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bktheirregularTraditions abound in sports. Hilda Chester's cowbell at the old Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. Harry Caray singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at Wrigley. The San Diego Chicken.
There are a whole lot of traditions at Yankee Stadium, but one comes to mind tonight.
Set the stage: it's late in the game, a close score, the visitors are threatening. The manager comes to the mound, signals out to left-center field, and takes the ball from the guy on the mound.
Then, over the loudspeakers, an electric guitar begins playing a slow E-minor riff. The guitar music builds, the deep rich voice of Bob Sheppard, Yankee Stadium public-address announcer since 1961 at least, announces the new pitcher, but it's redundant. The crowd knows that song, and they know what it means.
The song is Metallica's "Enter Sandman," and the Yankee Stadium PA system plays it to herald the entrance of Mariano Rivera.
I've talked about him before. Somewhere in the archives, I've talked about his signature pitch, the fastball he throws with an off-center grip so that it skids in on the batter's hands like the Dukes of Hazzard taking a corner at full speed.
But there's also a psychological edge. Maybe the man isn't as invincible as he was a few years ago, but he's still one of the game's great pitchers, still one of the best relievers that have come down the road in a long time. Hitters still know that the pitch he relies on most is the cut fastball, they know it's coming, and they still have trouble.
So when the opening refrain of "Enter Sandman" starts playing ... for a Yankee fan, it's something special.
There are a whole lot of traditions at Yankee Stadium, but one comes to mind tonight.
Set the stage: it's late in the game, a close score, the visitors are threatening. The manager comes to the mound, signals out to left-center field, and takes the ball from the guy on the mound.
Then, over the loudspeakers, an electric guitar begins playing a slow E-minor riff. The guitar music builds, the deep rich voice of Bob Sheppard, Yankee Stadium public-address announcer since 1961 at least, announces the new pitcher, but it's redundant. The crowd knows that song, and they know what it means.
The song is Metallica's "Enter Sandman," and the Yankee Stadium PA system plays it to herald the entrance of Mariano Rivera.
I've talked about him before. Somewhere in the archives, I've talked about his signature pitch, the fastball he throws with an off-center grip so that it skids in on the batter's hands like the Dukes of Hazzard taking a corner at full speed.
But there's also a psychological edge. Maybe the man isn't as invincible as he was a few years ago, but he's still one of the game's great pitchers, still one of the best relievers that have come down the road in a long time. Hitters still know that the pitch he relies on most is the cut fastball, they know it's coming, and they still have trouble.
So when the opening refrain of "Enter Sandman" starts playing ... for a Yankee fan, it's something special.
