The Last Game Ever At This Stadium

As promised, in addition to the photos that I’ve shared, what follows are some of my thoughts around attending the last game to be played in the current Yankee Stadium.

Now, some of this may be jumbled, and I might have already forgotten something that I wanted to note and share…as I’m dealing with a serious case of the cobwebs today having very little sleep between getting home from the game and getting up this morning at seven…and, lastly, maybe some of this was covered on T.V….and, if so, sorry to bring it up…but, I’ve yet to watch any of the pre-game, game coverage, or post-game (that I recorded)…nonetheless, here goes…

Let’s start with the trip to the Bronx. I made great time, for me, getting there in 70 minutes and arriving at 4:40 PM. However, I was shocked when I turned on to River Ave and saw that Parking Lot #3 (on 164th Street) was full and closed. (I usually park there with no problem.) Next, I tried Lot #8, next to the Stadium – even though I swore back in 1998 that I would never park there again (since it takes you something like two hours just to get out of that structure after the game). But, that one was full and closed as well. So, I started driving east, away from the Stadium, and ended up parking in the lot by the Concourse Plaza Multiplex on 161st Street (by Sherman Avenue). It’s about a third of a mile away from the Stadium…but I wasn’t the only Yankees fan left with that option. Gotta say…the fans did turn out early for this one – and when you combine that with limited parking due to the construction of the new park…well, I feel sorry for anyone who got there after I did by car.

Actually, the people sitting next to me got into the park about half-way through the pre-game ceremony. It was a guy, and, I’m assuming, his girlfriend. I’m guessing she was either dragged to the game or insisted that she be taken even though she had no interest in the game. The entire time, she sat there like she was bored out of her mind, not cheering, not clapping, sometimes scrolling through her e-mail on her phone. I sort of felt sorry for the guy. It’s no fun going to a game with someone who’s not into it – never mind such a big gameday like this one.

Speaking of big gameday, man, were there a lot of cops there. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many there for a game. I had at least six of them, at all times, standing behind my box section…most of them were lady cops, just hanging out, BS’ing, enjoying the game…and raking in the O.T., I’m sure.

I thought it was pretty interesting that the Yankees had the “Out Of Town Scoreboard” off-line for the entire day. Pretty smart, actually…no need to see the Boston score and take-away from what was a special day in Yankee Stadium.

O.K., now, the pre-game stuff. Like almost everyone, I thought it was a terrible idea to have actors run on the field, and have them introduced, like they were the 1923 Yankees. Geez, they could have skipped that whole part. And, the video segments highlighting players for each position were interesting. Jesse Barfield got screen time with the rightfielders? Sorry, if you’re going to do that, give Steve Balboni a shout-out with the first basemen too. And, unless I totally missed it, there was no mention of Roger Clemens in the pitchers video segment. Perhaps the Yankees now want to pretend that he never pitched for them?

On the whole, the pre-game stuff was fine. I did think that maybe the could have introduced the shortstops later…rather than make Cora Rizzuto stand out there for like an hour, albeit on Mariano’s arm. And, maybe they could have gotten some other players to appear on the field? Bucky Dent should have been there. Gil McDougald as well. How about Sparky Lyle?

In retrospect, perhaps a better way to have handled it would have been to bring back some players and highlighting something big that they did at the Stadium…like Charlie Hayes catching the final out of the ‘96 World Series, Scott Brosius and Tino Martinez for the 2001 World Series homers, Don Larsen for the 1956 perfecto, Bernie Williams for something….and then, at the end, bring out all living Yankees in who are in the Hall of Fame, or a surviving family member, and then all Yankees who have a number retired, or a surviving family member, and just let them all get a hand and leave it at that?

And, yeah, much like those I heard calling into Marc Malusis on WFAN during the drive home, I’m thinking it probably wouldn’t have been a bad move to get something from Joe Torre and Don Mattingly, on video, and then playing it for the crowd at the Stadium. The fact that it didn’t happen means there’s some bad blood, somewhere, or, on both sides, still, for the way things went down last year.

In any event, the pre-game did what it was supposed to do…it got the fans in the proper mood for a game like this one…just in case anyone needed some help getting where they needed to be…in their minds and and their heart.

The game itself was cool. I’m glad that they won. That’s just the icing on the cake. It seems fitting that Jose Molina hit the last homerun in this Stadium…as Duke Sims hit the last homerun in the previous Yankee Stadium. It was nice that Pettitte and Jeter got the reaction that they did when they came out of the game. I thought it was interesting that Jason Giambi got squat, in terms of curtain call, when he was lifted for a pinch runner – considering this could be his last home game as a Yankee. I guess the fans have spoken on that one. And, once Jeter was taken out of the game, I thought maybe A-Rod would come out on the next pitch…but, that was not Girardi’s call. Obviously, this was supposed to be Jeter’s night.

Actually, that leads into the post-game. Yeah, Jeter may not be a leader in the clubhouse, but, he was perfect representing the team, addressing the crowd, after the game. Right on the money. He could not have handled it any better. Just think…if it had been A-Rod on the open microphone. You just know that something would have come out of his mouth that would have been questioned after the fact. The way the team handled the post-game on-the-field stuff was truly natural and heartfelt. And, the fans appreciated that – probably more than the pre-game stuff.

It was a great night to be a Yankees fan. And, it was even better to be a Yankees fan at Yankee Stadium to see this whole thing, live. I’ll confess, as I was leaving the Stadium, it was starting to get to me that I would never step foot in there again…because it would be gone. And, as my dad and I were walking down the ramps, to leave the Stadium, just as we hit the ground-level, and before we made a sharp right to exit via the turnstiles, the second we were at the bottom of the ramp, I said to my father “Quick, last chance to touch it, make sure you get it” and I reached up with my hand and touched the ceiling above the ramp (which was maybe just 18 inches over my head). Seeing this, my dad did the same and said “Got it!”

It was just a few finger tips worth of contact, and for a second, but, I just couldn’t leave the ol’ ballpark without one last sensory connection before it was too late.

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