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The Red Sox now have both Fisk's pole and the Pesky pole. The Giants have McCovey Cove. What does the future hold for other ballpark landmarks? Let's get out our crystal ball ...
Jose's stall (Oakland Coliseum, 2030)
Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, known as the "Bash Brothers" back in Oakland's glory days of the late 1980s, finally kiss and make up, ending a long feud that
began when Canseco, now 65, said publicly that he and McGwire swapped
steroid butt-shots in the Coliseum's clubhouse bathroom stalls. In a
pregame ceremony open only to players, press, and new "Field Hover"
box owners, a clubhouse stall is named in his honor.
Sexson's pixels (ChinaBank Stadium, 2014)
The D-Backs get into the spirit by naming center-field video screen
bulbs S-44, S-45, T-44, and T-45 after Richie Sexson, who smashed them
with a legendary 503-foot homer in April 2004. It was the longest dinger ever
hit in Bank of China Stadium, then called Bank One Ballpark. At the time of the
blast, Sexson's own image was displayed on the screen; in effect, he
hit himself with the ball.
Kingman's hole (Metrodome, 2027)
The Twins name a small part of the Metrodome's roof to honor slugger
Dave Kingman, who died last month. On May 4, 1984, Kingman, then
playing for the Oakland A's, hit a sky-high shot that went into the
hole and didn't come down until the next day. It was called a
ground-rule double. Kingman's granddaughter, attending the ceremony,
says, "My grandfather was so misunderstood. He was a kind, gentle man,
and would have been thrilled to see a piece of teflon roof named after him."
The Steinbrenner-vator (Dodgers Stadium, 2021)
Forty years after the Yankees-Dodgers 1981 World Series, the Dodgers honor Yankee owner George Steinbrenner during
the first game of the 2021 Series. Dodgers team owner
Mike Piazza cuts the ribbon on a new internal stadium elevator
named in honor of "The Boss," who, as he tells it, broke his hand in
that elevator shaft when he punched out two Dodgers fans who called
the Yankees "chokers." After the ceremony, a teary Steinbrenner
quipped, "I'm all choked up." He then proceeded to try and punch out Dodger pitching coach Kevin Brown, whom he blames for the Yankees' 18-year World Series drought.
Jeffrey's wall
In 2006, the Yankees bring back Jeffrey Maier, now 22, and name the
foam topping of the right-field wall after him,. In 1996, the 12-year-old Maier leaned over from his front-row bleacher seat to pull in a Derek Jeter flyball before O's outfielder Tony Tarasco had a chance to grab it. It was ruled a homer, and the Yankees went on to win Game 1 of the
ALCS.
Hodges' polish-post (2009)
In a elaborate ceremony, the Mets mark the spot in the Shea Stadium home dugout where Gil Hodges was
handed the famous "shoe polish ball" during Game 5 of the 1969 World
Series. Hodges brought the ball, marked with a smudge of shoe polish
from Cleon Jones' spikes, to show that Jones had indeed been hit by a
pitch. Jones then scored on a Donn Clendenon homer, and the Miracle
Mets went on to with the game and the Series.