I have never liked the New York Yankees. In fact, I have at times hated them. I live one hour north of Yankee Stadium and have spent my whole life surrounded by Yankee fans who constantly brag about their 26 rings. I find multiple flaws in the way that the Yankees run their organization, and the types of players that they choose to sign. I can’t stand that when the Yankees play poorly that they are “just having an ‘off’ year,” but when anyone else plays poorly, they are “just a bad team.” I am frustrated by the fact that more often than not, when ESPN nationally televises a game it is one involving the Yankees.
I’ll tell you one thing though, one of the best radio calls I've heard in 21 years of being a baseball fan, came in 2003 when listening to Yankee broadcaster Charlie Steiner, “…and there’s a fly ball deep to left, there it goes, it’s on its way, and the Yankees are going to the World Series!” In fact, just typing that gives me goose-bumps. I’ll also never forget going to a Yankee game in April of 2007, where Alex Rodriguez hit a walk-off homerun against the Baltimore Orioles, making it his 14th of the month. As much as I have never liked the Yankees, I couldn’t help but be ecstatic about the homer…the atmosphere of the park was intoxicating.
This past Sunday night marked the end of an incredibly amazing chapter in Yankee history…the final game in Yankee Stadium. That building, “The House That Ruth Built,” has housed countless moments in baseball history, from Babe Ruth’s 60-homerun season, to Don Larsen’s perfect game, to Jeffrey Maier’s home run catch, all the way up to Aaron Boone’s unforgettable Game 7 walk-off homer in 2003 against the rival Red Sox.
Even on the other side of the coin, there were amazing non-Yankee performances in the Bronx as well. Including the Red Sox series-clinching game 7 win in 2004 that marked the first 3-0 turn-around in ALCS history. And just one year earlier in 2003 when Josh Beckett threw a championship-clinching 5-hitter in game 6 of the World Series…one of the best series-ending performances of all time.
Love or hate the Yankees, you can’t help but appreciate the mystique, aura, and history that reside in the place they’ve called home for the last 85 years. In fact, all the intangibles that are present at Yankee Stadium are essentially what baseball is all about. It’s about history and tradition, class and respect. It’s about the fact that everyone who has ever been to the ballpark can recall virtually every detail of their visit. It’s about a father being able to take his boys out for the day, and sit with them in the blue folding chairs of this legendary place where Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, and Mickey Mantle once played ball.
And as much as Yankee fans will be disappointed that their team will not be playing in October for the first time in over a decade, I happen to view it as a bittersweet end to an amazing building. Sure it’s more than just a “bummer” that the Yanks won’t be in the playoffs, but at least they could head into Sunday night’s game knowing that it really is the last time, and they can just focus on the atmosphere, truly capturing the moment. However, it also gives way to hope. Hope for a fresh start in 2009, in a brand new home. A hope to Yankees fans for the start of a new dynasty, and new traditions; never forgetting the old all along the way, but also cherishing what is to come.
So farewell Yankee Stadium, in your ruble you will carry all of those amazing moments, and all of the amazing voices that told the stories to fans listening and watching everywhere. And hello to the new Yankee Stadium, I think I speak for the world in saying that we all hope you can deliver the same type of memorable moments that your predecessor did.
I have never liked the New York Yankees, and probably never will. But I always have and always will respect the junk out of them. And so as they open up a new chapter in their storybook history, I will be anxiously watching on opening day 2009, as any true baseball fan would.
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