Back in the day they used to call weekday day games “businessmen’s specials.” The idea being that some Don Draper-type might take the afternoon off from work and take in a ballgame. Or use the ballgame as an excuse, telling Betty Draper he’d be there while he was really at that Greenwich Village apartment with the beatnik greeting card artist woman who ended up being strung out on H or whatever happened later on. That was first season stuff, so I forget. You get the idea, though.
We don’t call them “businessmen’s specials” anymore because it’s 2016 and a lot has changed. Women being taken seriously as an important part of the workforce is the obvious one, but I think it’s also because the idea of a “businessman” is inherently ridiculous. Remember those “Kids in the Hall” sketches where literally the only joke was that things like “businessmen” exist? I couldn’t take that word seriously anymore after that, even if Skip Caray kept using the term well into the 1990s.
Anyway, we have a few day games today. They’re not businessmen specials. Let’s call them “work from home people’s distractions.” Yeah, that’s the ticket.
Miami Marlins (Tom Koehler) @ Philadelphia Phillies (Jeremy Hellickson), 1:05 PM EDT, Citizens Bank Park
Minnesota Twins (Ricky Nolasco) @ Detroit Tigers (Justin Verlander), 1:10 PM EDT, Comerica Park
Boston Red Sox (Steven Wright) @ Kansas City Royals (Ian Kennedy), 2:15 PM EDT, Kauffman Stadium
Texas Rangers (Martin Perez) @ Oakland Athletics (Rich Hill), 3:35 PM EDT, Oakland Coliseum
Hold my calls, Peggy.
