Game 12: New York Yankees

Once we wrapped up our day adventures in NYC, we headed up to the Bronx early so that we could catch all that Yankee Stadium had to offer.  New Yankee Stadium replaced the House that Ruth Built in 2009.  It was an exact replica of the old Yankee Stadium that had been host to many of the game's greatest: Ruth, Mantle, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Jackson, and Jeter.  The new park was located right next door and cost $2 billion dollars to make, establishing this park as the most expensive baseball park ever created.  Not to mention, the Yanks did what they do best and outspent the Mets by half a billion dollars.  Needless to say, the Yanks got way more bang for the buck, as new Yankee Stadium is leaps and bounds ahead of the Met's stadium counterpart, Citi Field.

The Great Hall

The outside of the stadium is completed in limestone and the facade is decorated with a nod to the old archways of Citi and Ebbets.  Once we entered the stadium, we found ourselves in an open hallway that had banners of past Yankee greats towering along the limestone.  The arches allowed daylight to seep through and light up the Great Hall.  From here we worker our way to center field to see Monument Park, which is a little section right behind the center field wall dedicated to past pinstripe legends.  It's practically a Hall of Fame dedicated solely to the great players of the Bronx, as plaques honor all those who have called this stadium (or its predecessor) home.  After seeing the park, we head to the Yankee Museum, which had memorabilia from Micky Mantle, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra, and all the World Series trophies of the past two decades.  It was a crazy sight to see.  After what felt like a tour of Cooperstown (the baseball Hall of Fame), we headed to our seats in the right field bleachers.

Us in Monument Park next to the Sultan of Swat.

The inside of the stadium looked like an exact replica of the old ballpark, except magnified by 1.5.  It was crazy that the park was so grand, yet still managed to stand so close to the action on the field.  It even manages to hold more than 50 thousand people.  When we got to our seats in the bleachers, we didn't have any overhang above us, and the section was packed.  At Yankee Stadium, the right field bleachers have a roll call tradition that they do at every game.  The go through the Yankee line-up calling out the players names in the top of the 1st inning until that player acknowledges them.  We were really excited to be sitting here so that we could help chant along.  Little did we know, celebrities often make a stop out before the first pitch to help out, and it wasn't long before people in the section we looking over their shoulders to see who the celebrity was.  Turns out, Cedric the Entertainer stopped by to help lead the chant four rows behind us.  After the excitement settled down, we turn our attention to the game where CC Sabathia and the Yanks are taking on Mike Minor and the Braves.


The game is off to a great start with the Braves putting the pressure on early, scoring 1 in the 1st and later in the 5th.  But Jeter shows why is a premier shortstop by coming up clutch and scoring two on a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 5th.  The Yanks never looked back and put up a couple more runs in the later innings to win 6-2, making this game their 10th straight win in a row.


Now I would be remiss if I posted about a stadium and didn't talk about the food, so before I close out, I'll put a couple words to the stake sandwich at the park.  While Jake was full after munching on a gigantic tub of popcorn that he bought (which was really good), and Brad in the mood for something lighter, I opted for the NY steak sandwich.  At $15 a pop, I was hesitant, but this was New York and I figured if I ever were to splurge it would be on a stadium that prides itself on being the best at everything.  I wasn't disappointed.  The meat was not dry, as I expected it to be, and its taste had no resemblance to traditional ball park food.  It was juicy and flavorful, and a decent portion.  Not a $15 portion by any means, but lets not forget that this inside a ballpark, and certainly within the ballpark price/value ratio.

All in all this was one of the better experiences that we had at a ballpark.  Nobody does it quite like the Yankees (for better or for worse), but we all agreed that the stadium was an amazing sight, and that it was a great game.  Afterwards, we headed back on the subway ready to pack so that we could head to Philly to se our third game in three days.

The view of the outfield from our seats.