Today is Monday, April 23, 2007.
Our TV production team is enjoying an off-day as we prepare for a 3-game home series with the Cincinnati Reds. I did not blog after our Thursday telecast from San Francisco because I planned on blogging after our Friday day-game telecast from Wrigley field in Chicago.
After the disappointing experience of Friday's telecast, I decided to wait until after the game on Sunday. Friday's telecast certainly had to be an aberration - televising from Wrigley Field is one of the most rewarding experiences of our profession. Well, even though the games were totally different, the telecasts were similar. Sunday's telecast was as disappointing as Friday's telecast. Because of this, I waited until today to blog.
I was looking forward to the four telecasts on the road trip. I was excited about the first two shows from San Francisco because of the great crew and the final two telecasts were from Wrigley Field – my favorite venue in the National League.
The Thursday telecast from San Francisco was another example of great teamwork from the telecast crew. As previously stated, the crew in San Francisco is very talented and a pleasure to work with. One gets the feeling that this crew loves working in live television baseball and this passion truly comes across with the product they deliver.
My anticipation of working with the crew in San Francisco was rewarded as the two telecasts, even though they were dual feed shows, were a pleasure to be a part of.
I have always loved everything about Wrigley Field. There is such a great atmosphere because of the Cubs/Cardinals rivalry. The ballpark is always full of raucous fans and the games are usually hard fought affairs. The most exciting aspect of a Cubs/Cardinals game in Chicago is the fact that the players, the fans, and the TV crew never know what type of game will occur at Wrigley Field.
The two games that we televised were perfect examples of this.
The first game on Friday afternoon was a nail-biting, well-pitched, 2-1 contest. Four plays occurred in this game that showed how weird games at Wrigley field can be.
Each of these plays centered on a Cubs player and each play was important to the outcome of the game.
In the bottom of the first inning, a Cubs player was on second base with no outs. A ground ball was hit to the Cardinals’ first baseman and the runner, for whatever reason, did not advance to third base. Later in the inning, this same base runner, now at third base with one out, tried to score on a ground ball to the first baseman who was playing in. He was thrown out and he did not even slide into home plate.
A couple of innings later, the Cubs had a runner on first with no outs. There was a ground ball hit to the shortstop, he flipped the ball to the second baseman for what looked like a sure double play. The second baseman’s throw to first base was up the line and the first baseman missed the base runner with a sweep tag. The runner, trying to avoid the tag, missed the first base bag, turned the wrong way (towards second base) and was tagged out by the first baseman for a double play.
These were certainly strange base running plays for any baseball park. But at Wrigley Field, two of the weirdest plays one could ever see were about to occur.
Later in the game, the Cubs were threatening with runners on first base and second base and nobody out. The Cubs were leading 1-0 and were threatening to blow the game wide open. The batter, attempting to sacrifice bunt, bunted the ball straight up in the air about seven feet high. The Cardinals’ catcher, attempting to catch the ball in the air, wrapped his arms completely around the batter’s neck. The ball fell to the ground, the catcher picked up the ball, tagged the batter, threw to the second baseman who stepped on the bag, threw to the third baseman who tagged the runner coming from second base. The umpires were signaling with the “out” calls at each respective base, and it seemed like there was a triple play. The Cardinals were running off the field and the manager of the Cubs was running on the field to argue the call. The umpires conferred and determined that the player who bunted the ball was out by interfering with the catcher and the runners returned to first and second base. The next two batters made outs and the Cubs did not score.
(In the top of the seventh inning, a Cardinals player hit a two-run home run and the Redbirds led 2-1.)
Wrigley Field was not done with this “theater of the strange.”
The bottom of the ninth inning was the Cubs last chance to tie the score or win the game. There was a runner on first base with one out. This base runner is one of the fastest players in the major leagues. There was a 3-2 count on the batter. With the pitch, the base runner took off towards second base. The pitch was a ball and the batter was rewarded with a “walk”.
Two things now occurred that prove that the adage “only at Wrigley” is true. The catcher, not knowing if the pitch was a ball or a strike, threw to second base. The base runner, not knowing that it was ball four thus giving him second base, slid into the base, touched the base, and slid off the bag only to be tagged out by the shortstop. The opposing manager argued to no avail and the Cardinals won the game.
Sunday’s game at Wrigley was a typical Wrigley game with the wind blowing out. The game ended with the Cardinals winning 12-9 in ten innings. There were six home runs and a wind blown pop fly that resulted in Chicago tying the game in the bottom of the ninth. The Cardinals won the game on a three run “bomb” in the top of the tenth.
These were two very different games and two very exciting games. These games were two contests that are typical baseball at Wrigley Field – where one never knows what type of game will be played.
The “aura” of Wrigley Field was never more apparent.
Why, then, was the local Chicago TV crew so apathetic?
This crew covers the greatest sport in the world in the sport’s greatest venue.
Major League Baseball at Wrigley Field!
Too bad we didn’t have the San Francisco crew with us.