A SAD DAY FOR ME

When it came across the wire Wednesday morning it kind of caught me by surprise, but I had known this day was going to come eventually. Heck, I was surprised it hadn`t come sooner. It was a day all of us in Cleveland have had to deal with in the past. It was something that just doesn`t seem right.

The demolition of Tiger Stadium began Wednesday. I don`t pretend to be a Tigers fan, but I`m a baseball fan, and to see a place with so much history be hit by the wrecking ball just sucks. In this day and age, where all that surrounds the game is steroids and cheaters, when we lose an old park, we lose what baseball really was. The sights, the smells, Ty Cobb, Mark Fidrych, Sparky Anderson and Kirk Gibson.

The economics and continuing need for luxury don`t allow parks like this to remain open any more. Municipal Stadium, County Stadium in Milwaukee, and this year Shea and Yankee Stadium close. All places that held a number of great events that made baseball the Great American Past Time.

If you would of seen the expression on Wally Mintus` face when I showed him the story, you would have understood right away. Baseball fans are all kids at heart. When you lose a place like Tiger Stadium, it`s like losing your first true love. You have history with it, you`ll never forget it, but you must move on.

I`ll miss you Tiger Stadium.

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