April 30, 2015
MarkBernstein.org
 

42

I finally saw “42,” which has been overpriced on Amazon and unavailable on Netflix.

It’s not much of a movie, but the ballpark sets are amazing. You look at the batter digging in for the pitch and, yes, it’s the Polo Grounds! OK: I think that may have been a matte painting, and center field was out of focus – but then, center field at the Polo Grounds was so deep it would have been out of focus. Shibe Park was really impressive. (Oddly enough, I don’t recall any pictures of Ebbets offhand.)

Oddly enough, they didn’t use anything from the Major League stadium in which Jackie Robinson played in 1947 and which still exists – Wrigley Field. Sure, it’s changed, but it’s changed a lot less than the Polo Grounds.