her father built, might just have the remedy.

Although she admits to being a Red Sox fan, Ruth Stevens published a book in 2008 filled with photographs and memories of the Babe, especially his time spent in pinstripes. The book titled Babe Ruth:  Remembering the Bambino in Stories, Photos & Memorabilia is a pricey $35.00, but captures why this one man from Baltimore became a worldwide legend.  Sure she mentions all of the records he set, broke and how he is still considered the greatest player ever to swing a bat, but she also writes about his humble beginnings and how he was simply a great dad.  

One chapter in the book, Ruth Stevens describes her father’s special breakfast we would fix, just for her.  She describes how the Babe would wake her up early in the morning before he would go hunting or fishing. He would butter bread and fry an egg in a whole, cut in the middle of the bread, and top it off with a slice bologna.           

Ruth Stevens really balances the legend of her father and showing how he was just an ordinary man who had a great passion.  Considering the state of baseball today, with the million dollar salaries, steroid use or human growth hormone, expensive ticket prices, and “misremembering” clubhouse conversations, it is refreshing to look back on why baseball is an American pastime. 

Although I am not a Yankee’s fan, I can remember the first time I went to a game at the Stadium.  My older brother and I had tickets in the bleachers.  We sat in the furthest row from home plate, and in the furthest section of right field.  We had the worst possible seats in Ruth’s house.  There was not one person behind us and we both just laughed about it and looked around and saw the perfect view of all the devoted fans in the entire stadium.  My brother gave me nudge and told me to shut up, so he could have a “moment” at Yankee Stadium.    

Ten more and an era ends.

Tonight was supposed to be the beginning of the end. The final ten games in at Yankee Stadium had been scheduled to begin at 7:05. But rain pushed back the start of the very last home stand. The Yankee’s season is done. According to everyone and everything except the math. All that’s left is to finish out the season and reserve tee times for October.

The close of the season ends the legacy of the greatest sports cathedral ever built by man (and that’s not an opinion). The building that would have you believe was put together solely by the hands of a man named Babe and held together for 85 years by those followed – Gehrig and DiMaggio, Mantle and Maris, Munson and Mattingly, Jeter, Rodriguez and Rivera – will be gone next spring.  

If there are any ghosts left, who have not yet cleaned out their lockers and moved in across the street, they will all have to put in extra BP over the next 10 days. Not because the Yanks are fighting for a division crown or even the wildcard. After all, they’re not. But because the nine men who will dress in pinstripes and stand on the the greenest diamond in the Bronx over the next week-plus owe their very best to the hundreds to those who stood on that field before them and to the millions who have sat in the bleachers and nose-bleeds and cheered their hardest for them.

Rain has delayed the end. Hopefully the extra night will give those about to play the chance to think about it. Over 6600 games have been played at Yankee Stadium. There are only ten more chances for anyone to ever play a baseball game there. Ten more chances to make a memory. Ten more chances to become a legend.

Ten more.