Those of us who get to literally follow the Blue Jays are fortunate the good folks who run Rogers Sportsnet are extremely flexible about our travel schedule; we can come and go as we please.
Knowing this, I decided to try something a little different to get from Toronto to Detroit for this week's series.
I took the train.
My desire to eschew a plane was borne out of a sense of history. After all, long ago, the train was the only way major league teams got from city to city.
Obviously, the trains are much faster, and much more comfortable than they were in, say, 1927. And, at the time of Prohibition, it would have been impossible (not to mention illegal) for me to drain their supply of beer, something I'm attempting to do as I write.
As we motor through the farm lands of southwestern Ontario, I think of Ed Delahanty. Arguably the greatest player of his era (1890s), Delahanty was Babe Ruth before there was Babe Ruth. But he met his sad and untimely demise soon after riding this same stretch of lines. In 1903, a disenchanted Delahanty bolted his Washington Senators' club after a series in Detroit, crossed into Canada, and jumped a train destined, ultimately, for New York.
By the time they pulled into Niagara Falls, Delahanty had been drinking profusely and harassing passengers. Exasperated, the train's operators kicked him off near the bridge that crosses the Niagara River. Disoriented, and likely stone-cold drunk, Delahanty set off for the glowing lights of Buffalo, lost his step, and fell off the bridge. A night-watchman heard his screams before he tumbled over the falls. His dismembered corpse was fished from the water several days later.
My iPod kicks into classic '70s. "Evil Woman" by Electric Light Orchestra is followed by some lighter fare ("Baby I'm-a-want You" by Bread) as we steam for Chatham. This area was fertile ground for big leaguers during that decade.
Mike Kilkenny was born in Bradford (north of Toronto), but lives in Dorchester now. In 1972, he played for four teams -- Detroit, Oakland, San Diego, and Cleveland -- and was discarded by the Tigers because, as he told me several years ago, "Billy Martin didn't like me."
Every one knows Ferguson Jenkins came from these parts, though I've never been too sure if he's from Chatham or Blenheim. Either way, Bill Atkinson takes a back-seat to Canada's only Hall of Famer. A resident of Chatham to this day, Atkinson put in some solid years with the Expos in the late '70s, and has a bubble gum card from 1980 to prove it. The problem is he thinks the picture on that card was taken at Wrigley Field, and I whole-heartedly disagree.
It's Candlestick Park.
Approaching Windsor, I think about my friend John Upham. Now a retired school-teacher, Upham's big-league debut came in Pittsburgh's Forbes Field on April 16, 1967. His Chicago Cubs had a three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth, and Upham was called in to replace Cal Koonce with the bases loaded. Up stepped Pirates' pinch-hitter Manny Mota, who promptly singled to left field. Upham got the hook, and his replacement, Joe Niekro, gave up a walk-off triple. If that had been the end of Upham's big league career, he'd have finished with an ERA of infinity.
Windsor station is up ahead; time to close the lap-top, turn off the tunes, and happily endure the routine of yet another road trip. A few cars to the rear is a roaring group of Blue Jay fans, so clearly I'm not alone in my destination.
My question to you is obvious: Have you ever taken a baseball trip by train? Let me know about it below.
