September 21, 2008: After 85 years, the last game is played at the old Yankee Stadium in The Bronx.
Well, it's not official, as the New York Yankees haven't yet been eliminated from the Playoff race. But it is presumed that it will soon happen, as they enter the game 9 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division, and 6 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox for the 1 AL Wild Card Playoff berth then available. Indeed, they are eliminated the next day.
The Yankee organization was wrong to leave The Stadium and build a new one. But they did everything right when it came to closing the Big Orchard down.
All the major ceremonies came before the game, not after. Having the lookalikes in 1923-style uniforms was a little goofy, although the guys they got to play Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig really looked like them, both in face and in form. Not so for the guy they got to play Joe DiMaggio. I loved that the Casey Stengel lookalike had cockeyed socks. Casey never did that, as far as I know, but it was the kind of thing he might have done.
They brought out pretty much all the Yankee legends then living, other than those who were otherwise employed by a professional sports team: Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Don Larsen, Moose Skowron, Bobby Richardson, Roy White, Graig Nettles, Chris Chambliss, Willie Randolph, Reggie Jackson, Ron Guidry, Goose Gossage, Dave Winfield, Paul O'Neill, Tino Martinez, David Cone, David Wells, and, introduced last, with a prolonged ovation, Bernie Williams.
The next-best cheer after Bernie's was for Randolph, a huge one, as on Old-Timers' Day, a perfect way to show up the New York Mets, who had fired him as manager earlier in the season; and their fans, who, despite his having grown up a Met fan in Brooklyn, had never trusted him due to his having played so long and so well for the Yankees.
And, of course, the active ones: Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Hideki Matsui.
And relatives: The widows of Phil Rizzuto and Catfish Hunter; the sons of Mickey Mantle, Billy Martin, Roger Maris and Thurman Munson; the daughter of Elston Howard; and the widow, son and daughter of Bobby Murcer, for whom Old-Timers' Day was probably too soon to come back following his death earlier in the year, but this enabled Yankee Fans to give their husband/father a proper goodbye.
Not there, because they were otherwise employed: Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre and coach Don Mattingly; Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella; Sparky Lyle, managing the Somerset Patriots into the Atlantic League Playoffs; and Jerry Coleman, broadcasting for the San Diego Padres (though lately the Padres had been letting him come for Old-Timers' Days).
Other notable absences among the living legends: Roger Clemens (who was not then in the good graces of Yankee management), Rickey Henderson (though I didn't miss him, either), Bucky Dent (not sure why, he wasn't working in pro ball), Jim Leyritz (it was probably best that he stayed away, due to his legal troubles), Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry (thankfully, neither was in legal trouble at the moment, but Darryl was working for the Mets, and Doc was following nephew Gary Sheffield around, as Sheff was three homers from 500), Aaron Boone (playing for the Washington Nationals), Mel Stottlemyre (who was ill with melanoma), and Tommy Henrich (Ol' Reliable was 95 years old, and had been too frail to come to The Stadium for the last 10 years or so).
I didn't like the "old-time" uniforms the players from the pre-renovation era (1923-73) wore. Yogi and Whitey both complained, Yogi saying, "It's too yellow."
I wasn't sure who would sing the National Anthem. Since the Montreal Canadiens, the Yankees of hockey, closed the Montreal Forum with a video recording of the great French-Canadian opera singer Roger Doucet, who had sung for them, and for baseball's Montreal Expos, until his death in 1981, I figured the Yanks would put the late Robert Merrill up on the DiamondVision.
And relatives: The widows of Phil Rizzuto and Catfish Hunter; the sons of Mickey Mantle, Billy Martin, Roger Maris and Thurman Munson; the daughter of Elston Howard; and the widow, son and daughter of Bobby Murcer, for whom Old-Timers' Day was probably too soon to come back following his death earlier in the year, but this enabled Yankee Fans to give their husband/father a proper goodbye.
Not there, because they were otherwise employed: Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre and coach Don Mattingly; Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella; Sparky Lyle, managing the Somerset Patriots into the Atlantic League Playoffs; and Jerry Coleman, broadcasting for the San Diego Padres (though lately the Padres had been letting him come for Old-Timers' Days).
Other notable absences among the living legends: Roger Clemens (who was not then in the good graces of Yankee management), Rickey Henderson (though I didn't miss him, either), Bucky Dent (not sure why, he wasn't working in pro ball), Jim Leyritz (it was probably best that he stayed away, due to his legal troubles), Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry (thankfully, neither was in legal trouble at the moment, but Darryl was working for the Mets, and Doc was following nephew Gary Sheffield around, as Sheff was three homers from 500), Aaron Boone (playing for the Washington Nationals), Mel Stottlemyre (who was ill with melanoma), and Tommy Henrich (Ol' Reliable was 95 years old, and had been too frail to come to The Stadium for the last 10 years or so).
I didn't like the "old-time" uniforms the players from the pre-renovation era (1923-73) wore. Yogi and Whitey both complained, Yogi saying, "It's too yellow."
I wasn't sure who would sing the National Anthem. Since the Montreal Canadiens, the Yankees of hockey, closed the Montreal Forum with a video recording of the great French-Canadian opera singer Roger Doucet, who had sung for them, and for baseball's Montreal Expos, until his death in 1981, I figured the Yanks would put the late Robert Merrill up on the DiamondVision.
Instead, they had the band from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point play it live and play it straight, with no singer. That was somewhat fitting, since the first Stadium National Anthem was by the U.S. Marine Band, conducted by none other than John Philip Sousa, "the March King."
But who to throw out the first ball? They got the right person: Julia Ruth Stevens, the 92-year-old daughter of You Know Who, connecting him to The House He Built one last time. And she threw it to Jorge Posada. He was injured and couldn't play in the last game, so this made sure he wasn't left out of the festivities.
As for the game: The Yankees were trailing the Baltimore Orioles 1-0 in the top of the 3rd inning, when Yogi and Whitey joined Jon Miller and Joe Morgan in the ESPN booth. An Oriole got a hit to make it 2-0, and Whitey said, "Oh, shit!" His mike wasn't quite cut off in time.
But in the bottom of the 3rd, Jon asked Yogi about DiMaggio, and you know Yogi, he's the good-luck charm: While he was talking, boom, Johnny Damon hit a home run to make it 3-2 Yanks.
It would have been very fitting for Damon to hit the last home run in Yankee Stadium. Like Babe Ruth, he was a Red Sock who became a Yankee under controversial circumstances.
In the 5th, with the score tied at 3-3, perfect-game pitchers Cone and Wells were interviewed. Again, 2 Yankee legends interviewed, home run. This time -- José Molina, the guy who'd caught most of the games since Posada got hurt. His brother Benjie hit one in the Angels' 2002 World Series win. His brother Yadier hit one to give the Cardinals the 2006 Pennant over the Mets. Now, José went into the history books: The last home run at Yankee Stadium, the last in a long line of Yankee "unlikely heroes."
Pettitte started, but he didn't have his good stuff. He didn't get out of the 6th, but he went down as the last winning pitcher at Yankee Stadium.
Derek Jeter went 0-for-5, but was the last Yankee to bat at The Stadium. When manager Joe Girardi took him out with 1 out to go, he got a great sendoff from the fans. Still, it was weird to see the last play at Yankee Stadium and not have Derek Jeter on the field. I was hoping the last out would be a pop-up to him, so he would, technically, be the last player at Yankee Stadium. (The first would be the Yankee starter in the first game, Bob Shawkey.)
But in the bottom of the 3rd, Jon asked Yogi about DiMaggio, and you know Yogi, he's the good-luck charm: While he was talking, boom, Johnny Damon hit a home run to make it 3-2 Yanks.
It would have been very fitting for Damon to hit the last home run in Yankee Stadium. Like Babe Ruth, he was a Red Sock who became a Yankee under controversial circumstances.
In the 5th, with the score tied at 3-3, perfect-game pitchers Cone and Wells were interviewed. Again, 2 Yankee legends interviewed, home run. This time -- José Molina, the guy who'd caught most of the games since Posada got hurt. His brother Benjie hit one in the Angels' 2002 World Series win. His brother Yadier hit one to give the Cardinals the 2006 Pennant over the Mets. Now, José went into the history books: The last home run at Yankee Stadium, the last in a long line of Yankee "unlikely heroes."
Pettitte started, but he didn't have his good stuff. He didn't get out of the 6th, but he went down as the last winning pitcher at Yankee Stadium.
Derek Jeter went 0-for-5, but was the last Yankee to bat at The Stadium. When manager Joe Girardi took him out with 1 out to go, he got a great sendoff from the fans. Still, it was weird to see the last play at Yankee Stadium and not have Derek Jeter on the field. I was hoping the last out would be a pop-up to him, so he would, technically, be the last player at Yankee Stadium. (The first would be the Yankee starter in the first game, Bob Shawkey.)
The starting lineup for the 1st game, April 18, 1923, keeping in mind that uniform numbers were not adopted until 1929:
CF Whitey Witt
3B Joe Dugan
RF Babe Ruth
1B Wally Pipp
LF Bob Meusel
C Wally Schang
2B Aaron Ward
SS Everett Scott
P Bob Shawkey
And the finishing lineup for the last game, September 21, 2008:
28 LF Melky Cabrera
14 SS Wilson Betemit
53 RF Bobby Abreu (Cabrera took 53 the next season)
13 3B Alex Rodriguez
11 CF Brett Gardner
12 1B Cody Ransom
24 2B Robinson Canó
12 DH Iván Rodríguez
26 C José Molina
(42 P Mariano Rivera)
Yes, "Pudge" Rodríguez was briefly a Yankee.
The bullpen was great: José Veras was shaky, but Phil Coke bailed him out, and he and Joba Chamberlain were nearly perfect. When Mariano came out for the 9th, it was the last truly electric moment in The Stadium. He practically begged Girardi to be on the mound for the last inning. He got his wish, even though it wasn't a save situation.
He got the 1st 2 outs, and then, facing Brian Roberts, who'd given the Yankees trouble the last few years, got him to hit a weak grounder to 1st base. Jason Giambi, who'd gotten a hit and an RBI in this last game, had been removed for defensive purposes. The replacement 1st baseman fielded it and ran to the bag for the final out. The last player at Yankee Stadium, forever be in the history books in this special role: Cody Ransom. (Roberts would close his career with the Yankees in 2014.)
And, on WCBS -- I had ESPN muted and the radio on -- John Sterling, for the last time in The Stadium, said, "Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win!" (At least he didn't say, "Yankee Stadium over!")
Then the sound-effects man cued up Frank Sinatra singing "Theme From New York, New York," and it was over.
Almost. Midway through the 3rd go-around of the song, the current Yankees went out to the mound, and Jeter had a microphone, and thanked "the greatest fans in the world." (Yeah, a lot of teams say that, but... come on.) And he asked the fans to take that spirit across the street to the new Stadium. And then the Yankees took a last lap around The Stadium. In English soccer, they call this a "lap of honour."
I thought that night was going to be a very hard night for me. But, except for concerns that the Yanks might lose the last game, and that the last home run would be hit by an opponent, both of which turned out to be unfounded, I was fine.
I guessed I'd gotten my emotions out of my system on July 20, when I attended my last game there, a 2-1 win over the Oakland Athletics, also won by Pettitte. But, on the morning of September 22, ESPN had a tribute on SportsCenter, and in it, Yogi Berra said, "I'm not gonna miss this place. It's part of me. It ain't over even when it's over."
That got to me.
The scoreboard after the last pitch.
Hence, the time of day for this post.
Almost. Midway through the 3rd go-around of the song, the current Yankees went out to the mound, and Jeter had a microphone, and thanked "the greatest fans in the world." (Yeah, a lot of teams say that, but... come on.) And he asked the fans to take that spirit across the street to the new Stadium. And then the Yankees took a last lap around The Stadium. In English soccer, they call this a "lap of honour."
I guessed I'd gotten my emotions out of my system on July 20, when I attended my last game there, a 2-1 win over the Oakland Athletics, also won by Pettitte. But, on the morning of September 22, ESPN had a tribute on SportsCenter, and in it, Yogi Berra said, "I'm not gonna miss this place. It's part of me. It ain't over even when it's over."
That got to me.
The Yankees played their 1st game at the new Yankee Stadium on April 16, 2009, and got clobbered by the Cleveland Indians. On November 4, they won the World Series there, beating the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6. But that very day, a few hours earlier, the demolition crew began taking down the outfield bleachers at the old Stadium. Demolition was finished on May 13, 2010. In 2012, Heritage Field opened on the site, with 3 baseball fields, including one whose infield was roughly where the old infield was. In 2022, it was renamed Elston Gene Howard Field, in memory of the 1st black man to play for the Yankees.
Brett Gardner turned out to be the last player on the Yankee roster who had played a home game at the old Yankee Stadium, last playing for them in 2021.
*
September 21, 2008 was a Sunday. These other Major League Baseball games were played that day:
* The New York Mets lost to the Atlanta Braves, 7-6 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-1 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Washington Nationals, 6-2 at Nationals Park in Washington.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Florida Marlins, 5-2 at Dolphin Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-0 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
* The Houston Astros beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 10-5 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 8-1 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
* The Chicago Cubs beat their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-0 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.
* The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim beat the Texas Rangers, 7-3 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.
* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies, 13-4 at Coors Field in Denver.
* The San Francisco Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 1-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. This was the only game of the day to go to extra innings, and Rich Aurilia singled home the winning run in the top of the 11th inning.
* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners, 5-3 at the Oakland Coliseum.
And on this NFL Sunday:
* The New York Giants beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 26-23 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands. John Carney kicked the winning field goal with 8:39 left in overtime.
* The Miami Dolphins beat the New England Patriots, 38-13 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.
* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 15-6 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
* The Baltimore Ravens beat their replacements in their former hometown, the Cleveland Browns, 28-10 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
* The Washington Redskins beat the Arizona Cardinals, 24-17 at FedEx Field (now Northwest Stadium) in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.
* The Atlanta Falcons beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 38-14 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
* The Tennessee Titans beat their replacements in their former hometown, the Houston Texans, 31-12 at LP Field (now Nissan Stadium) in Nashville.
* The Buffalo Bills beat the Oakland Raiders, 24-23 at Ralph Wilson Stadium (formerly Rich Stadium in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.
* The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Indianapolis Colts, 23-21 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Josh Scobee kicked the winning field goal with 4 seconds left.
* The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Chicago Bears, 27-24 at Soldier Field in Chicago. Matt Bryant kicked the winning field goal with 4:21 left in overtime.
* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Green Bay Packers, 27-16 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Carolina Panthers, 20-10 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The Denver Broncos beat the New Orleans Saints, 34-32 at Invesco Field at Mile High (now Empower Field at Mile High) in Denver.
* And the next night, on Monday Night Football, the New York Jets lost to the San Diego Chargers, 48-29 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.
* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Detroit Lions, 31-13 at Candlestick Park (then named Monster Park) in San Francisco. This was the year in which the Lions completed the NFL's 1st-ever 0-16 season.
* And the Seattle Seahawks beat the St. Louis Rams, 37-13 at Qwest Field (now Lumen Field) in Seattle.
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