Notes #475 Just an Idea

                             NOTES FROM THE SHADOWS OF COOPERSTOWN
                                           Observations from Outside the Lines
                                     By Two Finger Carney (carneya6@adelphia.net)
 

#475                                                                                                              FEBRUARY 2, 2009
                                                 JUST AN IDEA
 

            Although Notes has always been a first-person thing, if you look back at the 474 issues before this one, I think you have to conclude that I really don’t talk much here about myself. This time, I will, at least a little bit.
 

            I get ideas.
 

            I know I’m certainly not the only one, but sometimes it has felt that way, at my various past workplaces. I’ve also noticed that ideas, while often solicited by bosses, are not always welcome. If they were, Suggestion Boxes would be omnipresent, and not just at work, but in stores and everywhere we go. Often when a boss says, “Any questions?” they are signaling for closure, not fishing for improvements.
 

            Ideas, of course, can be harmless, can fade away like detached leaves from our brain’s tree. They can also be dangerous, which is why, I think, bosses who see raised hands in a meeting sometimes react, “Uh, oh.” I side with those who say that we all generate lots of great ideas, but most blow away with the wind, forgotten soon after their birth. Many people avoid that by writing them down — they keep paper and pencil bedside, in their cars, and carry it with them wherever they go. This is a minor inconvenience, if you realize the harvest.
 

            This issue is about ideas.
 

            I’ll begin with one I hatched back in September 1993, and it first appeared in Notes #33 (it’s been reprinted at least once since then). Back then, Griffiss Air Force Base, not far out of the shadows of Cooperstown, faced closing, and the local economy needed to replace thousands of lost jobs. Here’s my idea.
 

 

BALLPARK USA : SOME IDEAS  
 

            Ballpark USA has its own airport and its own zip code, both formerly the property of the Griffiss Air Force Base, Rome, NY. So fans fly in from NY City (on the Yankee Clipper line), Buffalo (on The Roy Hobbes Natural Line ), Toronto ( Blue Jay Special ), Chicago (the Let’s Play Two Special ) and Atlanta ( Bull Durham Express. )
 

            Once situated, visitors can hop on high-speed trains to see professional baseball games in Syracuse ( Triple-A Line ), Utica ( Good Enough to Dream Express ), or Oneonta ( Damaschke Field of Dreams ), all less than an hour away; or they can board the Abner Doubleday monorail to Cooperstown, and its Museum & Hall of Fame. The train north, To the Showers , delivers them to Old Forge and Enchanted Forest, one of the country’s largest water parks.
 

            But they need not leave Ballpark USA at all to have fun. There are live demonstrations of Town Ball at regular intervals, daily, and chances for limited participation. On another diamond, women play in A League of Their Own , in the uniforms of the Rockford Peaches and Ft Wayne Daisies.
 

            Scattered about are the booths found today inside many major league stadiums, including batting ranges, and chances to test pitching speed against radar guns. While strolling the green acres (all natural turf), visitors are likely to see many of the game’s most memorable and colorful characters, in full uniform, and played to the hilt by actors who have done their homework (try to stump them!)  They won’t sign autographs, but they will pose with kids of all ages!  Somehow, the Babe still gets the biggest crowds, but the best stories are Satchel’s!
 

            The indoor exhibits rival Disneyworld. Similar to Disney’s “Hall of Presidents” is the “Hall of Fame”, where about forty “players” spin yarns, accompanied by a multi-media show. “The Old Ball Game” gives visitors a feel for the evolution of the game, as they are pulled along in six-person “dugouts” from the Elysian Fields to Ebbets Field, with plenty of “stops” in between for the game’s most famous and magical moments.
 

            In the “World Series” building (draped in red, white and blue bunting), fans are entertained with film highlights of October’s Game. A new Series is shown every half-hour, with the schedule for the week posted clearly throughout the park. Another building honors the Negro Leagues with art and artifacts, and visiting veterans are permitted endless Q & A sessions when they appear.
 

            But that’s just the beginning. The park teems with craftsman of all kinds, selling their wares, and these booths and roving salesmen would seem to be equally at home at a Renaissance Fair. (In inclement weather, they move indoors.)  Food vendors and booths also dot the park, with small take-me-out pizzas topped to look like baseballs being the most popular item. We recommend “The Bambino” (pepperoni), “Hot Corner” (sausage) or “Grand Slam” (all six toppings.) And in August, the Corn-on-the-Cobb.
 

            Three of the most fascinating exhibits are in the long “Wood, Horsehide and Leather” hangar. First, fans can watch bats being made, with each step explained by workers from the Adirondack Bat Company in nearby Dolgeville. The process of making baseballs is more abbreviated, but workers sewing on the cowhide covers are knowledgeable and field all questions gladly. Finally, workers are seen cutting out and sewing together sections for modern gloves, which are quite a contrast with the lineup of old leather on hand.
 

            Several shops like “The Locker Room” sell nothing but baseball clothing, with caps and T-shirts the runaway favorites. There is a video arcade for the Nintendo generation, filled with baseball games of all kinds. “The Hot Stove” is a book store, with every known baseball title available (or they’ll order it for you), with a special section devoted to Rotisserie fans.
 

            You Could Look It Up is the appropriate name for a large central building housing 36 computer terminals. Fans line up for 5-10 minutes “at bat” (depending on the number waiting) with these user-friendly stations, which are tied into an encyclopedic data base which is the responsibility of SABR, the Society for American Baseball Research. SABR volunteers also are on hand to assist, and to recruit new members. SABR provides an ever-changing variety of displays in and about Look It Up and Ballpark USA , in return for the chance to house its national offices at this facility.
 

            Of course, there are the rides: “The Knuckleball” may sound gentle, but this roller-coaster is not for the timid. “The Windup” spins its riders in every imaginable direction before delivering them safely back to earth. “The Big Train” would make Walter Johnson proud as it rips along its tracks.
 

            We recommend a visit to the Sal Maglie Barber Shop , if not for a haircut or shave (in one of six old-fashioned barber chairs), then for the baseball talk exchanged all day among the barbers and customers. This has the flavor of New Orleans’ Preservation Hall Jazz Band , with the topic being baseball. In winter, the hot stove roars on, and visitors may be reluctant to let the next group in!
 

            There are as many or more rides for toddlers. “The Blooper” is a small dips, while “Casey” gives an old-fashioned locomotive ride looping the park.
 

            Speaking of Casey, there are several live performances daily of the classic Thayer poem at one of nine entertainment stages. “Who’s On First?” plays at another, with dramatic or comic presentations, by groups or individuals, constantly rotating at the rest. A few of the scripts are from famous movies or plays, others are original. Audience participation is half the fun at some.
 

            On most days, former players or managers or umpires also are on hand — for panel discussions (with lots of time for questions by fans), and then in special areas where fans can file by and chat. Autograph seekers are told to keep their pens retracted — these men are guests, like the other visitors to Ballpark USA .
 

            Is it all a little hokey?  You bet. Is it fun?  You bet!  One of the most pleasant surprises is that while visitors flood daily to Ballpark USA from every state, Canada and Mexico, they find they speak the same language here: baseball!   The many fine restaurants, in and outside the park, all have sections where families from California can mix with those from Maine and Vermont, over family-style meals. Many of the rides and exhibits are also designed to let fans interact with each other. A daily Trivia Challenge climaxes with the day’s top groups facing off that evening.
 

            Fans can leave something behind, too: they can register themselves (or friends or relatives) in the Fans Hall of Fame , which is essentially a large computer with a data base of names that grows daily. There is a small fee for entering the FHOF , and membership cards, caps, T-shirts, etc., are all options. Fans who wish can fill out a longer form, nominating someone for “Fan of the Month” (there are frequently five or six-way ties, we are told). At any time, fans may request print-outs of the page listing their name, or other fans from their city/state, or other fans with their affiliation (eg, Pirates/Indians.)
 

            Ballpark USA attracts fans year-round, even when the upstate NY snows are piled high. Many of the best exhibits and rides are indoors, while others (like the Town Ball demos) move inside. If conditions are right, visitors can ride on horse-drawn sleighs, toboggan or ice skate or ski (free lessons for beginners), or try the snowmobile trails. When the train line to Old Forge is open, serious winter sportsters may prefer the challenges farther north.
 

                                                                        * * * * *
 

            OK, I’m back in 2009. Since writing about Ballpark USA , the Utica Blue Sox left town, but I’m pleased to report that the Air Force Base formerly known as Griffiss has not turned to desert. A number of small businesses have sprung up there, and while the local economy seems to be mostly terrible — more underemployment than unemployment, perhaps — the city of Rome has survived.
 

            I think most of my ideas are not baseball-related, and that is worth mentioning because only the ones that are , show up here in Notes. A couple more examples. This is from Notes #2 , March 1993:
 

MILLION DOLLAR IDEA
 

            Does everyone have a file full of these things?  My guess is that we all do — every few years, we get a great idea, then let it go — for lack of time or resources or fading interest.
 
            With this feature I will now document mine. My idea: baseball greeting cards . (EG, a Get Well Card: “Heard you’re on the D.L. — Hurry back, the team needs you.”)
 

            Without even trying, I came up with a dozen or so (in various categories: graduation, sympathy, mother’s day).  Anyone interested in teaming up on the project, or adding to the roster (or scouting the card companies) — let me know!
 

            I mentioned this at work today, and the first person to hear of it (a rabid football fan) told me that in his desk was a sympathy card someone sent him after his L.A. Rams lost a toughie three years ago. He’s always thought a line of football sympathy cards would sell (send to friends of rival teams, when your team comes out on top: “Sorry to hear of your loss,” etc.)
 

            Well, that’s a different twist. I was thinking of cards with messages in baseballese. (The cover of Fan #11has 8 different Valentine lines!)  How many of you knew that the musical play Nunsense is based on the “phenomenally successful line of Nunsense greeting cards”?  I’ve never seen them either, but that’s true.
 

                                                                        * * * * *
 

            A couple weeks later, following up in Notes #8 , I wrote this:
How about a 900 number for Talkin’ Baseball ?  24-hours a day, folks can dial a number and find someone, live, on the other end who will talk baseball. Maybe specialists would be required: one for each franchise. Or perhaps we could get away with four experts, one for each division?  This sounds like one of those jobs that looks like heaven, but could turn out to be hell. “Look, I told five people today already what I think of the DH, and I never saw DiMaggio play. Can we talk politics?”
 

            That was 1993, before the internet. Do they still have 900 numbers?
 

            Sometime in the early days of Notes , I made suggestions for artifacts that I’d like to see in the Hall of Fame’s museum — such as the pebble that confounded Giants 3B Freddy Lindstrom in the 1924 World Series (who could say it wasn’t the same one?).
 

            But again, my ideas are not always bright, and not always confined to baseball. Back in 1983, I was given the opportunity to write a new job description, and I listed as one of my seven main duties, “Idea Factory,” punctuated with a New Yorker cartoon which consisted of a man sitting at his desk, and his boss showing him off, “Wilson is our idea factory.”  Another time, asked to estimate what percentage of time I spent on my duties, I guessed at 3% on “creative brooding” (an old book title). I’ve always advocated for suggestion boxes, and for rewarding those who generate ideas to help their organizations grow.
 

            I was influenced early on by In Search of Excellence and by lots of management training, and time management — the latter a nice perk of working at a conference center a couple years.
 

            Last issue, I noted that I was spending more time at the Hall in Cooperstown these days — always weather permitting — not on the staff, but close. And after just several days, I’ve come up with a couple ideas for the Hall. Here they are, and I’ll put them in the form of a joint Press Release, issued by the Hall of Fame in cooperation with Major League Baseball — whose millions of dollars could make this work.
 

HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES REUNION SCHEDULE
 

            Cooperstown may no longer be busy just a few weekends a year, when new players are indicted into its Baseball Hall of Fame. Or just during the summer, when school is out and vacation travel is in.
 

            Starting next month, the Hall will launch an ambitious new program to draw not only baseball fans, but former major league players as well. About every third week, a different franchise will be invited to stage reunions in Cooperstown, events which will include treats for former players (and active ones, if they can make it), as well as fans of each designated team.
 

            For example, during New York Yankee Week , all living former (and current) Yankees will be invited to visit Cooperstown. Players will be asked to participate on panels, scattered at various times throughout each week, at the Hall, or if space is an issue, at the local high school auditorium. For the original franchises with long histories, like the Yankees, the panels will feature different eras or decades. All are open to fans who are visiting the Hall that day, and fans will be encouraged to ask questions and share their memories.
 

            For players, there will be more. They will be permitted to review their files in the Hall’s library, but they will also be asked to complete questionnaires, which will be added to the files, along with clippings and other information. Lunches and dinners for players will also be served, out of the public eye, giving players the chance to catch up on old friendships.
 

            The Hall itself will be an “Autograph-Free Zone” — but players who choose to sign, charging if they want, will be accommodated at a host of sites down Main Street.
 

            These “theme weeks” will also feature events for fans, such as films (featuring their teams whenever possible), meals where they can mix with other fans (cookouts in the summer), tours of other attractions in and around Cooperstown (including the Farmer’s Museum, the Fennimore Cooper House, Glimmerglass Opera, and ball games in Oneonta, Syracuse, Binghamton, and other cities an air-conditioned bus away, in season).
 

            Every team will be included , so fans from Montreal or Brooklyn will not be left out. The reunions will be spread out along a three-year cycle — so Yankee fans will gather again in three years.  Depending on the success of these events, minor league reunion weeks may fill in any holes in the schedule.
 

            The village of Cooperstown has already announced that seven different hotel/motel chains are interesting in building near the village. Thousands of new jobs will be created, and the cities surrounding Cooperstown are all expected to benefit from this injection of tourism into the central NY economy.
 

                                                                        * * * * *
 

            Just to be clear, the above is just an idea . In the past, when I’ve re-run Ballpark USA , I’ve gotten questions from readers about how to get more information — they are anxious to visit!
 

            I will toss out one more idea here, then move on. When I was between jobs, back in 1986, I came up with an idea for an Idea Bank . Having just spent a decade with the Red Cross Blood Donor Program, I knew all about “blood banks.”  And I knew how the donor system worked — volunteers regularly gave pints of blood (“recycling life”) to the Red Cross, who processed and tested it and passed it on to area hospitals. Why not ask people to donate ideas?  They could be collected as easily as donor suggestions in the boxes provided at blood drives — which, importantly, were conducted at every high school, college, large employer, and community — in other words, almost everywhere.
 

            The ideas would be collected and processed — toss out the pranks and cranks — and made available to entrepreneurs. Many folks have capital, but no good ideas on how to use it. So the Idea Bank put these investors in touch with the million dollar ideas that are generated — daily, I think — by ordinary folks who will never have a million to start something up.
 

            I actually sent this idea to my local Congressman, and heard back from an aide — I forget the exact response, but I think it was just too simple for them, and they were not that creative. I realize that ideas are a lot harder to administer than pints of blood, and there are lots of legal problems, but — where there’s a will, there’s a way . I think it could work.
 

            Same with Ballpark USA , and turning Cooperstown’s Hall into a reunion magnet. Why not?
 

 

DAYS OF OUR LIVES
 

            On January 28, my desk calendar informed me that 267 ballplayers and journalists were polled in 1957 by The Sporting News , and asked to select their “Player of the Decade.”  Ted Williams finished second, and Joe DiMaggio (who retired in 1951) third. On top — Mickey Mantle?  Willie Mays?  Nope, it was Stan Musial . The calendar notes that TSN was based in St Louis, but I’m not sure that was the deciding factor. Stan batted .376 in 1948, and at the end of the decade, in 1957, .351, winning five batting titles in between.
 

            January 29, Jimmy Piersall’s “Weird Gallop” was recalled. That was in 1963 — after hitting his 100th HR, Piersall ran around the bases backward . His Mets skipper Casey Stengel was not amused — at least publicly — but if you’ve read much about the ‘Ol Perfessor, you have to believe he chuckled at the sight, and muttered “Why didn’t I ever think of doing that?”  Instead, according to my calendar, Casey said “There’s room for only one clown on this team.”  Hey, this was the 1963 Mets , and there was no shortage of comic relief, as I recall.
 

SPEAKING OF POLLS  
 

            On January 5, 1943, the Christian Science Monitor compared a poll of the sports writer friends of Al Schacht (speaking of baseball clowns), with the opinion of Ty Cobb — the subject was the all-time best players at each position. Cobb gave his choices around 1940, the writers did their to determine whose likenesses would be framed for Schacht’s restaurant.
 

            The writers picked Walter Johnson as the all-time top hurler, while Cobb opted for a rotation of Johnson, Ed Walsh, Grover Alexander, Christy Mathewson, Bob Feller (!) and Eddie Plank.
 

            The writers agreed with Cobb on five players: Gehrig at first, Eddie Collins at 2B, Honus Wagner at SS, and Tris Speaker and Babe Ruth in the OF. While the writers took Pie Traynor at the hot corner, Cobb chose Buck Weaver . The writers liked Bill Dickey behind the plate; Cobb liked Mickey Cochrane. The writers put Ty Cobb himself in LF, but Tyrus humbly gave the nod to Shoeless Joe Jackson . The Monitor adds that the writers almost picked Rogers Hornsby over Collins at 2B, but were swayed by Cobb, who saw them both. I like Cobb’s comment about a manager: “ Anybody could manage [this team] , but it would be nice to put Mr Mack in there.”
 

            The presence of two “Black Sox” players on Cobb’s list, just two decades after the scandal, might be surprising to some. But remember, Cobb himself had a brush with scandal. And perhaps naming Jackson and Weaver was his way of tweaking Judge Landis some. And Cobb was long retired, with nothing to lose — while the writers might have taken some heat if they picked Jackson or Weaver.
 

            I’ve said this before — my impression is that Buck Weaver did not play long enough to rate the Hall of Fame, and really put in just four seasons at third base. He was improving and heading in the direction of greatness, and I think Cobb saw that — as did John McGraw and others. Buck finally hit .300 (even) in 1918, his 7th season, and one shortened and skewed by WW I. But he followed with .296 in 1919 (.324 in the Series), and then hit .333 in 1920.
 

            In the Hall of Fame library is a questionnaire, completed by one of Buck’s nieces. Asked for his last year in ML baseball, she replied “1919” — which would be the reply of most fans, I think, if their knowledge of Buck comes from the movie Eight Men Out . But no, he had a terrific 1920, until September 28, when the cover-up of the Big Fix ended at last.
 

            We might wonder if that .333 in 1920 meant that Buck played with a clear conscience, because he did not take a penny in bribe money, and played his best in October 1919. Maybe, but Joe Jackson batted .382 (20 triples) in 1920, and he did keep the $5,000 that his pal Lefty Williams gave him; if Shoeless’ conscience was also clear, it might have been because he had showed that loot to his team and they told him to keep it, and he offered to tell them what little he knew, and they snubbed him.
 

            Weaver and Jackson may never rate Cooperstown bronze. But they were on Ty Cobb’s all-timer list, an honor shared by just eight players and six pitchers.
 

            My hunch is that if Cobb was alive today, he might add Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens to that list. Wanna challenge Ty Cobb?
 

SPEAKING OF B-SOX  
 

            I have said and written many times now, that when Eddie Cicotte’s 1920 grand jury statement was read into the record of the 1921 B-Sox trial, few papers bothered to mention that Cicotte had told the grand jury that he pitched to win , after hitting the leadoff batter on purpose. This made headlines in the Boston Globe , but went largely unreported; where it was reported, I suspect that it went mostly unbelieved, because by 1921, America was convinced that Cicotte dumped Game One (9-1) and threw away Game Four (2-0) with his own two fielding errors.
 

            Anyway, I recently found that the Hartford (CT) Courant also reported Eddie’s 1920 admissions accurately.
 

“I pitched my best afterwards” [after hitting leadoff batter Rath], said Cicotte, “I didn’t care what happened. They could have had my heart and soul if I could have gotten out of that deal — I guess that was the trouble; I tried too hard and played poorly as a result.”  Speaking of another game Cicotte said that while playing he “wished someone would come out and shoot him.”
 

            But of course, there was no reason for any fixers to do that, not with the Sox on the run in the opening 9-1 rout, or in the Game Four loss.
 

            My hope is that some day we will have pieced together not just the 1920 grand jury statements of Cicotte, Jackson and Williams, but also as much from the 1921 trial as possible. It will take a village — no, I mean a committee, or maybe a subcommittee (of SABR’s new B-Sox Research Committee) to pull this off. There is still much digging to be done.
 

 

A TRIBUTE TO A FOUNDING FATHER  
 

            Last Fall, one of the founders of SABR passed away. This tribute to John Pardon was penned by another founder, Cliff Kachline, longtime Cooperstown resident, who still contributes (by e-mail) to our regional meetings.
 

            It takes a special person to be respected and admired by everyone who meets him. John Pardon was such an individual as those of you who spent any time in his presence are aware. Friendly, intelligent, dedicated, compassionate and witty are only a few of the words that best described John. In addition, he was far more philosophical than any of us realized.
 

            Despite health issues, John made it to Cleveland last summer for SABR’s 38th annual convention. It was the 35th consecutive SABR convention he attended. Nine or ten weeks later, doctors discovered that his cancer had spread to his liver and prostrate, and he was informed he had only a short time remaining. News of that type would leave most individuals deeply depressed. But such was not the case with John. Within days he contacted other living SABR founders and some additional close friends and informed them in the most upbeat, positive manner imaginable about the situation. He told them he had already arranged for Hospice care and for his funeral‑‑and that he would be writing his own obituary. It was obvious his strong Christian faith was sustaining him.
 

            At John’s request, Hospice assigned one person to assist him in writing his life history. The 25‑page booklet was equally upbeat‑and impressively philosophical. For instance, in the very first paragraph he wrote: “I have been the recipient of great kindness from so many and I often ask myself: ‘What have I done to deserve such good luck?'”……And later he said: “Through SABR, I have come into contact with many interesting, exciting and generous people who have enriched my life in countless ways.” The booklet included several photographs of John, reproductions of four columns he wrote during his 1966‑71 stint as a sportswriter in Asheville, NC, and information about his parents, his youth (he was an only child), his college days and his career. He mentions how in 1968 he met Sparky Anderson, then manager of the Asheville team, and that they became lifelong friends. “We still exchange Christmas cards,” John wrote, adding: “When people like this perform such acts of simple kindness I am enormously moved. How lucky can a little guy like me be?”
 

            After four years in Asheville he quit his sportswriter
job, returned to his roots in Croton, NY, and took a position in the Veterans Hospital. John concluded his life history with the following: “I have made all the arrangements for my funeral and church services…I have even written my own eulogy. I surprised myself because, after having experienced some ‘writer’s block’ in the past, I found the words for my eulogy just flowed….. I am happy with what I have done and would advise everyone to do the same for who, after all, could do it better? In the end it is I who have the final word.”
 

            By way of emphasizing that point and to demonstrate his sense of devotion, John was buried wearing his SABR lapel pin. Yes, John Pardon was a very special person. After undergoing surgery for colon cancer several years ago, he came up with a play on words by referring to himself as the “semi‑colon”. In truth he was more like an exclamation point.
 

 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO DOUBT ABOUT IT  
 

            In case anyone is wondering — yes, I enjoyed the Superbowl very much, thank you.  When it ended, the words of the oldtime Voice of the Pirates, Bob Prince, came to my mind. It was the way he ended every Pirate win, whether it was a 10-0 blowout, or a close, one-run game — say, 10-9. “We had ’em allllllllllll the way!”  Move over Maz, make room for Santonio.