Could “Tarps Off,” be coming to Wrigley Field?
We asked the Mad Hungarian.
“They’ve been taking their shirts off in the outfield there for decades,’’ he said Sunday night in St. Louis. “They may not understand why they’re taking their shirts off, other than they’re getting a sunburn or something.’’
Al Hrabosky is the Mad Hungarian. It’s been a while since he was one of baseball’s most colorful showmen. Horseshoe mustache, long hair, a left-handed reliever who before facing a batter would go into his “controlled hate routine,” stomping off the mound toward second base, eyes blazing, his back to the plate, then whirling around, pounding the ball fiercely into his glove as he returned to the pitching rubber, where he stared with naked malice toward the hitter.
Was he Hungarian? His parents were. He was born in Oakland, but he invented an origin tale that included the silver ring he wore, which he called the “Gypsy Rose of Death.’’
“I don’t even remember the stupid story I made up for that, it was so far-fetched,’’ he once he once told your Sun-Times scribbler. “Probably a family heirloom from Dracula.’’
Hrabosky, who spent 13 seasons in the big leagues, pitching for the Cardinals, Royals and Braves, had a special relationship with Cubs fans.
“They’ve got a great place in my heart,’’ he said Sunday, “because Cubs fans educated me about how talented my mother was. I never knew she could do some of the things they told me she could do.’’
Hitters were not particularly amused by Hrabosky’s shtick.
He touched off one of the wilder brawls in Wrigley Field history when Bill Madlock retreated to the on-deck circle when Hrabosky began his routine. Umpire Shag Crawford ordered him back to the box, Cubs manager Jim Marshall came out to argue, Crawford told Hrabosky to throw a pitch while Marshall was in the box and called a strike. Madlock rushed back to the plate while Hrabosky threw another pitch, Crawford called another strike, and then punches, not pitches, were thrown, with Cardinals catcher Ted Simmons and Jose Cardenal, who was the next batter after Madlock, in the middle of the action.
That was in 1974. But you didn’t have to be around then to catch his act. Friday night in Busch, that was Hrabosky, one month shy of his 77th birthday, who emerged from a center-field suite in Busch, horseshoe ‘stache intact, pulled off his red Cardinals polo jersey and whirled it overhead, “Tarps Off” style, all the while chugging a bottle of his employer’s brew.
“I’ll be honest with you,’’ he said. “My heart was pumping more doing that than I ever remember being on the mound.
“I just thought to myself, this is some way for me to recognize and appreciate those fans that are doing it.’’
“Tarps off,’’ like Hrabosky, has its own origin story. Hockey players have taken credit for the term. NHL’ers T.J. Oshie and Anthony Duclair did a YouTube video in which they explained how players would walk around “tarps off” in the dressing room. It didn’t stop there. It became a thing at weddings, they said, where players would shed their shirts on the dance floor.
It was not uncommon at college football games to see sections of fans shedding their shirts, or at sub-freezing NFL games, where you might see a row or two of fans flaunting their manhood — or lack of common sense — by exposing bare skin to the elements.
But it was a college baseball club team from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, that touched off what has become a fast-spreading trend in MLB. The boys were in St. Louis for the World Series of club baseball, being played in nearby Alton, Illinois. They decided to take in a Cardinals game while they were in town, and were sitting in a section of the right-field bleachers when Bryce Bradford, who pitches and plays the outfield for the team, decided in the eighth inning he was going “Tarps Off.” His teammates followed suit, some other fans joined in, and with their entire section rooting raucously, the Cardinals rallied for a walk-off win over the Royals.
They tweeted about the experience, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol heard about it, bought tickets the next day for the entire team and invited them to the Cardinals clubhouse to meet his players. A viral moment, along with a fad, was born. The Cubs saw a shirtless group while in Pittsburgh, and ballparks in Seattle, St. Pete, and San Francisco, among others, have seen groups of bare-chested fans.
White Sox spokesman Bob Beghtol said they’ve seen some at the Rate as well. “Seems to be more of an organic thing,’’ he said, “where it pops up each game.’’ The White Sox, incidentally, won five in a row and six of seven on their recent homestand.
The Cardinals have actually set aside entire bleacher sections for the “Tarps Off” crowd. “Welcome to Tarps Off! This is a high-energy Cardinals support section. Guest should expect: Standing throughout much of the game. Loud cheering, chants and shirt waving. A passionate, fast-paced atmosphere. Keep it loud, positive and respectful of the team, staff and each other. This area may not be suitable for guests seeking a traditional seated game experience.’’
Keeping your shirt on is optional. Women are invited to sit there, with a few showing up in sports bras under their shirts. The Cardinals find other seating for fans who unwittingly bought seats in “Tarps Off” sections and prefer to sit elsewhere.
Saturday night, those were the folks who were chanting “Overrated” at Pete Crow-Armstrong, who answered by hitting the longest home run of his career, 444 feet, right into their midst. PCA said he enjoyed the back-and-forth he had with them.
“Absolutely,’’ he said. “They got, like, hundreds of shirtless guys out in right field. Interesting, interesting theme for the year, but they’re rowdy and they’re showing up and like, they’re buying into something so I appreciate it. They don’t really rest for nine innings, and I guess that’s what they’re there to do.’’
What Cubs player would most likely be a “Tarps Off” participant if given the chance?
“Jacob Webb,’’ Nico Hoerner said. “I could see him doing it. He likes to have fun.”
Webb: “I’d be one of them. Because I’m a little crazy, and I like having fun.’’
The Cubs are back home beginning Tuesday, with no indication that the club is mapping out a “Tarps Off” strategy.
“Have you seen our bleachers?’’ one club official said.
When a media member called “Tarps Off” dumb, Cubs manager Craig Counsell disagreed. “I think it’s like very pure, and fun,’’ he said. “I think it’s great.
“It’s just teenaged boys wanting to have fun.’’