The House That Ruth Built

Its the last season for baseball at Yankee Stadium, so I made the hajj to the (other) Mecca of baseball. The list of names that have played there is a Who's Who of the Hall of Fame. Ruth, DiMaggio, Gehrig, Mantle, Berra, and I could go on. Now its the end of an era in a stadium chock full of history, great players, great games, and 26 World Championships (and they make sure you know it). Certainly the team will undoubtedly not falter with a new stadium, but it still will not be the same. I'm sure the voices of Bob Sheppard and Jim Hall will not even sound the same.

I expected Yankee Stadium to be a great, grand, and elegant stadium. The pictures give it a feel of grandeur with the lights surrounding home plate. Each individual light could be a spotlight for each great ball player of the past who has played at Yankee Stadium. The grass greener than a fertile valley. The field gracefully stretching 408 feet to dead center, guarded by the Bleacher Creatures in section 39.

My expectations, however, were not met. It was old. It was dirty. Eighty-five years of existence has taken its toll. The seats were tight, the Yankee blue faded through the years in the Bronx sun. The tunnels surrounding the stadium were even tighter. The concrete walkways painted with black gum spots. The pictures of the past World Championship teams faded hanging over the tunnel entrances. But I realized that is how I wanted it. Yankee Stadium couldn't be any other way. You could still see Babe Ruth hitting the first home run in Yankee Stadium against the demonized Boston Red Sox; Lou Gehrig announcing "Today I consider myself the luckiest man of the face of the planet"; Roger Maris hitting 61 in '61 (again against the Sox).

So the Bronx Bombers are getting a new playground next year. But I got to tell ya, it was a great day of baseball at their old one.