Pretty crazy stuff coming out of Chicago after the Cubs beat the Giants 2-0, as the press box was evacuated due to a bomb threat.
Police officer says they get dozens of bomb threats a week but “this one is more credible.” Bomb-sniffing dogs are on scene.
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) August 9, 2015
Chicago policeman said they get many bomb threats, said this was credible. Jokes it might be a Giants fan after the sweep. Again, he joked.
— John Shea (@JohnSheaHey) August 9, 2015
Bomb threat at Wrigley. pic.twitter.com/h8oO14WZIQ
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) August 9, 2015
Now police have cleared north side of Addison St. as well. pic.twitter.com/I1Jft3LOp7
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) August 9, 2015
Hopefully nothing happens, and not just because bombs are unwelcome virtually everywhere.
Story time!
I’ve only been to Wrigley one day in my life — a glorious double header that the Giants swept (11-5 and 6-5) on Aug. 25, 1999. Barry Bonds hit two homers in the first game, one in the second. Glenallen Hill hit a pinch-hit homer to deep center in the ninth inning of the first game off Felix Rodriguez that went at least 50 feet beyond the center field wall, and it looked like he did it with a three-quarters swing. Sammy Sosa hit one through the fog that landed on Waveland Avenue in the nightcap.
Baseball was a little different back then.
Wrigley seemed more like a huge outdoor party than a regular old ballpark, and I had the time of my life. I met people who were there from all over the country. I walked from one end of Wrigley to the other, and back again. My friend Ben and I spent over 11 hours at the park, then waited outside after the game for the Giants to exit. Ben got an autograph from J.T. Snow (Kirk Reuter totally stiffed him, and I’m still not sure why). I was never into asking guys for autographs, but I shook hands with Joe Nathan and told him he was a pretty good pitcher for a shortstop (he gave me a funny look, even though he started his professional career at short) and I asked Dusty Baker what he thought of Too $hort’s latest album.
“How you know I got that?”, asked Baker with a smile.
Afterward, Ben drove us to Taco Bell, where we ended up behind G-Hill (who else?) in the drive-thru line. That was back in the days when your price would flash at the window when you picked up your order; Hill’s was well over $13 for multiple bags of Taco Bell, and he was the only one in his white SUV. Who knows, maybe he was bringing some back home to some friends or family, but we were pretty amazed — $13 bought quite a bit of Taco Bell back in ’99.
Anyway, sorry for the rambling story … if I’m making any point at all, it’s that Wrigley is the best and I really want to have a chance to go again and check out the changes made this year. For those who haven’t made the trip, I can’t recommend it enough. Fenway Park is cool, but nothing is like Wrigley. Hopefully this bomb threat is like most, and amounts to nothing. I can’t see why anyone would want to blow up that place.
