Like Citi Field, Yankee Stadium is located just off the subway line, making it easy and relatively cheap to get to the ballpark. Yankee stadium is certainly impressive from the outside. Its white columned front stands well above the community park, souvenir stores, and subway tracks that border the stadium. The Great Hall just inside the stadium is equally impressive. The tall ceilings and long banners of past Yankee greats make the space look huge. I walked quickly through the Great Hall to make my way to Monument Park. I got to the stadium early and avioded the inevitable line that would form. Monument Park is a section located in straight-away centerfield which is home to plaques and retired numbers of Yankee legends. Ruth, Gehrig, Dimaggio, and Mantle, they were all there. I then walked around the concourse and found my way to the Yankee museum. It was cool to see a couple of their 27 championship trophies and a wall full of autographed baseballs. The concourses themselves were large and filled with concession stands serving hotdogs, $16 steak sandwiches, and Johnny Rocket's hamburgers. David and I split a bucket filed with chicken tenders and fries for $20, a reasonable price compared to other items.
From our seats we could see the entire field and follow the action even though we were a long ways away from the field especially compared to old Yankee Stadium where the upperdeck was very close to the foul poles. The designers of the ballpark made new Yankee Stadium a updated replica of the old stadium: same outfield dimensions, same iconic facade, and similar seating. One big difference is that everything is premium-ized. All seats within 10 rows of the infield are "legend seats" and cost an arm and a leg. The bleachers are also moved well away from the field and are split by a lounge that makes up the batter's eye. This crates some bleachers seats with obstructed views! The biggest thing I look for in a baseball stadium is the "baseball feel". This is my way of describing if the game actually feels like a baseball game. Yankee Stadium has thee baseball feel but it also has a stadium feel. I felt Yankee Stadium was a baseball box in the middle of the Bronx, not an extension of the city.
The Yankees started this game where Mariano Rivera left off the night before. The Mets put a five spot up in the top of the first including an RBI single by struggling firstbaseman Ike Davis. The Mets extended their lead to 8-0 before the Yankees made it interesting in the bottom of the 6th inning. Down 8-3, the Yankees had men on first and second with one out. A line-out and a fly-out and the game was pretty much over. The Mets took their third straight from the Bronx Bombers, this time 9-4.
My take-away from Yankee Stadium is that it is a modern replica of theold Yankee Stadium. The new stadium has many of the iconic aspects of the old stadium but the real mystique of the building is that the most well-known baseball organization plays there. Yankee Stadium has many nice features and a few less-than ideal features but it could be an absolutely dump and still receive praise because it is home to the Yankees.
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