So today is the day. The immortal Yankee Stadium will host it's last game tonight. With no playoffs this year, it's the end.
Tom Verducci wrote an interesting piece in SI with the stadium in the first person. Quite a few tidbits I did not know.
And all the NY papers have been covering it in-depth. So I won't talk history here.
Now it's time to say goodbye. My earliest memories of the stadium? I was born in The Bronx, but my father's family came from upper Manhattan (via Ireland) and were mostly Dodgers or Giants fans. The Yankees were more for people of means, while the National League teams were for the working class. So when time came, I picked the Mets as my team. But I had some cousins who lived within site distance of YS, and I can remember it off in the distance when we would visit.
I had a lot of friends who root for the Yanks, so over the years I would get there time to time.
I remember spending quite a bit of time at Stan's whenever we went.
In 1996, it snowed on opening day, so the Yankees offered everyone a ticket to another game, either a Thursday against the Jays or a Tuesday against the Mariners. A friend had about 10 tickets to opening day so he took 10 for the Mariners on May 14. Since it was a weeknight, a lot of people didn't want to go. I went, happy to see Dwight "Doc" Gooden pitching. And the rest is history. Dr. K pitched a no-hitter that night, probably the first (and only) time I rooted for the Yankees in my life.
This year I took my two sons to the stadium so they could always say they were there. Cliff Lee and the Indians beat the Yanks 3-0 that night. Nice.
After a dozen or so years, the Bronx Bombers won't be in the playoffs. A little odd after a run like that. The stadium will be gone, replaced by the palace across the street. A palace that many will not be able to afford to get into. Somebody's got to foot the bill for all-stars everywhere I suppose.
So enjoy the show on ESPN tonight. The AL East has a new Ray of hope.
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