In honor of Opening Day, here is the letter I sent last week to the President of Business Operations for the Marlins:
"I know you’re very busy, especially now with the season starting, but I wonder if you could take the time to enlighten me – a long-time resident of Fort Lauderdale – as to why professional baseball is no longer played outdoors in South Florida.
"Without question, an indoor stadium is a blessing in summer. (Though I watched a lot of games at Joe Robbie/Pro Player/Land Shark Stadium in July and August, and loved how, at the end of every game, win or lose, Louis Armstrong would come over the loudspeakers singing “What a Wonderful World.”) But in recent years I have driven down from Fort Lauderdale on balmy evenings in April and May only to find the roof closed. More than once, rather than pay to sit in an air-conditioned din (it’s the music, not the fans, that rattles the ears), I have promptly turned around and headed back to I-95.
"Someone told me at the World Baseball Classic (when the roof was never opened, making me think that perhaps it’s stuck), that the decision is made two days ahead of time and is based on a variety of factors. Judging by the amount of times the roof has been opened in the last few years, those factors must include a steady outdoor temperature of 76 degrees, a wind of less than 5 mph, a humidity percentage in the single digits, and a zero chance of precipitation.
"I have also heard that it’s the players who demand that the roof be closed. This sounds plausible, as they are largely coddled millionaires. But as I write this, tennis players are playing at the Miami Open in the middle of the day, with a much lighter ball more affected by wind, and exerting more energy than baseball players ever do, yet none of them are clamoring for a climate-controlled space.
"And none of the spectators at the Open are, either. In fact, they seem to enjoy being outside. Most people do, especially after a day spent in an office or a classroom or a warehouse. It’s why restaurants here have outdoor seating, which is popular even in summer. It’s why the New World Symphony makes many of its concerts available to picnickers through its Wallcasts. You can do all kinds of things outdoors in South Florida but, for some strange reason, watching the Marlins isn’t one of them.
"As you know, a game at loanDepot Park with an open roof is a beautiful thing – even, perhaps especially, at night. It’s a gift that, if regularly available, would undoubtedly bring more people to the ballpark – something that you, the players, and everyone interested in South Florida baseball would like to see.
"But it’s not just about aesthetics; there is also an environmental cost. Miami is a city that stands to suffer considerably from rising seas, and yet one of its largest structures is regular pumped with air-conditioning – a major contributor to global warming – despite the fact that it was built with a retractable roof to let in the fresh air. This is dumber than trading Christian Yelich – and has infinitely greater consequences."
Yesterday afternoon I was reminded of a great moment in sports and yesterday evening I witnessed one.
Hania, reading on her phone after lunch, asked me if I’d ever heard of Willis Reed, then informed that he had died at the age of 80. My mind immediately traveled back to May 8, 1970, game 7 of the NBA finals, the New York Knicks versus the Los Angeles Lakers, east versus west – then seeing the injured Reed, who had missed game 6, walk stoically, defiantly onto the court at Madison Garden.
Then last night I caught the end of the World Baseball Classic – Japan versus the U.S.A., East versus West – which came down to the two greatest players in the game, Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, men who are normally teammates, for the Los Angeles Angels, facing each other in a winner-take-all duel, Ohtani on the mound trying to protect a 3-2 lead, Trout hoping to send the game into extra innings with a shot into the stands. Ohtani had walked the first batter – nerves? was it possible? – but then got the second to hit into an easy double play. Now he was up against one of the greatest hitters the game has ever known. Aaron Sorkin could not have written a better script. And, in front of a standing crowd at LoanDepot Park, the great Mike Trout went down swinging.
The Cuban baseball team played in Little Havana on Sunday and, after its loss to the U.S., one player from the team defected. I suppose the others looked around and said, "Nah, they play baseball indoors here."
There was a moment yesterday evening when I found myself switching back and forth amongst tennis (the Indian Wells men’s final), basketball (March Madness), and baseball (the World Baseball Classic). Two local teams – University of Miami and Florida Atlantic University – advanced in the NCAAs, and the baseball game – between the U.S.A. and Cuba – took place in Miami. There were protests, predictably, against the Cuban team’s presence in Little Havana, while no one seemed annoyed that the roof remained steadfastly closed.
A slightly edited version of yesterday's blog post appears today in the Miami Herald. So now perhaps Marlins executives will read it.
In 2019 I wrote here about my belief that the baseball stadium in Miami is cursed. The financial scam that contributed to its construction doomed the stadium from the start. Opening Day in 2012 - when Tropicana dancers accompanied players onto the field for their introductions, and then-owner Jeffrey Loria appeared in a golf cart with an ailing Mohammad Ali - didn't help the art-filled ballpark in Little Havana. Within weeks, the manager, Ozzie Guillen, was quoted in a magazine speaking highly of Fidel Castro.
The team's most promising and charismatic player, pitcher Jose Fernandez, was killed in a boating accident at the end of the 2016 season. Other top players were lost in trades, even - especially - after Derek Jeter became co-owner. Jeter messed not only with the roster but with the art, moving Homer, Red Grooms' whimsical centerfield sculpture, outside the stadium, despite a letter of protest from the artist. (Granted, Jeter had already traded the team's biggest home run hitters.)
The curse extends to former Marlins. In 2019, Christian Yelich returned with his new team, the Milwaukee Brewers. Standing in the batter's box, he fouled a ball off his leg that fractured his kneecap, ending his season and his MVP chances.
Last night, the curse went even wider. The players of Puerto Rico, celebrating their advance in the World Baseball Classic, mobbed their pitcher, Edwin Diaz, who went down with a knee injury and had to be carried off the field.
There is only one solution for getting rid of the curse: Open the damn roof and let it out.