I originally intended to post this earlier in June, but I suddenly got swamped and extracurricular activity dwindled to zero. But I was so struck with Yankee Stadium and the aura that surrounds it that I knew eventually I had to get my thoughts down on paper... er, computer monitor. So, as my June 5th, 2008, visit to Yankee Stadium still freshly lingers in my mind, here is the account and impressions of my visit.
My wife and I went to New York City for a couple of days during the first week of June. There was Times Square and Greenwich Village and all that, but we were mostly there for Yankee Stadium.Yankee Stadium, the one Ruth built, will be demolished following the '08 season. Initially I was saddened to hear this, but the more I thought about it and the more I considered the make-up of the new stadium the more I felt that this wasn't such a bad thing after all. A lot of the original old timeyness was chucked out the door during the renovations of the 1970s, and the most historical part of Yankee Stadium, Memorial Park, will be transplanted to the new stadium. They're bringing back the frilly frieze and field dimensions will remain unchanged. Also, and there's no way I could have known this without visiting the stadium itself, the inside of Yankee Stadium (all that area between the gates and the field) is cramped and dank. New Yankee Stadium will feature a "Great Hall" and ample walking room. When you're mashed up against thousands of sweaty New Yorkers you'll take all the breathing room you can get.
And honestly, when it comes down to it, it's just concrete, right? The house isn't as important as those who live within it, and the game itself isn't going to change.
My biggest gripe against the new stadium is that its seating capacity will be 6,000 fewer than the current one. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Obviously with fewer seats there will be higher demand for tickets, thus tickets prices will be high. But with a new stadium (especially a new Yankee Stadium) every seat will sell regardless of the price, be there 50,000 or 70,000. Additionally the rise of ticket costs will likely prevent a lot of Joe Sportsfans from snagging what were once cheap seats. Rich people are allowed to be baseball fans too, but they're a lot less fun to hang around, and they're intolerable when they fill a stadium.Anyway, even though Yankee Stadium may be "just concrete," there's still enough history and mystique there to lure me hundreds of miles just to be a part of its final year of existance.
New York subways, for all the crap they get (figuratively and literally), are actually efficient and easy modes of transportation. After seeing what goes on above ground I couldn't imagine going borough-to-borough in a car. And if you drove you'd miss out on being in a tube full of baseball fans going to the same game. It gets crowded down there, especially on the stadium stops, but if you can't deal with a crowd then you shouldn't be going to baseball games in the first place.
As we climbed the stairs to ground-level we could see the facade of the new stadium. It's large and impressive, like the outer shell to a mighty coliseum. I knew the insides still looked like churned up dirt and rocks, but it was a good start.
The current of bodies lead us to our gate. There were two discernable mobs; there was the initial mob which got filtered through friskers (I was clean, but that was the quickest unthoroughest frisk ever) to the second mob, which was supposedly a lineup to the ticket-takers. People tried to secure some sort of spot for themselves, but all they ended up doing was blocking the freshly frisked from entering. There was a little bit of confusion until a big-voiced usher kindly demanded that everybody "move to the left... you WILL get in." And you know what, he was right. And even though there were gobs of people all trying to mash themselves into the same space, this whole process only took a few minutes.
The insides, as mentioned before, were slim, but the crowds eased up as people went through tunnels to find their respective tiers, rows, and seats. Eventually, upon the upper deck and behind home plate, we found ours. All of those classic pictures of the field were likely taken near our seats, and we had a great panoramic view of everything.
Unfortunately Bob Sheppard wasn't in attendance, at least not in the PA booth. He's been out all season with a bronchial infection and was once again unable to announce the players. There was one exception, though. Derek Jeter, in lieu of Bob Sheppard actually announcing his plate appearances, has requested that Sheppard's recorded voice make the announcement.
Like in most stadiums I've been to, many of the ticket holders were fashionably late. It initially didn't appear as though the stadium would fill out, but a few innings later the place was packed. What was disappointing, at least to me, was the number of patrons who filed out early. The game was a close one, but people started leaving soon after the seventh inning stretch. I understand wanting to beat the rush, especially to the subway, but I felt as though people were taking their team for granted. Too bad for them though because they missed a tremendous finale, which I'll get to later.Speaking of the seventh inning stretch, I knew beforehand that they (meaning those in charge of stadium operations) play "God Bless America" before ye olde "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." I read somewhere that while "GBA" blares over the PA ushers actually block the aisles so people can't wander around during the duration of the song. This is half true. From the upper deck I peeked over the rails and saw that the ushers below did indeed block the aisles. People love to be forced into reverence. Up in our half of the stadium though the aisles and tunnels were free and clear. God bless America and God bless being allowed to go to the bathroom.
The game itself was fantastic. Chien-Ming Wang and his sinker started for New York, and Dustin McGowan and his mutton chops started for Toronto. The Yanks scored two quick runs in the first, then the Jays tied it up in the fourth when Matt Stairs hit a 2-run homer. The Blue Jays went on to score five more runs in the fifth, knocking Wang out of the game. The Yankees responded with two runs themselves in the bottom of the fifth and two more in the sixth. It remained 7-6, Blue Jay lead, until the ninth inning. Matt Stairs knocked another one, a ground-rule double, to score Alex Rios. Scott Rolen ended up on third with no outs, but he was unable to score.
Eight to six Toronto lead, bottom of the ninth.
Derek Jeter grounded out to third. One out.
Bobby Abreu lined out to center. Two outs.
Alex Rodriguez... Rodriguez singled to left, then advanced during Hideki Matsui's plate appearance due to "fielder indifference."
Then Matsui singled to center and Rodriguez came around to score.
Eight to seven Toronto lead, two outs, Matsui on first, Jason Giambi pinch hitting.
Swing and a miss. Strike one.
Foul ball. Strike two. The Yankees down to their last strike.
Then Giambi crushed the ball down the right field line. It was obviously far enough to clear the wall, but would it stay fair? After I lost sight of the ball I looked for the umpire. He was waving his finger in a circle. Yankees won on a walk-off home run by Giambi. The team swarmed Giambi at the plate and the crowd stood for several minutes applauding. People were cheering as we finally exited the stadium. People cheered all the way into the subway. What a great way to end a day at Yankee Stadium.