{"id":711,"date":"2008-09-20T08:39:13","date_gmt":"2008-09-20T15:39:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2008\/09\/20\/i-want-to-be-a-part-of-it\/"},"modified":"2009-03-18T20:26:48","modified_gmt":"2009-03-19T03:26:48","slug":"i-want-to-be-a-part-of-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2008\/09\/20\/i-want-to-be-a-part-of-it\/","title":{"rendered":"I Want to Be a Part of It…"},"content":{"rendered":"

The writer\u00c2\u00a0bids farewell to\u00c2\u00a0Yankee Stadium, his home away from home.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the top of the ninth and the Orioles\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 up-and-coming centerfielder Adam Jones stands at the plate.\u00c2\u00a0 Jones swings and sends a grounder towards the hole between third and short.\u00c2\u00a0 Then it happens.\u00c2\u00a0 As one, the people surrounding me rise in anticipation.\u00c2\u00a0 We all know what comes next.\u00c2\u00a0 We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen it before.\u00c2\u00a0 Just as the ball crosses from the dust of the infield to the green of the outfield, a lithe figure enters the picture.\u00c2\u00a0 Ranging to his right, he stretches towards his backhand.\u00c2\u00a0 The white of the ball disappears into the black of the glove.\u00c2\u00a0 In one fluid motion, he leaps off his back foot, momentum still carrying him towards the seats along the third baseline, wheels in mid-air, and delivers a strike to the first baseman, now close to 150 feet away.\u00c2\u00a0 In perfect sequence, the ball settles into Cody Ransom\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s glove, Jones crosses first base, and the umpire subtly pumps his fist.\u00c2\u00a0 The crowd erupts.\u00c2\u00a0 Incomprehensible vibrations pervade the Bronx.\u00c2\u00a0 Gradually, the din gives birth to something more orderly: De-rek Je-ter clap clap clapclapclap<\/em>.<\/p>\n

A few batters later, the incomparable Mariano Rivera causes Brian Roberts to pop straight up to Ivan Rodriguez to end the game.\u00c2\u00a0 Rodriguez turns and hugs Rivera before offering him the ball.\u00c2\u00a0 Police officers sprint towards predetermined positions along the foul lines.\u00c2\u00a0 Not one person sits.\u00c2\u00a0 Frank Sinatra belts out \u00e2\u20ac\u0153New York, New York\u00e2\u20ac\u009d over the loud speaker.\u00c2\u00a0 No one moves.\u00c2\u00a0 I glance to my left.\u00c2\u00a0 My father and sister, with whom I have shared the majority of my baseball memories, return my stare.\u00c2\u00a0 We say nothing and nothing needs to be said.<\/p>\n

Since the New York Yankees broke ground on their new stadium, Yankee Stadium has become a tourist attraction on par with the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building.\u00c2\u00a0 Whether the tourist is a Japanese native hoping to catch a glimpse of Hideki Matsui, a family of four from rural Texas, or a group of college students from a rival city, 161 River Avenue stands out on the itinerary.\u00c2\u00a0 People traveling from around the world stop at the House that Ruth Built to immerse themselves in history.\u00c2\u00a0 They walk River Avenue, perusing the sports bars, delis, and souvenir shops.\u00c2\u00a0 They wait in line to catch a glimpse of plaques honoring players that require just one name to describe them: Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6Babe.\u00c2\u00a0 They sit in the nose-bleeds, take pictures with expensive digital cameras equipped with high-powered zoom features, and hold up witty signs hoping to be spotted by the local TV broadcast.<\/p>\n

For most of my life, I have been a Yankee Stadium native.\u00c2\u00a0 I know where to get the best hot dog, where to find the shortest bathroom line, and which peanut vendor has the strongest arm.\u00c2\u00a0 I snicker as strangers trip over a tricky step to the left of my seat.\u00c2\u00a0 I point out the crazy guy that wildly dances to Metallica\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Enter Sandman\u00e2\u20ac\u009d when Rivera enters a game.\u00c2\u00a0 However, on Friday night, as I attended my last game in Yankee Stadium, I was a tourist.<\/p>\n

Upon arriving at the stadium, I perused the shops on River Avenue.\u00c2\u00a0 In fact, I came this close to buying a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Final Season\u00e2\u20ac\u009d T-Shirt.\u00c2\u00a0 I found my seat earlier than normal and drank in the environment.\u00c2\u00a0 I know the arguments.\u00c2\u00a0 Since its renovation in the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dc70s, Yankee Stadium does not hold the appeal of a Wrigley or a Fenway.\u00c2\u00a0 Nevertheless, the patch of dirt that surrounded first base once did so under the spikes of Lou Gehrig.\u00c2\u00a0 The batters boxes had once been toed at, kicked, and dug up by the likes of Berra, Maris, and Mattingly.\u00c2\u00a0 More importantly, this was my Yankee Stadium.\u00c2\u00a0 Just like a childhood home, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t walk far without bumping into a ghost or vivid image of some event now long past.\u00c2\u00a0 Would the new stadium provide a similar venue packed with memories and emotions, I wonder?<\/p>\n

By the time I stepped off the 4 Train, I had resigned myself to the fact that life moves on.\u00c2\u00a0 What would be the point of howling at the wind?\u00c2\u00a0 The fate of this cathedral of baseball had been sealed years ago by those possessing far more influence and power than my own.\u00c2\u00a0 Friday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s game against the Orioles would be the last time I stepped inside my baseball home.\u00c2\u00a0 It was my chance to say good bye.<\/p>\n

Just like a tourist, I took pictures.\u00c2\u00a0 For the first time in years, I kept score.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll probably keep the scorecard and ticket.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe frame them.\u00c2\u00a0 I wandered the concession stands, hunting for an elusive pretzel for my dad.\u00c2\u00a0 We snapped pictures of the game and captured candid moments for ourselves.\u00c2\u00a0 The best part?\u00c2\u00a0 We weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the only ones.\u00c2\u00a0 Everyone in Yankee Stadium was a tourist.\u00c2\u00a0 Much like a playoff game, the place felt alive, vibrant.<\/p>\n

Any other time, the game\u00e2\u20ac\u201da surprisingly intense pitchers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 duel\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwould have been enough.\u00c2\u00a0 Despite shaky first and second innings, Carl Pavano ended up pitching five, allowing only two runs, and earning a win.\u00c2\u00a0 The game was punctuated by a flawless appearance by Joba Chamberlain, who struck out all three batters he faced, a homer by Robinson Cano, Rivera\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s thirty-seventh save, and stellar defense.\u00c2\u00a0 Rookie Brett Gardner stood out, throwing out Nick Markakis at home plate in the first, taking a home run away from Luke Scott in the fifth, and driving a game tying double to left in the third.<\/p>\n

Tonight, though, the true star of the evening was Yankee Stadium.\u00c2\u00a0 When Ivan Rodriguez recorded the final out, something odd happened.\u00c2\u00a0 No one left.\u00c2\u00a0 Nobody tried to beat traffic.\u00c2\u00a0 There was no hustle to the exits, no rush to the parking lots.\u00c2\u00a0 Everyone just stood there.\u00c2\u00a0 Sinatra sang, police guarded the field, and the Yankees celebrated a win.\u00c2\u00a0 We all stood, drinking in our last moments in Yankee Stadium, not wanting them to end.\u00c2\u00a0 In that instant, 50,000 people were connected.\u00c2\u00a0 We all wanted to spend just one more minute with the stadium that had sheltered us so lovingly for so many years.\u00c2\u00a0 If we left, it meant that it was over, our goodbyes complete.\u00c2\u00a0 If we lingered long enough, maybe we could will one more season out of the old ballpark.<\/p>\n

Eventually, though, the moment ended.\u00c2\u00a0 We all turned and headed to the exits. \u00c2\u00a0There was nothing more to do, nothing to say.\u00c2\u00a0 However, on a September night, in a meaningless game between fourth and fifth place teams, everyone in attendance witnessed something unique.\u00c2\u00a0 Those last few moments will remain with me forever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The writer\u00c2\u00a0bids farewell to\u00c2\u00a0Yankee Stadium, his home away from home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}