The "Cathedral" said goodbye forever last night with a 7-3 Yankee win over a lowly Baltimore Orioles club. No this is not the way that the Yankees or the Steinbrenners figured they would say goodbye to the stadium.
The Yankees are in the midst of a dreadful season. They are mired by devastating injuries, inconsistent young starting pitching and a $280 million dollar third-basemen that has more back page newspaper stories than clutch hits.
Now they close down the stadium that they have called home since 1923. A stadium that has hosted 26 world championships and a countless number of Hall of Famers. A stadium that hosted the greatest football game ever played. A stadium where Notre Dame finally won one for the Gipper.
Problems With New Yankee Stadium
The Yankees will move across the street to a new deluxe stadium with all modern amenities. With all modern amenities comes modern prices. Yesterday, Yankee Stadium stood a historical giant amongst the new stadiums popping up all across the country. Monument Park was as much a baseball staple as is the Big Green Monster in Fenway Park and the ivy covered outfield wall of Wrigley Field.
Now it all moves to what is being called "New" Yankee Stadium. But with the move comes a real loss of history. A loss of a sacred ground.
While the name the "House that Ruth built" doesn't make much sense because Ruth never played on this field. Mickey Mantle didn't play on it. Lou Gehrig didn't play on it. Don Larson never threw a perfect game there.
History at Old Yankee Stadium
But nonetheless, even if it's really the "House that Reggie built," it's a New York landmark. As you grow up, you will tell stories of the stadium. Stories of Reggie Jackson's hitting three home runs in a World Series against the Dodgers. Stories of Derek Jeter diving into the stands for a pop up against the Red Sox or "the flip" against the A's. Marino Rivera as the greatest relief pitcher of all time. You will always remember President Bush, when he wasn't the lamest duck of lame duck bosses, throwing out the first pitch after September 11th.
So the Yankee hierarchy are going to tell us all that the history is still going to be there...just moved over. It's not. It won't have the same cachet to it. The "New" Yankee Stadium is going to be as corporate as ever. Businessmen and women will be the new bleacher creatures. Corporations will hand out Yankee tickets to potential clients because it will be the hot “new” ticket in town. New York Yankee fans will not be able to afford to see their team play. The real Yankee fan will be relegated to a couch and a TV, especially if Hank and Hal join the PSL trend.
Now that the old stadium has hosted its last game, its last World Series moment, its last playoff game, and all we have are our memories.
While the memories may never die, the stadium will now be the "parking lot that Ruth built."
