Those little town blues . . . are melting away. . .
My day began early. After only three hours of sleep at a motel outside of Boston, I hit the road and headed for my house in Connecticut. I was hoping to make it home in time to see my sister off on her road trip to Disneyworld, but I missed her by a few minutes. I grabbed some final supplies for the rest of the trip and headed for New York.
After almost two hours, I made it to Manhattan, parked my car, and grabbed a ride to the Bronx. I walked around the neighborhood and finally sat down by the oversized Louisville Slugger bat to wait for my friend. He showed up more than an hour late and we went inside to our seats.
Yankee Stadium is amazing . . .it is hard to explain, but that is the only way I can describe it.
When you first enter the stadium, the first thing you notice is that you are not alone. No matter where you try to walk or who you try to follow, you will run into folks who are also trying to get around in a hurry. The concourses are small, the bathrooms even smaller, and the vendors perch themselves at the corners making it even harder to get around and find your way to your seats. And, if you don't walk confidently and aggressively, you will be pushed around and never make it to your intended destination.
When I finally made it to the field, I was once again in awe of my surroundings. I have visited Yankee Stadium on many previous occasions but I still get excited at seeing the beautiful colors of the seats, the arched railings all around the top of the stadium, and the way the beautiful green grass is cut. The simple design of the stadium only enhances the experience as every fan is treated to a wonderful view of the field and many are close enough they can almost play an active role in the contest.
But, this is the era of big advertising and money in baseball. All around the stadium, advertisements for beer companies, banks and food products distract you from the beauty and simplicity of the ballpark. And, thanks to recent agreements struck by owner George Steinbrenner, signs for Addidas are everywhere you look -- in the stands, in the concourses, around the stadium, and even on the field.
In addition to the stadium, the neighborhood plays a vital role in the success of Yankee Stadium and the team. The little shops, food carts, apartment buildings and restaurants create an atmosphere like few other stadiums in the country. When you go to Yankee Stadium, you must visit Stan the Man's sporting good store, speak with some of the local political theorists (that of course is the politically correct way to describe the people who want to tell you what is wrong with America), and buy food from one of the carts or little restaurants. There really shouldn't be any worries when walking around on a game day (assuming you are wearing Yankees clothing) because there is an overwhelming atmosphere of family that surrounds the teams and ALL fans (whether they are regulars or just visiting) are members.
The Yankees refused to grant me access to the field before the game so I was not able to speak with any players or coaches before the game. And, by the time my friend arrived and we waited for a New York Post photographer to meet with me (incidentally, he never showed up), batting practice was over.
The New York Yankees management refused to grant me any access to the field, press box, or advance entrance to the stadium as all the other parks have done to date.
Their reasoning was based on two things: First, other baseball fans who have undertaken similar journeys have abused the trust that comes with being granted access to the field. Second, the New York Mets, who I visited a few days earlier were under the mistaken impression that I was using my press pass to obtain autographs (which I can honestly say I was not) and told the Yankees that I was not to be trusted.
I mention this because I want to try and make a point as I travel to all of the Major League ballparks in the country. First, I am visiting all of the parks because I love the game of baseball and I would never do anything to hurt the game or its relationship with the fans. Second, part of the reason I am traveling is so I can do my part to repair the strained relationship between the management and the fans. I don't want management to ever think that all fans, all teenagers, or anyone who visits ballparks is there to abuse their trust or take advantage of the organization. I want everyone to enjoy the game, and work together to continue to keep as our National Pastime.
But, I understand that others have abused the priviledges granted to them and those of us who come after them must pay the consequences. However, it is my hope that my dealings with the major league clubs in addition to my conduct while I am at the stadium will reflect positively on me as well as all baseball fans so the next person who looks for support from a major league team will not be automatically branded by someone else's actions. I don't think for a moment that the Yankees organization wasn't supportive of my trip because they don't care about the fans or the concept and I hope that the next person who wants to visit will have an easier time dealing with the team because of my dealings with the team. As for the Mets, don't get me started.
The food at Yankee Stadium is not the best in the league. It is pretty ordinary as food goes at sports complexes. There are hot dogs, pizza, chicken fingers, french fries (with or without cheese) and the other things that you usually find at the ballpark. The vendors continued to come around the stadium throughout the game and fans continued to buy the food.The folks sitting around me all seemed to be enjoying the hot dogs and chicken fingers more than anything else. I can't say that any of it looked particularly appetizing to me, but that is not saying much in comparison to most major league ballparks.
As for the pretzel, there are two different options for fans. Outside of the stadium, vendors with carts sell pretzels with lots of salt. The pretzels are very large, but aren't necessarily made fresh as they have been sitting around outside for a while. I didn't taste one personally, but they all received high marks from the dozens of fans who purchased them before the game. The other pretzels, sold inside the stadium, are also very large but come without salt (the option is there to add salt if you are so inclined). The difference between Yankee Stadium pretzels and other pretzels around the country is the density of the pretzel. There is a lot of dough in the pretzel and one can easily fill up someone as if it were a meal. I was very impressed by them as a whole, but carried the weight of the pretzel around with me for a while as my stomach figured out how to digest such an immense amount of food.
Like Boston, the thing that makes Yankee Stadium so special, besides all of the beauty and history captured in the walls, are the fans. Yankee Stadium fans are very involved in the game, including past occasions where they have thrown things onto the field and interrupted play. Much of the raucous behavior has been curbed by laws put in place by Mayor Rudolph Guliani. Warnings are posted all over the stadium and announcements are made throughout the game.
The stands are filled with fans of all ages, races, colors, and economic levels. For the most part, they all seem to get along. However, when the weather is warm (as it was tonight) and the beer is flowing (as it is always) there is the possibility of a fight. Tonight, fans at Yankee Stadium were treated to a fight between two fans in the loge boxes to the direct left of home plate. The fight, which broke out in the seventh inning (to the delight of fans around the stadium), started, stopped, started again, and was finally broken up by security. It was a real treat for a visitor such as myself.
In my section, my friend John Broder and I watched the game and talked about all sorts of things with a couple of guys from New Jersey. The two guys spent a lot of the game searching the stands for attractive women -- something I was assured is almost a ritual at Yankee Stadium in the summer -- and switching around in their seats (as the people who actually held the seats showed up in waves at the game progressed).
On the field, the Yankees scored all of their runs in the first inning thanks to some early errors by the Indians and held on to win 3-2. Sort of a shame because the eventual pitching duel between Doc Gooden and Orel Hershiser should have been the focus of the game, not the poor play in the first inning. Jim Thome of the Indians did drill a homerun in the top of the ninth (which earned me a dollar since I called it ahead of time) but it was too little too late. The final out brought loud cheers from the almost 36,000 fans at the stadium on this night and everyone filed out happy listening to Old Blue Eyes sing the song that started this column.
But, it wasn't until my subway ride home that I realized the greatness of Yankee Stadium. Standing among close to 100 fans on a packed subway car outside of the stadium, some fans started reading my hat (which says The Great American Baseball Trip and the web address). They asked me what the trip was about. We had a five minute conversation about stadiums, baseball, and New York. I don't think I could have had that conversation anywhere else in the nation, not even at Shea Stadium on the other side of town.
On top of all the history, beauty, and action in and around Yankee Stadium, it was that experience that made my visit to Yankee Stadium so incredible.
