Pinch hitting: This Purist Bleeds Pinstripes
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- January
- 28
When I asked for guest bloggers, I knew that Rebecca would come through. Few readers have been more loyal to this blog.
A senior at Syracuse University and the author of This Purist Bleeds Pinstripes, Rebecca studies history and English and says her favorite Yankees are Yogi Berra and Mariano Rivera. Joba Chamberlain is gaining ground. She blogs on the Yankees, football picks and her adventures as a senior. She is also working on a baseball novel, a bit of which can be read every Sunday on her blog.
Here is her post:
There are ghosts in this place.
I am 13 the first time I am there and yet I feel like I have been there every day, every year of my life. I know this place.
Gehrig’s speech or Maier’s catch, Don Larsen or David Cone, ‘27 or ‘98, I feel the ghosts like the wind and rain in April and the sweat and burning sun of August.
This place gets into you, under your skin, in your blood.
There are other historic teams, other famous parks, but there is nothing like this; nothing like these ghosts, nothing like these memories.
Inside these walls is a ground hallowed by 26 Octobers. It is a ground hallowed by those who have pitched on the mound or trod on the basepath. It is a ground hallowed by the 50,000 that cut work or class to see the first rites of spring and the miracles of autumn.
It is an ocean of memory. On the surface they are memories of boys playing with a ball and a stick, but dig deeper and they are memories of a city. They are memories of a city that has seen days of decadence and days of depression, days of poverty and days of prosperity. Memories of a city that has survived riots, blackouts and terror attacks, but has always come out stronger on the other side.
Right now, we can live the memories, sitting in the same place watching Shelley Duncan hit a home run, that our grandparents might have sat in, watching Joe DiMaggio go yard, and we can savor every moment of it.
In a little while the legends will be left to the pages of the history books, and the recesses of our minds. We have our pictures, our videos, our memories and they will not leave us. Even as the last of the lights are turned off on a frosty October night, they will not leave us.
The ghosts and the memories will not leave this place and they will not leave us.
* * *
We all have our Yankee Stadium stories, and our Yankee Stadium memories. Let’s hear some of yours.
This entry was posted
on Monday, January 28th, 2008 at 12:05 am by Peter Abraham.
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Peter Abraham
Great post. Very well written, Rebecca. I remember my first time at the Stadium in 1983, sitting out in the Bleachers. I think it only cost a dollar or two back then. The Yankees were playing the White Sox, and I think Dave Winfield hit a homer near us. I was hooked on the Stadium immediately, but not bench seating. It was general admission after that. There were so many moments. I was at Righetti’s no hitter on July 4, and the first Phil Rizzutto Day. I couldn’t understand why so many people were cheering for the White Sox and hated that Seaver got win 300 that day.
There are other moments too. Going to the Stadium with my Muslim friend in first grade. A Jewish family and a Muslim family bonding over baseball, isn’t that what baseball, and America are all about?
I remember how empty the Stadium was, especially during the lean years. In High School I was on the big screen one April freezing as the Yankees battled to a win. Later, during the good years, I saw Cone’s no hitter on Yogi’s day. That was special, as Yogi was back home. There was the tribute to Joe DiMaggio, and Don Mattingly day, a celebration for my favorite childhood Yankee. There are so many moments.
Yes, the Stadium has narrow aisles, some poor sightlines, old concessions, but also so many memories. I will miss it. The only thing constant in life is change. I’m sure the new Stadium will be gorgeous, and new memories will be made there.
Thanks for giving this opportunity to share our Stadium memories. It’s so appropriate and timely. Again, great job! You smacked a tape-measure grand slam with your pinch- hitting opportunity!
Way to go Rebecca.
Excellent post, it makes us all think about our first memories of the place and why we visit this site and think about OUR team every day of they year !!
Thanks Pete, I can’t say it enough, it’s an amazing opportunity.
For my part,
The memory that sticks out the most for me is the very first time I’m ever at Yankee Stadium.
I had never seen it before, except on tv, and as my parents aren’t sports fans, they never saw reason to take me to a game, at least not until I got into it on my own.
So, May after my 13th birthday (my birthday’s in April, great month that), the week after my bat mitzvah, my dad, my brothers and I hopped in the car and drove the 26 miles from our abode in Jersey to the Stadium.
I remember how the first time I walked through the gate, the first time I sat in the seats, I really did feel like I’d been there before.
It was timeless.
All the sounds, all the people…I knew it.
The Yankees lost the game, which really annoyed me, but that wasn’t the point.
There was something about being there…
There’s an energy there that’s not anywhere else, and I’ve been to events for all four major sports, and some minor ones, too.
The field of dreams isn’t on some small farm in Iowa; it’s right here, on our doorstep.
It is Yankee Stadium.
beautiful and inspiring rebecca; you really capture the poetry of that hallowed place
Rebecca,
13? You had to wait til 13? My deepest sympathies. I was 7 at my first game. My parents weren’t big sports fans, but I kept pressing. My mom was amazed I wasn’t bored out of my mind and actually knew what was going on!
“The field of dreams isn’t on some small farm in Iowa; it’s right here, on our doorstep.
It is Yankee Stadium.”
I couldn’t have said it any better myself. I do wish I had gotten to see the classic Yankee Stadium before the renovations. That’s my only regret.
Hey Rebecca,
This has been my favorite of the guest-bloggers’ posts thus far. Short and sweet, eloquent and unique. Thanks for the post.
My fondest memory is… the first time every year that I get inside the ballpark and walk out from underneath the dark concourse to out in the aisles, when the spring sun shines bright and the grass smells crisp and delicious.
Why isn’t that day tomorrow? sigh.
Nice Work, Rebecca.
If you haven’t already, read A Fan’s Notes, by Frederick Exley.
I always remember something Philip Roth told us aspiring writers in grad school. Never stop reading. A writer never knows in advance what will inspire her imagination or spark the inspiration that feeds it.
In the meantime, Good luck with the novel.
Wonderful post Rebecca and great website as well. I grew up not too far from Syracuse and had many a good times on that campus, especially pre/post games at the Dome.
My first time at the Stadium was with one of my best friends. We took in BP, Monument Park and walked the whole Stadium. One of the most memorable moments of my life.
Thanks for the reflection.
Great job Rebecca. Excellent writing. I remember my first trip to Yankee Stadium. My dad got us box seats on the third base line. It was a watch day promotion sponsored by Chiquita bananas. I got a digital watch with the Yankee and Chiquita logos. I don’t remember who the Yankees played but they won by a big score. And it was a chance to spend quality time with my dad.
I also loved taking the Stadium tour. What an amazing feeling to walk on the same field as all of the Yankee greats. And going into the locker room and the dugout, not to mention the chills that run through your body visiting Monument Park.
Yankees Stadium is a special place full of memories. And the success of the Yankees and the stadium really helped to revitalize the Bronx.
Rebecca-
Wow what a really great & original idea for a guest post.
I have many memories at Yankee Stadium:
1982- One of my earliest memories seeing Graig Nettles hit his 300th HR & Roy Smalley hit a Grand Slam
1985- Ernie Whitt (Bluejays) throwing me a foul ball.
1995- Sitting next two rows back from Jon Bon Jovi in the leftfield stands & mocking him singing Bon Jovi songs, then after he left a whole pizza, one of his crew (Richie Sambora maybe) let us finish it.
1996- Catching a Darryl Strawberry batting practice HR right before Game 1 of the World Series, the only highlight that night.
Fran,
The Stadium tour is amazing. It’s a unique feeling to walk where so many greats have in the past.
I have never been to a “crucial” game AT Yankee Stadium (though I did go to 2 depressing ALDS games at Angels Stadium…), and while I have enjoyed all the games I’ve seen there, my favorite memory of the stadium is taking the tour. It was like magic to sit in that dugout!
Another great memory was in the 1995 Division Series Game 2 when Jim Leyritz hit a 2 run HR to beat Seattle & go up 2-0. Don Mattingly’s last game wearing the pinstripes, still can’t believe they ended up losing that series.
YankeeJosh - Agreed. I think that is my favorite memory of Yankee Stadium.
I think it’s a good thing you’re working on a novel. You have a wonderful style of writing, in fact, as good as that guy at SI everyone always says is so good (Belth). I mean it, I think you weave a spell as well as he does.
NW of You-
I guess you never been to NY.Let me guess you are a small town guy.I’m not from NY but love every moment I’m there.Like the day Cone got his perfect game.
REbecca-
Great post Rebecca and looking good:)
I was there to see David Cone’s Perfect game.I actually was sick and didn’t want to go but my annoying cousin (I.E McLovin) forced me to go and to this day it was such a great game to see.Even though sadly I only been to 5 other games only, I got to go to one of the best of all Yankees memories.
I was about 16 at my first game, it was against the Rangers. Jeter hit 2 home runs into the bleachers and just missed a 3rd one in a row (it was RIGHT at the top of the wall), Matsui hit a hr, and A-Rod hit one out for Texas. Clemens worked himself out of a few bases-loaded, nobody out jams. It was also Aaron Boone’s first game as a Yankee and Armando Benitez’s last. We won 6-2.
Also a few other memories: I was at the July 1st game that Jeter dove into the seats against the Sox, I was at Giambi’s walk off home run on June 15th, 05, and I was at Melky’s first game in the big leagues.
Great job Rebecca.
A few memories,
- Game 1 of the ‘98 World Series. I was sitting in the upper deck on the third base line that night. I’ve felt the upper deck shake before, and after, but never like it did when Tino hit that slam. I also got hit in the head by a cup of beer that had been thrown from about 20 rows behind me.
- Chad Curtis walk-off in game 3 of the ‘99 series.
- Two Bernie walk-offs, the Jeffrey Maier game, and game 1 of the ‘99 ALCS off Rod Beck.
There are many, many more, I will always miss this place.
greg cohen -
u were at that tino game when he hit the grand slam? i’m so jealous. I had to watch that game but that is the loudest and craziest I’ve ever seen the stadium, between that and girardis triple in the 96 world series (i belive)
This is a little late but thanks to Rebecca for her post. Good luck with your blog and the rest of your senior year. Syracuse was my favorite place to cover a basketball game when I was covering UConn at my old job. But, damn, it’s cold.
Thanks.
My not so great trip to Yankee Stadium:
As a diehard Yankee fan I’m a little embarrassed to tell my story but here goes:
I’m a 18 year old senior in High School (now 32). My Three friends and I decide the night before to go to Yankee Stadium. We start off with a Big Breakfast and beers at McDonalds at 8:30 am.
During the first inning as the alcohol begins to take over, I find a wallet in front of me. Being the immature drunk 18 year old I pick it up and take it. There is like $40 dollars in it. So me and one of my buddies decide to split from the other two buy beers and watch the game. Little did I know that my two other friends were being held under the stadium at the security office looking for me (someone saw me take the wallet).
Well to make a long story short, I’m in the parking garage eating a pretzel when two of New York’s finest come up to me on motorcycles. They bring me down to my friends and the guy whose wallet I took. The cop asks him how much money he has and luckily I was able to pay him back. The cops told my buddies just take him home. It was over right? NOPE. The guy whose wallet I took came up from behind me and sucker punched me from behind. The cops took him and jacked him up against the Stadium. To this day I use that as a learning experience.
Rebecca Great piece and Keep up the good work.
May 16th 2006. It was a Tuesday.
Yes, I’m sure you all remember this one. It was the Texas Ranger game where they came back from being down 10-1 behind a (not so) thrilling start by Shawn Chacon. The score hit 10-1 in the 2nd and I said to my friend “I’ll leave if they make it 12-1.” Well, as it turns out, they never did. That team which had suffered the loss of Matsui, Shef, and Giambi just prior rallied back. I can distinctly remember leaning over to my friend when the starting lineup was announced, saying “Wait, Posada is batting FOURTH! This should be a quick game.”
Fortunatly, it was anything but a quick game. After rallying back through the middle innings the score hit 10-5. Suddenly there was an overwpowerful feeling of “Wow. This just got interesting.” Posada made a great stop blocking Texiera at the plate which proved to be a huge play. As it turned out, Posada would be the one to win the game in the bottom of the 9th with a walk off 2 run shot to the right field bleachers. 14-13 the game finished.
Never have I attended a game and left with such disbelief of what I witnessed. After that game I learned 2 very important things.
1) This Yankee team can do anything.
2) You NEVER EVER leave a game before the final out.
EVER!
Pete’s on 1050 ESPN radio RIGHT NOW
Rebecca,
What a beautiful post. I look forward to more of your writing.
I’ve never been to Yankee Stadium, but it’s at the top of my “Bucket List”.
Thanks to everyone for sharing the memories. It won’t be long, folks. There’s too many people up above watching out for the Yankees for it not to happen. And don’t forget, Mr. Big Shot is a Yankee fan.
Nice post Rebecca. My dad has always loved baseball, but we never really went to a lot of baseball games. We went occasionally and my first game ended up being on the day that David Cone pitched his perfect game. Now my dad is a season ticket holder, and he hooks me up with tickets all the time. Many a memory has been had at the stadium.
It wasn’t my first game, but the most memorable game that I went to was Reggie’s 3 home run game in the World Series. The stadium felt like it was moving from the fans going so crazy.
Great writing Rebecca, your writing is smooth and poetic.
Many memories and I look forward to many more.
First game, September 1990. Tuesday night game and I am psyched to see my baseball idol, Don Mattingly. Guess who doesn’t play. I think the manager was Dallas Green and he gave Donnie the night off. I could still see him in the dugout.
His replacement Steve Balboni hits a game winning two run monster home run to beat the Orioles. I believe it was one of Dave Righetti’s final games as a Yankee. (I ended up getting a Balboni game used bat from that season, It’s a warclub)
A couple years ago, my wife and I went on the Stadium tour when the team was on the road. (That is the best time to go) To be in the clubhouse where all those celebrations occured, to walk down the same hallway as all the greats to the field, to sit in that same dugout, man it was one of the best days of my life.
Good times, good times.
Rebecca you did a great job.
I remember my 1st trip to Yankee stadium. It was 1965 I was 9 and went with my sister and her boyfriend. I was walking near the train and thought my sister was going to hit me. I hit my head against the pole that held the train. I cut my head and had to get a stich from some doctor on Gerard Ave. Needless to say I never did get to that game that night. A few months later I went to my 1st game. It was cap day against the Twins. I saw my hero Mickey Mantle up front and in person for the 1st time. I remember walking off the field through the bull pen after the game. That is how you left the ballpark in those days up the right field line and through the bullpen.
I have been to many games through the years and always have a special feeling when I walk into the House that Ruth built.
Super job, Rebecca!
Rebecca:
Very nice.
One of my better memories was a Red Sox - Yankees day game about 6 years ago with my daughter, my only child, who was then 4 years old. We were way down the left field line but under a little cover and both of us were sweltering in the unbearable heat. I took some of the napkins from our pretzels and wound them together in an eight or so inch long bandanna. I poured some of Yankee Stadium’s best, overpriced bottled water on the napkins and put the thing on her neck to keep her cool. From time to time I’d re-wet the napkins and it seemed to be helping.
At one point, she decided she had to sit on my lap. Then she took the long wrap of napkins and put it on my upper lip and held it there. She started laughing and said I had a mustache. An older Red Sox fan and his wife were sitting behind me. We had been chatting a bit during the game, about the Yankees, the Sox and our kids. He was quite a gentleman despite his misbegotten loyalties. On seeing the “mustache” he leaned forward and said, “You’ll remember this when you are dancing with her at her wedding.”
I hope to be that lucky.
Anytime at the Stadium for it’s final year, every fan should listen good to Bob Sheppard, the voice of the Stadium since 1951 and try to imagine how many names he’s announced over the PA system ever since …
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Sheppard
Some of my greatest memories at the Stadium include game 2 of the 98′ world series when El Duque was on the mound. I was twelve at the time and my mom got tickets through her job and I was to be one of her “clients.” We took a company paid limo down to the stadium and had the best time seeing celeb’s like Spike Lee, Denzel Washington and Robert DeNiro walk right by our seats. To top the night, the Yanks won the historic series game and we took the limo back home.
Another one came on my 15th birthday. I think it was a couple days before and some friends and I took the subway down from Yonkers to 161st. That game was amazing. It was a Yankee-Indians game. Posada hit two homers and the Yanks went on to win that game too.
Great post, Rebecca!
My first game was in May of 1985 against the Royals, I was 7. I just looked up old box scores & figured it had to be the 5th because I know Niekro was on the mound. Through the years the 3 that stick out which everyone will know are Game 6 in 98 vs Cleveland, Game 6 in 2000 vs Seattle, and Game 1 against the Mets in 2000.
But one random regular season game I will always remember fondly is July 25, 1993 against the Angels. We were down 8-0 in the 2nd inning and slowly fought back. Pat Kelly got a single in the bottom of the 9th to give us a 9-8 win. It was awesome
Rebecca, one of the most outstanding posts ever. Thank you.
Yes, beyond a ball and a stick, Yankee Stadium is about the quest for excellence, from generation to generation. Your blog actually brought tears to my eyes, because it is about the bond I share with my dad, and now with my sons.
Rebecca - this is now one of my fav’s among those who PH for Pete. Two-thumbs up.
So I take it you’re a fan, Rebecca? : )
Good post! Let’s hope the Yanks make some mre great memories this year.
Some top memories:
-yes, walking through the gate with my dad. Going from the dark hall to the emerald light does border on the spiritual!
-dad (a big guy) almost knocking over someone to nab me a foul ball hit by Roy White
-(slightly OT): bringing my then 8 year old sons to Trenton Waterfront Park for their first Yankees game to see Hideki Matsui on rehab in Game One of the 2006 Eastern League playoffs. Godzilla got it a hit, but it was Phil Hughes who struck out 13 in 5 innings for the enduring memory (by sons don’t want Phil traded!)
-my sons’ 1st three games at the Stadium in 2007, including the magical runway walk, an Andy Pettitte, an A-Rod homer, rooting for A-Rod’s 500th (didn’t get it that day), and even the worst two innings of Roger Clemens’ career (though the Yanks tied it 8-8 in the bottom of the 2nd, my boys saw their first Yankees loss that day).
Here’s to many more!
Corrections:
-*my* sons don’t want Phil traded
-an Andy Pettitte *win*
-Here’s to many more *memories* (not losses)
Great post!
clap, clap, clap!!!
Four years of high school (1972 - 1976) I passed by the stadium. I know exactly what you are talking about,
great stuff sports fan, hopefully your jitters are gone now!
I’ve been to the stadium so many times I’ve lost track, I’ve seen everyone from Roger Clemens pitch to Drew Henson play third. My my fondest memories will always be listening to god speak, god of course is the voice of Yankee Stadium Bob Shephard. One can only hope he will be doing this a year from now to open up the new Yankee Stadium.
Other memories would be going to Yankee Tavern before games for our ritual drink, than heading into the stadium to watch our boys play. Next year instead of making a left to go into Yankee Stadium, I’ll be hanging a right to the new one.
Great post rebecca!
It’s really gonna be sad to see the old park go. I’ve been going there since 1964.
I kinda feel like I grew up there. Although I only make it to 2 or 3 times a year now (there were seasons where i got there 20 times or more) i still visit it in my mind everytime i put the game on the radio. In my head, i can put myself there, running up and down the ramps as a kid, picture the monuments when they were on the field (i thought those guy’s were actually buried there!) I remember $3.50 bleacher seats when you could just make that left and walk into the grandstands, the view from back in the ‘Reggie section,’ i can picture the people in the upper deck, section 16 where i caught that graig nettles foul ball and gave it so my girlfriend with a kiss. I can see the kiosks out front and remember when they were ticket booths and painted red. i can even recall what the crowd roar sounds like from the bleachers next to the ballfield in McComb’s Dam Park cause we couldnt get tickets that day. I’m sure the new park is gonna be great but I’m sure gonna miss the old one!
Very nice, Rebecca. It’s a good story that touched off a lot more good stories. You can’t do any better than that.
My first game at Yankee Stadium was in 1987 against Kansas City. I was very young and remember very little (including who won- but I think it was KC), but I’ll never forget Bo Jackson planting his foot and climbing the outfield wall to rob Dan Pasqua (!) of a home run. Even the Stadium crowd cheered Bo for the catch when he came up the next inning. It’s funney- until today, whenever I hear an announcer go on about a great catch at the wall, I immediately think “Yeah, but you should’ve seen Bo Jackson climb the wall against Dan Pasqua that day in Yankee Stadium…” I’m sure my memories are far greater than the catch actually was, but such is the delight of baseball memories. Thanks, Rebecca, for jogging my memory again.
It always bothered me that my first Stadium memory is of a great play by the opposition, but you take what you get when your team fielded the likes of Mike Pagliarulo, Claudell Washington, Wayne Tolleson, Cecilio Guante, Henry Cotto and of course, Bobby Meacham.)
(By the way, does anyone else have a recollection of the play I’m speaking of? I’d love to know!)
RE 2009: I think the ghosts will still be in attendance across the street.
“You could not step twice into the same river; for other waters are ever flowing on to you.”
Heraclitus, On the Universe
Greek philosopher (540 BC - 480 BC)
Change is constant — so you can’t step into the same Stadium twice, even if it is at the same address.
In 2009, the address may be different, but the fundamental river will be the same, and all our favorite ghosts will be there.
Nicely done, Rebecca!
When they announced the plans for the new stadium, Joe Torre said something to the effect, that they are going to have to get limos and trucks to transport the ghosts from the old stadium, to the new one.
First Yankee game was May 1962. Whitey Ford beat Bill Monboquette and the loathsome Boston Red Sox on an Elston Howard hit. Yankee fans showed their true colors by booing two-time MVP Roger Maris the first time he came up.
Rebecca,
Just want to say that you’re one hell of a writer. In a few years when you’re doing an in store book signing at Barnes and Noble and I tell you that I’m Raymagnetic from the Lohud Yankees blog, don’t act like you don’t know me.
Great Post! funny as I start to write this a Jeter Hit Away commercial comes on…anyway my greatest at the stadium memories in no specific order are:
Game 1 95 ALDS (Donnie’s HR)
Game 2 95 ALDS (Leyritz)
Game 6 96 WS (no explanation needed)
Game 5 01 WS (Brosius the night after Tino, drove down from college with ZERO dollars in my pocket, talked my way into a parking lot, then made my brother come pay the lady, lol)
Game 7 03 ALCS (Boone)
Those are just a few amongst the many (first game with dad etc.) I was born in 81 and was fortunate enough to be blessed with season tix my whole life through my dad/godfather…now in the last season we won’t be getting our seats cause they are ridiculously expensive, however I have seen way way way too many unbelievable moments at “The Stadium” (including game 7 ALCS 04, ugh) that I would never dream of complaining, I look forward to the new stadium and new memories…but there will never be another “The Stadium”
**Edit, Donnies HR was in game 2, my bad…
Guys, I can’t tell you how wonderful it’s been to wake up and read all these stories…
…and as I do, there’s a squirrel crossing the telephone wire in front of me, as there was last September, every time before a Yankees’ win.
It’s going to be an amazing year.
My first game was in ‘51, some kid by the name of Mickey Mantle played. I don’t remember much of the game…it was a year or two ago. I do remember they had this guy on the mound named Eddie Lopat. The reason I remember was this guy behind me kept saying something like; “I could throw harder then that old man, get him out of here!” Well, if I remember right Eddie won, and the guy yelling, got a fat lip. After all, you don’t get in the face of an Irishman.
The only game I’ve ever been able to attend was last season. I grew up in NY but my parents never followed sports and it seemed like we could never afford to go.
I found out on short notice that was I was going to be in Philly via work for some training. I managed to get myself a ticket to see the Sox playing in NY. I left a $1500 class early and took the train into the city.
I got to watch Andy (my favorite) pitch a typically gritty game against Curt Shilling (my least favorite).
I walked every inch of the stadium that I could get to during my visit. I had the most incredible time. the whole even was surreal.
Fabulous piece Rebecca. Too many people use their blogs to talk about what’s wrong with the Yankees. Its nice to see someone, especially someone as young as you, see what’s right about the Yankees. Tradition being a VERY big part of it.
Too many students I encounter today seem to think “history” goes back as far as 2000. Its refreshing to see someone actually “gets” it.
Best of luck to you in all of your endeavors. You are a very talented writer.
Rebecca - What a wonderful post. It’s been said before in these posts, but you write so well. Such a great story teller. Have you considered law school? Don’t laugh. One of the biggest things we look for in young promising lawyers is the ability to tell a story.
As for Yankee Stadium, my favorite memories:
- my very first game: brand spanking newly renovated Yankee Stadium with my dad and grandfather. I was 10. I have no idea who won, who they played, or any details of the game. But walking into that ballpark was the most incredible feeling.
- the day it rained Reggie Bars. Opening day after Reggie became “Mr. October” and they named a candy bar after him. They gave our sample bars to the adults in the ball park — these bright orange square things. First time up, Reggie hits a homer. And everyone throws their bars onto the field. For a kid, that had to be the funniest thing ever!
- taking my daughter to her first game at the Stadium. At the age of 3, she sat and cheered and had a blast. I was so busy watching her enjoy the game, I forgot to watch the game myself!
Love this game. Love this team. Love this place!
Rebecca,
As many have said before, great post!
Unfortunately, I haven’t lived near the stadium since 1976 which was my last time there. I have to settle for Legends Field each spring
I am trying to arrange a trip to NYC this year, so maybe I will get to see it one last time….
However my first time was quite memorable; Yankees/Sox doubleheader (back when you paid for one and got two games).
Yaz hit a homer to win a game, and Munson hit his first major league homer right in front of me.
I should add - although not a specific game or time, my dad used to take me out of school every year on opening day and we’d go to the Yankee game. We never had tickets in advance — always finding some nice person who didn’t want theirs
— but always got in. Dad and I have had tough times over the years, but those memories always bring a smile!
First game I ever went to was a DH at the old Yankee Stadium when I was 7 years old.
My mother, who was a HUGE Yankee fan, took my best friend and myself to the game. She didn’t drive so, we rode the train from CT and made our way to the Stadium.
My mother showed me how to keep score and all three of us kept score for both days. It was an experience of a lifetime for us. Been hooked on the Yankees ever since.
My best friend from that time is still my best friend today. We both still have our scorecards from that day and, when my mother passed away, he gave spoke at her funeral and brought his scorecard from that day with him.
Lori: You know, I’ve actually gone so far as I did mock trial in high school and I’m taking international law right now! Law school’s not on my radar at the moment, but, as a history student with an IR background, it’s certainly a possibility if I was to ever pursue that road.
That’s funny Rebecca- my undergrad degree was in International Studies. Stupid me focused on Soviet Studies. And as soon as I graduated, the Soviet Union collapsed! And of course, what I do now has NOTHING to do with international relations, other than some of my clients do business internationally.
there is nothing like emerging from the concourse, stepping into the sunlight and seeing the glimmer of the field…yankee stadium radiates with electricity, even if its a meaningless april game or a tense september showdown with the sox…i go to college in dc, and i am forced to huddle near my computer with my mlb league pass and watch the yankees, or pray for those espn or fox games so me and my frat brothers can watch. yet night in, night out i watch because the yankees aren’t just a hobby, or an interest, they are a way of life…my only fear is the new stadium wont have the charm of the old one…great post by the way
Growing up in Upstate NY (mainly Syracuse) I didnt get a chance to go to many games until I was out of college. My first game was in 1993… I was 13. My grandfather was a huge yankees fan. He hired a limo and drove myself, all my cousins, my aunt and him down. We sat in the right field main box seats. The Angels beat them. Since that time I had been back to the stadium ten times. Of those ten times, I’d seen them win once. It was that wild game near the end of the year with like 30 lead changes. Clemens was scratched from the start… Kennedy replaced him, then scratched, and Phil Hughes started, got shelled and 45 relief pitchers followed. The place erupted when Melky won the game. What a fantastic game! And long. It was something like 5 and a half hours long. My wife was complaining to go home. I told her, “Never leave until it’s over.” Then I gave her the keys to the car and said “Drive home, I’ll figure out a way to get back to Albany if you want to leave so bad.”… She didn’t leave.
Of some of the more interesting losses I’ve seen. Barry Bonds hitting the longest HR I had ever seen off Ted Lilly in 2002. Watched David Wells have the worst game of his career on July 4, 2003. The Red Sox massacred him. Last year, saw Phil Hughes’ MLB debut from Tier Section 2. Awesome view. Watched Kei Igawa get shelled, while the Yankees got one-hit off the A’s at the end of June.
Also saw Carl Pavano start twice at Camden. Got shelled both times. It was embarrassing. Whatever happened to him anyway? It’s like he just died on the wind… poor fella.
Rebecca: I have been waiting for this, and it’s beautiful.
I still have a picture of Little Billy T at age nine, in the left-field stands at Fenway with the Green Monster behind me. It’s one of my special memories of my Dad.
I have never been to Yankee Stadium. I think we need to fix that.
Peter: Speaking of Syracuse, are you the one that tells the taxi driver-Jim Boeheim story?
And yet ANOTHER Mantle story….
As a kid, I became an ardent fan in 1965. My father and brother had no need for sports, so it was a best friend who turned me onto the Yankees.
I begged my Dad to take me to a game, but he was ‘above’ sports. Finally, in 1966, he surprised me with 2 tickets.
The good news: They were box seats.
The bad news: They were to Shea stadium, home of the enemy.
Talk about elation to suicidal in a second!
Finally, my best friend’s Dad took me to a game at the stadium. I managed 1 more game before I went off to private (high) school in Connecticut later that year, wondering if I would ever see Yankee Stadium again.
Mantle ended the 1966 season with 496 HRs. These were terrible times for the Yankees, and rooting for the Mick was about the only highlight of being a fan. There was a new rookie named Roy White up, who I liked, and there were Joe Pepitone ‘Hair Stories’, but little else.
My math teacher turned out be be a big Yankee fan. I was real good at math, and even though I had just skipped 7th grade, was top of my 8th grade math class. Mr. Kirchner told me he wanted to put me in the 10th grade (dumb kids) geometry class, which I wanted no part of.
These 10th graders were Gorilla’s and I was just hitting puberty. These ‘dumb kids’ also lead the school in reefer consumption (although I was blissfully unaware) and I wanted no part of this crowd. So Mr. Kirchner told me if I made it through the first semester with an 85 average, he would set up a class trip to Yankee stadium the next spring.
Well, there is nothing like motivation. The math was easy for me, but being 2 and 3 years younger then everyone else, and the only straight kid in class, was no fun. Kirchner also had this terrible habit that whenever I had the top score on a test (which was most of the time), Kirchner would hold up my test, shaking it at the rest of the class and say, “You should all be ashamed. Little Larry gets a 91 and you guys can’t even pass”. This was met with a chorus of hysterical laughter (at the time, I had no clue what this was about) and I become the target for many flying objects.
To his word, Kirchner set up a class trip to Yankee stadium for the next Spring. 5/14/67 was the earliest date he could put this all together. In the Spring, Mantle started the season needing only 4 HRs for the Magic 500. Most of my time was consumed figuring out when to root, or not root, for a Mantle HR so he would have 499 on 5/14. Mickey started out slow, and was out of the lineup a lot, and sure enough, it took him 6 weeks to hit a mere 3 HRs.
So on 5/14, we loaded the bus and proceeded to drive to the Bronx for the night game. A couple of the guys from my geometry class were also on the bus, and while I didn’t particularly think they were baseball fans, they seemed to be in a joyous mood, laughing throughout the entire ride.
The game was against Baltimore, a very strong team. Thank the Gods, Mickey was in the lineup. My anticipation and hope was so great I was basically in pain. The confluence of factors that had me in Yankee stadium on that fated night was just so great, but I feared the odds-on disappointment coming my way.
Mickey reached on an error in the first. He singled in the 3rd, and popped out in foul territory in the 5th. Down by 1 in the 6th, Joe Pepitone was brought in to PH, and promptly hit a HR to put the Yankees in front by one. My joy was quickly quieted when I realized Pepitone would be brought in to play 1B, taking Mickey out of the game. When Pepitone trotted out to CF and Mantle resumed his position at first base after the 7th inning stretch, I all but wet myself in relief.
Horace Clark and Dougie Howser made the first 2 outs of the 7th. Then up stepped Mickey against Stu Miller, for what would undoubtable be his last AB. When the count reached 2 strikes, I all by willed myself into unconsciousness to avoid the ultimate disappontment. And it was in this state that I heard the crowd roar and jump to it’s feet. As I jumped up too, I saw a line drive heading towards the seats in right field.
I saw the ball land a number of rows back into the stands. What the hell had just happeded, I wondered? I was still in my self induced unconsciousness. Could it be a foul ball? Catchers interference? A Do-Over for some unexplained reason?
But as I saw Mick trotting around 2nd base, I knew it was real. He had done it. He had hit a home run. He had hit his 500th home run. And in an out-of-body kind of way, I saw the whole thing.
You have never experienced a ‘real’ staning ovation unless you were there. The entire stadium was on it’s feet cheering, stomping, and yelling. There were tears of joy on many faces. Long past Mantle disappearing into the dugout, long past his curtain call, the place was insane. Elston Howard tried to step to the plae for his at bat, but the fans wouldn’t allow it. When he finally made it to the plate, the crowd was stil insane. He stepped out of the box and back in. The pitcher stepped off the mound and back to pitch. But the crowd would not stop. They would not let this moment die. Howard finally flew out to right, but nobody noticed.
The Yankees did win the game against their dreaded enemy, but nobody cared. Mickey’s home run was the winning run, but nobody cared.
History was made on that day. Maybe the most anticipated at bat of the half century happened that day. 18,872 stories were born on that day.
I read later, that the ovation lasted a full 10 minutes. 10 minutes might not seem like a lot of time, but that is an eternity for an ovation.
It was only my 3rd game at Yankee stadium, but looking back, I guess well worth the wait.
oldyanksfan: That is one of the best stories I have ever heard, thanks for sharing!
My father told me a story, that he went as a kindergartner sat in the bleachers and they left in the 3 inning becuase it was too damn hot!!
Great blog, Rebecca.
How can anyone dislike an SU girl AND Yankees fan? I sure can’t!
Go Orange!
Go Yankees!
Great post; I can’t remember my first game, which was some time in the early 80’s; Nettles, Jackson, Goose and Guidry, too early to remember the game, however I do remember at 7 years old to be able to run around the Stadium without my father…boy times have changed.
But my fondest memory was 1995 ALDS game two, Donnie Baseball’s last game at the Stadium and when I left I never thought that would be the case. I remember running around the Stadium chanting Sweep!!Sweep!! Sweep!! with my shirt off in the rain after The King hits the walk-off homer into the right field bleachers. I remember sitting in the left field bleachers I vividly remember chanting Fire-cracker, Fire-cracker, Vince Clolemen Sucks, as well as chanting Junior and different things at him and then him staring at the left field bleachers after rounding second on his home run trot in extra innings. I will always remember how the Stadium shook when Mattingly hit the homer to take the lead after Sierra connected with his own in the prior at bat.
What a great game and there are so many more memories, it will be a sad day to see it go away. I did do one thing this past season on Labor-day, I took my four year old son to the game, just for him to be able to say that he saw a game in the Old Yankee Stadium.
Thanks Rebecca. Great post.
My stand-out Yankee Stadium memory is October 18, 1977. I was in the far upper deck for that Game Six and watched with my 10-year-old eyes Reggie Jackson jack three home runs. All on the first pitch. Mr. October, indeed.
Good article Rebecca. No offense, but you should be the real Yankees Chick.
I was born in 1970. I can’t remember my first game, I assume I was around 7 or 8, but starting in 1979 I started collecting Yankee Yearbooks. The cover said something to the effect “Champions Again”. That was when it occurred to me the Yankees had won back to back championships. Maybe I wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed
By 1981, I vividly remember the World Series loss, it was the first Yankee heartbreaker for me. They were up 2 games to none! One of my favorite memories was in 1983, I was at the game Dave Righetti pitched right before his July 4th no hitter. There was a kid out there that was tearing the cover off the ball, if I had to guess he must have gone 4 for 5 with a few doubles, looked like a real natural. His name was Don Mattingly. I was hooked. To this day Donnie Baseball is my favorite Yankee of all time. I hope he gets the opportunity to come back to the Yankees someday, where he belongs.
Rebecca,
Nice job. Out of respect for your numerous posts I will share a story…
For some strange reason I have caught or otherwise obtained a number of baseballs in my life but, as they say, you never forget your first time.
I was in the stadium to watch the Yankees play the Royals and had brought with me a roast beef sub. (Actually a wedge — I’m from Westchester — Lettuce, tomato, mayo, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, sweet red peppers.) The sandwich came from a small deli names Dante’s on Central Ave. It was a thing of beauty.
I’m particular about sandwiches. Preferring to have them made by a woman with a hint of a mustache whose grandfather sits in the corner on a stool watching her like a hawk. She offers the sandwich in a way that says, “Here I have made you this magnificent sandwich, please take me out of here.” Contrast this to a sandwich made at a Subway where some High School Girl holds the spreader with a cluelessness of someone on their first date.Not quite understanding what it’s for.
But I digress…
Working my way down to the field for batting practice I spy Al Fitzmorris of the Royals and say, “Hey Al would you trade a roast beef sandwich for a baseball?” He replied, “Kid I’d kill my mother for a roast beef sandwich.” The exchange was made and he headed off to a far corner of the bullpen. I’m still not sure which of us got the better of the deal.
There are other stories, I enjoyed being called a “Hucklebery by Phil Rizzuto and the great summer of 1976 where I practically lived in the upper deck. But perhaps another day.
Thanks for the blog…
Doug
Great post Rebecca. Reminds me that it’s not just about winning or losing (although I much prefer when we win:-), but it’s about the heart of the sport, the team and the fans.
…….”Ray, people will come Ray. They will come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They will turn into your driveway, not knowing for sure why they are doing it. They will arrive at your door as innocent as children longing for the past. “ Of course we won’t mind if you look around ,” you’ll say. “ It’s only twenty dollars a person .” And they will pass over the money without even thinking about it. For it is money they have and peace they lack. They’ll walk out to the bleachers and sit on a perfect afternoon. They’ll find you’ll have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they’ll watch the game. And it will be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. Their memories will be so thick, they’ll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come, Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuild, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good and that could be again. Ohhhh, people will come Ray. People will most definitely come”
Awesome post Rebecca, and it stirs the memories of years past. As it’s been said, the winning and losing is secondary to the game, the experience, the history… and more than anything, the memories. Connections to our childhood, to old friends, to our parents, and the special feelings that we had as a children with our parents, to people that may no longer be with us.
I may forget to pick up milk on the way home tonight. But I’ll never forget the day when my father took me and a bunch of friends to a batday double header at old Yankee Stadium and got my “Micket Mantle” bat. (oh, to still have that bat today!) Or that I was hanging out with Tommy Tame in his basement in Queens as we watched Bucky’s home run sail over the green monster. Or when I was walking down 76th street in Glendale, Queens when my friend Patty told me that she just heard that Thurman Munson was dead. Or my father and I jumping up and down like little children in front of a tiny black and white TV as Jackson hit his 3rd world series home run in a row.
When you’ve got tickets in the upper deck, and you walk out through the corrider, and the wide vivid green expanse of the field opens up in front of you… the warm breeze hits your face as it rushes into the corrider… white puffy clouds sailing across a clear summer sky… the organ playing familiar tunes in the background… and then the voice of god. Can their be a better feeling? It’s all those childhood memories rushing back again. There is NOTHING in the world like baseball.
I wish I could recall my first game, but I can’t. My Dad took me to a couple of ganes a year back in the late 60’s. We’d always sit in the bleachers.
My top memory at a game is easy. World Series 2001 game 5. The 2nd two out, 9th inning, comeback in a row was spectacular for sure. But the real highlight? My buddy and I had seats upstairs in right field by the foul pole. It was Paulie’s last game. Being out in right for those Paul O’Neill chants was incredible. It was only a month after 9/11, and the emotions at the stadium were at a fever pitch. The ovations for Paul, then the unspeakable comeback, was by far the greatest sporting event I’ve witnessed.
It’s a little foggy but I think the first time I was at Yankee Stadium was ‘78 but it may have been ‘77.
Afternoon double header against the Twins. Rod Carew had been so hot at the plate he was about to burst into flames. I think he got a few hits that day but I really forgot the details of how either game came out. I think it was a split.
But one thing I remember most was Lou Piniella making an absolutely unbelievable error. We sat on the field level about even with where the LF usually stands when he’s playing shallow. Lazy fly ball, Lou just had to slowly jog straight in no more than 10 steps to get it. One or two steps before he’s about to make a simple two handed catch, his feet stop, his body keeps going forward (and down) and the ball tips off his glove and lands in front of him as he falls flat on his stomach. I don’t know if he just tripped or the sun was in his eyes. But if you ask Lou he’d probably think it one of his most embarrassing moments on the field. Good player, very good manager … he just happened to have his one Bad News Bears moment on my first trip to the stadium. He’d have to smile shake his head that anyone would remember that play about 30 years later.
I was born in ‘75, so too young to appreciate the teams of the late 70s. Just in time to “suffer” through the 80s and early 90s, though I didn’t have the expectation that the Yanks should win every season. Donnie Baseball alone was enough to keep me loving the Yanks.
My memory is of Game 6 in the 1996 World Series. I went with my brother and uncles and sat in the bleachers. After the final out was recorded, we obviously celebrated. But then people started ripping the bleacher seats off and tucking them into their shirts. Destructive, yes, but it felt right. We followed suit, and that seat (and my ticket stub) are still buried in my parents’ basement somewhere.
Wonderful post, Rebecca. My favorite so far! You have to be sure and let us know when that novel is done.
We used to watch Yankees games in the mid 80s off of a satellite dish. We’d show it on a bare wall. That was way before Direct TV! We used to catch them on the road in Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City and Milwaukee (still an AL team then). We made our first trip as an add-on on our way back home from an RV trip to Disney World with our young kids. Remember I’m from Wisconsin! We drove the RV right up to the stadium and parked! We had security everywhere telling us “You can’t park that here!”. They were very helpful, though, and found space for us in a lot close by for that one game. We made it back the next year for bat day and traveled in the subway with 4 kids that we had to carry and 4 bats.
The best time, though, was when just two of us flew out in 2001. To see the stadium when I didn’t have to worry about whether the kids were having a good time was totally amazing. We took the stadium tour and loved monument park. The game was amazing and now we try to get back every year for at least a game or two.
Thanks for the chance to remember and keep up the really great writing!
Very nice post, Rebecca. Not a quibble, per se, but I would like to add that there are, in my opinion, many special or ‘hallowed’ October moments beyond those 26 that brought titles. Just two within my memory that come to mind are:
1) Chris Chambliss hitting a walk-off home run in 1976 to win the pennant and propel the Yanks to their first World Series in a long time.
2) The three home games in the 2001 Series. Like him or not, President Bush throwing out the first pitch was a pretty electric moment, and then the games and the late-inning theatrics were even better. Even though the Yanks eventually lost the Series, this one was very special.
I hope your studying to be a writer, because you have talent. Great post. My sister and I make the journey from Washington state to NY every year to watch the Yankees, in Yankee Stadium. It’s a special place, for the reasons you listed, and because we truly love baseball, and the Yankees. My first year game was summer of 98, I got to see Coney pitch his first game after his no hitter, against Cleveland. Coney didn’t do so well, he only lasted 3 or 4 innings, but the Yankees won, and I got to sit amongst the Bleacher Creatures I’d read so much about. I’m going to miss the house that Ruth built.
Gus- I was at the July 4th game too!! I had seats right behind the dugout. The G-man was actually playing first base. Well you know how they throw the ball into the stands, well he threw it to me, just a little high :lol:, and the guys behind me got it.
Posting about my first stadium experience got me thinking about that day, so I looked it up. Guidry & Gossage pitched the opener and it was Munson not Carew who had a few hits that day. I remember being a little ticked off that Carew didn’t start the first game (PH) because I wanted to see him hit. It’s even foggier a memory than I thought … but that was a looong time ago. I was 14 at the time.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=197807301NYA
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=197807302NYA
I also remember that April was my first time at Fenway too. I remember I grabbed a stray ball during pre-game warmups there. Jim Rice butch Butch Hobson were tossing the ball back & forth and it got away from Hobson right in front of me.
I also remember wondering if there was a taxedermist in my hometown after I found my beagle chewing a wad of string that used to be that ball. He was probably thinking “Ahh it’s from Fenway so you shouldn’t want to keep it anyways”. Smart dog. Still, that was the only ball I ever got at a pro game and I’ve been to many many games. Montreal (Jarry Pk), Fenway, Yankee Stadium, Shea, Philly (Veteran’s Stadium) and Camden Yards.
If anyone hasn’t been to Camden Yards yet, it’s really a great ballpark to see a game at. I went to a Yanks game there a few years ago and I was really impressed with their park. It’d be great if the new Yankee Stadium can even come close to that.
Doug, the trade for the baseball for a Roast Beef sandwich, sounds good, unless you’ve ever had a sandwich from Dante’s Deli. If I pass anywhere near White Plains, I have to stop there for a sandwich. Unless it was authorgraphed by a George Brett, you were on the short end.
Dan- DIG THAT SEAT OUT!! It is worth MONEY!!! and memories!!
OldYanksFan:
Really nice to read your story about Mantle’s 500th HR. I think … ‘wow’.
During my wife’s first Yankee Stadium experience we saw A-Rod’s 500th HR just after she moved to NY from Tokyo. Sort of puts A-Rod’s accomplishments in perspective. I wonder how we’ll look back on that experience way way down the road.
Hey does anyone know the best time/place to ask the players an autograph during the regular season? My father in law is a lifelong Yomiuri Giants fan (he’s lived in or near Tokyo all his life) and we’d like to approach Matsui someday to autograph a ball for him. If we have to come armed with a roast beef sandwich (or a small sushi plate) we will. Do the players take a few minutes during/before pregame warmups?
One of the best things I remember is going to Old Timers Days as a kid. Mickey, Whitey, Joe D, Yogi..they weren’t the old men that we remember them as. Mickey was only 39 or 40!
At one of them, they retired number 8 for Yogi and Bill Dickey..a lot of people forget that he wore #8 too and was such a great player.
Really nice post, Rebecca. Given all the negative publicity (steroids) it is nice to see someone who knows what it is all about offer their perspective.
I grew up in Baltimore so my earliest memories are of trips to Memorial Stadium, long before the Orioles entered the realm of comic relief. My first trip to Yankee Stadium was in 2002, now we try to make it up there from Delaware 4-5 times a season.
OldYanksFans - my Dad, who grew up in the Bronx, will tell you how he went to every game before Mick hit #500, even saw him hit #499, but didn’t see his 500th because it was on Mother’s day and he had to stay home for dinner.
One of my favorite childhood memories is going to Old Timers Day with my Dad… sometime in the late 1980’s, i must’ve been around 7-8 years old… as the crowd cheered for Mantle and Dimaggio, my Dad held me up above his head and screamed “Wesley, you have to remember this!” I guess i didn’t realize it then, but i realize now how special it was to see those guys standing on the field at Yankee Stadium.
My family moved to California in 1992, and although I’ve been to plenty of Yanks games here on the West Coast (I even saw my childhood favorite Donnie Baseball get his 2000th hit in Anaheim in 1995) it was a while before I made it back to the Bronx…
Last August, I happened to be in Manhattan for work and was listening to the game at a client’s office. Wang was pitching and we were down 3-0 early. Abreu hit one out to cut the lead and I promptly asked to leave work, ran to Grand Central and hopped on the 4 train to Yankee Stadium. By the time I scalped a ticket and got inside, the Yanks were up 4-3. Wang labored through 7 tough innings.
In the top of the 8th, a young man wearing #62 jogged in from the bullpen to make his first appearance in the Bronx. I will never forget the feeling of hearing half the crowd chant Joba’s name as he struck out Tejada with the nastiest slider I’ve ever seen to end the inning… The O’s tied it up off Mo, and the Yanks won the game on Jeter’s infield hit in the bottom of the 9th…
20 years from now I’ll be able to tell my story of seeing Joba’s first NY appearance… at the OLD STADIUM!
Rebecca.
You have a future as a sportswriter ahead of you. Anybody with your passion should. My 1st game was a doubleheader, 7/4/61 to be exact, I still have the boxsore. Yanks vs old nemesis Yankee killer FranK Lary of the Tigers. A full house, over 70,000. It was so loud and people were screaming with such fanaticism, I never knew what a crowd was until that day. What a great memory of me and my Dad.
Wow, she really can’t write, can she?
mark, you mean, can.
Aww, guys (gals), you’re making me blush!
thanks for sharing the more visceral side of things.
i was in box seats behind the first base line during some lean years. we were just kids and back then, although some of you new fans would never guess it, our biggest rival was Baltimore. Boog Powell used to kill us and I remember when Ellie was the first-base coach and my brother, sister and I would be bellowing “Hey EL-e-phant!” to Powell, an admittedly hefty fellow, as he stood at first. Howard, being the gentleman he was, glowered at us. We were young and obnoxious, and Powell knew us pretty well. These were the Horace Clarke years and we were not very good and the Stadium was not very full in those days.
Another day that stands out is a makeup game w/Tampa Bay a couple of years back. They reskedded at the last minute, and there were about 200 people in the park for the first of a double header, the first being the makeup game. It was like oldtime baseball, because the big screen wasn’t running; advertiser and phony-fan inducement free, you could actually HEAR the game; the ball going thump in the glove, the players’ onfield chatter, there was even some repartee between Mussina, the starting pitcher that day, and the fans, because you could hear singular voices in the crowd. It recalled those lean years and frankly, a world of baseball we have, most regrettably, lost.
Just a few that happened to me in the past few years…
Bubba Crosby hitting a walk-off HR against the O’s in a crucial game down the stretch. His first ever walk-off of his entire career I might add.
I was also there for A-Rods 500th career HR. Hopefully we get to see another Yankee jersey hanging in Cooperstown as the all-time HR King!
I’ve already got my opening day Tickets for the 2008 season!!!! Clearly I’ll never forget that day!
“I am 13 the first time I am there” LOL an english major.
YANKS 26
Yeah, it was from Dante’s Deli. Oh well, the sandwich has long since gone and I still have the ball.
I no longer live in NY but came in last summer and brought my son with me to his first Yankee game. It was against the Tigers and his memory will be of 56,000 people yelling “Jaba! Jaba!” Well that and what he called the best tuna sandwich he ever had. It was of course, from Dante’s.
Rebecca,
Fantastic post. Congratulations!
One of my favorite Stadium memories came on Saturday May 28,1966. It was a Memorial Day weekend series against the Chicago White Sox.
The series marked the New York debut of Emmett Ashford, baseball’s first black umpire. Ashford was the home plate umpire.The game ended up being called after 5 ininngs as a 2-2 tie.
I can’t remember when or if the remainder of the game was made up.But that night my Mom took our family to see a taping of the tv show “What’s My Line?”. For those of you too young to remember,”What’s My Line ran for 18 years, making it the longest running prime time game show in history. There was a “Mystery Guest” at the end of each show, The panel could ask questions, but were blindfolded and could not see the guest.
The Mystery Guest that night on What’s My Line? was Emmett Ashford.
first memories of yankee stadium: must have been early 80s as hall & oates “maneater” played numerous times while i was in the back back of whatever car my family had at the time, coming down that last stretch of road, under the tracks.
i remember our group being split in 2 sections, and walking from one section to the section my uncle was in with my sister. we must have taken a wrong set of steps somewhere because when we finally got to him, there was a bar seperating my sister and I from his box, and we climbed over and sat with him for a few innings.
i was told of the possiblity of catching a foul ball and that was all that i cared about. i cried when the game ended and i didn’t get a foul ball. i vividly remember thinking how packed the zigzagging ramps were that we walked down to leave, probably while i was still crying.
Hey Doug - Wheres Dante’s Deli? I don’t work too far from White Plains, and at the office I work in we always like finding a new place that serves a good lunch sandwich. I will be the office hero (no pun intended) if it’s that good.
Great post, Rebecca!!!
Jojo:
1) English minor.
2) There is no grammatical rule that says you cannot write in the present tense.
3) AP format is to use numerals for numbers higher than ten.
Rebecca-
You rock.
My YS memories:
- First game I went to was old timer’s day in 1978. I got to see Yogi and Joe D (my grandpa’s favorites), The Mick and Whitey (Dad’s) and Thurman Munson who was mine. The Yankees won something like 12-2, and had a 10-run inning in which Willie Randolph hit a grand slam. Reggie also took one deep.
- Being from Montana, I didn’t return to YS until 1995. I took a Wall Street job in 1994, that fateful year that was so promising for the Yanks (and Expos) but ended in disaster. In 1995, I saw the first home game against the Marioners and got to see Donne Baseball, my favorite player go deep in the post season. I was stuck late at work, watching on a TV in the conference room alone when that season came to a crushing end.
- In 1996 I scored great seats in the loge level on the raile for my first taste of Yankees in the World Series. Andy Pettittee didn’t have it against Johhn Smoltz and by the early innings 19-year old Andruw Jones (THE NEXT MICK!)was the story.
- Fortunately the Yankees rallied and I had to watch the Jim Leyritz game in the early morning hours from London. And I was on a flight back home when Andy came thorugh with the 1-0 shut-out. Fortunately the pilot was a fan and gave us periodic updates.
- Again I scored great seats, 8 rows behind the Braves dug-out for game 6. And I was really hoping they closed it out since I had no tix for game 7. When Joe Girardi hit that triple off Greg Maddux to snatch an early lead it is still the loudest I ever remember the Stadium. And when it looked like the Bravos might sneak back into it, Terry Pendleton grounded in to a life-sucking GIDP on a 2-0 pitch from Jimmy Key. I correctly felt it would happen that night. And later that night, we continued celebrating at Puffy’s Tavern in Tribeca, throwing darts and drinkingwith none other than Ed Burns.
- Other great memories at the stadium over the years include the big Scotty Brosius HR in Game 5 of the emotional 2001 Series and watching the 17 K, 1-hit masterpiece tossed at us by Pedro. We had seats right behind home plate and the way he toyed with a potent Yankee line-up is still the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen in Sports. I joke to this day that the only reason it wasn’t a perfect game is because Chili Davis guessed fastball, and got a change-up. But since his bat was so slow he timed it right and hit a solo home run.
I’ve been to the stadium many times, but my best memory is a recent one. I took my son to his 1st game Saturday April 07th, 2007 gainst the Baltimore Orioles. It was chilly that afternoon and we were down 4 runs going into the bottom of the 8th inning. I tell my son if we don’t score a run here we would leave to get out of the cold and beat some of the traffic home.
He wasn’t happy and actually started crying when Jetes made an out leading off the inning. Luckily we got a couple of men on and Giambi hit a 3 run shot to close witihn a run. We won that game on an A-Rod grand slam in the bottom of the ninth.
I was reminded by my little one to never give up on the Yanks. On the way out he even had me by him an A-Rod jersey for doubting. The jersey was overpriced as usual, but the bonding experience was priceless. This will be a memory we can share for a long time to come.
Great post Rebeca, well written and quite insightful.
I remember my first game at Yankee Stadium. It was just me and my dad, I couldn’t have been more than seven or eight years old. Daryl Strawberry hit a walk off home run against the Royals. We had pretty good seats, but I can still picture him making contact.
Great post Rebecca. At the moment, I don’t have time to write about my first visit to Yankee Stadium, but I will say this: the Yanks won big!
OOPs- getting a little old. My first game was old timer’s day 1979 (not 1978) This game:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA197907210.shtml
I remember that later that year I was watching the Pirates and Cardinals play at Three Rivers and they announced during the game that Thurman Munson was killed .
I have a friend who (despite growing up in NYC) had his first Yankee Stadium experience at the Aaron Boone walk-off game against Boston that sent NY into the World Series in ‘03. I wasn’t there but I saw it on TV. Being there had to be an un-freakin’-believable first experience for him.
So I took him to his second Yankee Stadium experience the next summer, which I warned him would most likely be a let-down in comparison. Even though we sat right behind the road dugout, of course he said it wasn’t anywhere near as electric as that amazing October night against Boston. How on earth could it have been? Lucky guy, but unless he’s ever at a walk-off WS winner for NY, NONE of his stadium experiences will ever match his first.
But we still had a good time the day we went.
Gus- I was at the July 4th game too!! I had seats right behind the dugout. The G-man was actually playing first base. Well you know how they throw the ball into the stands, well he threw it to me, just a little high :lol:, and the guys behind me got it.
That would’ve been awesome if you got the ball… Great seats though. You saw David Wells get shallacked up-close. I was in the bleachers. That was the game I discovered I HATED the bleachers. Somehow we ended up surrounded in Sox fans. They were rowdy and ruthless. Heh- We went to the World Series that year over them, so it was worth it… I guess.
3) AP format is to use numerals for numbers higher than ten.
Yup, and a huge pet peeve when people do it with numbers under ten. OR, they start a sentence with a number. The major news channels do it all the time. “2 dead in plane crash.” Should be “Two dead in plane crash.” They should know better. Shame, shame. I have to tell the producers here at work atleast once or twice a month. Damn newbs.
Rebecca great post. My first Yankees game was supposed to be in late August or early september of 1990 when I was 15. It was supposed to be my Dad and I, both yankees fans, going with my brother and brother-in-law, both red sox fans.
But unfortunately that day my brother got really sick and we thought he might not make it through the day. (He did make it, but eventually lost the battle November 7, 1990).
So my first game came when in 1998, again in August, Yankees vs. Mariners. We sat in the top of upper deck behind homeplate. You know, row X, with our backs against the wall — literally. Anyway, as we all know that Yankees team went 114 and 48 in the regular season. Many of you can say that you saw one of those 114 wins. I, however, have the distintion of seeing one of those 48 losses.
But it didn’t matter because it was Yankee Stadium. I was so amazing to see how green the grass was inside when there was none outside. The crowd was buzzing and it felt like heaven. That is until A-Rod hit two home runs and Griffey hit one. (I thought, hey wouldn’t be cool if A-Rod could play for the Yanks?) Anyway, the best moment had to be Strawberry’s meaningless moster homerun that I swear almost hit the wall behind the bleachers in right field.
I have been to many more games since then and seen some great wins (Posada’s walk off May 5, 2000 was by far the best). Everytime I walk into that Cathedral, the ghosts all whisper “Welcome to greatest Stadium ever built.”
Edit - Griffey hit the two Homers — A-rod’s double hit the top of the wall
Rebecca, thanks again for this post. It was so great reading everyone’s memories of the Stadium. Given all the debate lately about steroids, a Santana trade, Bernie and Cashman, it was so nice to go and read a post without arguing and that let us all remember why we are fans of the greatest team in the history of American sports.
Fabulous job.
Great post, Rebecca. I even remember my first time at Yankee Stadium when I was about 8 years old (Circa 1993). I was very excited when I found out my Dad got tickets. I was excited that I hurt my neck and I couldn’t move it at all until I fell asleep for more than 5 hours. When I saw the Yankees game, as a kid, your amazed right off the get go because of the aura it brings. The point is I will still remember my first time at Yankee Stadium and all the moments they’ve had like the Leyritz’s home run off Mark Wholers (Sp) in the ‘96 World Series, Jeter’s home run in the ‘96 ALCS, etc.
For Tom in MA, I’m sorry for your loss man.
When I was about to turn 9 years old I went to my third Yankee game and we took my best friend to his first trip ever to yankee stadium and first professional sporting event. It was also his first time eating cotton candy. I was with him and my parents and Dwight Gooden was facing an impossible Mariners lineup. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to see Mattingly or Griffey more, but I knew I was in for a good game. Needless to say the Yankees only mustered two runs, one of them thanks to an error.
But on this May 14th, 1996 night, two runs were good enough because Dwight Gooden, having once been the future of baseball-turned drug addict, pitched a no-hitter. Soda and Beer fell from the upper deck, people danced on limos and the prison across the street chanted “lets go yankees” for hours after the game was complete. An old man turned around to my friend and I and told us never to forget the moment because we may never see it again.
The night was magical and never to be forgotten.
And because you are capable of conjuring up memories such as those where each person benefits from his or her own experience, I have to say this is my favorite post, Rebecca. Great job and there are not many of us that can put what it’s like to experience Yankee Stadium magic so eloquently.
RANTING GUY
429 Central Ave
White Plains, NY 10606
(914) 946-3609
A few blocks North of Battle Hill. Google it.
By the way you could have just e-mailed me.
Or are you waiting until the Giants beat the pats so we can hassle Matthew together.
Use the Yahoo address.
Rebecca,
a well crafted post. you have a rich writing style - keep working at it - you have real potential should you want to earn your living as a writer in the future.
as for the stadium memories you evoked from me…my first visit was in 1956- Mickey’s triple crown year - although I surely did not know what a triple crown was back then.
Dougko - I was just too lazy to go to Yahoo and log on. I was already hereso what the heck.
I won`t bet cash against those guys this year but Matthew will definitely hear about it if the Pats lose.
Rebecca,
great job, I’ve been reading this blog for months now and you’ve inspired my first post. My first yankee stadium memory came when I was about 10 years old, and I was with my parents and my aunt and uncle, it was a game against Toronto and we sat in right field behind Dave Winfield. Someone from Toronto hit a homerun that was tipped by some guy right in front of us, that kept my uncle pete from getting the ball. 21 years later and many many games, it’s still the closest I’ve come to getting a ball. As far as my favorite memories, it’s a toss up between hearing the stadium echo with chants of USA! USA! as the President tossed out the first pitch against the Diamondbacks in 2001. I was as high in the left field upper deck as you can get and was able to see Airforce One land on the baseball fields behind the Stadium! I was also fortunate enough to be in the left field bleachers as Aaron Boone sent the Yanks to the Series in 2003! I’ve never felt the Stadium vibrate with such poor joy and excitement! I actually picked up and gave a spinning bearhug to a NYC police officer as I was jumping in the stands! Let’s just hope that the old ghosts are ready to relocate as well and find their way next door as many new october memories are formed!
Hey Buddy Biancalana,
Roy Smalley’s grand slam! It came against the Cleveland Indians. It was my first Yankee game, and the Yankees won 11-something. I was six years old. My Dad and I sat in the grandstand on the third base line… I’ll never forget Roy Smalley for that.
Another Micky story…
I forget the year (56/57) the game was all tied up in 9th. Mick had a bad nite batting, so he lays down a bunt. Needless to say he beat it out, so anyhow he starts waving at Yogi. Yogi steps out of the batters box and looks down at mick, mick starts pointing at himself and then motions to 2nd base. Yogi steps back in and the pitcher throws a ball as micky slides into 2nd base. Now we all know that Yogi was the best bad ball hitter of all time, so whats next? About this time people start to get what is going on and start yelling go, go, go! So, Mick brushes himself off and dose the same thing again, only the pitcher spins and throws to 2nd…bad move, Micky had taken off for 3rd on the first move. By the time they relayed to 3rd, it was to late. Yogi hit a fly ball to win the game. The crowd went batty, people jumping around laughing, dumping beer etc.
Rebecca,
You have a real gift for writing and your piece today even made this old Red Sox fan think about going to a game this year at Yankee Stadium!