Sep 22 2008
The End of an Era - 85 Years of Memories Come to a Close after Final Game at Yankee Stadium
Four generations of Yankee catchers represented here say goodbye to the House that Ruth Built. Photo: AP
Eighty five years is an impossible amount of history and for the stadium of the most succesful franchise in baseball history it surpasses even that amount. My most memorable Yankee stadium moments took place within just a year of each other. The first moment took place on October 16, 2003.
Tied 3-3 in the American League Championship Series the seventh and deciding game took place at Yankee stadium. It pitted my favorite pitcher of all time, Pedro Martinez, against the hated Roger Clemens. Boston led 5-2 in the eighth inning with Martinez still on the hill. Most baseball fans remember what happened next as Grady Little left a tired Pedro in the game to allow the tying single and double. Three innings later, Aaron Boone hit a walkoff home run against Tim Wakefield to send New York to the World Series. While this was by far the worst moment in my Red Sox fanhood, it gave me the type of disappointing memory that any Red Sox fan of the generations before me have had of their own. From Bucky Dent to Bill Buckner, each generation of Boston loyalists has had their own crushing Red Sox defeat. Such a memory created the low for which my next memory would be that much sweeter.
In 2004 just one year later in the very same place again in the division series Boston led 4-2 and was on the cusp of amazingly tying the series. New York had Derek Jeter on first base and Alex Rodriguez at the plate. Rodriguez hit a slow roller and initially it appeared that pitcher Bronson Arroyo threw the ball away while attempted to tag Rodriguez, Jeter scored and A-Rod ended up at second base. I was ready for this to be yet another disappointing highlight that would be played over and over again as certainly the comeback would end that inning. Instead, umpires overruled the initial play saying Rodriguez had swatted the ball out of Arroyo’s hand. He was ruled out and Jeter was sent back to first. The feeling of failure turned to defeat compounded with the next game’s series clinching victory was the ultimate in sports success on the heels of the previous years’ great disappointment.
As we say goodbye to Yankee stadium, anyone who has seen a game or any of the history there no doubt cherishes their own memory, be it a game seven victory on television or their first ballgame with their dad, Yankee stadium will never again host a baseball game.
