161st St. and River Ave.: Thanks For The Memories

Eighty-six years came and went in the blink of an eye last night, but not before one last hurrah. The 2008 New York Yankees played the final game on the field where Babe Ruth played the first in 1923. The Yankees did the only thing they know how to do and that is to go out in grand style, playoffs or not.
            They started by making the stadium feel as if you were at a playoff game by placing the red, white and blue bunting all around the stadium. That was just the beginning. They opened the gates at 1 p.m., 7 hours before the game was scheduled to begin. Fans were allowed to walk the scared warning track where before today they could have only imagined. Then what seemed like another Old Timers day was set to begin. Except this was nothing close to that. The Yankees paraded out a group of actors to represent the original Yankee team that started in this ballpark, to the likes of Huggins, Ruth etc. Then the living legends appeared, one by one, trotting out to their respective positions that they roamed for years, another touching tribute.

            Of course what made this different than Old Timers Day was that this wasn’t just supposed to celebrate the living Yankees, but all the people who made this place sacred. The living children of Yankee greats who have passed away such as, Munson, DiMaggio, Howard, Murcer, Maris and Mantle also trotted out to the spots where their father/husband used to patrol. This is what set it apart from any other day. This was a day to honor everyone, not just the living.

            Then they made their way to the Yankees who have made the last Yankee Dynasty what it was. Their was Wade Boggs standing at third base, and seeing him I could remember clearly seeing him ride around Yankee stadium on the back of the police horse after they clinched the 1996 World Series. David Cone and David Wells, two pitchers forever linked as they both threw perfect games on that field. Martinez and Brosius, who on back to back nights made every Yankee fan, including me that ghosts really do live here. Paul O’ Neill, on of the most loved and respected Yankees, because of his heart and determination standing in Right Field as the Bleacher Creatures gave him his own roll call. And then there was the man that started the roll call, the man who spent 16 years nestled in Centerfield, the man who walked away from the only team he knew, Bernie Williams, and after a 2 minute plus ovation, the players standing on that field realized how much they truly meant to this city, I think I was clapping so loud and hard they could hear me.

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