Sharing Stadium Memories

By Andy Hutchison

September 29, 1985. New York Yankees-Baltimore Orioles. It was a sunny day and I remember trying to overcome car sickness like any 9-year-old would (by eating candy) while at my first baseball game. I recall Orioles manager Earl Weaver getting kicked out for arguing a call, Don Mattingly hitting two home runs, and the delight when I heard they were playing two that day. That’s right, it was an old-fashioned doubleheader. My dad, not a big baseball fan by any stretch, didn’t know what he was getting himself into: A trip, or two ... or three to Yankee Stadium each summer for about a decade before my friends and I started driving to the games ourselves. Thank you, dad, for taking me to those games!

In 1986, when I was still trying to figure out if I was a Yankees, Mets or — dare I say it — even a Red Sox fan, I wanted to go to Shea Stadium to see Darryl Strawberry and the Mets. As luck would have it, I hit the baseball fan jackpot once again: another twin bill. Before you wonder how I sat through two games, remember that two lasted not much longer than one game these days. The Mets swept that doubleheader and went on to win the World Series that year, but I wanted to go back to Yankee Stadium the following summer.

In 1987, I got to see the Red Sox at Fenway Park, too. I still have the obstructed view ticket stub (darn those pillars, but you have to love the character of the old ball park). Since 1988, I have officially been a Yankees-only fan. I think it was the atmosphere at Yankee Stadium that did it. The distinctive voice of public address announcer Bob Sheppard and the sounds of the late, great Eddie Layton on the organ separated Yankee Stadium from others.

On September 21, 2008, the pinstripers played their final game in the fabled Yankee Stadium. Although the ball yard underwent a major renovation in the middle 1970s, it is still one of baseball’s historic parks (it was built in 1923).

Across the street a new Yankee Stadium is on its way up and will be completed in time for the 2009 season.

Shea Stadium shut its doors this past Sunday and also will move into a new park, which will have a company name and will probably change names several times in our lifetime.

The old stadiums will be demolished and this is a big deal (two major sports venues so close to home) but I, like many sports fans, have many fond memories that will survive the wrecking ball. There was the foul ball I got at a Yankee game in 1994 (at least I have one good memory from that horrible strike year in which no World Series was played and the Yankees were finally in first place)... There was the home run ball I caught (okay, so it was on a bounce) at a game last year. It was a bittersweet moment since it was hit by a Toronto Blue Jays’ player and thousands of fans chanted “throw it back.” Since I already had a Stadium ball I didn’t feel too badly about tossing it back to the field... There was stumbling upon my “secret side street parking space” that avoids all traffic and parking fees... There were those games that just couldn’t be topped (clutch hits, diving plays, edge-of-your seat outcomes)... There were the giveaways, including Bag Day, Bat Day, Glove Day (it’s hard to break in a plastic glove, by the way)... And, of course, those memories of spending time with friends and family in the stands on a sunny day or under the lights at night.

Baseball fans here in Newtown may be split between rooting for the Yankees, Sox, and Mets but we all have fond memories of watching our favorite teams play in ballparks that become almost like homes away from home. A stadium-obsessed sports fan with an occasional travel bug, I’ve been to almost all of the Major League parks and although some have better scenic skyline backdrops or easier-to-traverse concourses than Yankee Stadium, that one is (was) my favorite.

In the spring it will be time to start some new memories at the new stadiums in New York. In the meantime, enjoy the playoffs. And if you have a fond ballpark memory of your own — whether it be from the old Polo Grounds, Ebbets Field, the pre-remodeled Yankee Stadium, or any other ballpark — please share it with us and we will consider it for publication. Please limit your stadium memory write-up to 50 words or less. You may email it to andyh@thebee.com. Please include your name, address, and phone number for confirmation purposes.