Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Sign of times: Yankees a tough autograph
Because they are the New York Yankees, the most famous baseball team in the world, they travel surreptitiously. Their road hotels? A classified secret -- to keep away their legions of admirers.
Yet word leaks out. And so at 10 a.m. Tuesday, several autograph seekers had gathered across the street from the main entrance of the Westin on Michigan Avenue.
Inside, the lobby was nearly deserted. Flash Gordon sat alone, waiting on a cab to grab some lunch -- or perhaps a late breakfast -- from Carson's. Where were the mobs of adoring fans one would expect to find in the lobby of the Yankees' hotel? Where were the giggling teenage girls, waiting for a glimpse of Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez? Where were the little kids who would jump at the chance to meet a Yankee, any Yankee? Where were the grownups, who, God help them, could not pass up a chance to see the Yankees in person?
Maybe they didn't know where to find the Yankees. Or maybe they had learned to stay away.
''Years ago, we used to let people in [off the street] to get autographs,'' a veteran doorman said. ''Not anymore.''
Many professional teams stay at the Westin while in Chicago. Fans and autograph seekers are banned from the lobby and are not allowed to congregate in front of the hotel. They must keep a safe distance. That goes double when the Yankees are in town. If the hotel doesn't shoo people away, the Yankees' security personnel will.
Rich Henry, Gary Dudkowski and ''Big Mike,'' 30-somethings from the south suburbs, stood across the street Tuesday, waiting for autographs. They knew from experience not to enter the hotel or even stand too close to it. They had come to the Westin frequently over the years to collect autographs. They think the Atlanta Braves players are the nicest. They think the Boston Red Sox and Yankees are the least nice -- or at least the most difficult to get an autograph from. But there are exceptions.
''Jason Giambi is nice,'' one of the guys said about the Yankees first baseman.
They saw Giambi on Monday night at Rosebud on Rush. He was eating dinner with actor George Clooney. While one listener contained her inner shrieks -- George Clooney! -- the guys suddenly took off, running across the street. Yankees manager Joe Torre had emerged from the hotel. Quickly surrounded by six or seven people, Torre, wearing dark sunglasses and no coat on this chilly, sunless day, signed his name for everyone, then took off at a brisk pace.
Big Mike had been hoping to get Torre's autograph. His friends were happy for him. Big Mike didn't even crack a smile.
"I don't show my emotions,'' he said. "But I'm happy. He stopped and signed for everyone, didn't he? That was pretty classy of him.''
Yankees broadcaster Charley Steiner emerged from the hotel with a cup of coffee in one hand and a cell phone in the other. He stopped to chat. Looking at the autograph seekers across the street, Steiner said a much larger crowd typically awaits the Yan- kees when they travel.
Steiner was asked if the small crowd, which now numbered about 11, meant the Yankees have lost some luster. They did lose the World Series, after all. Not to mention three of four to the Red Sox from Friday to Monday.
"They're still like the Beatles,'' Steiner said. "I guess Derek is the cute one. And A-Rod must be John Lennon. But if Jeter is Paul and A-Rod is Lennon, then Hideki Matsui was Paul and John put together when the team played in Japan [in March]. That really was unbelievable.''
Rest assured, Steiner continued, the Yankees have lost none of their luster. The team's elaborate security provisions on the road, which Steiner was not at liberty to discuss, are still necessary. In some cities -- Boston and Baltimore came to mind -- they're imperative. In those cities, separating the Yankees from the public can require police lines. Even then, fans can't always be kept at bay. The Yankees cannot hope to stop all the attention that comes their way; they only can hope to contain it.
Steiner also offered a theory about Rodriguez's slow start at the plate this season. After he went 1-for-17 against the Red Sox, his average dipped to .160.
''There is a vibe, an aura, about the Yankees that is just different,'' Steiner said. "It doesn't matter if you're a good, great or adequate player, it takes a while before you're comfortable.''
The Red Sox series, played in Boston, was also the first time Rodriguez had experienced "primal boos,'' Steiner said, adding that "I think the pinstripes are feeling a little heavy for A-Rod right now.''
Neither Rodriguez nor Jeter was spotted Tuesday. But Gabe White, Miguel Cairo and Tony Clark were. Mike Mussina was, too. And Mussina became a big hit.
On his way out of the hotel at lunchtime, when the autograph seekers approached him, Mussina responded, ''On my way back,'' setting off a modest frenzy among the seekers.
"The Cubs might go to the World Series, hell might freeze over, Mike Mussina might actually sign an autograph!'' Mike Gomez, a veteran autograph hunter, yelled a tad sarcastically.
When Mussina came back, he signed several autographs, instantly raising his stock with this group.
"He kept his word,'' said Henry, who has been collecting autographs for about 30 years.
By then, around 1:30 p.m., about 20 people had assembled, and nearly all were grown men.
''I started getting autographs at Comiskey Park when I was a kid,'' said Bryan Petrulis, 31. ''I told myself I wouldn't still be doing this all these years later. But it's an addiction, I guess.''
The group watched with chagrin as first Giambi, then Gary Sheffield, hopped into cabs.
The anticipated squealing teens had yet to materialize, but Jessica Fowler, 11, and her sister Kinsey, 8, were waiting quietly for autographs along with their dad, Derin. The Fowlers, who live in St. Charles, had shopped at the American Girl store that morning and were going to U.S. Cellular Field for the White Sox-Yankees game that evening. In the meantime, they hoped to see Jeter and Matsui, Dad's favorites.
"We do this five or six times a year,'' said Fowler, who typically brings his 13-year-old son along but had saved this day for his daughters.
The girls, shivering in hooded jackets, said they were having fun.
It started raining in midafternoon, and several of the guys took cover under an awning adjacent to the hotel entrance. Not for long, though. Yankees security quickly emerged from the building and curtly told them to move.
Soon after, ropes went up around a second hotel entrance, and the first of the Yankees' two chartered buses pulled up to the curb. At about the same time, three girls -- Christine Relic, 12, Autumn Zumdema, 13, and Morgan Osness, 13 -- jumped out of a car and ran over to the ropes. Relic held a camera, and Zumdema wore a Yankees cap. Osness' dad waited in the car. The group had driven to the city from Woodstock and was on its way to the game at the Cell.
When asked which Yankee they most hoped to see, all three girls yelled, as if on cue, "Derek Jeter!''
"He's cute,'' Zumdema said.
"I love A-Rod, but I play shortstop and I love Jeter,'' Osness said.
"I want to take his picture,'' Relic said.
They didn't seem to mind the security rope that held them back or the watchful security guards. They were this close to the Yankees, and that's all that mattered.
Because they are the New York Yankees, the most famous baseball team in the world, they travel surreptitiously. Their road hotels? A classified secret -- to keep away their legions of admirers.
Yet word leaks out. And so at 10 a.m. Tuesday, several autograph seekers had gathered across the street from the main entrance of the Westin on Michigan Avenue.
Inside, the lobby was nearly deserted. Flash Gordon sat alone, waiting on a cab to grab some lunch -- or perhaps a late breakfast -- from Carson's. Where were the mobs of adoring fans one would expect to find in the lobby of the Yankees' hotel? Where were the giggling teenage girls, waiting for a glimpse of Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez? Where were the little kids who would jump at the chance to meet a Yankee, any Yankee? Where were the grownups, who, God help them, could not pass up a chance to see the Yankees in person?
Maybe they didn't know where to find the Yankees. Or maybe they had learned to stay away.
''Years ago, we used to let people in [off the street] to get autographs,'' a veteran doorman said. ''Not anymore.''
Many professional teams stay at the Westin while in Chicago. Fans and autograph seekers are banned from the lobby and are not allowed to congregate in front of the hotel. They must keep a safe distance. That goes double when the Yankees are in town. If the hotel doesn't shoo people away, the Yankees' security personnel will.
Rich Henry, Gary Dudkowski and ''Big Mike,'' 30-somethings from the south suburbs, stood across the street Tuesday, waiting for autographs. They knew from experience not to enter the hotel or even stand too close to it. They had come to the Westin frequently over the years to collect autographs. They think the Atlanta Braves players are the nicest. They think the Boston Red Sox and Yankees are the least nice -- or at least the most difficult to get an autograph from. But there are exceptions.
''Jason Giambi is nice,'' one of the guys said about the Yankees first baseman.
They saw Giambi on Monday night at Rosebud on Rush. He was eating dinner with actor George Clooney. While one listener contained her inner shrieks -- George Clooney! -- the guys suddenly took off, running across the street. Yankees manager Joe Torre had emerged from the hotel. Quickly surrounded by six or seven people, Torre, wearing dark sunglasses and no coat on this chilly, sunless day, signed his name for everyone, then took off at a brisk pace.
Big Mike had been hoping to get Torre's autograph. His friends were happy for him. Big Mike didn't even crack a smile.
"I don't show my emotions,'' he said. "But I'm happy. He stopped and signed for everyone, didn't he? That was pretty classy of him.''
Yankees broadcaster Charley Steiner emerged from the hotel with a cup of coffee in one hand and a cell phone in the other. He stopped to chat. Looking at the autograph seekers across the street, Steiner said a much larger crowd typically awaits the Yan- kees when they travel.
Steiner was asked if the small crowd, which now numbered about 11, meant the Yankees have lost some luster. They did lose the World Series, after all. Not to mention three of four to the Red Sox from Friday to Monday.
"They're still like the Beatles,'' Steiner said. "I guess Derek is the cute one. And A-Rod must be John Lennon. But if Jeter is Paul and A-Rod is Lennon, then Hideki Matsui was Paul and John put together when the team played in Japan [in March]. That really was unbelievable.''
Rest assured, Steiner continued, the Yankees have lost none of their luster. The team's elaborate security provisions on the road, which Steiner was not at liberty to discuss, are still necessary. In some cities -- Boston and Baltimore came to mind -- they're imperative. In those cities, separating the Yankees from the public can require police lines. Even then, fans can't always be kept at bay. The Yankees cannot hope to stop all the attention that comes their way; they only can hope to contain it.
Steiner also offered a theory about Rodriguez's slow start at the plate this season. After he went 1-for-17 against the Red Sox, his average dipped to .160.
''There is a vibe, an aura, about the Yankees that is just different,'' Steiner said. "It doesn't matter if you're a good, great or adequate player, it takes a while before you're comfortable.''
The Red Sox series, played in Boston, was also the first time Rodriguez had experienced "primal boos,'' Steiner said, adding that "I think the pinstripes are feeling a little heavy for A-Rod right now.''
Neither Rodriguez nor Jeter was spotted Tuesday. But Gabe White, Miguel Cairo and Tony Clark were. Mike Mussina was, too. And Mussina became a big hit.
On his way out of the hotel at lunchtime, when the autograph seekers approached him, Mussina responded, ''On my way back,'' setting off a modest frenzy among the seekers.
"The Cubs might go to the World Series, hell might freeze over, Mike Mussina might actually sign an autograph!'' Mike Gomez, a veteran autograph hunter, yelled a tad sarcastically.
When Mussina came back, he signed several autographs, instantly raising his stock with this group.
"He kept his word,'' said Henry, who has been collecting autographs for about 30 years.
By then, around 1:30 p.m., about 20 people had assembled, and nearly all were grown men.
''I started getting autographs at Comiskey Park when I was a kid,'' said Bryan Petrulis, 31. ''I told myself I wouldn't still be doing this all these years later. But it's an addiction, I guess.''
The group watched with chagrin as first Giambi, then Gary Sheffield, hopped into cabs.
The anticipated squealing teens had yet to materialize, but Jessica Fowler, 11, and her sister Kinsey, 8, were waiting quietly for autographs along with their dad, Derin. The Fowlers, who live in St. Charles, had shopped at the American Girl store that morning and were going to U.S. Cellular Field for the White Sox-Yankees game that evening. In the meantime, they hoped to see Jeter and Matsui, Dad's favorites.
"We do this five or six times a year,'' said Fowler, who typically brings his 13-year-old son along but had saved this day for his daughters.
The girls, shivering in hooded jackets, said they were having fun.
It started raining in midafternoon, and several of the guys took cover under an awning adjacent to the hotel entrance. Not for long, though. Yankees security quickly emerged from the building and curtly told them to move.
Soon after, ropes went up around a second hotel entrance, and the first of the Yankees' two chartered buses pulled up to the curb. At about the same time, three girls -- Christine Relic, 12, Autumn Zumdema, 13, and Morgan Osness, 13 -- jumped out of a car and ran over to the ropes. Relic held a camera, and Zumdema wore a Yankees cap. Osness' dad waited in the car. The group had driven to the city from Woodstock and was on its way to the game at the Cell.
When asked which Yankee they most hoped to see, all three girls yelled, as if on cue, "Derek Jeter!''
"He's cute,'' Zumdema said.
"I love A-Rod, but I play shortstop and I love Jeter,'' Osness said.
"I want to take his picture,'' Relic said.
They didn't seem to mind the security rope that held them back or the watchful security guards. They were this close to the Yankees, and that's all that mattered.
