Yankee Stadium, the Country Mouse Visits the Big Apple!

I have been a NY Yankee fan my entire life, and it was about time I went to the new Yankee stadium which opened in 2009.
The last time I had been to a Yankee game was back in 2000 when the Yanks played the NY Mets in the World Series.
I went to that game with my son.
It was game 2 of the World Series and the Yankees won 6 to 5.
They would win the 2000 World Series in 5 games.

Here is the Daily News from May 15, 1967 that I saved.
The picture is of the Mick hitting #500, home run that is.

The day we attended the ballgame was also CC Sabathia Jedi bobblehead Day.
With CC just recently reaching the milestone of striking out 3,000 batters, he is a future Hall of Fame pitcher.
There have only been 16 players to reach this mark, and only two left handed pitchers have accomplished this feat, with CC being the 3rd.
I have a feeling that this replica of Sabathia may be worth a couple of $ one day.
On the way out of the stadium, I witnessed several people trying to buy them for as much as $50.00

After getting into the stadium I had to take a picture of the people lining up to get their bobblehead.
It was refreshing to see the people in attendance lining up without cones, gates, or personal directing them.
Everyone was very civil and that was impressive, no cutting line, single file, and a quick thanks to the people handing out the bobblehead. Not what I expected from New Yorkers.

Attended the game with my son, daughter in-law and our little princess Peyton.

A 1st for our Grand-daughter.
Boy does this kid love to eat.

The Yankees would be hosting the 1st place Central Division Minnesota Twins.

With J Happ getting pounded by the Twins, Boone calls in a relief pitcher. What a lonely feeling it must be out there.

The boys stand around, waiting to resume play.

When was the last time you got paid thousands of dollars an hour to stand around at work.

One can only imagine what it would be like to play a game you love, for work.

People in the entertainment business all make out pretty well, and most of them are actors.
Baseball is also in the business of entertainment, but the major difference between them and actors, is that in sports there is very little acting going on.
Athletes are not impersonators, raw emotions are worn on their sleeves.
Anger, disappointment, joy , relief, harmony, bravado, empathy, competitiveness, love (just check out this video),
(https://www.mlb.com/cut4/sabathia-family-celebrates-3000th-strikeout
and just about any other human emotion can be witnessed while being a fan.

Grownups playing like children.

They entertain us with their athleticism, usually not with their mouth.
This is what draws me to competition at the highest level.

Getting to the game with time to spare, we walked around the stadium taking in the sights.
The following pictures are of some of the Yankee all time greats.

In doing this post I figured I would share some of the pictures that were hanging on the walls of these guys.

I was just going to include their pictures and give you their names, but instead I thought it might be fun to give you some facts about each person and see if you could guess who they are.

If you think you know Yankee baseball, give it a try.

I will match the # of the player with his name towards the end of this post.

Go ahead, give it a try.
#1
Larger than life CHARACTER
The old Yankee stadium is refereed to as, The House that ---- Built.
Considered the best to ever play the game.
Loved to eat hot-dogs before and during the game.

#2
Retired from baseball after being diagnosed with ALS
During his farewell speech at Yankee stadium he said, "Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans."
Consecutive games played 2130. This record stood for decades until it was broken by Hal Ripken.

#3
The Yankee Clipper
Married Marilyn Monroe
Won 9 World Series
The song, Mrs. Robinson

#4
Baseball is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical.
AFLAC
18 All Star Appearances.
Yahoo

#5
Center-fielder
Childhood hero
Best switch hitter baseball has ever seen
Hall of Fame

#6
The Captian
3000 Hit Club, with #3000 being a round tripper
Will be first ballot Hall of Fame inductee.
Gentlemen/Good Guy

#7
Mr. October
Hall of Fame
The Bronz Zoo
500 home Run Club

#8
The gentleman without the hat was a Yankee manager for 5 years
Died at the age of 61 in a car crash in Upstate NY after a night of drinking, he was the passenger.
Yankees won the 1977 World series with him as the manager

#9
Nickname Louisiana Lightning
Cy Young award winner
Won two world series with Yanks, 1977 and again in 1978
Yankees retired his number 49

#10
Played for both the NY Yankees and the NY Mets
Pitched a perfect game in 1999, at that time it had only been done 15 times
Currently a broadcaster for the Yanks
won 4 World Series with the Yankees

#11
This epic photo was taken after the Yankees won the 1996 World series
Played for Boston Red Sox for most of his career
Hall of fame
Belongs to the 3000 hit club

#12
Was selected to six All Star Games
Yankee 3rd baseman
Known for his defensive ability, garnishing the nickname, the human vacuum cleaner
Wrote a very controversial book, BALLS

#13
The Captain
Died at the age of 32 in 1979 in a plane crash in which he was the pilot.
7 time All Star

#14
Known as the Boss, getting a beer poured over his head in this pic.
Family made their fortune in the ship building industry
Owner of the NY Yankees

#15
Left handed pitcher
Won five World Series with the Yankees
He ranks as MLB's all-time postseason wins leader with 19.

#16
1st baseman for the Yanks
Won 4 World Series with the Yankees
Winner of the Home Run Derby in 1977

#17
Left to Right
Owner of the Yankees.
Mayor of New York during 9\11
Manager of the Yankees, winning 4 World Series during his reign. Executive vice president of baseball operations.

#18
First ballot Hall of Fame
Nickname Sandman or Mo
13 time All Star
5 time World Series winner with Yankees
All time leader in saves (652)

#19
Nickname A-Rod
Engaged to Jennifer Lopez
3000 Hit Club
696 Home Runs
Involved with STEROIDS and suspended from baseball for a year.

Another exhibit we took in was the Wall of Balls.

I can't believe I didn't get this dudes picture.
Known as Donnie Baseball, a fan favorite.
His career was cut short due to problems with his back.





So much history in this display.

OK, time to provide you with the names of the players highlighted in the post.

#1 Babe Ruth #2 Lou Gehrig #3 Joe DiMaggio #4 Yogi Berra #5 Mickey Mantel #6 Derek Jeter #7 Reggie Jackson
#8 Billy Martin #9 Ron Guidry #10 David Cone #11 Wade Boggs #12 Graig Nettles #13 Thurmon Munson #14 George steinbrenner #15Andy Petit # 16 Tino Martinez # 17 George Steinbrenner, Rudy Giuliani, Joe Torre # 18 Mariano Riveria #19 Alex Rodriguez.

So how did you do?

The one thing that shocked me, which had nothing to do with the game, was the price for a

Now, I'm not a big drinker, but I had to get one of these. At this price, one was more than enough.

What a truly wonderful day spent at the ballpark.
It is always a better time when the time is spent with family.

When the game was over, and we had returned to where we had parked the car, the fog had lifted.
With the skies a little clearer I was able to get this picture. I believe it is a shot of The Freedom Tower.

Its official, thebigsweed can ✔ Going to the new Yankee stadium off of his bucket list.

Thank God my Dad was a Yankee fan and not a Met fan. Could you imagine the misery that all Met fans suffer.😢

Hope you enjoyed!