The Farewell

Settle in...this is a long one.

Sunday night, we said goodbye to Yankee Stadium. I had a lot of emotions during the week leading up to last night's game. I was pretty upset. I have long called Yankee Stadium "my most special place on the planet". Unfortunately, I was focused on the fact that I would never get to walk up the tunnel again and see the green grass, the blue seats, and peer around The Stadium and remember all of the great memories. After last night's celebration, I am now able to focus on all of the great memories I have, savor them, and look forward to The New Stadium.

My father first took me to Yankee Stadium in 1980. I remember going with my Uncle Steven, and the car broke down on the way there. I remember being worried about missing the National Anthem. Since then, there have been hundreds of games and countless memories. Some of the great memories are:

- Two games in the Division Series in 1981 against the Brewers (caused by the strike).

- One game in the ALCS against the A's in 1981. My Uncle Steven took me. He doesn't like baseball, but exemplifies what it means to be an uncle.

- Game 2 of the 1981 World Series. I kept score, Tommy John was perfect through 3 innings, I still have the scorecard.

- Old Timer's Day 1984 where I met Catfish Hunter in the stands.

- Countless doubles in to the right field corner by Donnie Baseball in the 80's.

- Too many losses in the early 90's. I got my driver's license just before the season started in 1991. They lost 91 games that year, but we went to a lot of games. Me, Katz, Gideon, Pilch, Jeremy Kaufman...lots of games. We could get there right before the first pitch and buy tickets right near the scouts behind home plate.

- In 1992, the guys wanted to go to the game, but I was pitching that afternoon against Essex Catholic, the best team in the conference. We made a deal that if we won, we would go. I hit a walk off single in the bottom of the 7th. We celebrated all the way back to the locker room and as we were changing, we looked at each other and said..."We're going to the game!".

- Reggie Jackson Day in 1993 with Jon Geller. We caught a ball each during BP. I gave mine to a young kid, probably 3 years old, as a souveneir of his first game.

- Game 2 of the Division Series in 1995. Donnie Baseball's last game at The Stadium. He hit one out. Jared and I sat in the front row of the loge...ran in to Keith before the game. Yelled "Run Jorge, Run" even though we didn't know who Jorge was when Ruben Sierra hit one off the top of the wall to tie the game. Went crazy when Jim Leyritz' ball cleared the wall in right in the 15th inning and just said "Jimmy F*$&ing Leyritz" 100 times on the way home. Incidentally, the winning pitcher in that game was Mariano Rivera.
- Opening Day 1996 in the snow. The debut of the YMCA and they gave us free tickets for...
- Doc Gooden's no-hitter. It was the week in between finals and graduation. I drove up from Trenton State. Our seats were in the corner of the upper deck, but we watched from behind home plate. So far, my only n0-hitter in person.

- All of the home playoff games in 1996. The Jeffrey Maier game...when Derek tied it up, and then Bernie won it. When Bernie hit that home run, Michael Levine and I felt the upper deck shake.

- Going to all six World Series games in 1996. It was bleak when I left for Atlanta, but when I got back, we were on the verge. Girardi's triple, Jared catching a foul ball, Mariano to Wetteland, Charlie Hayes' catch...the first championship that I was old enough to experience...nothing is sweeter.

- The brawl against the Orioles in May 1998 when Benitez drilled Tino after Bernie took him deep. Strawberry led the charge out of the dugout and GLloyd came from the bullpen throwing punches. When it spilled in to the O's dugout, it got really interesting.

- The Chuck Knoblauch game in 1998.

- Game 2 of the World Series in 1998. The second pitch was a foul ball right off of my hand. If I wasn't keeping score, I would have had it.

- The clinching game in 1999. Keith and I were in the second to last row at the top of The Stadium. The guy in front of us was passing a bottle that he snuck in. The guy two seats over from him took his seat apart with a ratchet set before the game even started. We snuck down in the late innings and sat with Scott and the boys. We didn't leave until they kicked us out.

- The Clemens/Piazza game in 2000. I was on my way upstairs and stopped to see Mike, Ross, and Sivin on my way. No one had any idea what was happening.

- All three games of the 2001 World Series at The Stadium. The President throwing out the first pitch of Game 3, Tino and Jeter Game 4....Brosius AGAIN! Game 5. For Game 5, I was with Gideon...it was all about the lucky jacket.

- Watching Barry Bonds hit the longest home run I had ever, and have ever, seen off of Ted Lilly in 2002. All I could do was clap. It was that impressive.

- Game 7 in 2003 with Keith yelling "Boo!" to all of the Sox fans on the way in. "Do you hear the ghosts?" They were there. Mussina bailing out Clemens, Giambi's two homers, Jorge's big hit, Pedro's meltdown, Mariano throwing 3 innings, and then...Aaron Boone (who didn't start the game). Mike, Keith, Ross and I yellling when the ball sailed past us. Seeing Mariano collapse on the mound.

- My father and I were there the night Jeter dove in to the stands against the Sox in 2004. John Flaherty won the game in extra innings.

- April 2005 we saw ARod hit a three run homer, a two run homer, and then a grand slam in his first three at-bats off of Bartolo Colon. I was with Jeff Garibaldi in his seats...sixth row in the center of the Yankee dugout. It's a shame that he won't have the same seats in The New Stadium.

- Countless Opening Days.

- Countless Playoff Games.

- Two World Series clinchers.

- Taking my daughter to her first game...June 21 against the Reds. Carrying her as we past The New Stadium. Watching her and Christine walk up the tunnel towards the field. I will miss the tunnels in The New Stadium.

- The Home Run Derby with balls flying all over the place. Josh Hamilton put on an amazing show.

- The All Star Game with Jared...the Hall of Famers in the pregame ceromony were worth the price of admission alone, but we got an amazing game also. We were rooting hard for DJ or Mo to be the MVP, but with the game going to extra innings, it wasn't to be.

- This past Tuesday night...seeing Jeter get his hit to pass Lou Gehrig. Jared and I took our fathers for one last trip. On the way out, we talked about a lot of the games I mentioned above. Such great memories.

- And the last one...Sunday night...with my dad...who took me to my first game.

Sunday night was a celebration of everything that came before it. All 85 years. They introduced many of the Yankee greats, including many members of the teams that meant so much to us the last few years. The last to be introduced was Bernie...for his first trip back since he stopped playing. The ceremony lasted for an hour...and then the game started.

The Yankees won 7-3. I kept score. Pettitte came through when he had to. The bullpen was great. Damon and Molina hit home runs. Giambi got a hit that was aided by the ghosts when the 3rd baseman and shortstop looked at each other while the ball dropped. Enter Sandman played for the last time in Yankee Stadium (see the video below...it's a new multimedia wrinkle) and Mariano emerged from the left centerfield wall. Next year, the bullpen moves back to rightfield, so it will be odd seeing Mo emerge from the other side of the outfield.

After two outs, Girardi pulled DJ so he could get one last standing ovation...one last curtain call.

After Mariano closed it out, the team poured on to the field, and Sinatra sang New York, New York. It was almost as if they won the World Series. They gathered around the mound, and then Derek Jeter, our captain, delivered an amazing speech, thanking us, the fans.

The players then did a lap around the warning track, similar to 1996. I was looking for someone on a horse! We soaked it in a while longer, watched the players take pictures with their families on the mound, and then almost simultaneously, my father and I decided it was time to go.

I am not upset that I will never get to see The Yankees again in The House That Ruth Built. I have my memories, and I look forward to new memories in The New Stadium. I will make those memories with my friends and my family, and I can only hope that Avery (and any future offspring) feel half as connected to The New Yankee Stadium as I am to The Yankee Stadium.

If you read this far...thanks. Please feel free to leave a comment with your favorite Yankee Stadium moments. You'll be surprised just how much fun it is.

Hope springs eternal...see you in the Bronx...April 16th. It's a date. Memory #1.

"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive"

JN