A Visit to the House That Ruth Built

Back in 2008 I decided that I couldn’t let the most storied park in baseball history close forever without seeing at least one game there. I’m talking about Yankee Stadium of course. No matter how you feel about the Yankees as a present day team, in the heat of the season, there is no escaping the fact that, when it comes to history, the Yankees are baseball. Or at least, they have been home to many of its most legendary figures. And 2008 was the last season in the old stadium — the House that Ruth built, which opened in 1923. It just so happened that the Mariners were playing there in May that year, a three game series that would be their final appearance in the old stadium. I’d been talking for years about flying out to New York one season to see the M’s play there, and here, suddenly, was the last chance.

Now, in addition to baseball, I also love poker. And it’s far cheaper to fly into Philadelphia and rent a hotel room in Atlantic City than to stay in New York. So I decided to spend several days in AC playing poker, and then drive up to New York for the game. As the old saying goes, planning is necessary, but plans are futile. It turns out that I became very interested in the birds on the Boardwalk in AC and spent as much time outside photographing them as I did in the

casinos. In fact, it turns out that casinos with their noise and crowds don’t hold nearly as much appeal to me as they did when I was twenty-five. But I had a great time, played in several small poker tournaments (lost them all) and took hundreds of photos of seagulls and pigeons. (Bird watching is what I do when I’m not watching baseball.)

The other part of my plan that didn’t go as anticipated was driving. It turns out that the sometimes frustrating experience of driving in Seattle does not prepare one for driving in the Bronx. However, I did manage to find Yankee Stadium and I was brave enough to wear my Mariner’s jacket and cap around the Bronx that afternoon.

That’s how, on Saturday, May 24th 2008, I was at Yankee Stadium to see the next to last game of the last series the M’s ever played there. There’s been a lot of history between the M’s and Yankees, but for most fans this particular series — the M’s were swept in three games, two of which saw the Yankees in double digits. Ignominious is the word that comes to mind. But for me that particular Saturday — it was unexpectedly clear, despite forecasts of possible rain — will always be special.

Yankee Stadium, which I had seen a thousand times on television, in photos, and even in movies, was everything I expected it to be. It was also smaller. Accustomed to modern, spacious parks, the concession areas and off-field amenities seemed tiny and cramped. There were no veggie dogs or sushi on sale there. (Although I did manage to find a veggie burger on the menu at a diner not far from the stadium — the waitress was very surprised to see it was on the menu and had to go in the kitchen and check to see if they really had it — but they did).

I had great seats, in the third level just above home plate. There was an older man, a doctor, sitting next to me, whose family had held season tickets to Yankee Stadium — those particular seats, in fact — since he was a young boy. He noticed my Seattle garb, of course, and we started talking. Pretty quickly, as it must with Yankees and Mariners, the conversation came back to the amazing 1995 playoff series, where the M’s took the Yankees down in five games after losing the first two. One of the greatest playoff series I’ve ever seen. We talked about Lou Pinella, Tino Martinez, Alex Rodriguez and all the other connections the Yankees and M’s have shared over the years. In fact, we talked a lot, because honestly the game wasn’t all that impressive.

There were moments of excitement though.

More of them if you were a Yankee fan, admittedly. John McLaren got thrown out of the game, and Ichiro almost got thrown out for arguing calls with the ump. You know it’s a frustrating season when Ichiro is arguing. In the third Jose Vidro hit a three run homer and Adrian Beltre (have I mentioned that I miss Adrian Beltre?) hit a solo to give the Mariners, briefly, a 4-4 tie. But it wouldn’t last. The Yankees pounded the M’s pitching and the game ended up 12-4.

But it’s hard to worry about any of that when you’re sitting in Yankee Stadium. Maybe to the players it becomes familiar, just another venue they visit. But to a baseball fan and history buff, to watch Beltre and Ichiro and the other M’s step up the plate where Ruth and Mantle and Mays all played was one of the great joys of my life.

Despite the traffic in the Bronx.