Add Jeremy Affeldt to list of Wrigley haters
Haters gonna hate.
Another player has come out to publicly say how he hated Wrigley Field and its facilities. Jeremy Affeldt joins the likes of Ozzie Guillen, (here, here, and here), Lance Berkman (here), and random people (here).
Although he doesn’t go into great detail, Affeldt does describe some of the more common things people complain about; he calls the clubhouse a “locker room” because he “can’t even really call it a clubhouse.” He also discusses the mound, how it’s the worst in the majors, and how the one on the diamond differs from the ones in the bullpen down the right field line.
He does concede the history of the second-oldest baseball park in the country, and how he owns a 5+ ERA during his time there, so it’s hard to hate on the guy, but he does add himself to a list of people who have been open about hating on Wrigley.
He calls the “building a virtual time machine” and “visiting that ballpark should be on every fan’s bucket list.” He just won’t miss pitching there because the conditions for the players is/were awful. He understands it’s undergoing a long-term renovation plan, but can only speak from his own experiences. I usually get annoyed when players start hating on other team’s fans/stadiums/whathaveyou when it’s unsolicited, but this didn’t seem like an attack like when Ozzie or Berkman do/did it.
Maybe calling him a “hater” isn’t fair, but life isn’t fair, Jeremy. I’m sure nobody’s going to miss your .86 playoff ERA.
To be partial, it’s well-documented how poor the clubhouses are. With only seeing pictures myself, I even make fun of them. You have to. I haven’t really heard anything about the mounds before so I do find that interesting.
Like I said, this is nowhere near the brutality that Ozzie and Berkman brought upon us. Guillen has reared back a little after he lost the Marlins job (here), and especially after Maddon was rumored to become the Cubs manager (here). It also came out there was a possibility he was to become the new manager in 2012 (here). He hasn’t said any hateful words since, so maybe he does know how to bite his tongue, especially when he needs a job.
I liked Berkman as a player, but without knowing much else besides his blatant hatred for Wrigley, I very much dislike him as a person. Even it wasn’t the home of the Cubs, I think I would despise anyone who said he would be the guy to press the button to blow up a stadium.
*picture is courtesy of blowthefoghorn.com
