On Friday, Sept. 19, I'll enter and exit Yankee Stadium for the last time. The first time was June, 1, 1980. It was Bat Day (just look at how giveaways affected attendance back then), I was seven years old and, upon entrance, I was handed a Graig Nettles signature bat. Willie Randolph, however, was my favorite player. I'd seen him on TV as 0-for 2, and I thought, "Awesome! Two at-bats and no outs! That's my man!" I traded my Nettles bat with a young girl who'd been handed a Randolph bat.
It was the last time a female would speak to me for a decade.
A lot changed over the next 28 years. Women sometimes asked me for directions. I relished the hustle and bustle of working and living in NYC. I lost my dad. Terrorists killed my friends.
Yankee Stadium, as I knew it — the "new" Yankee Stadium, as it was billed after mid-'70s renovations — stayed relatively familiar. They brought in the fences for Dave Winfield. They added Japanese advertising for Hideki Matsui. They built a Dunkin Donuts for David Wells (kidding, sorta). But, for the most part, Yankee Stadium was a rock. As stable as anything in my life. Besides dog fighting.
It was there that I spent many a discount-student-ticket night with my friends, watching Wayne Tolleson precede Derek Jeter and Steve Farr warm up the bullpen for Mariano Rivera. (Somebody kill me.) Ya know what, though? Those are some of my favorite memories. I swear to Sarah Palin's god (wherever that Commander-in-Chief is) that no Yankees moment meant more to me than Don Matttingly's home run in Game 2 of the 1995 ALDS (incorrectly labeled as Game 1 by MLB.com; see Jeter and Jorge Posada in dugout). That was the indoctrination of thousands of people to October excitement in the Bronx.
The next decade-plus was a dream. Four World Series in five years (and two outs away from 5-for-6.) Thirteen straight playoff appearances. And Rudy Giuliani as a fan! (The guy is awesome. He snickers at a two-time Ivy League grad performing community service to pimp the merits of piss-ant-town Alaskan mayor, whose supporters are too dumb to recognize she's a pawn for the culturally steadfast but intellectually busted.)
A few years ago, I wrote about how much I welcomed a new Yankee Stadium. Logistically, it makes sense. Maybe they'll even add a second fresh-popcorn stand to collaborate with the inning-and-a-half wait we currently enjoy. Beyond that, advancements of technology, architecture and infrastructure since 1923 merit a new pad, as almost all pro sports teams have recognized. The Red Sox and Cubs may beg to differ, but they've won exactly two World Series since 1918. Guess they don't wanna mess around with that perfect formula.
I don't know if I'm going to be happy or sad when I leave Friday night. I may cry tears of nostalgia for Donnie Baseball or tears of joy for the final home games of Jason Giambi (nice dude, nowhere near worth the money), Carl Pavano, Andy Pettitte 2.0 or Sidney Ponson (6.29 ERA, and that was after a good start).
More than likely, I'll recognize the friends and family I spent time with at Yankee Stadium. How excited I was to see that lush, green grass (always!), how the score mattered plenty for three hours and not at all when real life snuck in. How Yankee Stadium itself played the role of one of those friends.
Also See: My Yankees-Related Posts Over the Years
Game 2 of the 1995 ALDS was probably the best baseball game I've ever been to. It was the game that started Jim Leyritz's clutch home run tear. Mattingly and O'Neil hit home runs.
John Wetteland and Mariano became a 7-8-9th inning comination.
More importantly, I took two of my younger cousins to their first of many playoff games and they still remember it today as the best game they've ever been to.
Posted by Yan at September 19, 2008 3:47 PM