In last week’s issue of The Brooklyn Papers, fellow scribe and good friend Gersh Kuntzman weighed in on the side of the “K-Man” promotion at Keyspan Park.
For the uninitiated, there is a daily K-Man contest at Keyspan Park sponsored by Konica Cameras. This contest involves the Cyclone staff designating an opposing player as the game’s “K-Man.” (“K” is the universal baseball scoring symbol for a strikeout.)
If the designated K-Man strikes out three times in the game, every fan in a selected section of the stands are awarded a Konica disposable camera.
Thus, Konica plays off the “K” for Konica with the “K” for strikeout. They garner publicity. But at what cost?
Some Cyclone players have stated that they actually enjoy being the K-Man when they are so selected in opposing ballparks. That’s understandable. It would be fun to show the home team fans what you think of being that evening’s selected victim. A home run against them would feel great.
But what if you don’t get to feel so great?
On Aug. 13, Ben Schroeder, lead-off man and left fielder, was the designated K-Man for the visiting Jamestown Jammers.
When he led off the game, it was announced that he was Jamestown’s K-Man. There was a scintilla of fan reaction. Schroeder struck out. Some fan applause.
With two outs in the third inning, Schroeder came up again. The crowd was filled in on the situation. More applause. Schroeder fanned again. Even more applause.
Jamestown was holding a 1-0 when they came up in the fifth inning. Brooklyn was narrowly holding on to first place in the McNamara Division and every game is crucial. Were all the fans at Keyspan concentrating on this?
For some, the interest was in Schroeder’s next at bat. Jamestown loaded the bases and, with two out, here was Schroeder advancing to the plate. Baseball-wise, Brooklyn was in a tight spot. So was Schroeder. Once again the K-Man situation was announced. There was increased applause. Now the focus was on whether Schroeder would strike out, not whether Brooklyn could retire him in any way and thus keep the game close.
Well, Schroeder struck out again. The camera prizes were announced. Now there was even more applause.
In the seventh inning, Schroeder struck out once more.
Ben Schroeder ended his day with four strikeouts in four at bats and Jamestown lost 3-1.
He had had one of the worst baseball days of his life in front of a crowd where some (not even most) fans were cheering for him to repeatedly strike out.
There’s nothing at all wrong in cheering for a strikeout. What’s wrong with rooting for your team? But when the rooting gets personal, when some fans would rather see Schroeder strike out than hit into a double play, something is wrong.
Twenty minutes after the game, I visited the Jamestown clubhouse. Schroeder had showered and he was wrapped in a towel, sitting on the floor near his locker. He looked exhausted, drained.
One in 10 minor leaguers makes the majors. This day didn’t help Schroeder’s odds.
I talked to him about the K-Man contest. Some people show their toughness in different ways. I thought Schroeder showed his grit by answering my questions in a polite way, even on one of the worst nights of his career.
Speaking with evident understatement, Schroeder said, “When you’re the K-Man, you’re aware of it. It makes your day a little harder.”
Is this what Brooklyn fans want to do to 21-year-old rookie players? Rooting for your team entails, in a sense, rooting for the other team’s failure. But that’s sports. To root for an opponent player to strike out three times detracts from the game and personalizes something that shouldn’t be personalized.
Schroeder should be able to get over this recent night. But I am concerned about what the K-Man does to Cyclone fans.
Many of the same fans who rooted for Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges, Carl Furillo, and Carl Erskine are now fans at Keyspan, and if they aren’t there, the children and grandchildren are. Are these same Brooklyn fans, and their progeny, fans who respected a St. Louis Cardinal opponent named Stan Musial so much that they gave him the nickname “Stan the Man” because of his repeated tattooing of the Ebbets Field right field wall. Are the fans that Stan Musial still loves supposed to root for a designated single-A 21-year-old opponent to strike out three times?
This demeans the Brooklyn fans. It makes them seem simplistic and petty. I have been to all the ballparks where the Cyclones play. Nowhere have I noticed the baseball sophistication that is at Keyspan. Cyclone fans know their players, They study strengths and weaknesses. They notice how a pitcher works a batter the first time through a line-up. They debate fine points of strategy.
It’s an insult to ask these fans to switch their attention from the strategy of the game to whether a designated opponent strikes out three times.
If a prize must be given, give it to a player for a positive achievement.
As for the K-Man controversy, I enjoy disagreeing with a good friend because it’s not personal. If you can’t disagree with a friend in Brooklyn, then where can you? Warner Fusselle, Brooklyn announcer, is, like Gersh, a good friend.
I can’t wait to disagree with Warner about whether the Cyclones should become a full-season team. But that’s for later. As for now, let’s “K” the negative K-Man concept and make it an award for achievement, not failure.
Musical Chairs
Cyclones fans play musical chairs at Keyspan Park — but the game is not one organized by field emcee Party Marty.
During the game, fans look for season ticket holders in their regular seats and for other regulars where they normally wind up.
Fans meet by accident or design on the concourse. Fans spot old or new friends and sit in a vacant seat nearby and visit.
I like to see where Mark Lazarus is, but he’s never in one place for too long. He knows a lot of people and he visits, too, but I’ll always run into him.
I see if Steve Sommers and Birnley Duke Dame are in their seats behind the visitor’s dugout.
I check to see if Patrick Witt is in his seat behind the home plate screen. I see where Ed and Steve Gruber are sitting. Don and Donna Byrnes sometimes sit in my seats while I’m visiting somewhere else, and then someone sits in their seats. Who cares who’s where if you can see and talk with friends.
I will check for Chuck Monsanto behind the Cyclones dugout, but I usually don’t have to check. I usually hear Chuck with no problem no matter where I am in Keyspan.
The press box has a nice view, and there’s usually someone up there to talk to. While the luxury boxes look nice, I’ve never been in them.
It’s better to play musical chairs and see your friends while you see a game. That’s a great way to take it all in.
Game times
The Cyclones played the Hudson Valley Renegades on Friday, Aug. 15 as the city was recovering from the blackout. Even though the game was played, fans with unused tickets from the game can exchange them for another game this season, based on availability.
The postponed game against Hudson Valley on Sunday, Aug. 17 will be made up as the day part (1 pm start) of a day/night doubleheader against the Hudson Valley Renegades on Wednesday, Aug. 27.
August 25, 2003 issue
