Sorry that it's taken me a week to get to this, as I know you are all chomping at the bit for my next blog entry (ha ha). Last week, Yankee Stadium played host to the All Star Game and all of the related festivities. It was one of the most enjoyable baseball experiences of my life.
I started the experience Monday afternoon at All Star Fan Fest with my brother-in-law Jeff. He's a great person to hit an event with as he always seems to have a good time. We met up outside the Javitz Center and when we walked in, it was a little intimidating. There was a map, but we ignored it and just started near the front door. Easy enough, right?
The first area we visited was the ongoing live auction. They were auctioning some of the coolest items I have seen, and they were all on display in glass cases. They had the private collections of both Whitey Ford and Thurman Munson that they were auctioning. Whitey's collection included a lot of items that he had collected during his career, as well as afterwards. Autographed pictures of Billy, Mickey, and many other Yankees were abundant. They were also auctioning the jackets that they gave Whitey when he threw out the first pitch at recent World Series games. Thurman's collection was all of his awards, contracts, trophies, etc. Included was his two World Series rings, as well as the World Series trophy they gave him as Captain of the 1978 Yankees. He also had a picture of Mickey and Joe D that was signed by both, to Thurman.
The rest of the Fan Fest was a series of batting cages, pitching cages, kids stuff, and lots of stuff to buy. All I bought was a poster, which is a miracle. I was surprised that it was so Yankees oriented, with very little Mets stuff anywhere.
I then met up with my business partner Joe at Ben Benson's. We had a quick drink and then walked to the subway on our way to the Home Run Derby. We each had a baseball glove as we were sitting in home run territory, and Joe brought his new camera. This camera has a great zoom feature and takes amazing pictures.
As we left the subway, I noticed a man that looked a lot like Bob Watson. As I approached, I noticed he had an MLB lapel pin. When I got even closer, I noticed he was wearing a Yankees World Series ring. I asked, "You're Bob Watson...right?" He said he was. I explained that one of my earliest Stadium memories was him hitting a foul ball near me and my father. I think I was seven years old. It was a hard line drive in to the loge, and my father grabbed me. I remember asking my father why he didn't catch it. After all, he had my glove. Watson replied, "He caught you instead".
We went to grab something to eat across the street from the Stadium and we noticed how many random shirts there were. People were wearing Pirates shirts, and Cardinals shirts, and Brewers shirts...it was not a typical Yankees crowd.
We made our way inside, grabbed our seats, and batting practice was still going on. It was cool to see all of the kids on the field wearing their father's jerseys playing in the outfield.
There really is only one thing to say about the Home Run Derby. Josh Hamilton was AWESOME. Even though he didn't win, he should have. He hit 28 home runs in the first round, which was a record. His 71 year old high school coach was his pitcher and he crushed balls all over the park, including one off of the back wall. He obviously got tired, so Justin Mourneau won by hitting five home runs in the finals.
On the way back, I bumped in to Fresh on the subway, which is always a treat.
Tuesday, I met up with Jared for the All Star Game itself. We met at the Meadowlands and took one car in. We made it to the Bronx in about 20 minutes. We met up with Scott, Rob, Sam, and Mike in the parking lot and then went for something to eat. On the way in, I bumped in to the Francis Family. It was a who's who. When we got in to the Stadium, we decided to go see Jared's friend Bobby. One problem, we were in right field and he was in left. No problem because we had plenty of time. During the walk, we bumped in to Strauss, as well as the Denis and his family.
Once they started the pre-game festivities, it was obvious that rightfield wasn't going to be a good spot for photos, so I started wandering the Stadium near the infield. The introductions were amazing. They brought out many living Hall of Famers and they stood near their positions. They introduced the Hall of Famers at each position, and then the starting All Star from each team ran out to join them as they were introduced. It was very cool. Willie Mays was the only centerfielder. They switched it up at the end and introduced the starting catchers first, and then introduced the Hall of Fame catchers, Gary Carter....and Yogi Berra. Rightfully so, Yogi was the last one introduced.
Then, it was time for the ceremonial first pitch. It all happened so fast. They introduced the principle owner of the New York Yankees...GEORGE STEINBRENNER. I don't think George has ever been introduced at Yankee Stadium. He was driven out in a golf cart with his family and delivered the balls for the first pitch. He was visibly crying and moved by the experience. He delivered four baseballs for the four Yankee Hall of Famers, Reggie, Goose, Whitey and Yogi. They threw the pitches to Girardi (there as a coach), and the three Yankee All Stars, ARod, Jeter, and Mariano. It was amazing. All of this...and the game hadn't started yet.
The game was a low scoring affair, which ended up going 15 innings. We left at the end of the 10th, but there were a lot of highlights. Jeter getting a hit and stealing a base, Papelbon getting booed mercilessly and the fans chanting "Mariano" as he pitched and blew the save. Billy Wagner blowing the save was funny too. The biggest highlight of the game for me was Mariano coming in to the game to his signature song, Enter Sandman and pitching 1 2/3 scoreless innings. After the AL failed to score in the bottom of the 10th with the bases loaded and no outs, we decided to leave as it was just after midnight.
All in all...an amazing experience with great friends. Here's a link to the photos. Enjoy.
All Star Week Photos
"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive..."
JN
