20 years ago....

[ryno4ever]

Harry Grossman pushed "the button" and said "Let there be lights".... the lights came on...Sandbergs homer went out...the rains came down...the game called off! (http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3520852)
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k272/RawkstahCreations/wrigley.jpg


LET THERE BE LIGHTS"
by Ed McGregor (http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3520664)
Ed McGregor

I remember it rained. A lot. The joke that night was that God didn't want this game being played. Think about it: How much does it have to pour to postpone the first night game at Wrigley Field? Well, it rained that hard in the fourth inning on Aug. 8, 1988.


The Cubs were beating the Phillies 3-1, so that was yet another lead they lost. They were already a hopeless 13 games behind the Mets in the NL East, but that hardly mattered to anyone. The lights were the story of Chicago baseball in 1988. I was an intern in the Cubs' publications department that summer, and I watched them go up, starting on April 7, when a helicopter flew above Wrigley to hoist 33-foot-high steel towers into place on the roof.

The project took more than three months to complete because construction was done only when the team was on the road. Finally, on July 25, the Cubs tested their $5 million investment with a nighttime practice at Wrigley. Don Zimmer's fourth-place squad took batting practice and shagged fly balls under the moonlight—and 540 brand-new GE floodlights. I was taking pictures that night, a few of which are in the First Night Game program. (It now sells on eBay for a disappointing $10. Mine has to be worth more; it's signed by then-Commissioner Peter Ueberroth.) Tickets for the practice were sold and proceeds went to the team's charity, but there were only a couple thousand people present to see the first night baseball at Wrigley Field. The highlight was a home run derby featuring Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Andre Dawson and Ryne Sandberg.

I can't recall who won.

What I remember most from that summer is Harry Grossman, the 91-year-old Cubs fan who "turned on" the lights. Harry had sent a letter to the team earlier in the summer about how he saw the Cubs play in the 1908 World Series. My boss passed the letter on to the marketing director, and Harry, a charming and funny guy, became a celebrity in his golden years.

On Aug 8th, a couple of hours before the skies opened up, Harry stood behind home plate, surrounded by a scrum of reporters and cameras, and counted down to the historic moment. Then he said, "Let there be lights,"--it was the slogan printed on all the merchandise, including Harry's T-shirt--and pushed a button on a box that didn't appear to be connected to anything. Meanwhile, I'm sure the electrician was flipping switches somewhere in the bowels of Wrigley. Anyway, Harry lit up along with the ballpark and there was a buzz not often felt on the North Side.

Dallas Green, the Cubs' president from 1981-87, had always argued that day games wore the team out, that lights were required to win a championship. Twenty years and no rings later, Lou Piniella is saying the same thing. Sort of. He's using the same argument, only now he's stumping for night games on Fridays and Saturdays, which are still banned by city ordinance to ease neighborhood congestion. Says Piniella, "It would help the situation from a winning and losing standpoint."

Or at least that's his scientific prognosis. As they say in Wrigleyville, It's Gonna Happen. Playing night games on the weekend, that is.

[ryno4ever]

Rick Sutcliffe on the Lights...he was the Starting pitcher.... (http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3520780)

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k230/notankers/Cubs%20Legends/SutcliffeCubs.jpg

Rick Sutcliffe, currently an ESPN analyst, won 171 games across 18 years in the bigs. He was the Orioles' pitcher in the first game at Camden Yards, appeared in two NLCS ('84 and '89), won the '79 Rookie of the Year Award and the '84 Cy Young. He still refers to being the Cubs starter on August 8, 1988—the first night game at Wrigley Field—as one of the biggest baseball events he's ever been involved with. "Some days, I don't remember my wedding anniversary," he jokes. "But I always remember that date." For more about the night the lights went on in Wrigleyville, his best Don Zimmer story, his feelings on Andre Dawson not being in the HOF and more, keep on reading.

The Mag: Going into that night, did you guys think it was a really big deal?

Sutcliffe: I don't think any of us really realized the magnitude of it until it got closer. A lot of times as a player, you get the sense of how important a regular-season game is based on how many ticket requests you get. That game was off the charts; I was filling ticket requests for guys like Bill Murray and Mark Harmon. I knew it was my start, so I get to the park and all the ticket stuff is done and I'm just excited. I'm in the bullpen; I'm feeling good. Before the game, people from the Hall of Fame or MLB—I'm not sure which—came to talk to me.

Had that happened before?

No, I almost never talked to people before games. So they say, "The first pitch of this game, we want to put it in the Hall of Fame." I say back, "You're telling me you want me to throw a ball?" I go talk to Eric Gregg, who was working home that night, and I'm like, "If this is six inches high or low, will you call it for me?" He seems to be in agreement, so I go out and I throw a fastball away, not really high or low. It's about six inches outside. Gregg just looks at it and goes "Ball!" I see him the next year and I ask, "What the hell happened with that pitch?" He goes, "As you were winding up, I realized the whole world was watching that pitch, so I didn't want to be the ump who missed it."

Getty Images

"You're on your own."


Classic. What else do you remember?

That was the first time I can remember ever throwing a pitch and literally, it seemed like everyone in the ballpark was taking a picture. Harry Caray said it seemed like there was an explosion. Damon Berryhill throws the ball back to me, and I can barely see it from the glare in my eyes. So, of course, my second pitch Phil Bradley hits it out of the park. I guess in the booth, there's dead silence, and Bill Murray is up there with the guys, and he just goes "TURN 'EM OFF! THIS ISN'T GONNA WORK HERE!"

Classic, again. What about the rain delay?

Well, Ryne got me the lead back, and when it went to delay, it was just an unrealistic delay. All during that time, I'm throwing balls against a wall to stay loose. I must have thrown 400 pitches that night—not full velocity or anything, but if that game had been delayed for hours, I was going to come back out and get the decision. One thing I've always thought about that rain delay is that it was almost like God saying, "Don't change Wrigley Field."

How important was that game for Chicago and North Side baseball?

You can say the next night was the official first night game at Wrigley, but no. People don't think that. Everything was different once those lights went on. I heard a rumor Ronald Reagan wanted to come, but the Secret Service couldn't guarantee it. I mean, there was excitement everywhere. It's one of the biggest baseball events I've ever been involved with.

Out of all the places you've played, where do you rank Wrigley?

There's no comparison. My first pitch ever was at Dodger Stadium, and I opened up Camden Yards, but nothing comes close. The game doesn't even matter at Wrigley—I mean, people do care about winning and losing—but you're hanging out with 35,000 of your best friends. Sometimes in the 7th inning, they'd raise their beers and sing along with Harry, and you'd see people look over at their friends and go, "What's the score anyway? We winning?" Every game you play there is like a movie that ends way too soon.

You gotta have a good Zimmer story, right?

(laughs) I'm sure. I'll say this: if ever a manager made a difference for a team, it's Don Zimmer. He might have won us 30 games. One good story is actually from '89, the year we went to the NLCS. I was struggling after the All-Star Break; after my third start post-break, he calls me in and he's getting on me, telling me I'm throwing stupid pitches. He goes, "I could call a better game than you!" I'm fired up and I say back, "You wanna call the game for me? DO IT!" I walked out. Five days later, we're at Shea. Zim calls me in and goes, "You know what you're doing; I'm not calling this game." I haven't even looked at the line-up yet, because I thought he was serious five days ago, so Zim says he will call it. Joe Giradi's catching the game, and the first pitch he calls for a change-up. Now, I've never thrown a change-up to open a game ever. I throw it, it works, and next thing I know, it's 9 up, 9 down.

In the 4th inning, the Mets load the bases, and Strawberry is coming up. Zimmer has called every pitch in the game to this point. He comes out to the mound, and Girardi runs out too. The Cubs were always on WGN, so whenever Zimmer put his hand over his mouth, you knew he was going to curse and he didn't want the TV cameras to see it. He looks at me and goes, "I got one thing to say. You're on your own." Just turns and runs off. Girardi and I just start laughing. He runs back, and I get Strawberry to pop up. The next guy is Kevin McReynolds, and I get him into a double play. Inning over.

The whole rest of that year, we're all saying "You're on your own!" to each other. It became a rallying cry.

From the '88 team, you have Greg Maddux and Jamie Moyer. Both are still active, two decades later. What's their secret?

Opening Day '88, I get to my locker. Normally, I had an open locker on both sides; I get there and Maddux is on one side, Moyer's on the other. I go to the clubhouse guy and ask what's up. He says Dallas Green, the president of the Cubs then, wanted it that way. The first week of the season, when I'm not pitching, I'm getting guys up to the rail to watch the game. I bring Maddux and Moyer up there to teach 'em stuff—how to get guys out. THEY KNEW MORE THAN I DID! Both of them are super smart. The only difference is that Maddux always had the control; for Moyer it came later. Getty Images

Put him in the Hall.


From the '88 team: how big a crime is it that Andre Dawson isn't in the HOF?

I've got him way up there. He dominated every phase of the game. The criteria is supposed to be that you're one of the best during your time; if so, that's the easiest question in the world to answer. He dominated! He got a lot of hits, but against good pitching. He hit Nolan Ryan well. That one baffles me.

Thanks for everything.

One more thing: looking back on it, I couldn't possibly have had more fun as a baseball player than what happened. I got to throw the first pitch in the first playoff game at Wrigley in four decades. I got to play with Cal Ripken and Ozzie Smith, guys like that. I started the first night game at Wrigley. I sleep pretty good at night.

[ryno4ever]

Don Zimmer on the Lights! (http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3520813)

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12/flyeaglesfly2/donzimmer.jpg

Don Zimmer was a teammate of Jackie Robinson on the Brooklyn Dodgers, and now sees Evan Longoria regularly as a senior baseball advisor to the Tampa Bay Rays. If that doesn't spell baseball lifer, we have no idea what does. Zim has an interesting perspective on all things baseball, and he was the manager of the Chicago Cubs during the 1988 season—when the lights finally went on at Wrigley. Here now, a reflection from one of baseball's most respected men on night baseball on the North Side, the best player of all-time, and more.

The Mag: Going into it, did the team think it was a big deal?

I remember reading the papers and all that; people thought the lights would disturb housing, and there'd be issues with fans coming to and leaving the ballpark and all that. It was almost a tradition that no one wanted lights, though. Ernie Banks used to say to me, "Isn't that a beautiful scoreboard at Wrigley? And we're the only team getting to play during the day!" Ernie thought it was great. When it happened, though, I liked it. It was a good change of pace. You play day, day, day, day and here comes a night game popping up.

Getty Images

Ernie loved playing in the afternoons.


When the game was rained out, some of the guys were sliding around on the tarp, because Bull Durham had come out that summer. There's a rumor you fined them. What happened?

I remember that. Who were the guys they say?

Greg Maddux, Jody Davis, some others.

Yea, I kinda remember that. I was probably in my office at the time. I do remember some guys having fun and sliding on the tarp. If I fined them, though, it mighta been for fun. I don't think I've ever fined a player. I've had a few discussions with players, but no fines.

How important was it for the North Side to get night baseball?

Myself, I thought it was great. It was a limited schedule at first, and they kept adding onto it. For me, some of the things I've been in—World Series, playoff games, tie games for championships—well, whenever I talk to people and reflect on my career, that game is always one of the things I mention. I was the first guy to manage a night game at Wrigley Field. That's amazing.

So out of all the places you've managed/play, which must be a ton, where do you rank Wrigley?

I get this question all the time. I still say Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. If someone in baseball is listening to my answer, they'll say "You old SOB! You're an old-timer!" All the new parks and this and that. I still love Fenway and Wrigley; that's the way I answer and I catch hell sometimes for it. People will tell me "You old goat!" I still get a thrill walking into those two parks, though—all these years later.

From the '88 Cubs, Greg Maddux and Jamie Moyer are both still active. That's kinda remarkable for a pitcher. What do you think of them?

(laughs) Yea, they are. They're students of the game. They don't have 98 MPH fastballs but they sit on the bench nightly and they don't miss nothing. They watch every pitch and every hitter. If you watch Maddux wherever he's at, he's watching the game; he's not laying around drinking a Coca-Cola in the clubhouse like some guys. At age 44-45, the guy is still trying to learn something about pitching tomorrow. The two guys are pitchers, not throwers.

Do you think Andre Dawson should be in the Hall of Fame?

You know, there's always two guys I was involved with who I can't understand why they're not in the Hall: Andre and Jim Rice. I'm not a stat guy, but in my heart, I'd vote for Dawson and Jimmy Rice. I've said it since—well, since I left 'em. Getty Images

"Joe Torre - he's smooth."


Your opinion on this must be incredible: best player ever?

That's a tough question. If you're asking me the best player I've ever seen, it's Willie Mays. For a pitcher, I'd say for five years, it was Sandy Koufax. You can't fit Koufax in the same category as a Bob Gibson or a Robin Roberts, but for those five years, he was the best I've ever seen. I practically saw 'em all. (laughs)

What's the Torre and Ramirez relationship going to be like in LA?

Joe Torre. He's pretty smooth. I don't like to talk about The Boss because he's not doing as well these days, but for Joe to manage the Yankees for 13 years and put up with The Boss and never have a real argument with him, that's pretty smooth. Torre's that kind of guy. George would sometimes send Cashman to tell Joe something, and Joe would just say, "You tell George to call me." George never did, so the case was closed. If there's a problem with Manny Ramirez, Joe Torre will handle it in his own quiet way.