Wrigley Field is famous for its ivy-lined outfield wall and for its persistent no-night game policy, which endured until August 8, 1988, almost sixty years after baseball’s first night game. I’m going to add the adventurous fans who break the boundaries of the stadium walls to watch from apartment buildings and who reach into the playing field to field fly balls.
You may not be able to read the banner signs on the apartments beyond the Horizon advertisement below, but they read “Wrigleyrooftops.com” showing a proprietary interest in the action on the field. These seats are sold just like the seats in the stadium through some agreement with Wrigley Field. Here is the advertisement, if you are disposed to an Olympian view of baseball.
11 UNIQUE ROOFTOPS
While each rooftop has its own distinctive style, amenities and vantage point, Wrigley Rooftops ensures that every rooftop is the ultimate event experience for groups of all kinds.
The other example of taking a proprietary interest comes from fans reaching into the field of play to grab a baseball which, according to the center field announcement before the game, is a felony. We witnessed that in the first inning of the game on Friday, July 9, as a fan reached over the right field side wall to grab a ball hit by the Cardinals’ Paul Goldschmidt, preventing the right fielder (Jason Heyward) from catching it. As the ball was actually in the field, and Heyward had a legitimate shot at catching it, Goldschmidt was ruled out. The disposal of the case of the felonious fan is unknown at this time.
The event had to remind Cub fans of the notorious Steve Bartman affair, which actually deprived the team of a playoff win in 2003.
The Cubs were mired in their legendary title drought when Bartman made his mark on history in 2003. The team appeared to be headed for the World Series when he stretched out to catch a foul ball with the Cubs leading late in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series against the Miami Marlins. Bartman instead deflected the ball away from a Cubs fielder, the Marlins came back to win the game and then sealed a place in the World Series with victory in Game 7.https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jul/31/steve-bartman-world-series-ring-chicago-cubs-baseball
The defiant grab on the day we attended the Cubs vs. Cardinals turned out much better, since the Cardinals’ batter was ruled out due to fan interference. Steve Bartman, on the other hand, had a legitimate right to the ball in the infamous playoff game, since it was within the boundaries of the stands. However, it was not within the boundaries of good taste, and Bartman was a curse word among Cubs fans until July 31, 2017, when he received a World Series ring from the Cubs, who had finally broken their championship drought.
Our game was remarkably well-attended for an afternoon contest, raising questions about who works on a Friday afternoon in Chicago. The Cubs broke the game open in the seventh as Kris Bryant pinch hit with the bases loaded and doubled them all home with a liner to deep center. Not bad for a guy with a strained hamstring. Then Patrick Wisdom drove in the pinch runner for Bryant with a home run, and there was not much to do but pick up the pieces. The result was Cubs 10, Cardinals 5.
Hospitality points for Wrigley staging a refreshment stand up on the third deck where we were seated, but low menu ratings for the ordinary ballpark fare- brats, hamburgers and nachos. Short beer menu as well. No pizza at all and ice cream was hard to find, according to my scout, Victoria. Vendors were prowling the stands throughout the game, and that’s pretty good service for the third deck.
Parking and accessibility seems like a weak point for a ballpark entrenched in a crowded city. Except for Marty Lazarus, my boyhood friend and his association with Park Hero, we could be still trekking back from Wrigley Field. We nabbed a secluded spot under the elevated and, despite an eighth-inning exit, still we labored our way out of the city.
Wrigley Field did not disappoint, but I will still take Fenway Park for its weird design, including the Green Monster and the short right foul line known as Pesky Pole. Wrigley is much more symmetrical, perhaps giving away fewer home runs. On the other hand, don’t we love the unexpected home run gifts that Fenway Park is known to bring?