The Mets Police

Well not really but you paused enough to recoil in horror didn’t you? That’s actually the Giants, from which the Mets borrow the NY and for which the seats at Citi Field will be green. (The Mets join the Orioles in honoring the New York Giants with green seats).

In other uniform news, the Mariners were able to wear spanish language jerseys without looking like idiots. When translated, “Mets” is “Mets” and “Mariners is Marineros.” “Los Mets” is “The Mets” which is why the Los Mets jerseys are awful.

(credit to uni watch for all this, except the sarcasm – that’s mine.)

China has issued behavior guidelines for foreign visitors. There are a few reports trickling out on the internet, but only the Wall Street Journal version contains this language:

Inside Olympic venues, too, it is illegal to display “any religious, political, and ethnic slogans, banners, and other items”– but the guidelines don’t give any specific examples of what such items might be.

I’m not saying it’s accurate or not, just that The Guardian and a chinese news source didn’t mention that, and I haven’t seen the release. But that’s not that the point….

I’m troubled by: illegal to display “any religious, political, and ethnic slogans, banners, and other items

So I can’t bring a “Go USA” sign? Can I wear a cross around my neck? A guy i know wears a small Christian symbol on his jacket – will he be jailed? What about someone from Cleveland bringing a “Go Tribe” pennant?

Here’s where I saw it: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121241380981137725.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

And what ever happened to Banner Day at Shea? Do they still have it? Maybe if a rainout forces a double-header they could send off Shea with one last solid Banner Day Doubleheader!

I respectfully disagree with my colleague and feel that MLB should retire Babe Ruth’s number across all teams.

Simply put, no single player did more to save baseball than did George Herman Ruth. Even before the Black Sox scandal of 1919, baseball had been beset with accusations of games fixing for decades. Gamblers were a constant presence at ball parks and the public’s view of the “professional” game was quickly sinking to new lows. Attendance had been suffering as the public was drawn more towards the “pureness” of amateur competition.

Judge Landis did much to clean up the game, but the public was already disillusioned. It took a man of mythic proportions, a man who could accomplish feats never dreamed of to bring back the fans.

His numbers are legendary, but it went further than that. He was in many ways a kid at heart – he loved the fans, loved kids, and was very approachable (unlike Cobb, the other all-time great of the time).

Ruth not only saved baseball, but helped transform it into a spectacle. The Yankees had to build the first modern stadium in order to accomodate the crowds that would gather to see him.
Ruth was also among the first players to internationalize the game. Yes, other’s had travelled across the oceans prior to him, but nobody had the impact he did.

It was a good thing for baseball to retire Jackie Robinson’s number – what he did transcended the game. But there would not have been a game for him to impact if not for the Babe.

The Babe’s granddaughter is trying to get MLB to retire #3 for all teams.

Don’t.

#3 is already retired by the team Babe Ruth is most associated with. That’s plenty.

Will we retire Barry Bonds number everywhere? He has better numbers and sold more tickets.

I’m not in favor of the league wide retirements…such as Wayne Gretzky’s #99.

http://www.retirebabesnumber.com/