European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 18, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 22the stars and stripes thursday april 18, 1991 baseball �?T91 by Jim Donaghy a baseball writer a new Ballpark is ready to open in Chicago. For now though the old memories will have to do. A new generation of baseball fans have come along with no idea of what the incline at Cincinnati a Crosly Field was or Why the batting Cage remained in Center Field during a game at Pittsburgh a Forbes Field. The pirates now play in three Rivers stadium and the reds in riverfront. Both stadiums have artificial turf and look about the same fron just about any Angle. A when i was with Houston we were Oil  Road trip and when we were in Cincinnati once 1 thought it was Pittsburgh a reds outfielder Billy Hatcher said a there s really no difference in the two  Hatcher would have known the difference if he Ever had the Chance to play at Grosley Field where the left fielder had to Deal with an incline near the Fence and a rickety  new baseball stadium is done to have inclines Ivy Walls a Green monster Center Field monuments or incongruous dimensions everywhere. But they Are Nee Essary for All sorts of reasons. A a a a a  most of the old Parks were just too Small and often too uncomfortable for the fan. The players did no to care much for the cramped clubhouses cold water in the showers and bumpy Fields either. When the wrecking Ball came to Knock Down old Comisky Park there were a few tears. But not everyone was crying. / Comisky was opened in 1910 and despite several creative renovations was no longer in any condition for major league baseball. The Outfield turned into Choice swampland when it rained and rats1 raced around the corridors without much interference. A the old Comisky was old a White sox Catcher car Iton Fisk said. A if just did no to provide things the players it and fans want and that Progress has allowed. This new Park has the proper facilities for the baseball team and the fan who  its unlikely the fan who sat in hard wooden benches or who had a seat behind a steel Post Ever imagined what the modern stadium offers. A baseball fan at Toronto a $500 million sky dome / can have a gourmet dinner High above Center Field and a then retire to a Plush hotel suite to catch the rest of the game. Afterwards one can always hop Over to the near by hard Rock cafe in right Field. Not that the old Parks did no to offer a certain amount of extras. It a a when the Montreal expos joined the National league in 1969, they played in tiny Jarry Park and fans Only a few Yards beyond the right Field Fence could watch the game from a swimming Pool. Of course in april and september the Pool could also be used As a skating  a Willie Stargel i often known to reach land masses near and far managed to find the Jarry Park Pool on a couple of occasions too. The difference Between Parks and stadiums is mostly atmosphere. Wrigley and Fenway Are in the truest sense  kind Frank Sinatra sings about. Three Rivers and riverfront Are baseball stadiums. The sky dome that s baseball a version of Disneyland. A a to me Fenway Park is one of the prettiest Parks in baseball a said Johnny Pesky a former player and broadcaster for the Boston red  Haven to changed the dimensions in years the real estate is the same. Some of the newer stadiums were built More for football. The last one they built that was Ideal for base Ball was in Anaheim but they changed that for football. But Fenway Park remains the same. Just coming into Fenway Park gives you a great  while Fenway Park Tiger stadium Wrigley Field and Yankee stadium have had a Chance to Span a Century of memories Brooklyn a ebbets Field was knocked Down shortly after the dodgers left town on sept. 24, 1957, Only 6,702 fans had the heart to show up and say so Long to the dodgers and ebbets Field. Before the game and in Between innings organist Gladys Gooding played a am 1 Blue a a after you re gone a a thanks Lor the memories Quot Quot quo Sera Sera a Quot and a when i grow too old to  ,. A the thing that 1 remember vividly about that night is Gladys Gooding a dodger broadcaster Vin Scully said. A Gladys opened up with a my buddy a and closed with a Auld Lang  she played such depressing music that it put a terrifically gloomy feeling on the. Ballpark. A it kind of reflected it and there was nothing wrong old ballparks like Pittsburgh a Forbes Field top and St. Louis sportsman spark have been razed and replaced by More modern structures. Still technology cannot replace the nuances of these old  it but it was a Downer for  the dodgers final attendance for 1957 was 1,026,158. It was their 13th straight season with More than a million in attendance and Brooklyn was the Only team to move after doing it. A the people had ived with it the idea of the dodgers moving to los Angeles for a Long time and finally they just did twant to be a part of it a Scully said a a lot of people done to want to go to w Akes or funerals. It s not from disrespect or anything else. They just can to get themselves to do it and i think that might have had something to do with  before the dodgers final game at ebbets Field there were several teen age girls hanging around the clubhouse Gate just like any other night. On this occasion though they were looking for reasons instead of heroes. A. A. A the problem was transportation. There was no place to Park around the Ballpark a former dodgers executive a1 Campanis said. A there was parking for Only �750 cars and there were 31,000 seats.�?�. The move to  proved very profitable for the of Malley family and dodger stadium now has its own memories. The dodgers were Able to put in plenty of parking in la too. So much that the fans leave after seven in mugs just to get out the parking lot. A after seeing dodger stadium and to go Back there to Brooklyn it makes me realize what Progress the dodgers have made a former dodger great Roy Cam Panella said last year. A i consider that  ebbets Field the Polo grounds Connie Mack Staci urn were All turned into housing developments. Forbes Field is now part of Forbes quadrangle comprising graduate schools of the University of Pittsburgh and Crosley Field was dismantled and parts purchased by a sports Memorabilia collected. The old Comisky Park is currently being torn Down and will be replaced by a parking lot. But the old com Iskey was never exactly Paradise. Like the other old Parks its moments Frozen in time Are much More important than the real estate the old Comisky will be remembered for Bill Veeck a exploding scoreboard for a disastrous a disco demolition Quot and for the first All Star game on july 6, 1933. A. A the Baltimore orioles Are playing their final season in memorial stadium and Promise their new Park will be a combination of new and old. �?o1 Hope they never replace Fenway a Pesky said. Quot Ibey say everything is done in the name of Progress and if the Powers that be want there May come a Day when there will be no More