One of the single, coolest things I've ever done. Ron and I sat in Section 14 where we sat many weeknights for a grandstand admission to watch Craig Nettle play 3rd. If a good lefty was pitching, like Gator, we might move over to section 15 for an inning or two, but Nettles made a lot of great plays in back of Guidry.Since the lines for Monument Park wrapped around the entire stadium on every level all the way out to section 35 in the upper tier, we decided we would take a walking tour of the Stadium. It was a lot more fun than standing in line for 4 hours.
We visited every view from Field to Loge to Upper tiers and remembered some great moments from the years. World Series games, playoffs and stars. Like Gooden's no-hitter and the 96 opener in the snow where I got the free ticket. Old timer's days like when Billy got his job back in '78 and Maris finally getting his number retired. Tom Seavers' 300th win. The last day of the '84 season when Mattingly beat Winfield for the batting title. Clemens as opening day starter for the Red Sox. Rags, Goose, Catfish, Munson, Murcer, Piniella and Reggie.
In the bright afternoon in the right field upper deck I reminisced about Reggie's last year in the Bronx. While George would not give in to Reggie and pay him what he a wanted, fans would throw spare change into right field taunting Reggie to stay. Bobby Brown would come in as a defensive replacement in late innings and pick up the change. I often wondered if he had to split it with Reggie?Camera flashes light up on the last pitch
In my view, the most striking thing about the day was the lack of promotion to buy tickets or merchandise. I really felt like it was about the fans and the players and not about the YES Network. Maybe it was different on TV, but at the stadium it felt pure and right.
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| Yankee Stadium Finale |
