Hui! Go Back, M.L.B. Goin’ Play One Game at Rickwood Field! ๐โพ๏ธ
Dis one goin’ blow yo’ mind! Rickwood Field, one stadium ova dea in Birmingham, Ala., dey say dis da oldest professional baseball stadium in da U.S., yeah? An’ get dis, dey goin’ host one Major League Baseball game between da San Francisco Giants and da St. Louis Cardinals in 2024! ๐ฒ
Rickwood Field, dat place get history, brah. Dey wen see some big kine playahs ova dea, like Babe Ruth an’ Willie Mays. Eh, Mays, he wen grow up right by da park, small kine distance, yeah? Now, next year, dis stadium goin’ come alive again, yeah? Giants an’ Cardinals goin’ battle it out on June 20, 2024.
Dis Rickwood Field, mo’ oldah den Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, you know? Dey wen open um up back in 1910. An’ ova da years, plenny teams wen call dis place home, yeah? Mays’s team, da Birmingham Black Barons from da Negro American League, an’ da Birmingham Barons, one minor league team.
M.L.B., dey wen tell everybody ’bout dis game on Tuesday, yeah? Dey stay tryin’ fo’ show off some special games in diff’rent kine places. Dey wen do um befo’, like in Fort Bragg, N.C., an’ Omaha, where da College World Series stay. Dey wen go Williamsport, Pa., too, where da Little League World Series stay.
You know what else? Dey wen do couple games by da Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa. Eh, das da same place dey wen shoot dat movie “Field of Dreams” in 1989, yeah? Las’ season, da White Sox an’ da Yankees wen go head to head ova dea, an’ da Cubs an’ Reds wen play too. But no mo’ Field of Dreams game dis year, ’cause dey stay doin’ construction ova dea. ๐๐ง
M.L.B. say dis game at Rickwood Field, dey pick da date fo’ match up wit Juneteenth. Dey stay plannin’ fo’ get plenny kine activities goin’ on fo’ celebrate da history of da Negro leagues an’ Mays, da greatest playah still alive. ๐๐๏ธ
Eh, Mays, he stay 92 years old now, yeah? He wen go high school not too far from Rickwood Field, you know? Back in 1948, when he was just 17 an’ still in school, he wen start his pro baseball career wit da Black Barons. Da next year, he wen sign wit da New York Giants.
Dis what Mays wen say, M.L.B. wen issue one statement fo’ him, yeah? He say, “Hooo, I nevah believe it. I nevah t’ought I would see in my lifetime one Major League Baseball game played right on da same field where I wen play baseball wen I was one teenager.” โพ๏ธ๐
An’ he pau his statement wit dis: “We gotta remembah what brought us hea, an’ dat was da Negro Leagues fo’ so many of us.” โ๐พ๐ณ๏ธโ๐
Dis Rickwood Field, can fit almost 11,000 people, you know? One guy named Harvey Woodward, dey call him Rick, he da one wen build um. He wen model um aftah Forbes Field in Pittsburgh an’ Shibe Park in Philadelphia. When it opened, on Aug. 18, 1910, businesses in Birmingham were shuttered to celebrate the grand occasion.
In its early years, the park hosted exhibition games with teams from the American and National Leagues, including the Yankees, but Rickwood was home to the Barons, a Southern League institution that featured stars like Pie Traynor and Burleigh Grimes. In later years, Bo Jackson played for the Barons at Rickwood, as did Michael Jordan during his 1994 sojourn into baseball.
A great deal of the most significant history at the park, however, came from the Black Barons, a Negro leagues team that featured stars like Mule Suttles and Satchel Paige, who won more games for Birmingham than he did for any other professional team.
In 1948, the Black Barons โ with Mays in tow โ faced the Homestead Grays in the final Negro World Series. While the Grays won that Series, William Greason, who went on to be the first Black pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, picked up Birminghamโs lone victory. Greason, 98, still lives in Birmingham and is the pastor at Bethel Baptist Church, less than two miles from Rickwood Field. ๐โจ
NOW IN ENGLISH
Hui! Go Back, M.L.B. Goin’ Play One Game at Rickwood Field! ๐โพ๏ธ
This one is going to blow your mind! Rickwood Field, a stadium over there in Birmingham, Alabama, they say this is the oldest professional baseball stadium in the U.S., yeah? And get this, they’re going to host one Major League Baseball game between the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals in 2024! ๐ฒ
Rickwood Field, that place has history, bro. They’ve seen some big-time players over there, like Babe Ruth and Willie Mays. Hey, Mays, he grew up right by the park, a short distance, yeah? Now, next year, this stadium is going to come alive again, yeah? Giants and Cardinals are going to battle it out on June 20, 2024.
This Rickwood Field, it’s older than Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, you know? They opened it up back in 1910. And over the years, plenty of teams have called this place home, yeah? Mays’s team, the Birmingham Black Barons from the Negro American League, and the Birmingham Barons, a minor league team.
M.L.B., they told everybody about this game on Tuesday, yeah? They’re always trying to show off some special games in different kinds of places. They’ve done it before, like in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Omaha, where the College World Series is held. They went to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, too, where the Little League World Series takes place.
You know what else? They’ve done a couple of games at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa. Hey, that’s the same place they filmed that movie “Field of Dreams” in 1989, yeah? Last season, the White Sox and the Yankees went head to head over there, and the Cubs and Reds played too. But there won’t be a Field of Dreams game this year because they’re doing construction over there. ๐๐ง
M.L.B. says this game at Rickwood Field, they picked the date to match up with Juneteenth. They’re planning to have plenty of activities going on to celebrate the history of the Negro leagues and Mays, the greatest player still alive. ๐๐๏ธ
Hey, Mays, he’s 92 years old now, yeah? He went to high school not too far from Rickwood Field, you know? Back in 1948, when he was just 17 and still in school, he started his pro baseball career with the Black Barons. The next year, he signed with the New York Giants.
This is what Mays said, M.L.B. issued a statement for him, yeah? He said, “Hooo, I never believed it. I never thought I would see in my lifetime a Major League Baseball game played right on the same field where I played baseball when I was a teenager.” โพ๏ธ๐
And he finished his statement with this: “We gotta remember what brought us here, and that was the Negro Leagues for so many of us.” โ๐พ๐ณ๏ธโ๐
Rickwood Field can fit almost 11,000 people, you know? There was this guy named Harvey Woodward, they called him Rick, he’s the one who built it. He modeled it after Forbes Field in Pittsburgh and Shibe Park in Philadelphia. When it opened on August 18, 1910, businesses in Birmingham were shuttered to celebrate the grand occasion.
In its early years, the park hosted exhibition games with teams from the American and National Leagues, including the Yankees, but Rickwood was home to the Barons, a Southern League institution that featured stars like Pie Traynor and Burleigh Grimes. In later years, Bo Jackson played for the Barons at Rickwood, as did Michael Jordan during his 1994 baseball journey.
A great deal of the most significant history at the park, however, came from the Black Barons, a Negro leagues team that featured stars like Mule Suttles and Satchel Paige, who won more games for Birmingham than he did for any other professional team.
In 1948, the Black Barons โ with Mays in tow โ faced the Homestead Grays in the final Negro World Series. While the Grays won that Series, William Greason, who went on to be the first Black pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, picked up Birminghamโs lone victory. Greason, 98, still lives in Birmingham and is the pastor at Bethel Baptist Church, less than two miles from Rickwood Field. ๐โจ
