Tuesday, August 31, 1999How to give Cincinnati's ballpark a taste of Cincinnati
BY JOHN ERARDI and JOHN BYCZKOWSKI
The Cincinnati EnquirerThe Reds and their architects are still tinkering with seating and stuff, and admit they haven't decided quite how to build into the ballpark the rich history of the franchise. Good. We're not too late.
Here are our suggestions:
• The terrace: OK, we realize Major League Baseball and the players association would probably shoot down the idea of a grassy upslope of ground (that is, a terrace) to serve as the warning track in front of the outfield wall, the way it did in Crosley Field.
Why? Players' multimillion-dollar ankles and knees are too valuable to risk. But you owe it to the fans to at least ask. Then, when it gets shot down, we at least have closure, and you can go ahead and name some gathering spot above the left-field wall, “The Terrace,” to remind us of our beloved old ballyard.
• Laundry, suits and a tin man: And while you're at it, we want replicas of the distinctive left-field sign (Superior Towel & Linen Service) and the Young & Bertke mechanical walking man in right field. And, oh yeah, we want a clothing-store sign above the laundry, which if hit by a home run, would yield a free suit for the slugger (a la Wally Post winning 11 suits from Jack Siebler in the 1950s and early 1960s).
• Bleachers: An outfield bleacher section called “The Sun Deck,” with its own entrance? That goes without saying.
• The Wright stuff: Outside the park, statues of Harry and George Wright, in an arms-on-brother's-shoulder pose and in their trademark knicker-panted Red Stockings uniforms designed by Harry that remain in vogue today. Both men are in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but no new Cincinnati ballpark would be complete without them.
Harry is the “Father of Professional Baseball,” who knew that signing up his brother — the game's best player — might transform baseball's first professional team into the class of the land. (It did.)
• Murals: Big and small, tucked-in and sprawling, majestic and yet demanding of closer attention because of all their fine detail ... wonderful, glorious, brightly painted murals to tell us of the history of the Reds and the city in which they've played. Cincinnati has a long-standing love affair with public art, especially murals. Think of the huge mosaics that distinguish the rotunda at Union Terminal (some of which now highlight the international airport) and the big, new murals at Playhouse in the Park. Murals would greatly add to the style, grace and history of the Reds ballpark; they tell a story the way still-photos and statuary alone cannot.
• Batter up: A replica of the huge bat — 27 feet long, 1,600 pounds — that was presented to the 1869 Red Stockings after their triumphant East Coast tour in the summer of that year that made baseball the national rage and inspired, ultimately, the creation of baseball's first professional league.
• Local Nine: A walkway outside the park called “The Local Nine,” that shows in sidewalk-style format the location of the city's past nine major-league parks — seven in the Mill Creek Valley, one in the East End (along the river) and Riverfront/Cinergy downtown.
• Home of Professional Baseball: That should be the name of the museum ... but don't call it a “museum.” Call it the “attraction.” There is only one city that is the home of professional baseball. And you live in it. The attraction needs to be heavily interactive and music-filled, and capable of constantly changing exhibits that transport one “inside” the game of baseball.
• Don't forsake Cinergy Field: Find something to keep. Maybe the style of lettering of the electronic scoreboard. (Those big numbers in the ball-strike-out count are classic, and you'd be surprised how you have to squint to find that information in the new ballparks.)
And, certainly, all efforts should be made to retain, as is, some portion of Cinergy Field in its original location to commemorate the great moments in Reds history accomplished there. In Atlanta, the original outfield wall of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium and the marker of Henry Aaron's 715th home run were retained, as were the inlaid bases and home plate; they now neatly distinguish a parking lot next to Turner Field.
• Two names: The Orioles couldn't choose between Oriole Park or Camden Yards, so they used both, and it's Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Reds are going to sell the name, but — nothing personal — we'll die before we say “Fifth Third Field” or “Rumpke Park,” the way fans in Detroit are going to have to live with the awful “Comerica Park.”
But at least if you name it “McCluskey Chevrolet Stadium on the Riverfront,” we can call it “Riverfront.” Again.
• And this one belongs to ... the fans: No new major-league ballpark has been able to capture the intimacy of Cincinnati's Crosley Field.
Well, there is a way to do it. There is a way to define the Reds' new ballpark for the ages. There is a way, that is, if the architects can connect the home clubhouse with the stands so that before the game, the Reds players who want to can enter the field of play by emerging “out of the crowd.”
Longtime Reds fans and former players still speak fondly of the leisurely stroll the players would take at Crosley — from their clubhouse, through the public area beneath the grandstand near the concession stand (where they would often stop and talk to fans) and then into a players' ramp that led to the dugout.
We realize an exact re-creation of this stroll isn't possible, because of today's security concerns. But the architects should be able to design something so that players who want to, could safely greet fans on their way to the field. (We'll leave the high-fiving and hurrahs to the kids; the rest of us can watch it on the video screen.)
• And this one belongs to ... the fans, too: A replica of the huge, triangular-shaped pediment inscribed Cincinnati that was atop the grandest ballpark ever built, “The Palace of the Fans.” Why? Because this ballpark belongs to you.
Stadium Stories
How to give Cincinnati's ballpark a taste of Cincinnati