DRAFT Magazine

Former Cardinals’ slugger Mark McGwire has been blessed recently by those in St. Louis. He was hired as a batting coach by longtime friend and manager Tony LaRussa. He was interviewed by St. Louis’ own Bob Costas as part of an effort to admit his steroid use and to rehabilitate his image.

But now, the verbal bats are swinging at him. Adolphus Busch IV, scion of the beer dynasty whose family’s name was on the stadium McGwire called home, blasted the man who once swatted 70 home runs in a record-breaking season.

“McGwire is not apologizing for his deceit, only for the embarrassment that came from his admission of having previously lied,” Busch wrote in a statement. “The timing of his announcement at the start of a new baseball season has allowed him to hide behind the frenzy of a new Cardinal season and the blinding faith of Cardinal loyalists.”

It is anger filled with intriguing sidelines. Those as gently reared as Busch rarely show such public wrath. And he doesn’t even own the Cardinals, which his family sold in the 1990s (nor does he own the A-B brewery anymore). The man whose record McGwire broke, Roger Maris, ran Budweiser beer distributorships after he retired, thanks to the Busch family.

Bottom line: McGwire was a hero to millions who used performance-enhancing substances to help break a sacred record. Ah, for the days when the worst that could be said of great home-run hitters like Babe Ruth is that they had one too many beers the night before.

It’s true the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees have little shared history. Before the dawn of interleague play, their only meeting had been during the 1950 World Series, where the Whiz Kids were tossed aside by the Yankees in the middle of one of their frequent dynasties.

In a bizarre twist, what they have shared is the same Ballantine Beer scoreboard.

According to Joe Sixpack, an aptly named writer at Philly.com, the Yankees decided to dispatch of their scoreboard in 1955 when Yankee Stadium — opened in 1923 — was being modernized. No longer would Yankee announcer Mel Allen refer to home runs as “Ballantine blasts” as the Phillies bought the mammoth structure for $175,000 and installed it at Connie Mack Stadium, the former Shibe Park.

Believe it or not, the Ballantine Beer scoreboard was the Phillies’ first electronic scoreboard. Before that, scores were changed by hand, like they still are at Wrigley Field.

Joe Sixpack reminisced about the scoreboard, which he saw as a youngster and which obviously influenced his aunt:

“My baseball-crazy aunt, who took me to the games of my youth, could attest to the power of the beer company’s advertisement. One afternoon, she looked at us in amazement as my cousins and I, upon witnessing Johnny Callison hit two home runs in a single game, broke into the chorus from the Ballantine jingle: “Hey friend - do it again.”

Alas, the scoreboard was demolished in 1976. And though Ballantine Ale is still sold, it’s not nearly as popular as it was in its 1950s heyday.

When the farewell to the Metrodome in Minneapolis metamorphosed from ceaseless tears to “Hey, we may get some playoff baseball here!” in the waning days of the regular season, Kent Hrbek — an All-Star first sacker for the team back in the glory days of 1987 and 1991 — announced to the fans, “We’ve got to come back here on Tuesday and drink some more beer!”

And that’s what they did. In a thrilling, 12-inning 6-5 victory over Detroit on Tuesday night, the Twins clinched a playoff berth during the 163rd game of the year in a frenzied Metrodome.

The fans drank beer — thanks in part to Wally The Beer Man, who was featured previously in Sports on Tap — and no doubt had a few comments for an infamously publicized beer man, Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera. When the police arrive at your house during the pennant race of your life and your blood-alcohol level reads .26, times are grim indeed.

Few give the Twins a chance against the vaunted New York Yankees — they of the spanking new stadium that puts the Metrodome to shame — but beware. No team is hotter than Minnesota, despite their personnel deficiencies, and in a short five-game series, strange things occur. The Twins are almost unbeatable in the Metrodome in postseason baseball. Don’t be surprised if the Twins are pouring beer on each other in the lockerroom by the end of the series.

On Sunday, the Minnesota Twins’ long run at the Metrodome will end, perhaps with a American League Central division title in hand. The Metrodome has been the site of two World Series (with the ultimate home-field advantage — the Twins didn’t lose a game there in two seven-game series) and was also well-known for outfield walls that resembled Hefty bags.

Less known, at least nationally, is a beer vendor who has been selling brews since the Hubert H. Humphrey Dome opened in 1982 — Walter “The Beer Man” McNeil.

He’s a little more famous than your typical suds seller. McNeil, after all, has been featured on the NBC Nightly News and in Sports Illustrated. According to the summaries of 9 Famous Baseball Beer Vendors on Mental Floss, “McNeil developed a huge following among Twins supporters, who came to recognize his shouts of ‘beer here, in part thanks to the autographed baseball cards picturing himself that he would hand out.”

And on Friday night, McNeil — who also has worked at the Metrodome for Vikings and Golden Gophers games — will switch the number from “3″ to “2″ for the number of days before indoor baseball ends and outdoor baseball again becomes a reality in Minnesota (when the Twins play at their new park in 2010).

Expect The Beer Guy to be hawking his wares outdoors next April.

Today, all 30 Major League Baseball teams are able to expand their rosters to add some of the top minor league players from their systems. With a few stars heading to the big leagues, some fans left behind will be crying in their beer — that is, at parks where they can buy it.

Two minor league teams in the United States — the Oneonta Tigers and the Orem Owlz — do not sell beer at their home games. The latter franchise has the excuse that it plays in Mormon country, but Oneonta’s ban is a harder sell to its fans.

According to an article on the Boston Globe’s Web site, longtime owner Sam Nader was disgusted back in the 1960s by the behavior of a drunken fan. “He had his fly open, he had a dirty mouth — it was not good,” the 90-year-old told the Globe.

But last year, Nader sold the Single-A team. Today, the new owners are working to get a beer license from the New York State Liquor Authority, which they estimate will bring in another 250 fans per game.

Still, not everyone’s pleased that suds are likely to be coming to the park. One 88-year-old fan was quoted thusly: “I like that they don’t have a lot of doodads, a lot of loudness and all that crap… It doesn’t matter to me that they don’t sell beer.”

BOSTON — When one jumps off the T at Kenmore and walks above the Mass Pike toward Fenway Park, beer signs are as prevalent as Boston accents.

The “Love Triangle” billboard featuring Corona and Corona Light is eye-catching. Below it, a sign announces that Cask N’ Flagon has been a Boston tradition since 1969 — and it’s flanked by Budweiser and Bud Light logos.

Nothing, though, can match the scripted beer sign in the distance. Atop the right field roof sits the word Budweiser, announcing the home of the Budweiser Right Field Roof Deck.

Up there — so high that no slugger has ever smashed a home run to that part of Fenway — more than 200 fans gather during each home game. Like the Green Monster seats 315 feet down the line in left field, roof deck patrons procure their spots via a lottery. The length of the bar is an appropriate 60 feet, 6 inches, in case Luis Tiant and Pete Rose ever re-enact an at-bat during the 1975 World Series. Tables are painted with two Bs — one denoting Boston that graces the Red Sox cap, and the other representing Budweiser.

Marty Ray, public affairs coordinator of the Red Sox, points out that the popular roof deck has added a few extra tables for the 2009 campaign (all seats are sold as tables of four), and that premium standing room tickets are also available on the last remnant of the original Fenway roof. Like the rest of the park, beer sales on the roof deck are cut off in the seventh inning “or at management’s discretion,” Ray says. When might that happen? During a three-hour rain delay, when “you could drink a 12-pack before the seventh inning.”

Though the Budweiser Right Field Roof Deck enjoys a prominent spot in the 97-year-old park, there are other drinking holes. The Irish Pub sits under the stands, and The Bleacher Bar — where patrons can see center field through a glass garage door — packs them in.

For those who prefer the roof deck over other options, just be aware: there is a weight restriction for the entire group that gathers up there. No one wants a hole in the roof.

Back in 1974, serving beers to 25,000 fans at 10 cents apiece caused a near-riot at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, as recalled here at Sports on Tap.

But another team was brave enough to attempt a similar promotion 35 years later — albeit with severe restrictions.

The Lake County Captains of Eastlake, Ohio — the Single-A team of that same Cleveland franchise that caused such a ruckus with the original idea — offered beers for five cents each on the anniversary in August of the aforementioned fiasco. Though it may sound like there was a huge opportunity for disaster, beers were only served for one hour, and they were poured into five-ounce cups (limit two per person).

Not even a tiny man like former Kansas City shortstop Freddie Patek could get drunk off that. According to Darren Rovell at CNBC.com, the team served 2,000 cups of beer, and even included hifalutin choices such as Labatt’s, along with Bud Light and others.

Anyway, with the success of Nickel Beer Night (i.e. the fact Classic Stadium didn’t turn into a war zone), perhaps the idea of ultra-cheap beer nights at ballparks will return.

Except, of course, at Yankee Stadium, where the famous $10 beer isn’t going away soon.

Aside from a Major League Baseball game, the next-best spot to spend opening day is at a horse racing track, especially one that is yards away from the Pacific Ocean and bathed in everlasting sunshine.

Such was the scene Wednesday at Del Mar, opening its always-short season (about six weeks) 20 miles outside of San Diego. Around 40,000 arrived for the party — including actress Bo Derek — and the Coors Light tent was hopping with handicappers ready to win big and have a good time doing it.

Of course, there are other beer selections at the track: Amstel Light, Dos XX and Firestone Double Barrel Ale are available on draft, while Budweiser and Bud Light are offered at restaurants. And according to the San Diego Union-Tribune, mixed drinks were enjoyed at the members-only Turf Club. 

More fun is ahead at Del Mar. A Craft Microbrew Festival will take place on Aug. 1. The Bob Marley Roots, Rock, Reggae Festival occurs just before Labor Day, and then the track shuts down a few days later until next summer. 

Opened in 1937 (Bing Crosby attended the first race), Del Mar’s Spanish-style architecture at the foot of the Pacific makes horse racing almost secondary. The views and the breeze compete with the races. Hopefully Sports on Tap will be reporting from the beer tent there one day.

The first All-Star game in St. Louis in 43 years ended up with two big winners — the American League and Anheuser-Busch.

The beverage giant, which is still mainly associated with St. Louis even after its purchase by Belgium’s InBev, received about $4.4 million in broadcast exposure on Fox during Tuesday night’s game, according to the St. Louis Business Journal. As a sponsor of the Midsummer Classic, Anheuser-Busch earned the exposure in a number of ways. A large scripted Budweiser sign was visible beyond the outfield walls, and a Bud Light sign was perched high behind home plate. Broadcasters Joe Buck and Tim McCarver mentioned Budweiser, and A-B ran a commercial during the event. Don’t forget the stadium the All-Stars played in, whose Busch name also adds publicity value.

For those in the stadium, exposure to Anheuser-Busch was plentiful, as Budweiser and Bud Light was available on tap throughout the park. No doubt one man in particular yearned for a cold draft: President Barack Obama after his embarrassing attempt at an opening pitch nearly hit the dirt. Though his form was laughable, at least we know from his outing at a Washington Wizards game earlier this year that he enjoys a beer at sports events, a good sign for any President.

Baseball and beer are a far better combination than, say, Jon and Kate. And Tuesday night, the combination of America’s pastime and the world’s beverage will reach a frothy peak.

That’s when the All-Star Game (not just the Home Run Derby and other made-for-TV sideshows) returns to St. Louis. Not only is the stadium’s front affixed with one of the great names in beerland (Busch), there is an Anheuser-Busch brewery tour at 12th and Lynch Streets every baseball fan in town should partake in. If you miss the stable of Clydesdales there, Anheuser-Busch has set up a “Clydesdale hamlet” by the stadium for your viewing pleasure — or wait to see them inside the stadium during pregame ceremonies, which will include Cardinals’ Hall of Famers such as Bob Gibson and Stan Musial.

Not since the All-Star Game visited Milwaukee’s Miller Park in 2002 has there been such a confluence of beer and baseball in summertime. St. Louis itself hasn’t seen an All-Star Game since 1966, when hitting great Ted Williams and longtime manager Casey Stengel (both legendary beer drinkers) served as honorary coaches. And if the weather Tuesday is anything like it was during that game — temperatures reached 106 degrees in a different Busch Stadium during a 2-1 National League win — expect Budweiser sales at the park ($7 for 16 ounces during regular-season affairs) to soar.