Written on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at 5:23pm by Peter Farrell | 8 Comments

Good Riddance, Yankee Stadium!!!

fuyankeestadium.JPG

I’ve had it with the lovefest.

How many freaking times have I had to hear “this is the last time (insert event here) will be played at Yankee Stadium” and “What an historic and wonderful stadium this is”. Enough! Quite frankly I could give two bits about The House That the Overwieght Philandering Former Brooklyn Dodger Coach Built.

If you’re here to read another glowing review of Yankee Stadium, move on. This one definitely isn’t for you.

It’s for the rest of us out there, those who can’t stand the Yankees with a passion, for those who believe that being named Murderer’s Row and the Evil Empire really aren’t good things to be referred to as. And I have a few random thoughts about the passing of this incredibly overrated venue and the unbelievably overhyped club that plays in in it. Basically some of the moments and stories that I’ll remember most from Bronx.

Yankee Stadium….ahhh yes. Where Casey Stengel managed the Yanks to seven World Series titles and ten pennants in twelve seasons. Then he was told to not let the door hit him on the way out.

And you thought the Mets were classless after firing Willie Randolph.

Where Roger Maris was despised in many corners of the Yankees organization for having the gall to make a run at the Babe’s hallowed single season home run record. Heck, even Barry Bonds was revered in San Francisco while doing the same.

A place so enamored by fans in the sixties that the woeful crosstown Mets outdrew them at the box office as the Yanks won pennants.

Where the Yankees had the nerve to have a player called out on a result of too much pine tar on the bat(common sense prevailed)……where slapping a ball out the hand of a fielder as they run to first is acceptable practice.

Where CBS ran a clinic in “how to run an iconic franchise into the ground”. Are they willing to buy in again? Just wonderin’.

Where a team can have a nine digit payroll yet cut dental benefits for the grunts in the office that take the 4 train to get to work in the Bronx.

Where Howie Spira became a national figure resulting in George Steinbrenner being banned from baseball for life….oh, nevermind.

Ditto for Brian McNamee. Still fresh news so I won’t go there.

Where Jason Giambi “apologized”.

Where the Yanks’ dynasty of the nineties was sparked by the most egregious blown call of the post Denkinger era. Thank you Jeff Maier, who in typical arrogant and pompous Yankeefan manner was paraded around like some conquering hero in the following days.

Where the Yankees’ wild spending on players threw the salary structure of baseball out of whack and stifled the competitive balance of the game .

St. Louis had Jack Buck, the Dodgers have Vin Scully, and the Yankees have this.

Where managerial stability reached an all time low, just ask the seventeen managers in seventeen years. Better yet, just look up Billy Martin.

I can just hear it now….” oh but, but, this is where Ruth and Gehrig played!!!”

Yes, they also performed at Dunn Field in Elmira. Take a ride if there if seeing a field where they played ball is that important to you.

“What about all those championships!!!”…money was a big help, don’t you think?

I have to admit, I felt no chills, no feelings of awe, no sense aura or mystique on Sunday as I wandered through the sterile and cramped walkways of Yankee Stadium while meandering through the hordes of fans wearing their crisp, brand new caps and their jerseys with players’ names on the back(a clear sign of a fan on the wagon) as they spent the day cheering on the easiest team in sports to root for.

It was nothing like all the other times I’ve wandered through a ballpark in its final days. There was no twinge of sadness, no feeling of relief that I was able to come here one last time and drink it all in and enjoy the experience. Simply a feeling of “good riddance, I’m outta here” was sufficient on this day.

For me, it’s always been about dollar signs and how the Yankees have always had far more of that than anyone else in the sport and how(surprise, surprise) they’ve been able to use that wide gap in revenue to produce more on field success than any other club in the game.

The sad thing is, the new joint will help the Yankees in that regard even more as you can bet prices for everything from scorecard pencils to luxury suites will set a new standard for revenue generation in baseball. Just like Sunday, next year we’ll go, we’ll cross it off the list and gleefully head off to Citifield to complete the New York doubleheader.

-Peter Farrell

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8 Comments

  1. Gary Herman says:
    August 6, 2008 at 8:28 am

    Peter,

    Now’s that a great way to say it. This should be published somewhere for real people to read. You said the truth.

    You witnessed what I’ve seen many times in the past. The most spoiled rotten fans in the world wiped away the tears early to have them turn into cheers in the end. What a surprise!

    I could easily write the script. I wish somebody would pay me to do so.

    I agree good riddance. I just hope what’s happened in that building stays there. Next year, we can start fresh.

    Yours truly,

    Gary Herman

  2. Tim Schmitt says:
    August 6, 2008 at 9:23 am

    This might be my favorite photo of all-time.

  3. Ryan says:
    August 6, 2008 at 12:47 pm

    I have a similar photo, but it was of me flipping off a Micky Mantle plaque outside of his restaurant in NYC. I never got a chance to give it to Yankee Stadium, so thank you.

  4. Peter Farrell says:
    August 6, 2008 at 6:09 pm

    Hat tip to Gary for taking the photo also.

    Note I didn’t even discuss the greatest collapse in baseball postseason history. I guess I was being nice or something.

  5. Dave Ricci says:
    August 10, 2008 at 6:26 pm

    Pete, Pete, Pete–where should I start?
    OK, first of all Jeff Maier is quite possibly the greatest American folk hero of our time so I’ll thank you not to take his name in vain.

    Secondly, you’re all over the map here. Is your point who gives a bleep about Yankee Stadium or is it who gives a bleep about the Yankee franchise? Or is it both?

    I’m a Yankee fan but I do indeed agree on many points.
    I too have had ENOUGH of all the “last time this last time that” spewing from people like Michael Kay and the other circus monkeys in the YESNetwork booth.

    Yes, Casey and Billy were treated horribly and THAT’S an understatment-especially in Billy’s case.

    The shabby way most Yankee fans treated Roger Maris in 1961 during his chase of Ruth’s homerun record is unforgivable.
    But you can’t compare the way Giants fans reacted to The Player Who Formerly Wore 25 and his roided up race for the season homerun record. Of course Giants fans will cheer him. But remember, he wasn’t chasing Babe Ruth. If the Player Who Formerly Wore 25 was a Yankee and chasing Ruth’s fat ghost he would have been boo’d too.

    Is Suzyn “Whats-Her-Face” a frikkin joke? YES! Goes without saying.
    Mel Allen should actually be held up as the voice of the Yankees. Not Walrus Face.

    Has the Yanks spending tossed the financial picture of the game out of whack? Yes, but they certainly aren’t the only offenders.

    And for all the talk from Yankee-haters about the Yanks “buying titles” fact is you can look at virtually any championship era, any championship team and the majority of those players were home grown talents. So can we please officially end the Yankees buy titles argument because it doesn’t wash.
    Yes, they have thrown good money after bad in the past 7-8 years in “an attempt” to gain an edge but it hasn’t worked.

    Anyway, is it time to tear the Stadium down? Yes, but come on guys…have a little respect for one of the most famous venues in the world.

    In closing Yanks rule and I hope the rest of the world keeps hating us. Your anquish sustains us all.

    Thanks,
    Dave
    p.s. Nice offensive photo flipping the bird, lol! I love the Yankees but that pic got the message across. Note, if I can find the pic of me taking a squirt on the side of Fenway I’ll send it along…it’ll trump giving Yankee Stadium the bird.

  6. Peter Farrell says:
    August 11, 2008 at 5:49 pm

    Dave, thanks for speaking up on behalf of Yankee fans everywhere. I was hoping for a bit more back and forth on this one, but I guess only the real fans spoke up.

    Yes I went back and forth between the team and the stadium. In this instance it’s fitting since really the two are intertwined for the vast history of the franchise. Most teams can’t really say that, even Wrigley Field wasn’t built with the Cubs in mind.

    I just thought I’d bring out some of the moments in Yankee Stadium history that the other half of us would like to hear more often, but don’t. If you want a good review…see the stuff that Andrew put up a couple of posts below.

    If you gotta photo of a yellow river near Fenway, I’m all for it. They’re turning into Evil Empire Jr. with their recent success.

  7. Dave Ricci says:
    August 11, 2008 at 9:01 pm

    actually, It was more about defending Jeff Maier…but yeah I like the Yankees too.

    But you did indeed bring up great points about how my beloved Yankees can sometimes spit on their own…case in point we should have also mentioned-Tino Martinez being King George’s scapegoat for the 2001 World Series loss..notice how they haven’t won since 2000…fate is punishing King George with The Curse of Tino.

    thanks for the heads up about AK’s posts. I’ll check them out.
    later.
    Dave

 

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