Not so far past the Cyclone roller coaster from Keyspan Park that Barry Bonds couldn’t reach it with an opposite field homer is Brighton Beach, a community where Russian has become the language of choice. But when you walk around Keyspan Park, you don’t hear much Russian being spoken.
That may soon change.
Look around Brighton Beach, and you’ll find some Cyclones schedules printed in Russian — a baseball first, according to the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the governing body of minor league baseball.
You don’t have to speak Russian to use the schedules because, no matter what language you speak, “SI” means Staten Island, and the dates of the games are easy to understand. But the directions to Keyspan Park and all ticket ordering information are in Russian.
“We have a huge number of Russian-speaking people in Brooklyn, particularly in Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach. These people have not been introduced to baseball on a large scale and the [New York Mets] organization wants this population to become more involved in following the game,” said Dave Campanaro, the Cyclones’ director of media relations.
“We have had our interns distribute the schedules to a large number of stores and businesses in the Russian-speaking communities, and the schedules have been favorably received.”
The Cyclones have also printed schedules in Spanish, a first-time move for the Cyclones, but not a baseball first.
“Baseball is obviously very big among the Spanish-speaking communities in our area and we wanted to reach out to this community as well by printing our schedules in Spanish,” Campanaro said.
There is a terrific contribution made to North American baseball by Spanish speaking players, but how about from Russian talkers?
Well, there was an infielder with the Cyclones in their inaugural season by the name of Vladimir Hernandez. His first name is of Russian derivation, but it derives from the long-time Russian influence in his birthplace — Cuba.
There’s also a major-league right fielder named Vladimir [Guerrero], but he was born in the Dominican Republic.
Maybe the Russian-language schedules will find their way back to Russia and the Clones’ first Russian player is only a few years away.
Baby rivalry
Is a rivalry a rivalry when your rival is in last place? We’ll find out this weekend when the second place (11-8) Cyclones take on the last place (5-14) Staten Island Yankees in a three game series. Will the Yankees climb back into the McNamara Division race over the backs of the Clones?
Will the Clones respond to the call to battle issued by Brooklyn Borough president Marty Markowitz two weeks ago at the reconstructed Parade Grounds, when he told the Clones, “Remember, whatever you do, beat Staten Island, beat the Yankees!”?
The action starts with a 7:05 pm game at Keyspan Park on Friday, July 9. The teams cross the Narrows for a 7:05 pm start on Saturday at Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George, before coming back to Brooklyn for the series finale at 5:05 pm on Sunday.
The Cyclones and Yankees will meet 11 times this season, and the winner of the season series claims the coveted Mayor’s Cup.
Bring Back the Peaches
Cyclones fans are probably familiar with the movie “A League of their Own,” based on the real women’s baseball league called the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
The Cyclones aren’t starting a women’s team, but they are holding the first annual Ladies Baseball Clinic at Keyspan Park, an event sponsored by the Ladies Home Journal. The clinic will be held on Saturday, July 17, from 11 am until 1 pm.
Women and girls are invited to participate, and for $25 they will receive a T-shirt and two tickets to that night’s Cyclones game, as well as the opportunity to take the field with the team during the playing of the National Anthem.
The Rockford Peaches was the name of the team featured in the movie. The name of a new Brooklyn team for women? Brooklyn Cheesecakes seems somewhat inappropriate, but before forming and naming your team, first come to the clinic and let a few members of the coaching staff and a Cyclone a few players pass on some professional pointers.
The clinic will be partly participatory, so bring sneakers and a glove and be ready to have fun. For more information or to reserve a spot in the clinic, call (718) 449-8497 or e-mail rob@brooklyncyclones.com.
July 10, 2004 issue
