“The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time.” Terence Mann, played by James Earl Jones, said those lines in the 1989 classic film Field of Dreams. Even some thirty-odd years after the film’s release, those words still ring true.
It feels like there is a new stadium being built somewhere in the country, and the world, for that matter, at any given time. Given everything that it had “seen,” why would the Yankees want to build a new stadium? Fenway and Wrigley are still standing. They are cramped as hell, but they still function. From everything that I’ve read and remember reading at the time of its construction, it came down to money. Doesn’t it always?
The stadium was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. The renovation that was done in the 70’s made the stadium worse, somehow, and by the early 2000’s, upkeep was turning into a money pit. This is the version that is out there. The skeptical internet sleuths/trolls/tin-foil hat wearers believe it to be some kind of money laundering.
I never got to experience the old Yankee Stadium. But when we were planning our trip to see some shows, we saw that the Yankees would be in town and playing my partner’s favorite team, the Giants. It also happened to be on her birthday. How can you not be romantic about baseball?
We didn’t do the New York thing and take the train to the game. I know, I know, that’s what people do! But we got a late start and saw that it would be faster for us to take a cab there. Which is, in its own right, a rite of passage for New York transit.
Pulling up to the stadium was hectic. People were all over the place, crossing the street, getting out of cars, and packing the sidewalks to get into the stadium. It’s the Yankees. That’s to be expected. They had just come off a World Series appearance, and the beginning of the 2025 season sprang new hope among the fans in pinstripes.
The stadium is just over 15 years old, and it still looks new. It also feels a bit sterile. Tall, vaulted ceilings on the ground floor. A hibachi guy dishing out wok-based food like it’s Benihana. And a color scheme that evokes the team’s colors and the old Yankee Stadium. Referencing old stadium photos, the place had character and history.
This new place is still coming into its own. They christened it with a 2009 World Series and made it back last season, only to collapse in Game 5. Still, it is a lovely stadium, loaded with amenities that I am sure the previous place lacked.
The day was pretty perfect, weather-wise. A slight breeze. Clouds above, but nothing ominous. And the sun kept peeking out every so often to provide some warmth.
My partner and I have a deal. When we go to a baseball game, and only one of our teams is playing, we will support that team, but with a twist. Since both of our favorite teams originated in New York, we wear those teams’ jerseys. For example, I wear a Willie Mays New York Giants jersey, and if the Dodgers are playing, she will wear a Jackie Robinson Brooklyn Dodgers jersey. When the Giants and Dodgers play each other, we revert to our teams and heckle each other throughout. So here I am, in a Willie Mays New York Giants jersey.
The number of people who give me a “Go Mets!” when they see my hat is funny. The logo is similar, so it’s forgivable. The Mets, famously, borrowed their blue from the Dodgers and their orange from the Giants. Voila! Blue and orange mets.
Anyway, back to the game at hand!
The Giants went down early. 3 to nothing, to be exact. It was not looking good. It had all the shapings of a rout. Then Jung Hoo Lee and the Giants chipped back with a solo homerun and took the lead two innings later with a three-run homerun. This prompted the stereotypical boomer of a New Yorker in front of us to say that the Yankees “Needed a Korean” on their team. Uhhhhh what?
The Giants would hold on to the lead and eventually close it out for the win. It was an entertaining game! A wonderful present for her first visit to Yankee Stadium.
I tell you what, it is a nice stadium. The staff were friendly. I had a pretty decent hot dog! They kept many recognizable features from the old stadium and carried them over to this new one. I can see why some people would gripe about it, but it is a good place to watch baseball.
The Yankees are probably the most recognizable baseball team in the world. From Seinfeld to Fred Durst (if you have to look up Limp Bizkit right now, then boy do I feel old) to Spike Lee and to Billy Crystal. Their fans are as passionate as any around the league. They play in a big city and can attract talent and fans because of their history (and money). It can be an easy draw to watch them and become a fan. It’s a lot of winning! 27 World Series championships are nothing to scoff at.
Coming from a family that is half Red Sox fans, I can tell you one thing: I am never sad when the Yankees lose.
John Kidde Writes 