Crumpled Notebook

From Yankees 08

This is it. The legendary Yankee Stadium, 1923–2008. The House the Ruth Built. Yogi Berra. Mickey Mantle. Joe DiMaggio. Lou Gehrig. Reggie Jackson. Just to name a few of the greats.

So, prior to the game, I got there early. I browsed the souvenir shops and had dinner at Yankee Tavern. It’s been around since 1923 and owned by the same family. Apparently the Babe was a frequent there as well. How cool is that? So the food was only average, but you don’t really go to a place like that for the food.

First thing I noticed that day. It was raining. A lot. I’ll go ahead and say now that the game got rained out. It sucked. A lot. I wanted to cry. However, here is the positive side of the evening. They still let people into the stadium because they didn’t call the game until over an hour after it was supposed to start. So I still had 2 hours to wander around inside Yankee Stadium. It’s old obviously. I know it’s been renovated over the years, but it’s still an old ballpark.

Second thing. Maybe the coolest thing. They have this memorial area in the back of the park, outside of Left Field. Big memorials for old players. Retired numbers. Fans can go there and look at them. By the time I realized it was there and walked down there, they had it closed off because of the rain. But again, I mostly got to see it. Apparently these things used to actually be on the field. How weird is that?

Third thing. I didn’t eat there, so I can’t comment on the food, so I’ll tell you about my seat. It was right by the right field foul pole. No, not near it. Right by it. I could touch it. In fact, I did.

From Yankees 08

See? I told you I touched it. Fourth. Yes. That is me in a poncho (I told you it was raining), and a Yankees cap. Yes, I bought that Yankees cap. Please forgive me. Honestly, I really do hate the Yankees, but I couldn’t help myself. I got caught up in the magic and the history. And that, my friends, is what makes Yankee Stadium a great ballpark. I’m sad I never got to see a game there, but I did have the full game day experience minus the actual game. I walked the paths of the greats. But I’m still sad. Did I mention how much it sucked? A lot? I’d tell you I cried myself to sleep that night, but I don’t think I slept that night (early morning flight), so I spent most of the night watching Hurricane Ike destroy Galveston. It put things into perspective for me. But it still sucked. A lot.

Do you want to see the new Yankee Stadium?

From Yankees 08

There it is. Just for you.

Tags: babe, baseball, dimaggio, gehrig, mantle, new-york, yankee tavern, yankees, yogi