Goodnight Yankee Stadium, and Goodbye

It ain't over til it's over . . .and now it is.

Last night I watched part of the final Yankee game to ever be played at the great Yankee Stadium. Ruth's 92 year old daughter threw out the first pitch, all the Yankee greats were there, and the original 1922 Championship banner flew in the outfield.

It is/was the Cathedral of Baseball. The two pretenders to the throne (Fenway and Wrigley) have the charm that the current 'mod-retro' style emphasizes, but as Derk Jeter said last night, it's not about the building. It's about the memories.

In it's 85 years of existence it's given the world Babe Ruth, Joe Dimaggio, Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson, Derek Jeter and a record 26 World Championships. Hate the Yankees all you want, but take those memories away and you take away the heart and soul of the game we love.

I'll admit to a sense of sadness as the last out was recorded. Then, after a few minutes of nostalgic celebration on the field, which included the sight of multi-millionaire players scooping dirt into their pockets as mementos, Derek Jeter took the microphone on the mound.

"For all of us up here, it's a huge honor to put this uniform on every day and come out here and play," he said. "And every member of this organization, past and present, has been calling this place home for 85 years. There's a lot of tradition, a lot of history, and a lot of memories. Now the great thing about memories is you're able to pass it along from generation to generation. And although things are going to change next year, we're going to move across the street, there are a few things with the New York Yankees that never change -- it's pride, it's tradition, and most of all, we have the greatest fans in the world.

"We're relying on you to take the memories from thisstadium and add them to the new memories that come to the new Yankee Stadium, and continue to pass them on from generation to generation. On behalf of this entire organization, we want to take this moment to salute you, the greatest fans in the world."

And then as a group the New York Yankee players doffed their caps to the crowd in salute and circled the ballpark, giving their fans a much deserved 'thank-you'. It was very moving.

"Are you crying?" Lisa asked me.

"A little," I said, dabbing at both my eyes.

"You're allowed to cry. I understand how you feel," she said. smiling. "But you didn't cry at our wedding, you didn't cry at your children's births. Hell, you didn't cry when your only son was born. But I've seen you cry a half-dozen times over baseball. It's crazy."

"That's different," I said. "This is baseball. This is important."

At 4 a.m. Yankee staff was still on the field, playing catch, drinking beer, and saying goodbye to the stadium.

In the background a picture of a winking Babe Ruth was on the Jumbotron  with the words "See you across the street!" advertising a new era.

May it be as successful as the first.

Tags: blogplugs, New York, Yankees, Derek Jeter, Babe Ruth