Yankee Stadium III (2009): The Trophy Wife Of Major League Ballparks

Doesn't the title really say it all? In many regards, the past five and a half seasons have been difficult for most Yankees fans to adjust to. They're welcome to a large, glistening, majestic stadium, that could only host one organization, THE organization, the New York Yankees. Yet, there is an instinctual resistance to this imperial coliseum. Despite all of the wonderful comforts, amenities, and majesty of a remarkable history, it lacks a soul. 

The question that needs to be asked starts many years ago: why was George Steinbrenner so singleminded in building a new ballpark? The answer: he didn't believe he could grow his business in the South Bronx. Originally his desire for increased revenue pointed to a ballpark on the west side of Manhattan. Then The Boss threatened to relocate to New Jersey, and he even investigated a retractable roof palace in Macombs Dam Park, a ballpark that would be almost entirely funded by the city of New York. If not for the legal action of Mayor Bloomberg's first administration, the original agreement would have commenced. The city would have suffered financially for endless years. An absolute quagmire.

                                                           (Courtesy of ballparksofbaseball.com)

So we bring ourselves back to the original question: why? Clearly there has been an incredible building craze in baseball - it is the legacy of Bud Selig, along with his utter hypocrisy regarding PED's. How could the Yankees be left out? Following the end of the 2001 season, everything changed. The organization, despite their dominance, knew that only the highest profile everyday players could attract 50,000 fans a night to the South Bronx. As the profile of each player accumulated and became headline news (e.g. A-Rod), a new demographic emerged into the stands. This demographic is wealthy, corporate, and has the highest expectations for every accommodation during a nine inning affair. As such, the gauntlet had been laid, a new ballpark was needed, and it needed to provide EVERYTHING (Lobel's, really?). 

Yet the desire to accommodate this new demand has proven short-sighted. The Yankees had an intangible quality that few other organizations in sports enjoy. Their ballpark, their epicenter, their home, was legendary. Generations of great players, great games, and great fans like Freddy Schuman gave the building unparalleled character. It may have been renovated in the mid-70's, but it was still "The House That Ruth Built" - the same field, the same energy, the same embodiment of greatness. Fenway Park and Wrigley Field certainly personify a golden age of baseball past, but each was a niche player when compared to the original Yankee Stadium. 

Disregarding the fact that the architectural abilities existed to have made any renovation to the old girl, the Yankees traded up. They took the new beauty that looked, acted, and mimicked the original. Even with a championship under its belt, the building doesn't have a soul. I cannot say one way or another that time will solve this dilemma. However, I find it all truly lackluster. Many fans are priced out and forced to sit in restricted airspace. The Bleacher Creatures are no longer on their island but instead pressured to conform. The acoustics of the crowd noise are listless by comparison. A concrete trench that could serve as a moat to keep the peasants out of the empty seats behind home plate is guarded like Buckingham Palace. Worst of all, every opposing team no longer feels the intimidation of the history and majesty of the cathedral. It is all gone.

I only wish I could share with my future children the rush on a Bronx bound 4 train, while looking into the right field opening, directly across the tracks. In the end, it is the little things, after all.

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