Your memories of Yankee Stadium

Don't have any private character leads into Dickey, but Crosetti was a 97.4% ass, and this fits the profile.

Add to that how Bouton blew copious quantities of smoke up Frank/'s ass in Ball Four. Delightful.

 

When I was 10 years old, I went to a game with my parents in the early 80s, a cold, wet miserable day. There wasn't anything memorable about the game, except for the announcement that all fans could reimburse their ticket stubs for a free game later that year as a thank you from the Yankees for coming out to watch them in the rain.

That wouldn't happen today. Now, they treat you like you're lucky they're letting you sit in their ballpark.

 

1981 World Series with my father, I can still remember the sound of the booing for Winfield. A Bat Day as part of one of the old Little League end-of-the-season deals. Enjoyed a festive drunken repast there on a birthday during my 20s. When I was a kid, nobody gave a shit about the Yankees and nobody wanted to go to the stinking dump. It was all about Shea and the Mets.

 

In 1966, I saw a double-header against the Senators. Washington swept. What I remember most is emerging from the walkway into the upper deck and seeing the entire inside of the stadium for the first time. It was magnificent, especially compared to War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo or Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, the other places I'd seen a lot of games at.

In 1997, Yankees-Cleveland. I remember all the Dominicans cheering for Manny R., and paying about $6.50 for a watered-down beer.

 

Agreed.

To me, it doesn't have the charm or aesthetic appeal of Wrigley or Fenway, but there will never be a stadium in American sports that rivals Yankee Stadium's rich history.

 

Last year a few weeks after I started in Trenton I drove up to the city, and then the Bronx and Yankee Stadium for the fiirst and only time in my life, bought a scalped nosebleed closer to the clouds than the field and watched the Yanks play the Orioles. It was cool for two reasons beside the obvious of sitting at Yankee Stadium. First, A-Rod was having his MVP season, and he solidified the award for me on one at-bat with a swinging bunt -- and he raced down that goddamn line and beat it out. I loved that about him. The guy who will break the home run record one day digging out of the box and sprinting those 90 feet to beat it out in a bang-bang play. Said a whole lot about the guy. And also, my cousin, David Newhan, started in center field for Baltimore.

Glad I got there at least once. I'll most definitely catch a game next year at the new House That Jeter Built.

 

My top three:

1) The first game at The Stadium, Mickey Mantle Day. Nearly caught one of those special black-seamed ball and saw both Mark McGwire & Darryl Strawberry homer.

2) Game 1, 1998 World Series. Pettitte threw me a ball after he was done long-tossing; FOX taped me heckling Tony Gwynn; got George Steinbrenner and Bud Selig to autograph my ticket...after I just merely knocked on the office doors on the Loge level; seeing Tino Martinez's grand slam soar over my head and feeling The Stadium shake beneath my feet on ground level.

3) My first game as a media member. Walking into the clubhouse gave me chills, both physical and emotional. I will forever remember stepping onto the field after the game and The Stadium completely cleared out, save for Hideki Matsui and a Japanese crew. Never in my life have I seen anything as majestic or awe-inspiring as that. I thank God that I was able to experience such a thing.

The day that The House That Greed Built will have the same feel and energy that The House That Ruth Built will be the day that never comes.

 

I've been working at my computer... did someone throw out the first battery yet?

 

May 1967

Two college friends and I went to the Stadium in hopes of watching Mickey Mantle hit HR #500.

Walking into the Stadium, what is my first sight but Mantle taking infield at first base. I was amazed at his body build, always thought he was a man of regular build.

No #500 on Saturday afternoon, so we decide to "stay over" and come back Sunday afternoon to see what might happen.

With no place to stay, we walked around Times Square all night with a little bit of time spent in an all-night movie and some time toward daybreak sitting on a bench in Central Park. We basically had no money. One of my friends brought no money except a check he planned on cashing, so we had three people using money of two.

Fortunately, The Mick delivered the next day, May 14, with only 18,000 there. Ball landed in Sec 27 I believe. We were in Sec 17. I still have my scorecard.

 

Here tonight, in the same press box seat where my laptop vibrated across the table after Roger Clemens threw the bat at Mike Piazza. That was one of those goosebump moments, and I thought, Not many people get to get goosebumps at their job.

Tonight's pregame ceremony was pretty awful, but it's a beautiful night.

 

I cannot wait to read your story, dude.

 

Thanks, X. You are a kind and generous man. This one will be a while in the clacker.

Wright Thompson is here for the dot.com. That'll be a bad boy tomorrow.

Omigod... a guy named Chris Lynch just won a $50 gift certificate at Modell's for answering the trivia question right.

Is JR here somewhere, too?