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Blue has accomplished more than he suspects. He, and a score of other flashy young stars like him, is part of a new zip that is livening up the old ball game. Rube Waddell and the boys in fact would choke on their chaws of tobacco if they could see some of the carryings-on at the ballparks these days. Just 16 years ago, the Cleveland Indians were mocked for shuttling relief pitchers around in a Jeep. Today the Baltimore club not only has a golf cart in the shape of a huge Oriole cap but a pretty, broom-wielding girl to dust off the infielders' spikes. While Cleveland President Veeck was once considered crass for handing out free nylons to lady customers, there is now a Cash Scramble Day in Philadelphia featuring a group of fans battling for bills scattered across the field. "Action! Action! Action! With a little blood mixed in—that's what the fans want," says Oakland Owner Charles O. Finley.
Hot Pants Patrol
In Finley's stadium the action ranges from fireworks to greased-pig chases. In St. Louis it is rock, opera and country-and-western music concerts between doubleheaders. Atlanta boasts what it calls the "world's largest calliope" and Chief Noc-a-Homa, a full-blooded Indian who does a war dance on the mound before each game. There is an endless variety of "Days": Bat Day, Ball Day, Helmet Day, T Shirt Day, Poster Day, Cushion Day, Sunglasses Day, Hot Pants Day, Wild West Day, Honor America Day, Latin America Day, A-Students Day, Plattsburgh Day. The day has also come when the baggy woolen uniforms of old are giving over to the pajama-like stretch-nylon duds worn by the Pittsburgh Pirates. In Oakland, Vida Blue & Co. turn out in uniforms of Kelly green and California gold with kangaroo-leather spikes dyed wedding-gown white.
"We try to make ball games more entertaining," says Philadelphia Phillies Vice President Bill Giles, "so the fans have something else to look forward to besides the game." Last week the Phillies were buried in fifth place in their division; yet the club's attendance has been running 500,000 over last season. The chief reason is the new $45,000,000 Philadelphia Veterans Stadium. The stadium has parking for 12,000, wall-to-wall artificial turf, escalators, theater-type seats, air-conditioned boxes and usherettes called the Hot Pants Patrol. It has not just one but two exploding scoreboards that can do everything but cook the hot dogs. The big spectacular is a routine done by Philadelphia Phil and Phillis, two 25-ft.-high statues in colonial dress mounted at press-box level. When a Philly hits a home run, Phil strokes an animated ball, which strikes an animated Liberty Bell, which lights up along the crack, and the ball then ricochets and conks Phillis on the noggin. Phillis responds by shooting off a cannon while a large colonial flag unfurls from the press box and a fountain of "dancing waters" spouts in centerfield.