Yankee Stadium Must Ban The Wave
The Yankees had the chance to complete a sweep of the Mariners and advance their winning streak to six games. But that didn't happen. Instead they lost 2-0 to Seattle and lost a chance to make up ground in the playoff race. And who do we have to blame for that?
You could start with the offense that left 11 runners on base. You could blame Rougned Odor who made an error in the 8th that led to a two-run inning for Seattle. You could blame Lucas Luetge for not pitching around that error. But I think there's really only one party to blame: The Yankee fans who started doing the wave in the sixth inning of a 0-0 game as the Yankees find themselves in a pennant race.
I've said this many times before, but the wave has no place at Yankee Stadium. It's juvenile. It's bush league. It's pathetic. Yankee Stadium is a cathedral of baseball with no place for such antics. Let Mets fans knock themselves out with the wave at Citi Field. Let it stay at minor league stadiums. But it just can't be done in the Bronx.
It's one thing if fans want to do in a 10-0 game in the 8th inning. You paid for your ticket and want to keep yourself occupied. Sure, that's fine. But it happens far too often at important parts of a close game. It's infuriating. Pay attention to the field! Yankee Stadium is supposed to be a huge home field advantage. That's not the case if instead of cheering for the team or booing the opponent, the fans are too busy standing up and sticking their hands in the air! Less of that. More really mean chants against the other team. (But for the love of God, we have to stop the "Fuck Altuve" chants when the Yankees aren't even playing the Astros).
Now I will admit that when you see it for the first time and the full stadium is participating, sure it looks kind of cool. But we've all seen the fucking wave at this point. Every time it goes around the stadium, these happy-go-lucky idiots look around in awe as if it's the most amazing thing they've ever seen and a major breakthrough in human achievement.
Maybe I sound like an old man yelling at a cloud, but I don't care. From this point forward, I am officially banning the wave at Yankee Stadium for the remainder of the season. The Yankees are in a playoff race and we can't be doing the wave in the late innings of close games. Pay attention to the game or stay home.
We discussed this and more on today's Short Porch. Luis Gil looks like he's legit. Joey Gallo had his signature Yankee moment. Everyone on the Yankees has COVID.
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