Yankee Stadium: Oh, What an Experience It Is!

Remember those days when bleacher seats at Yankee Stadium would cost 75 cents, hot dogs would cost 50 cents at the most, and the Subway fare was only 15 cents? Ninety years ago, John Phillip Sousa's band played the National Anthem. The Yankees ended up winning 4-1 to the Boston Red Sox. Now I'm not talking about the Yankee Stadium that the Yankees currently play in; this post is about the original stadium.



Though it was called the "House that Ruth Built," it was actually the second stadium, located at 161st street and River Avenue in the Bronx.  It was in the same location as the first one, which was built in 1923, but was remodeled in 1973.  The seating capacity was extended from 58,000 to 67,000 once the remodel was completed.  The wooden seats and beams that would block many peoples' view were removed for a more updated look.  Yankee Stadium lost a little bit of its charm during that the time of the remodel, but still retained most of its character.

 Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Alex Rodriguez, and Andy Pettitte have all played in the old Yankee Stadium where Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Whitey Ford, and Joe DiMaggio both started and finished their amazing careers.  Yankee Stadium has hosted a number of other sporting events including the historic Joe Louis and Max Schmeling boxing match in 1938. "Did you know that underneath second base in Yankee Stadium there was (removed in 1976) once a brick vault fifteen feet wide that contained electrical, telephone and miscellaneous equipment for boxing events?" (Baseball Almanac)


One of the most important features that the old Yankee Stadium had was its own Monument Park in center field.  It was basically like an open museum for everyone to see every time they came to watch a game at the stadium.  Monument Park contained plaques, monuments, and the uniform numbers of the retired, Hall-of-Fame players.  A replica of Monument Park was created in 2009 for the new Yankee Stadium.

As former Yankee Bernie Williams stated about the closing of the old Yankee stadium,"concrete doesn't talk back to you---it's the people in the stands who made this place magical."  The new stadium may not have the same charm and character that the original stadium had, yet history is still being made every game.  After all, it is the people that wear the clothes; the clothes don't wear the people.  Just as it is not the wooden seats, nor the steal beams or concrete walls that make Yankee Stadium magical; It is the thousands of cheering, screaming, die-hard fans that do.

                                                    

Opening Day: Yankee Stadium 1923

The story of opening day at Yankee Stadium all started on February 6, 1921 when news circulated that the Yankees purchased ten acres of land in the Bronx, just across from the Harlem River, from William Waldorf Astor.  The purchase price of the land was $675,000. That land was where history was going to be made. What a bargain, right?  Previously, the Yankees shared the Polo Grounds with the National League Giants.  Once attendance started to soar for the Yankees due to stand-out performances from the players, the Giants basically told the Yankees to pack up and vacate the premises.  Once co-owners of the Yankees Jacob Ruppert and Tillinghast l'Hommedieu Huston purchased the property, the plans were in place to build a three-story structure that be the first to ever be called a  'stadium.' 

 

Construction on Yankee Stadium amounted to $2.5 million and amazingly only took 284 days to build.  The American Flag and Yankees pennant were hoisted by center field by the Seventh Regiment Band, John Phillip Sousa, and both the Yankees and Red Sox.

 

On April 18, 1923 with a crowd of just over 74,000 fans, Yankee Stadium opened its doors to the world to watch the Yankees take on the Boston Red Sox.  As history was made, fans crowded themselves outside the gates of the stadium.  Babe Ruth, one of the greatest players in the history of the game, scored a three-run home run to lead the Yankees to their first win at Yankee Stadium.  What a way to finish off a historical day in the Bronx!

 

 

      Other Yankee Stadium facts:

• Yankee Stadium became "The Home of Champions" due to the amount of World Series they won.
• The Yankees won their first World Series against the Giants (remember the Giants kicked them out of the Polo Grounds?)
• The stadium was expanded in 1928.
•  It completed a $1.5 million renovation in 1966 to 1967.
• The Yankees moved to Shea Stadium for three season after a 1973 decision to renovate the ballpark once again.
• On September 21, 2008 the Yankees finished off an incredible end to what was the original Yankee Stadium, before it was to be torn down.
• Catcher Jose Molina scored the last home run; Andy Pettitte was the winning pitcher, while Mariano Rivera threw the last pitch to close the game.
• The all-time Yankee attendance was recorded at 151,959,005.
 

 

 

Retirements, Injuries, Updates, Comebacks..It's All Covered!

What a week!  I have heard more news about the Yankees this week than many Mets fans have in the span of many months.  Speculations about retirement, another injury added to the long list, and improvements on a few others.  Since it has been quite an eventful week for the Yankees, I wanted to summarize an array of top stories in this blog post.  Let's get to it!

• In the most-talked about sports news, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera is set to announce his plans for retirement today, following the 2013 baseball season.  The teams scheduled conference will be held in Tampa, Florida at the George M. Steinbrenner Field, where the Yankees are in the midst of Spring Training.  In his eighteen seasons in the MLB, all with the NY Yankees, Rivera is said to be one of the greatest closers of all time.  Manager of the Yankees Joe Girardi stated, "Greatest closer of all time.  No question in my mind." I will be writing a full blog about the press conference and Rivera's Hall of Fame career in the upcoming week. 

In other news, Andy Pettitte says he ready to start pitching in Spring Training after bouncing back from an injury in the 2012 season.  After pitching a stimulated game on Friday, Pettitte said his fastball was not as sharp as his previous game, but he feels ready to pitch in his first Spring Training game of the year next week. 

 

• After a minor setback with right shoulder discomfort, Yankees bullpen pitcher David Robertson is one step closer to pitching in a Spring Training game again.  Robertson has not pitched since March 1st due to the injury, but is said to be fully cleared for all baseball activity now.

• Good news Yankees fans! Derek Jeter is fully healed from his 2012 ankle injury.  Upon his visit to Charlotte, North Carolina to see Dr. Robert Anderson, Jeter was cleared to return to camp.  As Jeter stated, "As soon as I'm about to play, I'll play."  According to Girardi, Jeter will only play designated hitter in his first appearance back with the team.  He has yet to run the bases at 100% effort, but this is still encouraging news for the injury-filled New York Yankees.                              

• With Mark Teixeira out until May with a wrist injury, the Yankees now have a new contender for his position at first base.  Along with prospect Juan Rivera, 13th-year veteran Dave Johnson had his tryouts with the Yankees this past Friday.  Although he went 0-2 in his first day playing for the team, he had no mishapes that proved significant in Girardi's decision.  Of course it is too early to tell who is in the lead right now for that position, all Johnson wants to focus on is what he wants to do; "What I want to do is show everything."  That is what  I feel," said Johnson. We hope he follows through with his words and puts them into action!  Teixeira is a tough void to fill until May.                          

Well, that is all for this post!  These are the top stories from Spring Training with the Yankees this week.  Hope you like the new creative spin I added to this post.  Feel free to comment with any opinions or new information!

The Core Three: Age, Experience, and Wisdom

 Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte bring age, experience, and wisdom to the New York Yankees. With seven American League pennants, eleven American League Championships, and seventeen visits to the post-season, including five World Series championships together; the core four have experienced it all. Excluding the time pitcher Andy Pettitte was traded to the Houston Astros for three years, they have accumulated sixteen seasons together as teammates.  Even more amazing is that they were all brought up to the Major Leagues in 1995. 
 
Okay, okay I'll stop with the facts right now.  Let's move on to why I really decided to write this blog about the core four.  The usual questions of age have come up yet again right before the start of Spring Training.  Jorge Posada has since retired from the MLB so the core four is down to the core three.  Shortstop Derek Jeter recently responded to the questions and concerns about their ages, but he sees it as bringing more experience to the team.  I 100% agree with Jeter.  They may not be able to run as fast as the younger players, but one thing you can guarantee is that they will bring 100%, while representing the Yankees in the classiest way possible.  Experience is what each player earns every time he steps out on to the field or in the batter's box.  Without this experience, young rookies playing in the MLB would not be given the direction they seek in the more senior teammates.  It is a known fact that almost every rookie in the MLB looks up to either Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, or Andy Pettitte as their idols.

 
To sum it all up. With age comes experience.  With experience comes wisdom.  This is what the core four represents.