Game 91: Twins at Yankees

First Chuck: 12:35 PM (new anthem each week!)

The Tube: NBCSN/Peacock

The Dial: Treasure Island Baseball Network

Spies ‘R Us: Pinstripe Alley

On this holiday weekend—America’s 250th of these star-spangled celebrations—the Minnesota Twins find themselves in the Land of Lady Liberty to battle the New York Yankees. Twenty five years ago, my aunt and I were also in NYC—just a month after 9/11. A few stories from that trip:

Being a teacher, my aunt always had the MEA break off in late October. So, early in 2001 we planned a trip to the Big Apple. A day for roaming around downtown NYC would be followed by the drive to upstate New York to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Having never been to Manhattan Island and of course chomping at the bit for Cooperstown, I was jazzed!

Then, of course, September 11, 2001 happened. We hemmed and hawed about cancelling our trip for quite some time, and truth be told if it was just my aunt she probably would have. But she didn’t want to disappoint 15-year old Zach, so we decided to continue as-planned.

From the day in Times Square and its adjoining properties, I mostly remember going to the top of the Empire State Building and seeing smoke still billowing out from Ground Zero. There were also a few things we couldn’t do as a result of an anthrax-in-the-mail scare the week before we left (late-‘01 was a scary time in America). We couldn’t tour Rockefeller Plaza like we had planned, and no visitors were allowed on Liberty Island (the torch-bearer could only be seen at a distance). I’m a little surprised we didn’t try to get to a Yankees or Mets game, but this was before my stadium bucket-list quest had begun.

The craziest story of the trip, however, happened after we left the City of Sinatra. We drove up to Cooperstown through the fall foliage and it was beautiful, getting to our hotel in plenty of time for a good night’s sleep to enter the Hall early the next morning.

Well, the next morning came and we were ready to check out. I flipped the lock on the hotel room door and pulled—but nothing happened. The deadbolt would not retract.

Uh oh.

A call to the lobby produced hotel staff who—understandably—didn’t quite know how to proceed. The issue: my aunt and I were anxious to get to the HOF because we flew out of town that night. After about a half-hour of conversations through the door, we heard a stern voice yell “PLEASE STAND BACK!”

Moments later, the door flew inward—completely busting it off all hinges—as a battering ram like you’d see in TV police procedurals was used to free us. You’ve never really experienced “awkward” until you step over the pulverized door of your hotel room and tip your cap to the staff knowing you will not return (hahaha).

Once extracted from our temporary domicile, the day at the Hall was great! We got to see Kirby Puckett’s plaque—he had just been enshrined that summer!—and I distinctly recall the Babe Ruth gallery as my favorite exhibit…

Someday I’ll get back to Gotham to hit up Yankee Stadium 3.0 & Citi Field. I considered it this year but didn’t want to air travel over the busiest weekend of the summer. So, I’ll have to content myself with watching the on-field action from afar this afternoon before presumably some last-gasp booms keeping me awake tonight.

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