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PRE-HALL
OF FAME WEEKEND HISTORY
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August 1989 - Patti, Mart and Socko venture to the Baseball Hall of Fame for the very first time. 9 hours later, a glassy-eyed Mart stumbles out of the now-familiar building on Main St. into Patti's very-long-awaitin' car. The rest is history. 1990 - Patti, Mrs. Landy and Mart are up at The Acreage on the weekend of Hall of Fame inductions. Mart goes to Cooperstown alone for what is essentially the first BTA Hall-of-Fame Weekend, though we don't start officially counting them until 1993. The ceremony is held right outside the HOF Library, and it pours rain on Joe Morgan's and Jim Palmer's parade. EVERYONE rushes for cover into the Hall of Fame, and it is there that Mart is approached by Stan Musial in front of Joe Medwick's plaque. The conversation goes as follows: |
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Mart goes on to meet Charlie Gehringer, Willie McCovey and Ralph Kiner that same day... and nothing is ever the same again. The Game that year is rained out. 1991 - The Twisted Acres clan make their first-ever venture to Cooperstown to purchase tickets for the Hall of Fame Game. Mrs. Landy, Mart, Patti and a couple-other people go up (memories are sketchy as this point), and the seats they buy are all over the stadium. Some folks in Left Field, some near 3rd base, others near 1st. The game is lots of fun. Mart, Pat, Tombie, Maryann, Lowfinger, Christine, Mrs. Landy, Liz, Jimmy, Chrissy, and Neil (among others) attend. They vow to make it an annual event! 1992 - In 1992, '93 and '94, tickets for the Game are made available through TicketMaster. Looking back, it's easy to scoff at the very thought of not going up to The Coop for Ticket Day, but at the time, we thought it was quite convenient! The drawback: tickets spread all over the place, and an even faster sell-out. Tom Seaver gets inducted, and the Mets take on the White Sox. A momentous event takes place at this game, one that will shape Hall-of-Fame Games for years to come... Most
of us sat in Left Field, where Daryl Boston was playing for the
Mets. As the game went on, we inexplicably began cheering just for our
player! Daryl ate it up, bringing out bats and balls for the kids in
the stands... as a result, the Twins' left fielder (Jarvis Brown, maybe)
started doing the same thing. But he was no match for the charismatic
Daryl Boston. In fact, Daryl drove in the 3rd and final run with a double
for the Mets in their 3-0 victory, and when he slid into 2nd, he leapt
right up and raised both arms in the directions of the left field stands.
We went absolutely insane, chanting "MVP" and all that good stuff. |
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HIGHLIGHTS: Daryl Boston establishes the BTA tradition of player-specific rooting... Bobby Jones throws a no-hitter for 6 1/3 innings in his first-ever appearance as a Met... Mets give up a grand total of 1 hit to the ChiSox... Patti screams, "CARLTON," gives him a little wave, and Carlton Fisk waves back! He looked perplexed, as if he might have known her, but wasn't sure where from... |
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HIGHLIGHTS:
Highlights?
From a RAIN OUT??? Of Course!!! Late for the
Home-Run Contest (which took place before the umpires called the game),
the gang is rushing along Elm St., just past the left field fence.
Albert
Belle CRUSHES ONE! It hits the roof of the house they're walking
past, and, as the Moose puts it, "Martino's radar turned on." The
ball hits the street, and Mart plays the carom off the curb perfectly.
Now in possession of an actual Hall of Fame game artifact, the BTA
legend grows... |
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1993
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Home Run hit by Albert Belle during the 1993 Home Run Hitting Contest, caught by Mart on Elm St. behind the left-field wall. |
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LOWLIGHTS:
Ken
Griffey Jr. takes one at-bat then disappears, poof!... tension
grips Doubleday Field as the fans, angry over the impending player strike,
chant mean things.
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HIGHLIGHTS:
Sammy
Sosa hits 5 homers in the Home Run Contest... Sparky Anderson's
final visit to The Coop as a manager.
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Game finishes as a tie after 9 innings HIGHLIGHTS: The Section 313 Royal Rooters make their first official appearance in their now-permanent home, albeit in the lousy front row... Patti gets a home run ball that ricochets off some lady's ribcage. The woman complains that the ball should rightfully be hers. Patti's reply? "Get real, bozo." |
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1996
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Home Run Ball hit during the 1996 Hall of Fame Game. Don't remember who hit it (maybe Archi Cianfrocco), but Patti caught it! |
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LOWLIGHTS: First Hall of Fame Weekend without Betty. HIGHLIGHTS: Now officially sitting in the back rows of Section 313, the Royal Rooters firmly entrench their place in HOF history with an appearance in the offical 1997 Hall of Fame Weekend Video (on sale at the Hall of Fame Giftshop)... Mike McCabe and Kong Jr. get a home-run ball... Padres right-fielder Mark Sweeney helps take the Royal Rooters to new heights with his 2-homer game, while Dodgers right-fielder Eric Anthony more than does his share with THREE homers! The right-fielders consistently perform at the plate, on the basepaths, and in the field. This is what happens when you have fans rooting JUST FOR YOU! |
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1997
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Home Run Ball hit by (and signed by) the Los Angeles Dodgers' Eric Anthony during the '97 Hall of Fame Game. |
 Hall of Fame Game Hero Mark Sweeney |
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HIGHLIGHTS:
Baltimore's Lyle
Mouton (our 1998 right-fielder) shakes his rump for Chrissy...
Jamesy Boy attends his first Hall of Fame Game.
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RIGHT
FIELD ROSTER:
LOWLIGHTS: First Hall of Fame Weekend without Rusty. HIGHLIGHTS: Betty's Royal Rooters push their beloved right-fielders to unprecedented heights! Gregg Zaun hears our humble request to call his shot, does so, and on the next pitch SLAMS IT OVER OUR HEADS!!! Babe who? BABE ZAUN, that's who! Gregg is now our model right-fielder, the standard against which all future Hall of Fame Game right-fielders will be judged. And you wanna know the best part..? He's a CATCHER! Gregg said, "Other than playing in the World Series, this was the best baseball experience of my life. That's what it's all about." Thanks for being such a great sport, Gregg. Dana Wilcox, the Texas Rangers' Assistant Director of Player Relations, found Tombie and Socko outside the Hall of Fame after the game, and let us know that Gregg and the Rangers had a great time and LOVED the atmosphere that Betty's Royal Rooters brought to the Hall of Fame Game. It's great to know that the players have as much fun at the game as we do. Additionally, Scarborough Green (who preceded Gregg Zaun in right-field for the Rangers) made some great defensive plays once he moved to center-field... but we'll forgive him. Other highlights... 10 homers in the game ties the Hall of Fame Game record... little Cameron has a catch with the San Diego Chicken and Gregg Zaun, becoming a mini Hall of Fame Game Hero in the process... we practically have Sec. 313 to ourselves with how many folks we have coming to the game now... Jamesy Boy gets a home-run ball from the lady who lives behind the fence... additionally, the lady who lives behind the fence wants to paint "RIGHT-FIELD RULES!" on the back of her house! |
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RIGHT
FIELD ROSTER:
HIGHLIGHTS: Betty's Royal Rooters have grown to the point that Section 313 is too small to hold us anymore! The Right Field Rooters now include total strangers who enjoy the idea of pushing our beloved right fielders to heights heretofore unseen on the most precious Diamond of all, Doubleday Field. We were spread out over Sections 312, 313, 314, and 315... "Alex, Alex Cabrera... hit a home run I dare ya" (sung to the tune of "Abracadabra" by the Steve Miller Band) had to be one of the best chants of all time... it seems safe to say that not only will no one ever hit a called shot again, no one else will even call a shot ever again (making Zaun's moment that much more precious)... Timmy Olson, a Single-A player in the Arizona Diamondbacks' minor-league system, enjoys the hell out of playing right field for the final 3 innings of the game... Big Bill's enthusiastic crowd of 50+ adds more than a few decibels of power to Betty's Royal Rooters. |
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RIGHT
FIELD ROSTER:
RETURNING
HOF HEROES:
HIGHLIGHTS: With this year's game, Betty's Royal Rooters have entrenched themselves not just in Section 313, but throughout Sections 312, 313, 314, and even a bit of 315. More and more fans are coming just to root for the right-fielders, and every year, the cheers get just a little bit louder and stronger! John Mabry takes right to us, and seems to really enjoy the interplay. He even brings out some goodies for the kids in the front row... gum and sunflower seeds! John comes out for the fifth to say goodbye, then gets replaced by Will Smith (no, not THAT Will Smith), who has a good time with us... his dad even comes by to videotape us. Mart gives the ball he caught with the megaphone to Will's dad for Will to save as a souvenir. For the Brew Crew, Jeromy Burnitz seems more interested in getting back onto the bus, but his replacement, Robert Pregnalato, goes 2-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base, coming awful close to earning MVP honors! 1997 HOF Hero Mark Sweeney plays in left field and uses his skills acquired in the '97 HOF Game to get the left-field crowd nice and lively, but they're no match for the leather-lunged Right Field Rooters. Come on back, Mark... we'd love to have you in right again! |
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RIGHT
FIELD ROSTER:
HIGHLIGHTS: Even before the game started, we knew who our Hall of Fame Game Hero was going to be. Rockies outfielder Mark Little climbed the right field fence before the home run contest, and sat in Section 313 for 20 minutes signing autographs and having a good time with the right field fans. He then started the game in right (he's normally Juan Pierre's back-up in center field), and played the entire game. And boy, did he play! Mark went 5-for-6 with 2 doubles, a home run and 10 total bases as the Rockies defeated the White Sox in what was an offensive show for both teams. And, for the first time since we've been Right Field Rooting, a Right Fielder won the Game's MVP award! Thanks for being such a great sport, Mark. You've got a few hundred more fans for life! Josh Paul seemed to enjoy his time in right field, but his replacement, Mark Johnson, probably was wearing ear-plugs or really needs to concentrate in order to play exhibition baseball. The Right Field Rooters received official validation from the Phillie Phanatic! When the Phanatic started a cheering contest between the 1st- and 3rd-base stands, he made sure that his (or is it her?) last point was at good ol' Section 313... and he was bowled over by the volume of our cheer. Needless to say, even the Phanatic now knows where to look for a good time at the Hall of Fame Game. FrOnk's Harry Caray imitation was a huge hit, and Big Bill continued to shock with the sheer volume and power of his booming voice. Other highlights included: Right Field Rooter Hector Perez's friend, Rockies 1st-base coach Dallas Williams, bringing over some game balls for the Sec. 313 fans... socking it to the miserable center field fan who comes back for more punishment every year... the Right Field Rooters taking over when the recording of Harry Caray singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" wouldn't work... and Whitney, the hot dog salesgirl, who seemed to enjoy the attention. We saw her after the game and she said she had a great time. She may even buy tickets to sit with us next year. |
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RIGHT
FIELD ROSTER:
RETURNING
HOF HEROES:
HIGHLIGHTS: For the first time in HOF history, the Hall of Fame Game is played outside of Hall of Fame Induction Weekend. Combined with the relatively short notice, the date change results in the fewest Right Field Rooting regulars in attendance since this whole thing started in 1996. Nonetheless, fans sitting in Sections 312, 313 and 314 immediately joined in the fun when they saw how much the right fielders enjoy interacting with their own personal cheering section... "Grumpy Guy" from center field was nowhere to be found (probably due to the date change), but sadly, many of the folks we were getting used to seeing every year, including Sue and her son and daughter, weren't in attendance either... Memorable cheers: singing "Deep in the Heart of (Arlington) Texas" to Ben Grieve; "Ty(ner) is on Our Side, Yes He Is!" (sung to the tune of the Rolling Stones' "Time is On My Side"); bestowing the name "Toby" on the previously unknown Vince Vuckovich, then trying to figure out his actual name by chanting the alphabet and telling him to raise his hand when we got to his letter. All in all, not the most memorable Hall of Fame Game in terms of game action, but a great time was had nonetheless. |
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LOWLIGHTS: For the 2nd year in a row, the Hall of Fame has decided to hold it's annual contest outside of Hall of Fame Induction Weekend. It's difficult enough to pull together enough folks for the Game when it's on the same weekend as the induction and everyone is already up for BTA Hall-of-Fame Weekend. 2 weekends? Impossible. As a result, for the first time since 1991, there will be no AcreHeads at the Hall of Fame Game. Right Field Rooting just isn't the same when barely a handful of Betty's Royal Rooters can make it to the game. If you're going, have a blast! Shout a "What Field Rules" for us. |
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Hall-of-Fame Weekend | Corn Challenge Picture of the Week | The Picture Barn Hall of Fame Game Heroes | Mart's Music ©2005
Betty's Twisted Acres/Martin Rivas.
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