Last night, the final baseball game was played at legendary Yankee Stadium where the Yankees gave a memorable sendoff complete with honoring their storied 105-year tradition by remembering the best players at every position who contributed to those 26 World Championships and 39 pennants.

They were almost all there on what was the last night at The House that Ruth Built. Babe Ruth hit the first home run ever when the place opened in 1923 beginning that rich history on the way to the franchise’s first ever championship. From 1923 to 2000, they won 26 altogether- two more than the Montreal Canadiens’ 24. Most in professional sports history.

Yeah, they won which was how it should be. So, what are my thoughts on it? I have too many to express right now. All I know is that place will forever be like a grand cathedral. As a Yankee fan for over 20 years, it became special to go to games. I grew up during the 1980’s when the team wasn’t winning despite boasting my all-time favorite player Don Mattingly at first along with Dave Winfield, Rickey Henderson and Willie Randolph. Those teams never had enough pitching and were run during the chaotic time when George Steinbrenner was The Boss.

As Mattingly went from being baseball’s premier superstar to just a good player who dealt with a bad back, the team became awful. I can recall many a time hopping the bus, Ferry and train with my friend Ivan to go see those early 1990’s teams. Boy did they stink! We never seemed to care though as they were our Yankees and we could easily walkup and buy upper deck seats for cheap. Most of all, it was fun as we were young and enjoyed cheering on our team saving our loudest for Donnie Baseball.

We didn’t care how bad the team was. When you’re young, you just want to go to games and root on your favorite players and team. Of course, you want them to win. But it was back in the carefree days before to quote my favorite character Sean Dillon from many a Jack Higgins novel said:

“Greed ruled the day.“

How true that quote is when it comes to almost anything these days. Especially baseball. Remember when Danny Tartabull was paid handsomely at five million per year by the Yanks and Bobby Bonilla similarly with the Mets and would “show them da Bronx” because he didn’t take to Bob Klapisch during the dog days when both New York teams fizzled?

Man. I can still remember that cover on the old Sports Card Trader which was my favorite price guide before Beckett put them out of business. Ah. Things were much simpler back then.

My good friend and NY Hockey Report co-host Joe McDonald had an interesting take on the final game at The Stadium. A very different one from my innocent childhood memories when things were much more affordable and a kid could be a kid and root for the home team to win. His piece is about how a once proud Stadium which really was beautiful and a place that should’ve remained the home for the Pinstripes much like Fenway Park for the hated Red Sox and Wrigley Field for those lovable Cubs became a place where greed took it down.

And why you ask? For a new stadium across the street where tennis courts and a park were torn down keeping inner city youths from staying off the streets. Sure. In a couple of years when every last Stadium piece of memorabilia is auctioned off on ebay, there’ll be a brand new state of the art park facility complete with track, tennis courts and football and soccer fields.

Now here’s a question for the geniuses who did this for all the wrong reason$? Why did they really do it? You know the answer. For the almighty buck. Greed has once again prevailed destroying a still wonderful Stadium for their beloved new one. And certainly, it looks like it will be a very nice place as they’re constructing it like how the original first looked preaching history and tradition.

But at what cost? Have you seen what the prices were the past few years just to go? And you know what happens when the new place (I refuse to say New Stadium cause there’s only one) opens up next April?!?!?!?!?!

$$$

Now I ask who exactly will be able to afford to go see the Yankees at the new place? Not me, my wonderful Dad or my brother Justin or many average diehards. Because they’re gonna sell that place out to the higher ups who can afford the hefty raises. You know they already were getting almost 10 bucks a pop for beer. And pretty much everything was already overpriced. So, who wins? Not the hardcore baseball fan who has to feed a family of four. Those days are becoming more extinct by the second.

So, how do I feel? Sad. That’s how! Not because of the ridiculousness of this whole charade. But sad that it’s really over. The end of an Era. One which never should’ve been allowed to commence. You can’t replace Yankee Stadium. And sure. What Yogi Berra said was true during a very well put together ESPN SC feature:

“It’s not gone. The memories are forever.”

Memories like Mel Hall (who knew he was such a low life) jacking a game-winning three-run home run to beat Jeff Reardon and the Red Sox on Memorial Day. A day I’ll never forget. Me and Ivan left our older Met buddy Stu celebrating and headed for the press area where players came out and saw Wade Boggs and other Sox get on the bus. Of course there was booing and other obscenities. By the time we ventured back to his car in the lot, he was sitting on top of it.

So many times, we went and I’d always buy the scorecard which back then was two bucks. I’d score it like any real fan. I always took pride in it even though I was young and new to the scoring system.

1 was pitcher

2 was catcher

3 was first

4 = second

5 = third

6 = SS

7 = LF

8 = CF

9 = RF

There were different plays of course.

groundout to 2nd was 4-3

to 3rd across the diamond was 5-3

and SS was 6-3

double play hit to short, second to first = 6-4-3 which became known as my fave DP because of the art of the turning of it by the players. Such chemistry. even at Low-A, I witnessed a great DP combo with superb defense on display between SS Addison Maruszak and 2B David Adams. It was one of the things I enjoyed most about covering the 2008 Staten Island Yankees until I missed the final three weeks.

a pop to first is just 3

a flyout to center is 8

fly to RF is 9

to LF is 7

and so forth

What if a player flewout to left and a player tried to score from third but was thrown out?

that’s 7 for the first out. And then scored 7-2 cause it’s left fielder throwing to the catcher for an assist getting that second out (runner at plate).

In many ways, scoring a game with these cool number abbreviations is like a math formula in school. It’s almost like x = y though that’s much harder.

Then there were how to score hits, walks, strikeouts, etc.

single is a single line —-

double is 2 lines ——

——

triple is 3 lines or you can go 3b but that takes the fun out. I prefer the lines.

HR = four lines

walk = BB or W I like BB (Base on Ball)

strikeout = K or SO (K is better)

Other stuff:

hit batsmen = HP

intentional walk = IBB

wild pitch = WP

error is E and the player’s position. So if it’s an error on the second baseman, it’s E4.

shortstop would be E6

1b = E3

CF= E8

This has and will always be baseball etiquette. No wonder I took to it so well. The best game I ever scored was Dwight Gooden’s no-hitter against Seattle in 1996. I still have that scorecard saved with the ticket stubs in there up in our attic. That’s how special it was. I liked Doc growing up when he was on the Mets and also liked Darryl Strawberry, which is why it was always weird how they both wound up on the ‘96 world champion Yanks exactly a decade after leading the Amazin’s to their second world championship.

Best aspect of that no-no which came on Sock Night was I got to choose the game for free because when we went to Opening Day versus the Royals, there was some snow and icy 30 degree temps adding the new definition to early April baseball and why it’s wiser to start a little later. Just ask those fans in Coors who frequently get snowed out. It’s a Rockie tradition.

A free game and we got to see major league baseball history. How cool was that? And while Gooden made things interesting in that ninth walking a couple and hitting a batter leading to a run which meant game was on the line before he K’d Ken Griffey, Jr. and got the pop up to record one more no-hitter than the Mets have ever had. Crazy stuff. Huh? Imagine the darts being tossed at the TV set by Met fans at bars.

There also was that three-HR game from Darryl versus the White Sox which me and a few buddies from camp went to. Three straight and I promised to get drunk. It was fun!

These are the kind of memories which last forever. Like they said, passed down from generation to generation. Maybe I wasn’t there when they won one of those four World Series like buddies Ivan and Michael- the two biggest Yankee fans I know who definitely had a huge part of them die last night.

I could go on and post Mike’s email tribute to the place which Bob Sheppard made sound like God’s place. Well, that’s cause like Bob Costas, he truly was/is the Voice of God. That echo after the pronunciation of each player felt like it was coming from the sky in the Heavens above.

How else could you explain it? The guy is a legend. I don’t care how old he is. He’s been doing this forever and I sure hope he’s back next year to christen the new place even if I don’t plan to spend a dime. I can watch at home and hear that familiar voice which has been home to so many familiarizing us with our baseball heroes.

There’s much more that I want to say but need to take a break for now.

I will voice more later on why it was so special.

Only at one Stadium. Memories shall always last in our hearts.