Ultimate Baseball Road Trip (21 page)

One of the Hometown Heroes displays contains a bench seat from old Maple Leaf Stadium, which was home to Toronto’s International League ball team from 1926 through 1967. Also on exhibit are articles of Maple Leaf and Montreal Royals memorabilia. We found a picture of Sparky Anderson, who played for and later managed the Leafs, and another of Royals player Tommy Lasorda. Despite their roots in Toronto that dated back all the way to 1887, the Leafs left town in 1968 to become the Louisville Colonels. Five years later, they moved to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to become the Paw Sox.

The Royals began play in 1890 but struggled to establish a fan base before being acquired by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1939. As Branch Rickey’s International League affiliate, the Royals sent Jackie Robinson afield to break organized
ball’s color barrier in 1946. Playing second base, Robinson batted .349 for Montreal. A year later, he crossed the MLB color line. After years of sagging attendance, though, the Royals relocated to Syracuse in 1961 to become the Chiefs.

While the Blue Jays don’t retire the numbers of their former stars, they do display their names on the facade of the 400 Level. This special ring honors players like Tony Fernandez, Joe Carter, George Bell, Roberto Alomar, and Dave Stieb. In addition, manager Cito Gaston, front office executives Pat Gillick and Paul Beeston, and longtime broadcaster Tom Cheek receive their just due. The number 4,306 beside Cheek’s name signifies the number of consecutive Jays games he called on the radio before his death in 2005. To put that in perspective, Cheek broadcast 1,674 more games than Cal Ripken played in during his streak of a different stripe.

One former Jay whose name doesn’t appear on the Level of Excellence is Danny Ainge. The light-hitting second-sacker played for Toronto from 1979 to 1981 while also playing college hoops at Brigham Young. He quit baseball after being drafted in the first round by the Boston Celtics in 1981 and after a fine career went on to become President of Basketball Operations for the Celts. During both stints in Boston—as player and front office executive—his teams won NBA titles. Did Danny make the right choice? We think so. He hit just .220 in 211 Major League games before trading in his spikes for high-tops.

The bullpens are hidden from most fans’ sight behind the outfield fences in right and left. From the 200 Level outfield seats, fans can look down into the stables to see television cameras pointed at the practice mounds. These provide a feed to dugout monitors that allow both managers to watch their relievers as they warm up.

Rogers once boasted the largest stadium video board in North America, a 101-by-33-foot behemoth that for a time seemed to be world-class. But just as that thirty-four-inch box set that once sat in the center of your living room became obsolete seemingly overnight, advances in technology have taken the luster off Jays Vision. The high-definition JumboTron at Yankee Stadium is much higher, checking in at 101-by-59, while the one at Chase Field is longer, at 136-by-46. In another sport, the Dallas Cowboys’ so-called Jerry-Tron is a massive 160-by-72. Still, Toronto’s is a bigger board than most and one in which the Jays and their fans take pride.

Once upon a time, McDonald’s managed the concessions in Toronto, if you can believe it. Yes,
that
McDonald’s. Since giving the clown the boot, Jays and their fans have seen their stadium food gradually but steadily improve, to the point where today we actually look forward to eating at Rogers. The dome scores high in the menu expansiveness department, even if many of the concession stands still look like McDonald’s counters. One word of warning, though: There is a far more diverse array of foods to choose from on the lower two levels, but if you have a ticket to the fifth deck you won’t be able to access these stands.

This juicy tender sandwich may be found at the Shopsy’s stand behind Section 125. If you’ve never had Canadian Smoked Meat before, you’re in for a treat. We liken it to a moister not-so-briny version of Corned Beef. After indulging you’ll understand why Shopsy’s, which first opened in Toronto in 1921, is still a local favorite.

While the bland dog sold at the typical concession counters is nothing special, we really like the grilled jumbo dog at the specialty stands. It’s on par with the Shopsy dogs outside but costs more. Slit several times and served on a poppy seed roll, this all-beef frank scores high in the areas of taste and texture. Fried onions are also available.

We were amazed by the wealth of new offerings at Rogers on our most recent visit. A season-ticket holder could eat something different at every game and still have a few items left to check off when Game No. 81 arrived. Highlights include “Keith’s Red”
roasted sirloin sandwich
at the Roundhouse Carvery stand behind Section 122; the
Mediterranean Platter
and
Hand-Carved Turkey Sandwich
at Muddy York Market behind Section 109; the
Asian noodle boxes
available at various specialty stands; the
Halifax Burgers
and
Belgium Burgers
(you’ll need silverware to eat this oddity) with kettle chips at the (uninspired) second level barbecue patio; and the
Sushi Box, Mediterranean Sausage, Sweet Potato Fries, Herb and Garlic Fries
, and colorful
Barbecue Chicken Nachos
.

While Pizza, Pizza may have an amazingly creative name and may be widely popular throughout Canada (though just not with any of the locals with whom we spoke), we advise you
to avoid it, then after the game head to Papa Ceo’s for a late-night slice.

LaBatt Blue is served in a twenty-ounce container, which is just big enough for the hardy fans of the northland. It’s understandable that Jays rooters like their Blue. Not only does the company date back to a founding in London, Ontario, in 1847, but the brewery was the original owner of the Jays back in 1976.

Those on the prowl for mixed frozen drinks, meanwhile, will find them at stands on the first level and at the (again, we say “uninspired”) second level patio.

A game at “SkyDome” must have been a rollicking good time back when the facility first opened and was packed with fans. But SkyDome is no more. There is only Rogers Centre. And Rogers feels cavernous and sterile, in large part due to all those empty blue seats. The game has a very postmodern flavor as the sound system and video board practically beg fans to stay engaged or, at the very least, awake.

One thing these crazy Canucks have done right is incorporate cheerleaders into the American National Pastime. Actually, we can’t give Canada all the credit; cheerleaders have been an important part of the Caribbean World Series for years. But the Blue Jays fly girls are impressive. They’re Canadian, eh, and they’re busting a move for your pleasure, so do kick back and enjoy.

No, we don’t have a sordid tale to report regarding an interaction with a Blue Jays dancer. We’re talking about the fifty-fifty raffle. For $2, fans can buy a ticket. Half the proceeds support the Jays Care charitable foundation. The other half goes to the winning ticket holder. According to the Jays, winning fans have headed home with as much as $10,000, though on a typical summer night the winner gets about $3,500, which is still a heck of a lot more than a $2 chance buys you at your local high school football field.
^*

No, we still don’t have a sordid cheerleader tale. But after a Jays win the team sets off fireworks. Indoor fireworks! And you thought Neil Young was the best thing Canada had going for it!

Embracing the title that broadcaster Tom Cheek gave them, the men and women responsible for maintaining the four dirt patches and mound at Rogers really do race around the field in carrying out their responsibilities. Then they disappear again to their holding pen behind the Jays dugout. Fans enjoy this spectacle right before first pitch as these folks rake and mist the patches and swap out the batting practice bases for shiny white ones, then again in the middle of the fifth inning when they reappear to rapidly rake the patches while the “William Tell Overture” plays.

Certainly this nickname is meant to be tongue-in-cheek since the Jays are the only team with four little rectangles of dirt instead of a full clay infield. We couldn’t help but think, though, that even the Jays were poking fun at their ballpark.

The occasion of hearing the Canadian national anthem sang before first pitch should not be too much cause for celebration for American fans, seeing as AL fans have been hearing it at their home parks whenever the Blue Jays visit for years. But Rogers is the only stadium where you’ll hear the “Star Spangled Banner” performed first, as the warm-up act, before the tune that brings a tear to the locals’ eyes.

For disenchanted Americans who want to “pretend” or anyone else who just likes to sing along, here are the lyrics:

O Canada!

Our home and native land!

True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise
,

The true north strong and free!

From far and wide
,

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee
.

God keep our land glorious and free!

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee
.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Before singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the seventh-inning stretch, Torontonians sing “OK Blue Jays,” the official team song, which dates back to 1983. Written by a local group called The Bat Boys, this is a kicking Canadian rock song that references key events and players in team history.

The final verse goes:

Bring on the White Sox

Bring on the BoSox

Bring on the Brewers

The Rangers and the Yankees too

We’ll beat the Indians

We’ll beat the Tigers

We’ll beat the A’s so bad it’ll make

Billy blue

Waddaya want?

Let’s play ball!

Josh sent an e-mail to the Bat Boys in 2004, pointing out that Milwaukee doesn’t play in the American League anymore and suggesting that they replace “Brewers” with “Angels,” but they still haven’t replied (he’s starting to lose hope they ever will) or updated their lyrics.

Kevin:
Selig’s probably paying them to keep the Brewers’ name in there.

Josh:
Why would he?

Kevin:
Because he’s a bad man, Josh, a very bad man.

Josh:
No rush to rename the song, anyway.

Kevin:
How’s that?

Josh:
It’s been a long time since the Blue Jays were any better than
just
okay.

Kevin:
True enough. Since the Joe Carter era.

One way to fit in with locals is to join in the familiar Aaarrrgos chant whenever there’s a lull in the game. This is about as ubiquitous as the “Yankees Suck” chant in Boston.

Also, pronounce the city’s name “Tronno.” If you enunciate the second “t” as Americans are wont to, everyone will know you’re one of “them” and start sniffing for greenbacks. And you don’t want people sniffing around you when you’re trying to enjoy a baseball game.

Toronto represented the last stop on the 2002 leg of our very first road trip. We would finish the bigs for the first time in 2003 and publish the first edition of this book in 2004. And then years later we would return to Toronto together during the summer of 2011. But first … Kevin had to help Josh muster the courage to leave the Lower 48 for the very first time in his life. After catching a game in Cleveland the day before, we headed to Canada for a Sunday afternoon game that would bid the 2002 season adieu.

Josh was driving our rented Dodge Sebring, and was a bit antsy about the whole concept of stepping onto foreign soil.