All Good Things Come To An End

To start off, let me address the obvious. There are no pictures in this recap. Despite bringing my camera to all 17 previous games that I attended in 2013, never having any issues, it was the Dodgers in my final game to declare that I could not bring my lens in with me. I was told that despite it being available at many consumer retailers, to bring the lens with me I would need a press pass. 

I was forced to return to the car and deposit the only companion who had joined me for every single game this year. Yes, I could have put on a different lens, but I was angry and the shorter lens would have essentially done me no good, since we were--quite literally--stranded in right field. 

Since I was still battling the bit of illness that had kept me out of the finale of the San Diego series, Lauren and I decided that skipping the first game of the Dodger series might be in my best interest. I was determined to go to the second game, since the Dodgers were giving away a bobblehead of Rick Monday saving the American flag. In a Cubs jersey. If you don't know the story behind that, click here. That being my primary goal, we decided to treat ourselves to the "All You Can Eat" Pavilion in right field.

The pros of sitting in the pavilion include all the hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn and soda that you can eat and drink up through the 7th inning. The major con was that once you enter the gates to right, you are stuck there. It makes sense, not wanting people wandering in and out or taking food to people in the cheap seats, but it makes it significantly inconvenient for wandering the stadium, though being camera-free, that was less of a concern for me.

We loaded up on snacks and found our seats next to the Cubs bullpen. Actually, we found someone else's seats next to the Cubs bullpen. Our assigned seats were taken by a group who decided to lounge across the whole bench. Not feeling like making a fuss we sat a row down and right next to the fence separating us from the pen. We got to watch Travis Wood warm up and then we were forced to retreat to our seats, when the real owners showed up. Unlike the people at the Padres game we had the common courtesy to look ashamed at being caught.

With a little grumbling the people in our original seats moved over and we set ourselves to watch a game we expected the Cubs to lose. After all, Clayton "Cy Young" Kershaw was opposing the Cubs who were playing at essentially their lowest point of the year. The Cubs were able to get to Koufax, I mean Kershaw, with some unexpectedly clutch hitting and managed to hang on to a 3-2 victory, despite ex-Dodger, Kevin Gregg, causing some heart-attacks in the 9th.

The most exciting part of the game was the fact that Bob Newhart was in attendance, and rooting for the Cubs along with us. Except in a luxury box. Far away from us. He was with us in spirit! 

I guess that was the point that we were at in the season, where Bob Newhart was more exciting that what occurred on the field, but when you are basically playing to stay out of the cellar, these things happen.

Camera incident notwithstanding, I find Dodger Stadium to be the worst place that I saw a ballgame this year. The facilities are very dated and there is little to no charm to redeem that fact. It is a concrete monster stadium, built in an era of concrete monster stadia and is largely unremarkable. Add to that a largely unfriendly and clueless fan base with aggression issues and you have an unpleasant place to experience a game. I say this not only as a visiting fan, but even as a neutral observer, having come to Dodger games with random opponents. This all doesn't even address the hell that is parking and entering/exiting Chavez Ravine. I'm sure I'll be back next season when the Cubs come to town, but I probably won't try to catch any more random games. It's too much of a hassle and there is little payoff reciprocated for the effort required to visit. 

With that, my season comes to a close. 

This season was by far my most ambitious and I was very pleased with how it turned out for the most part. Obviously I'd love to have seen better results on the field with both the Cubs and the Angels, but I had fun nonetheless.

This year I attended 18 games in 5 stadia, saw the Cubs in 3 different states as well as all 5 of the previously mentioned stadia. I got one baseball and one autograph at a game. I saw Mike Trout's cycle and the most impressive comebacks that I have ever seen, one good and one awful. The teams I was rooting for went 12-6 for a winning percentage of .667 and I am 20% complete with seeing every major league ballpark.

Onward to next season and trips to Wrigley Field for the 100th anniversary, US Cellular Field and Miller Field, with a possible side trip to Fort Wayne to see the minor league Tin Caps. Overall a successful year, I'd say. I got to spend a lot of time watching the game I love with a lot of great people and that's the best part. Aside from the rare Cub win.

 

"42"

Pretty much being the worst baseball fan ever, the fiancee and I finally had an opportunity to see "42" this evening. I went in to the film with very high expectations and am pleased to say that they were all either met or exceeded.

For most baseball fans, the story is familiar. Jackie Robinson was selected by Branch Rickey of the Dodgers to become the first African-American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era. Jackie spends a year in the International League in Montreal proving himself as a big league quality ballplayer and learning to handle what society, still firmly entrenched in Jim Crow, could throw at him. 

Robinson excels and Rickey has him join the Brooklyn Dodgers the following year. Some teammates have issues with his color, as do many opponents who act in a truly evil way. Other teammates put themselves on the line to prove that Jackie was just as good as they, notably Pee Wee Reese. Robinson excels, brings the Dodgers to dynasty status as a team and eventually makes the Hall of Fame.

Where the film truly excels is getting people who couldn't care less about baseball to care about this man and his story.

Written by Brian Helgeland, writer of such films as "LA Confidential" and "Mystic River," the film treads the fine line when adapting a true story for the screen and does so with success. The characters are well-rounded and while a majority of the audience cares for Jackie before the film begins, as it progresses, finds itself caring just as much for Branch Rickey, Rachel Robinson, and Pee Wee Reese as they do for Jackie. The script manages to lighten what could be a very intense film with humor and manages to stay true to the story. 

Yes, there were some choices that seemed a little too 'Hollywood,'and that is to be expected in a major studio release, but overall the film was amazingly accurate, even down to the smallest detail of the ballparks and uniforms. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. 

"42" contained some tour de force performances that Oscar may well be looking at when awards season rolls around. Nicole Beharie turned in a powerful piece as Jackie's wife, Rachel. Often we forget that although Jackie was the face of integration, Rachel was behind the scenes, giving Jackie the support he needed to pursue his role in American history and Beharie embraced that. 

In addition, Harrison Ford embraced his inner "angry old man" as Branch Rickey and delivered a phenomenal performance. One moment vehemently protective of Jackie, the next quietly contemplative about the wheels he had set in motion. Rickey had to wear many hats in his efforts to bring Jackie to the big leagues: drill sergeant, protector and counselor, amongst others and Ford steals the show regardless of what hat he was wearing.

Of course, who could forget Chadwick Boseman as Jackie? He had heart, a sense of humor, but above it all, a sense of humanity. Jackie wasn't a perfect man, but, as the quote goes, he had "the courage to not fight back." He showed the dignity of Jackie, getting back up after being spiked by Enos Slaughter and getting his revenge by winning the ballgame. It wasn't easy, but Boseman embraced this American hero and legend of baseball and comes away as absolutely believable.

This could not have been an easy film to make; the things that Alan Tudyk as the racist Phillies manager, Ben Chapman had to say would have been enough to make anyone feel awkward for hours and days on end. In fact, my fiancee wondered what it felt like to collect a paycheck for essentially shouting some of the most awful racial epithets. 

I wonder how the villains in this tale felt. The most prominent are dead now, many for years, and in essence, can't defend their actions. Not that there is much to defend, I suppose. History is a cruel mistress and when dealing with a true story, the villains tend to be self-made. Perhaps, later in life they realized their evil ways and renounced them and I would like to believe that. But honestly, we just don't know, and now, be it good or bad, the images we left of them are those created in "42."

"42" was powerful. It reminds us of how fortunate we are that we happen to be on the right side of history, at least for this particular cause, and how one man can bring a change. There's a reason that Martin Luther King worked together with Jackie to bring about civil rights and helped enact a huge shift in society. The film offers us a heartfelt glimpse into what it took for one rock to cause and avalanche. It was obviously a labor of love for everyone involved, from actors to set designers to costume researchers and their efforts did not go unnoticed. "42" gets my highest approval and I cannot wait to add it to my personal film collection, to remind us of what one man can do.