New York Yankees – Yankee Stadium

Full Disclosure: I am a New York Yankee fan and going to see a game in the Bronx is, in my opinion, the best place to see a game. The new ballpark doesn’t feel the same (yet), but it’s still phenomenal. We’ve been to a Yankees/Rangers game at the new Yankee Stadium, been to a Yankees/Red Sox game at the old Yankee Stadium, Tom went to Game 6 of the 2003 Yankees/Marlins World Series, and we’ve taken a tour of the old stadium.

Yankee Stadium Tour

Back in December 2003, Tom and I took a trip to New York. One of the things we included on this trip was a tour of Yankee Stadium. It was awesome!

We got to sit in the dugout and then we visited Monument Park.

We saw the retired numbers of great Yankees.

We saw the Babe Ruth Monument.

We also toured the Yankee clubhouse and saw Thurman Munson’s locker. It was very moving because I was 12 years old when he died in a plane crash and I remember hearing the sad news. My favorite part of the stadium tour was actually being able to be on the field where so many great Yankees have stood.

Stadium tours are great. Of course, seeing a game is the best, but if you ever have an opportunity to tour a stadium, you really should do it. They generally cost between $20 and $40 and all teams offer tours during the off-season as well as during the season. You can find information on stadium tours for all teams at MLB.com.

World Series Game at the old Yankee Stadium

In October 2003, a friend of mine gave me two tickets to Game 6 of the World Series between the Yankees and the Florida Marlins. I am a part-time wedding coordinator and I had a wedding that day so I was devastated that I couldn’t go. Tom took my dad and they drove up from Virginia to New York and drove back after the game.

The Yankees lost the game and the Series, but Tom and my dad had a great time.

Yankees/Red Sox Game at the old Yankee Stadium

In July 2008, the final season for the Yankees in old Yankee Stadium, we went to a Sunday night televised game between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Logan was four years old and it was my first time seeing a game in the Bronx. My brother, Jay, was a huge Yankee fan and sadly passed away in 2000. I became a Yankee fan when he died and found being at a game in the Bronx was bittersweet without him there. He had never seen a game in Yankee Stadium. The seat next to me remained empty all night because I bought it for Jay. He would have loved it.

Our seats were up pretty high, but the atmosphere was electric!

We got to the stadium early, before the gates opened, so we hung out and Logan and Tom had a catch.

We watched batting practice.

I can’t say enough about how beautiful the old Yankee Stadium was.

We got lucky and saw one of the greatest, most exciting games I’ve ever been to. It was a Sunday night televised game and was sold out. This game had everything! The starting pitchers were Joba Chamberlain for the Yankees and knuckle-baller Tim Wakefield for the Red Sox. Logan got to see his favorite player, Jorge Posada.

We watched Alex Rodriguez hit a solo home run, Derek Jeter hit a RBI single, and Robinson Cano tripled to deep right field and scored two runs. We also saw Joe Girardi get ejected in the 8th inning, and a huge strikeout by Manny Ramirez. Little 4 year old Logan got fired up!

One of the coolest things was in the 9th inning when “Enter Sandman” played and Mariano Rivera entered the game. The game was tied in the 9th inning and Mo pitched the 9th and 10th.

The Yankees walked it off in the 10th inning on a hard grounder up the middle by Brett Gardner. Gardy was a rookie that year playing in only his 6th MLB game. All 54,000 of us in the stands went nuts!

It was an amazing game and an amazing experience. I will never forget that game.

Yankees/Rangers Game in new Yankee Stadium

In June 2013, we went to the new Yankee Stadium to watch the Yankees play the Texas Rangers. The stadium is just as beautiful as the old one except with upgraded seats and upgraded food. I wanted it to feel the same. I really did, but it felt like other ballparks I had been to. There was no magic and it didn’t have the same character. Some people say the old stadium was blue-collar and the new stadium, well, not so much. I mean, it’s still Yankee Stadium and it’s awesome, but just not the same.

We got to the game early so we could walk around and check out everything. The concourse was really cool. The Great Hall is beautiful and has 20 of the most famous Yankee players on giant posters.

We didn’t visit Monument Park at this game but we did watch batting practice.

Logan sure has grown since his last Yankee game. lol

The Texas Rangers beat the Yankees 8-5. Derek Jeter was on the injured list. It was cool to watch Andy Pettitte start the game on the mound, but he did get the loss. We also got to see an Ichiro Suzuki home run and that was fun. It was a close game until the 9th inning and we had a great time even though my beloved Yankees lost.

We had tickets to a Yankee game last Fall and we were going to sit with the Bleacher Creatures, but Covid hit our family and we had to cancel. Hopefully, there’s another Yankee game for us in the near future.