Memories of Yankee Stadium

A few weeks ago I visited Yankee Stadium with my son and his family – to say goodbye. I remember my first visit – more than 55 years ago – when my Dad took me all the way up to the Bronx for my first major league ball game. I had been learning all about baseball and the Yankees from watching games on our little television set. But the experience of stepping into that gigantic stadium and gazing out on to the dazzling field was overwhelming. A sense of hugeness and grandeur that is hard to describe. It reminds me of how I felt visiting the cathedrals of France and Germany. There was a real felt presence lingering in the cathedrals – knowing that kings, saints, and peasants, had worshipped there over the centuries in the very spot where I stood. That is what I’ve felt at Yankee Stadium over the years – a presence. The great legends of the game: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio – all played in this great ballpark. All made baseball history. Those were the players who defined baseball and made it the American pastime.

Over the years, I would return to Yankee Stadium, taking the subway from my home in Brooklyn. Yes, I was a Yankee fan in enemy territory, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. I saw Mantle play and felt bad when fans booed him. My friends and I trailed the Mick, Andy Carey and Whitey Ford the way other teens followed rock stars. I still have photos and autographs from those days.

So it is a little sad to say good bye. We had fun at the game the other night but I realized the feeling wasn't the same. Maybe the magic is already evaporating; maybe the spirits are floating over to the new stadium to take up residence. After the game, I saw the façade of the new Yankee Stadium for the first time. I think façade says it for me. It doesn’t look real. It’s like the Mc Mansions – too clean, too neat, like a Hollywood set. I call it Mc Stadium. But I know that for the new generations of baseball fans, this stadium will be the place of memories and presence. Let’s hope so.