BALTIMORE BASEBALL, BEER, POT, AND YAZ
The Granite State debate on marijuana legalization continues. There
are many aspects to it all which we won’t get into here, except that—as with so
many issues—there is a sports component.
Consider the outcry a couple years ago when American sprinter Sha’Carri
Richardson faced disqualification from the Tokyo Olympics after testing
positive for marijuana. She supposedly smoked pot after her mother’s tragic
death.
Drug testing has abounded for decades. Most sports folks don’t want
performance enhancers providing Russians with unfair advantages. And that’s also
why home run king Barry Bonds’ steroid use keeps him out of Cooperstown’s Hall
of Fame.
But is pot really a performance enhancer? The debate will continue.
Full disclosure: I’m not a fan of legalizing pot. I’m sure my low-tolerance
for weed stems from being drug-tested for many years as a U.S. Marine.
Which brings us to Saturday, June 18, 1983, when I boarded a bus in
Quantico, Va., along with 50 other Marine Corps lieutenants, to ride up to
Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium for an Orioles game. The O’s were hosting my Red
Sox and it was Carl Yastrzemski’s 23rd and last season. I wanted to
see Yaz play one more time.
Yes, there was beer on the bus. Would one expect differently from
50 young Marine Corps lieutenants out on liberty?
One of the pro-pot arguments is “Alcohol is worse!” Prohibition
failed! But there are many differences. Comparing pot to booze is like comparing
apples to oranges.
Anyway, we fifty Marines sat as a group in Memorial Stadium’s upper
deck, on the first base side—where we’d hopefully avoid trouble. But I was
pleased to discover that, unlike Fenway Park, Memorial Stadium had a liberal
beer policy. One could buy two 24-ouncers at the same time! The O’s treated
beer drinkers as adults
After making an early inning head call, I walked back towards the
upper deck when I saw a beer vendor strapping on a giant tray with numerous libations
to sell in the stands. This inspired an idea.
“Yo! Beer vendor. I’ll sell those beers for you!”
The beer vendor laughed and explained that such action would surely
be frowned upon.
“But I’m with those Marines up there. I’ll sell every beer in no
time.”
The beer vendor laughed and said okay, but he’d need to follow me
at a discrete distance.
“Excellent!”
I strapped on his giant tray and donned his beer vendor cap and
started up the steps, hawking brewksis.
“Beer!” I yelled. “Get your beer here!”
After a couple sales I was inevitably recognized by my Marine
brethren, who naturally cracked up.
“Moffett is selling beer!”
As predicted, the Marines immediately bought all I had. I returned
to the tunnel and gave the delighted beer vendor a bunch of money, loaded up
the tray again and went up and again sold out. The section of Marines gave me a
standing ovation, which drew the attention of many of the 36,668 attendees. What
was going on up there on the upper deck?
(The Orioles drew good crowds in 1983 and would win the World
Series that year.)
I was fortunate that all this beer business predated social media. A
viral video of me selling lots of beer in the Memorial Stadium stands may not
have enhanced my military career. And my friendly beer vendor would likely have
been fired.
Still, it was such fun. But there’s more.
Sitting a few rows behind us near the top of the stadium were some
hippies. Midway through the game the hippies did what hippies do. They started
smoking pot. This immediately got the attention of fifty regularly drug-tested,
buff and burly Marine Corps officers—all quite concerned that inhaling
second-hand pot smoke might end their careers.
Our group turned and stood as one to confront the hippies. A big
Texan with a deep voice yelled “You G--- D--- hippies better stop smoking that pot
or we’ll throw your asses over the top of the stadium!”
Peer pressure? Or beer pressure?
Rather than confront 50 agitated Marines who were clearly ready to
rumble, the hippies decided that discretion was the better part of valor and
wisely moved to another part of Memorial Stadium to get stoned. All the
commotion must have drawn the attention of many of the 36,668 attendees. What
was going on up there?
Marines on liberty. Always an adventure.
It was a night to remember. Jim Rice hit a homer and BoSox pitcher John
Tudor went all the way to win 3-2.
And I got to see Carl Yaztrzemski in action one last time. The
44-year-old future Hall-of Famer walked twice. He would hit ten home runs that
season to finish his career with 452 round-trippers.
And I’m also pretty sure that not one of Yaz’s 3419 career hits was
aided by any performance enhancer, whether imbibed, injected, or inhaled!
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