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Jason Hammel on Wrigley Field construction: 'It looks like Baghdad'
In an attempt to describe what the impact on-going renovations at Wrigley Field might have on a professional level in terms of preparation and on a personal level as a fan, Chicago Cubs right-hander Jason Hammel was pretty straight forward on Wednesday.
In fact, he was probably a little too straight forward with his choice of words, which led to an awkward and unfortunate comparison between the conditions at Wrigley Field and the conditions in Iraq's capital city of Baghdad.
“I’m excited,” Hammel told MLBlogs Network. “It looks like Baghdad, but you know there’s a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow there. It is what it is right now, and we’re going to deal with it, but it’s exciting. It’s a long time coming and fun to be a part of, even if it will be a little sketchy to get around."
As we learned Wednesday, phase one of the Wrigley Field renovation project took a notable step forward with the completion of the left field Jumbotron. Unfortunately, completion of the entire first phase, which includes rebuilding the outfield bleachers, remains several weeks behind due to various setbacks throughout the winter. As a result, the hallowed ballpark will look more like a construction zone when it hosts the MLB season opener on Sunday night, but that's a long and insensitive leap from the war torn appearance that has become the unfortunate reality in Baghdad.
You can understand what might have been running through Hammel's mind though and easily come to the conclusion he didn't intend to be insensitive or controversial. The Cubs are renovating their home with an eye toward a better future. Much of the sacrifice and destruction in Baghdad has also come with that rainbow of hope that someday it can be rebuilt and provide a better future. The intention may have been pure, but it was poorly thought out and simply doesn't connect or provide the proper perspective under the entirely different circumstances.
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At 32, Hammel is known to be a quality guy around the league and a welcomed asset in any clubhouse. This ill-advised choice of words won't affect or change that. But it should serve as a reminder for players to pick and choose their words a little more carefully.
By the way, for what it's worth, Hammel does seem genuinely appreciative and excited about the efforts being made to bring Wrigley Field up to today's ballpark.
“All that stuff will be so cool,” he said. “It’s like jewels on an old crown, I guess. It’s a beautiful stadium. I don’t (know) if that’s a good metaphor or not. If you look at a basic crown, they’re boring, but throw a couple jewels on it, and it’s nice.”
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
