Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy is in his 36th year of covering the Cincinnati Reds, the longest tenure for any active writer covering one team. Counting spring training and postseason games, McCoy has covered more than 7,000 major-league baseball games, written close to 18,000 baseball stories and eaten enough hot dogs to give Babe Ruth indigestion.Home > Blogs > The Real McCoy | Cincinnati Reds baseball news > Archives > 2008 > May > 10 > Entry
Where oh where is my bag?
Now it is more than 24 hours since my luggage was due to arrive in New York. We remain separated. U.S. Airways has not located this little piece of black luggage with the Kentucky Derby logo on it - probably the only piece of luggage between Dayton and New York with a Kentucky Derby logo.
I’ve never been to the Kentucky Derby, the only major event in America I haven’t covered at some time, but I’d like to be there. The bag was a gift from our columnist Tom Archdeacon.
I’ve covered UD, Ohio State, Miami of Ohio, the Cleveland Browns, the Cincinnati Royals (figure that one out, youngsters), the NCAA tournament, the Super Bowl, the Masters, the PGA, the U.S. Open, the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500 - but not the Kentucky Derby.
Anyway, the missing bag?
That meant I was up at 7 a.m. today to visit Duane Reade for $40 worth of dop kit material, and with my stubbly beard and unkempt hair not a single street person asked me for spare change. I was one of them.
Back to the hotel for a shower, shave and hair-brushing, then back out to buy some clothes. Of course, nothing opened until 10 and I was due at the ballpark for today’s doubleheader at 11:30. I didn’t make it.
Remember when I got stuck in the elevator by myself for 20 minutes in Milwaukee’s Miller Park earlier this year? Oh, no? Oh, yes.
This time two women and I boarded Elevator B in the Marriott Marquis this morning. The doors closed. Nothing. No movement. One of the women pushed the emergency call button and it was answered immediately. A male voice told her to push the Open Elevator button, which she did, and the doors opened.
The voice said, “Now get out and take another elevator.” We barely heard him because we were out before the doors fully opened. At least it was only a couple of minutes and I had company.
Finally, a store opened and in 15 minutes I bought two shirts, two pairs of underwear, two pairs of socks and a pair of jeans. Thank you, U.S. Airways. You’ll be getting the bill - along with a bill for three Brooks Brothers shirts, two pairs of Joseph A. Banks jeans, three pairs of underwear, three pairs of socks, my meds, a bottle of John Varvatos cologne … unless, of course, they locate my bag by the time they go out of business, which probably is soon.
A 45-minute subway ride to the Shambles that is Shea got me to the park in time for the end of the Reds batting practice. The skies are gray, but it isn’t raining and the forecast is for clear skies and two baseball games.
Hopefully, the Reds slept better than I did. Because of the canceled flight, the delayed flight and the 10-hour delay in getting to NY, plus the lost luggage, I couldn’t go to sleep when I got to the hotel last night.
So, despite the rain and no umbrella, I strolled the Times Square area way past midnight, enjoying the sights and the smells of cooking hot dogs and steaming pretzels. It was only 50 degrees, so the walk was invigorating.
Today HAS to be a better day - even though U.S. Airways still has no clue if my bag is in Pittsburgh or Puerto Rico or The Philippines.
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Comments
By Deaner
May 10, 2008 2:58 PM | Link to this
That IS a bad day.By Ryan
May 10, 2008 2:45 PM | Link to this
U.S. Airways? More like Useless Airway. They’re terrible. I have a friend who works for them, and she constantly tells me how often flights are canceled, baggage lost, etc. How they’re still in business is beyond me.By steve wolf
May 10, 2008 1:59 PM | Link to this
Hal, Why do the beat writers not ride the team charter?By Steve T.
May 10, 2008 1:44 PM | Link to this
Hal, One thing is for sure. A Cincinnati Reds baserunner did not steal your bag or any other one around. When does continuous bad baserunning fall on the shoulders of the manager. I mean how long were these guys in Sarasota? And what did they work on. More disappointed in Hatch than Dusty on this matter because he was a good baserunner.By Kyle
May 10, 2008 1:27 PM | Link to this
How many big innings is Patterson going to run the Reds out of?