Yankees Win Last Game in Babe’s House

Baseball is the most traditional of America’s sports. In a drive the rake in more corporate money, though, teams have been knocking down old stadia and erecting more profitable ball parks. Yesterday, the New York Yankees (Satan’s team) played their last game in the House that Ruth Built. Next year, they’ll play at a more modern, less historic and entirely unnecessary new field.

Julia Ruth Stevens, 92-year-old daughter of the Babe, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. No one booed as it fell short, which is entirely out of character for Yankee fans – it was that kind of a night. Yogi Berra, who once said “it ain’t over till it’s over,” told New York’s Daily News, “I'm sorry to see it over, I'll tell you that.” “I feel like I'm losing an old friend,” Reggie Jackson told the crowd.

The shame is that it isn’t necessary to put up a new park. At 85-years-old, Yankee Stadium is still in good shape. Some renovation, in lieu of building, would have been cheaper and would have kept the history of the field alive. Instead, the Yankees will play next year in a $1.3 billion stadium just across 161st Street from the real Yankee Stadium. It will have more luxury boxes, greater capacity overall and more retail space.

Last night, the Baltimore Orioles obliged the Yankees by losing 7-3. Johnny Damon hit the last Yankees homer at the old field. Andy Pettite won his 178th game as a Yankee. Catcher Jose Molina knocked in 5 RBIs. Mariano Rivera came in as a reliever and didn’t give up a run. If the Bronx Bombers had played this way more frequently this year, they would have a shot at the play-offs. As it is, they will get to the off-season that much faster.

Yankees shortstop and captain Derek Jeter addressed the crowd after the game, “We are relying on you to take the memories from this stadium and add them to the new memories that come with the new Yankee Stadium and continue to pass them on from generation to generation.” Next week, the other New York team, the Mets, will play their last game at Shea Stadium, a far more historic field (after all, the Beatles and the Clash played there, not in the Bronx). One wishes it weren’t necessary, but baseball the game always loses out to baseball the business.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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