04/18/24
August 07, 2010
Catwalk costs Tampa Bay Rays AL East Lead: The Tropicana Field catwalks cost the Tampa Bay Rays a game Thursday along with first place in the American League East. The Minnesota Twins won 8-6 after a Jason Kubel infield fly in the ninth inning struck a catwalk 190 feet above the field and fell for a hit. The catwalks and other obstructions in the Tropicana roof are in play, one of the quirkiest quirks in the Major Leagues. "Blow this place up and get it right next time," writes Tampa Tribune columnist Joe Henderson. "A fitting major league stadium can still have the things people like about the Trop (air conditioning) without having play affected by some man-made erector set that dangles above the playing surface."
It was karmic balance. The only reason the Rays tied the game in the first place was because of a grand slam that occurred after Jesse Crain walked Willy Aybar on 8 pitches, 7 of which were strikes. The goofy field balanced out the bad umpiring. Too bad it didn't work out that way for the Marlins.
posted by TheQatarian at 10:28 AM on August 07, 2010
I have no sympathy for a team penalized by the quirkiness of their home field.
Sucks for the players though, unless they had some input on the design of their stadium, which I'm guessing they didn't.
posted by justgary at 01:31 PM on August 07, 2010
I've been to a game at the Trop. It's kind of sacrilegious to say this, but I like the fact that those ridiculous catwalks are in play. Baseball's non-uniformity of field is one of the things that make it distinct. That weird left field corner in San Diego is my favorite thing about the stadium. When I was a kid, I thought the Green Monster was one of the coolest things in the sport.
posted by rcade at 04:30 PM on August 07, 2010
When the Metrodome first opened in MN pop ups often hit the speakers, which were in play. I belive the speakers were eventually relocated.
posted by dviking at 05:15 PM on August 07, 2010
The catwalks are actually part of the stadium structure and unlike the Metrodome speakers cannot be moved.
The talk of the Rays stadium's demise is greatly exaggerated. The contract the Rays signed with St. Petersberg has them in the stadium until 2026 and it was written without any sort of out clause which exists in most stadiumsgovernment contracts. As such the Rays are lacking any real leverage to get out of it and get a new stadium (as well as the added bonus in that they don't want to spend any of their own money for a stadium and the surrouding cities and the state are broke and cannot help.) My guess we'll be hearing the ownership complain about it and have all sorts of proposals for a long, long time.
posted by jmauro2000 at 06:49 PM on August 07, 2010
Domed stadiums in baseball are for shit anyways. Tropicana Field is on it's way out, as it should be. I have no sympathy for a team penalized by the quirkiness of their home field.