Monday, September 22, 2008
Goodbye
As a lifelong baseball fan, even I had to feel bad about Yankee Stadium's demise this weekend. It is sad to see a perfectly adequate ball park go down simply for profit. But, that is the way of the world, and while Wall Street slides into the Hudson River, the Bronx Bombers are seeing a new home erected.
As some of you know, my Dad and I made it there last July, and it is a place rich with baseball history. As a ball park, it didn't have the quirk and character of Wrigley or Fenway, but it did have a palpable sense of history which will be missed. And even though I have spent the last 8 years rooting against them (since that fateful toss of the bat by Roger "Juiced" Clemens), to see clips yesterday of Jeter and Rivera on the field one last time were indeed evocative.
You see, for those of us who are not Yankee fans, we still have to admit that the game would be so different without them. While my team will always be proud of being the first to fully integrate with the arrival of Jackie Robinson, the Yankees have always been the standard bearers of baseball. They have managed to maintain an impressive tradition of winning. The Dodgers have the most NL Pennants in history (21), but the Yankees have won 39 pennants and 26 championships. And, contrary to belief, they won because they were smart, not rich. Wealth helps, but you can ask the Tigers and Dodgers where it has gotten them recently. No, the Yankees were at their best when they sought out and invested in great talent that would build their franchise. Ruth, Gherig, DiMaggio, Berra, Mantle, Mattingly, Jeter, Rivera...these are great names. But they all had people behind them who management was smart enough to hire: Pipgrass, Lazzari, Reynolds, Richardson, Nettles, O'Neill and Brosius. These teams were the best, they were not just lucky. Until another team can come along to challenge this impressive resume, the Yankees will be the standard bearers, and it seems sad that they have left the "factory" where that standard was built. These photos are from our trip there last July (the first photo is of the impressive facade of New Yankee Stadium)
When dad and I made our way there, it did seem that we had, as baseball fans, visited something of a home for us, though we grew up 3000 miles away. That is because as a baseball fan, Yankee Stadium is a familiar place, though I only visited it twice. And so, as we all say goodbye to this magical place, here's my own personal signoff :) :
As some of you know, my Dad and I made it there last July, and it is a place rich with baseball history. As a ball park, it didn't have the quirk and character of Wrigley or Fenway, but it did have a palpable sense of history which will be missed. And even though I have spent the last 8 years rooting against them (since that fateful toss of the bat by Roger "Juiced" Clemens), to see clips yesterday of Jeter and Rivera on the field one last time were indeed evocative.
You see, for those of us who are not Yankee fans, we still have to admit that the game would be so different without them. While my team will always be proud of being the first to fully integrate with the arrival of Jackie Robinson, the Yankees have always been the standard bearers of baseball. They have managed to maintain an impressive tradition of winning. The Dodgers have the most NL Pennants in history (21), but the Yankees have won 39 pennants and 26 championships. And, contrary to belief, they won because they were smart, not rich. Wealth helps, but you can ask the Tigers and Dodgers where it has gotten them recently. No, the Yankees were at their best when they sought out and invested in great talent that would build their franchise. Ruth, Gherig, DiMaggio, Berra, Mantle, Mattingly, Jeter, Rivera...these are great names. But they all had people behind them who management was smart enough to hire: Pipgrass, Lazzari, Reynolds, Richardson, Nettles, O'Neill and Brosius. These teams were the best, they were not just lucky. Until another team can come along to challenge this impressive resume, the Yankees will be the standard bearers, and it seems sad that they have left the "factory" where that standard was built. These photos are from our trip there last July (the first photo is of the impressive facade of New Yankee Stadium)
When dad and I made our way there, it did seem that we had, as baseball fans, visited something of a home for us, though we grew up 3000 miles away. That is because as a baseball fan, Yankee Stadium is a familiar place, though I only visited it twice. And so, as we all say goodbye to this magical place, here's my own personal signoff :) :
# posted by Unknown @ 2:47 PM 
