Today is another one of the holy days in night game history. It's the 25th anniversary of Wrigley Field's first scheduled night game.
Unfortunately, the game was called off because of thunderstorm in the fourth inning and the first official night game at Wrigley Field didn't actually occur until the next day, Aug. 9 against the Mets. In true Cubs fashion, they even botched completing a game under the lights.
I've never been a fan of the Cubs, and I don't even understand their fans. Their allegiance to a franchise that has been inept for so long baffles me. I suppose that's more of a commentary on me than anybody who roots for the Cubs, but I just can't see following a team that's been such a drag for 100 years.
Yet, there are the Cubs fans at every game. Singing away. Drinking away. So damn happy for a team that disappoints every year.
It's weird.
Even though I wouldn't care if the Cubs were contracted tomorrow, I'm actually ticked off at the franchise for robbing fans of their cash all these years. Why does such incompetence deserve such faithfulness?
Through it all, Cubs collectors have been some of the most pleasant and generous in their trades with me. I'd be pretty cranky if my team was on a 100-plus year losing streak. But I haven't seen that at all from the Cubs collectors I know.
Just a couple of days ago, out of the blue, Tom from Let's Play 2, who I haven't heard from in probably more than a year, wanted to know if I wanted some Mike Piazza cards.
Isn't that nice?
So giving. So good-hearted. Even though their team is below .500 AGAIN.
I don't know, if my team was so bad for so long, maybe I'd be sending emails to everyone announcing I'm giving away cards, too. Then I'd cancel my cable and internet connection, burn all my baseball books, stomp on the Ken Burns "Baseball" DVDs, and live in the attic.
But I don't think Tom did that. I don't know, maybe he did. I kind of lost track after I received thirty-two different Piazza cards.
He even sent some Mets Piazzas, which will come in handy, I'm sure:
But here are the Dodgers Piazzas, which is what really counts:
Sadly, even though I am missing many cards from the 1990s, I own all of these Piazzas already.
These precious three managed to fill a hole:
I refuse to say something smart like "3-for-32, sounds like a Cubs player's batting average."
Three Piazzas that I need is fantastic, no matter what the ratio.
Also, Tom sent three very key want-list need Dodgers:
This was once one of the many gold parallel '94 Dodgers that I still needed.
This cuts down the 2010 Heritage Chrome Dodger needs down to one.
And this finally --- FINALLY --- completes the 2011 Series 1 Dodgers diamond parallel set (still 3 to go with Series 2).
So, once again, a Cubs fan delivers when his team can't.
That's not to say that the Dodgers have done so hot these last 25 years.
Also celebrating a 25th anniversary this year is the last Dodgers team to win a World Series -- or make a World Series.
Tom recognized this, too, by sending me this:
That's the pocket schedule handed out that year.
Those are the dates that added up to history. The Dodgers' sixth world championship.
Tom also sent the 1989 pocket schedule, which may seem a little strange, until you see what was featured on it:
Even a Cubs fan knows what the World Championship Trophy looks like.
So, yeah, I'm having a little fun with Tom and the Cubbies today on their 25th anniversary of a night game attempt. I really do appreciate this card package and I do appreciate my Dodgers having someone to sweep on their schedule.
I'm certainly not one of those fans who changes their allegiance just because of a few bad years. And I know how fans can get if your team wins repeatedly over the years. Remember, I live in Yankees country, and not far from Red Sox country.
But as for the Cubs, I think I might have become a White Sox fan by now.
Yeah, I know what their record is this year, too.
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Night Card Binder candidate: Wrigley Field, First Night Game, 1989 Score, #652
Does it make the binder?: Yes. It's not very nighty, but at least the lights are on.
Comments
And yes, there was some slip and sliding thst night. in fact, one of the tarp sliders was Greg Maddux.
That and the fact that Old Style wasn't that awful a beer.
Wrigley is a pit. It's falling apart, and the people that live around it are mostly jerks. They whine about wanting a good ball club, then complain when the Cubs want to generate revenue to get said ball club with advertising.
Rosemont made an offer to build an exact duplicate of Wrigley for the Cubs to move to - they really should have taken up the offer.
I have pictures of Kershaw shagging flies, Ethier and Puig in the field and other misc shots of pre- and game action.