The Yankees recently played the Angels and your correspondent eagerly headed out to the Bronx to take in the new Yankee Stadium for the first time. Here are a few pics I snapped.
First place I headed was Monument Park. I was expecting more historic memorabilia, like a museum, when really it’s just a collection of plaques honoring famous players, like legendary Yankees Jackie Robinson and Nelson Mandela.
Before the game started I walked the perimeter to take it all in. I never saw so many people wearing Yankee swag; it was hard not to projectile vomit.
One thing the new stadium has on the old one is far better amenities. Besides the usual ballpark hot dogs, pretzels, and peanuts, you could also get buckets of chicken wings and fries, paninis, sushi, steak sandwiches, and there’s even a fancy steak restaurant and sports bar. Pretty much every Yankee-branded souvenir you could possible want too. I hear that crap makes for good kindling during the winter.
The Angels taking batting practice before the game. It pains me to report that the Yankees destroyed them 8-2. You know things are bad when the Angels were on their third pitcher in the bottom of the second. At least Mike Trout hit a homer.
My seat was in the bleachers. Cost with service charge was only $25, but from what I gather they’re by far the cheapest seats in the stadium.
The main thing I took away was disappointment that I never got to see the old Yankee Stadium in person. The new one is very clean (nicest stadium restrooms I’ve ever seen) and the staff is extremely helpful, but it’s about as bland as a suburban mall. This is not just my prejudiced, SoCal-raised, pinstripe-hatin’, Dodger-lovin’ bias saying that either. After attending the game I spoke to a life-long New Yorker and diehard Yankee fan who felt the same way. He noted that the old stadium seated about 10,000 more people yet felt smaller, and it got really loud. The restrooms and concessions always had long lines, but the old place had a lot more character.
Since no doubt all of this Yankee talk has made you sick to your stomach, here are some pictures of Dodger Stadium to remind you that evil doesn’t always win. 1988 sure was a long time ago.
Next up in my tour of New York baseball, I’ll be heading to the former sites of Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds.
Related
- Some reflections after a game at Dodger Stadium.
- Fabrizio quotes Bill James on Ty Cobb.
Blowhard, Esq.
Callowman
Sherbrooke
Eddie Pensier
Enzo Nakamura
Epaminondas
Fabrizio del Wrongo
Fenster
Brundle Guy
Glynn Marshes
Paleo Retiree
Atypical Neurotic
Question Lady
Sax von Stroheim
Sir Barken Hyena
The Mistaken
Uncouth Reflections 
There was a grown-up seriousness about the old Yankee Stadium and its embellishments. It was built for a kind of man they don’t make any more, either as players or spectators. Men who wore ties to ball games. I can remember the long subway ride to Yankee Stadium on the old IRT cars with the incandescent light bulbs and wicker streets. On a hot summer day, all the car-to-car doors were open, and you could stand at one end and look all the way down the inside of the train, as the cars rocked and swayed. How my brother and I found our way there I’ll never know. Nothing in New York is very New Yorkey any more (except pockets of the outer boroughs), but I don’t miss the crime.
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I dunno. I’m all in favor of keeping old stuff around, but who cares about a run down old stadium? The old place was unpleasant. Not as dreadful as Shea Stadium, but tired and out of date.
Now the new Yankee Stadium is, indeed, bland. They did a much nicer job with Citi Field. But in any case, I’ll take clean bathrooms and shorter food lines any day over “character.” It’s just a baseball stadium. It’s not like it was the “original” anyway, having undergone extensive renovations over the years.
One thing I give the Yankees major props for is they have maintained the name Yankee Stadium, and it hasn’t become JPMorgan Field or whatever. Are they just about the only team that hasn’t sold out? Well I guess Fenway Park is still Fenway Park.
“a collection of plaques honoring famous players, like legendary Yankees Jackie Robinson and Nelson Mandela”
Rolls eyes.
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