Pinstripe Empire (87 page)

The competition to succeed Torre came down to Torre’s bench coach, Mattingly, and Joe Girardi, who had already been a National League Manager of the Year with Florida before getting fired there. Cashman knew Mattingly would be the popular choice, but in terms of embracing computer projections and being in sync with him, Girardi fared much better. Girardi got the job.

Mattingly went with Torre as a coach, and succeeded Joe as Dodger manager in 2011. Neither Torre nor Mattingly would be around to mark the final year of old Yankee Stadium or the opening of the new one.

Less than a month after the playoffs, Steinbrenner officially handed the top organizational duties to Hank and Hal as general partners, with George still listed as principal owner.

2008 WAS A YEAR-LONG CELEBRATION of the last season of Yankee Stadium, making little distinction between the 1923–73 version and the 1976–2008 renovated version. Older fans seemed to display greater affection for the original park, forgetting the times they had partially obstructed views, or had to reach the upper deck without escalators. At each game, the sight of fans posing for photos with the field behind them was an event that invited a shared experience with fellow fans.

The Yankees used a “countdown clock” all season, with special guests invited to pull on a placebo lever to knock another game off. Each guest had some connection to the park’s history, and it was a popular daily event. Steinbrenner did the first one. The Topping and Sheehy families were represented. Longtime employees such as Tony Morante and Debbie Nicolosi took a turn. Celebrities such as Bob Costas, Ben Stiller and his father Jerry, Billy Crystal, and Lance Armstrong had a pull. The Bleacher Creatures were recognized. So was Buck Showalter. Former players included Billy Werber (from 1930), age one hundred, Coleman, Richardson, Murcer, White, Gamble, Dent, Jackson, and Boggs. Perfect-game pitchers Larsen, Wells, and Cone shared a moment. When there were no games remaining, the clock said FOREVER.

The historic season missed the voice of Bob Sheppard, who at ninety-eight was just too ill to work any longer, although he didn’t officially retire. (His last game was September 7, 2007.) Jim Hall, a Sheppard sound-alike, was at the microphone all season.

Major League Baseball honored the legacy of Yankee Stadium by awarding
it the 2008 All-Star Game, an honor often reserved to showcase new ballparks. The festive event would be best remembered for the Monday-night Home Run Derby, in which Texas slugger Josh Hamilton hit some of the longest drives ever witnessed in the park.

The game was attended by George Steinbrenner, who was given a ride to home plate on a golf cart, where a number of his old players embraced him warmly as the fans cheered. It would be his final appearance in old Yankee Stadium. (During spring training, Legends Field in Tampa was renamed George M. Steinbrenner Field.)

In midseason, I had an opportunity to bring Tom Stevens, Babe Ruth’s grandson, and his son Brent to meet Lonn Trost, the Yankee official principally charged with the new stadium’s planning. It was a meeting intended to maintain a relationship between the Yankees and the Ruth family; the destruction of the House That Ruth Built was not intended to be a metaphor.

The new stadium would amply honor Babe, with the exterior along 161st Street to be called Babe Ruth Plaza and dotted with appropriate signage and banners. The new facility was being called the House That George Built by the media, but it would well honor the team’s legacy and would even include a Yankees Museum, the focal point of which was a long display of baseballs signed by everyone the team could find who had played even one game for them. At either end would be statues of Don Larsen pitching and Yogi Berra catching, recalling the 1956 perfect game.

The 2008 Yankees did not go to the postseason, despite a 20–9 year from Mike Mussina in his final year before retiring. (He was the first pitcher since Sandy Koufax in 1966 to win 20 and then quit.) Instead, even with a $209 million payroll, they never managed to emerge from third place after mid-June. It was the first time they missed the postseason since 1993, save for the ’94 strike year.

The failure to make the postseason actually presented a good situation. The final game at Yankee Stadium would be the last home game of the regular season. Had they gone into the postseason, there would have been no way of predicting when that last game would be, and it would have been impossible to schedule lavish ceremonies around it.

The Yankees paid the city $11.5 million to be able to sell off memorabilia from the stadium—the seats, the signage, and more. Collectors were salivating over the treasures that would come from vintage Yankee Stadium. A pair of seats was available for $1,500 through Steiner Sports, which had a collectibles partnership with the team. Season-ticket holders could own
their own seats for an extra $500. Brian Cashman’s desk chair cost $5,000. Sections of the outfield frieze were offered at $50,000. A twenty-by-twenty-foot chunk of outfield sod? $10,000. A display case with dirt? $50. Jeter got the sign in the tunnel to the Yankee dugout that quoted DiMaggio’s “I want to thank the Good Lord for making me a Yankee,” a sign he always touched as he headed for the field. The flagpole was retained by the Yankees and rests quietly under the new bleachers. Rivera wanted the bullpen bench. The foul poles were cut into two-inch sections and sold for $80 per section. Home plate was carried to the new ballpark. Thurman Munson’s locker was moved to the new Yankees Museum. A group campaigned to save the massive concrete gate 6 as a landmark, but was unsuccessful.

And so the last game would be on a warm Sunday night, September 21, televised nationally by ESPN. Andy Pettitte got the honor of pitching against the Orioles, and got his 2,000th strikeout in the first inning. Bob Sheppard read the starting lineups, having recorded them earlier in the day at his home. The 1922 American League pennant, which was hung on opening day of 1923, was spread out in the unoccupied area of the bleachers.

I had lunch at Mickey Mantle’s Restaurant in Manhattan with Julia Ruth Stevens and her family—she was to throw out the ceremonial first pitch a few hours later. The Babe’s daughter was ninety-two, but sprightly and excited for her honor. My own father had died eight weeks earlier at ninety-two, and Bobby Murcer had lost his battle with cancer on July 12, failing to achieve his goal of seeing the new stadium open. So Julia’s bright spirits on such a sentimental day certainly were appreciated. She would deliver her big pitch to Posada in about four hours.

I met up with my son, Brian, who came in from Boston, and we took our seats in the mezzanine over right field, section 33, to share the finale together. (I wished my daughter Deb was with us, but she was living in San Diego.) Bunting hung from the mezzanine and upper deck as though it was the World Series. Bobby Abreu was the Yankees’ right fielder, and I pointed out to Brian that at my very first game, in 1956, I sat in right field with my father, and Hank Bauer was playing right.

“And if you scramble the letters in Abreu,” I noted, “you get Bauer.” “It’s the Yankees,” I explained. “Everything connects.”

I also pointed out that this would be the last chance for someone to hit a fair ball out of Yankee Stadium.

The crowd that day put attendance for the season at 4,298,543, an all-time team record and the eighth straight year of growth. The gates opened
seven hours early and the Yankees let the fans walk on the field and take photos. It was one of the highest-priced tickets ever offered by the reseller StubHub.

The pregame ceremonies began with a parade of Yankee employees in vintage flannel uniforms, representing the first 1923 lineup and popular Yankees of the past. Tony Morante, the team’s historian and tour guide, got to wear 22 for his favorite, Allie Reynolds.

Former Yanks—real ones—were introduced by John Sterling and Michael Kay, and they ran to their respective positions to great cheers, especially Bernie Williams, back for the first time since his 2006 departure.

Winfield and Roy White were introduced and ran to left. Nettles, Boggs, and Brosius took third. To cheers of “REG-GIE, REG-GIE, REG-GIE,” Jackson went to right with O’Neill, and “PAUL O-NEILL!” was chanted. They were joined by Roger Maris’s son Randy. Skowron (“Moose!”), Chambliss, and Martinez took first.

Joining Gene Michael at shortstop was eighty-eight-year-old Cora Rizzuto, Phil’s widow, who stood through the whole ceremony. She was escorted by Mariano Rivera. Great cheers rang out for Yogi at catcher, who was joined by Girardi; Cheryl Howard, Elston’s daughter; and by Michael Munson, Thurman’s son.

On the mound were Ford, Larsen, Guidry, Wells, Cone, Gossage, and Catfish Hunter’s widow, Helen. Ford and Larsen scooped up dirt. Billy Martin Jr. joined Randolph and Richardson at second. Randolph, recently discharged as the Mets’ manager, slid into second base. All the widows and children wore properly numbered jerseys.

Center field, that most hallowed ground, was the most emotional spot to fill. Besides the appearance of Williams, David Mantle, looking so much like his dad and running with his elbows high as Mickey did, went out, as did Kay Murcer, wearing a number-1 jersey, with her two children, Todd and Tori. It was their first time back and they shared emotional hugs with Bernie and Danny as the fans cheered and dabbed at their eyes.

The DiamondVision screen showed fast photos of some seven hundred Yankees by position, whether they were present or not. Omitted was Roger Clemens, who had recently suffered a huge fall from grace over allegations of steroid use.

Everything was the “last time in the old park.” The last starting lineup was Damon, CF; Jeter, SS; Abreu, RF; Rodriguez, 3B; Giambi, 1B; Xavier Nady, LF; Cano, 2B; Matsui, DH; and Jose Molina, C. As the innings passed, the
flashes from digital and cell-phone cameras constantly illuminated the old park.

Molina, who had been the team’s regular catcher for most of the year with Posada hurt, hit the last home run in the fourth to put the Yankees ahead 5–3. It would be 7–3 by the ninth when the Yanks took the field for the last time. Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” played as Mariano Rivera came in to finish the game. Everyone stood for the full inning.

The fans loved this perfect finish. To see the great Rivera in his familiar routine, staring at the baseball, readying himself, his concentration on his craft never broken, was one of the joys of being a Yankee fan in this era. His body facing north, knees bent, pulling the ball into his waist before the delivery: It was an image fans wanted to preserve forever. It couldn’t go on forever, of course, and fans were now savoring each appearance, knowing one day this would end.

On the field in the ninth were Melky Cabrera in left, Brett Gardner in center, and Abreu in right. Cody Ransom had gone to first to replace Giambi, who had delivered the last hit in Yankee Stadium, which would in turn be the last hit of his Yankee career. His contract up, he would depart as a free agent and sign with Colorado.

Jay Payton grounded out weakly to short for the first out on a 1-and-2 pitch. Luke Scott grounded out to second on an 0-and-2 pitch. Two down. Everyone readied their cameras.

At this point Girardi took out Jeter, a dramatic flourish used on rare occasions when the manager clearly acknowledges the moment. He was allowing the captain to hear “DE-REK JE-TER” one more time as he jogged to the dugout. He emerged briefly for one more curtain call. Wilson Betemit went out to play short.

With flashbulbs popping, Rivera went 2-and-1 on Brian Roberts, and then delivered the final pitch in the history of old Yankee Stadium. It was 11:41 P.M. Roberts grounded to Ransom at first for an unassisted putout. The Yanks won 7–3, the victory going to Pettitte. And that was it.

But not quite. Few fans left. The Yankee players emerged onto the field and a microphone appeared. Jeter, honored before the game for breaking Lou Gehrig’s record for hits in Yankee Stadium, addressed the crowd without notes.

For all of us out here, it’s a huge honor to put this uniform on and come out every day to play. And every member of this organization,
past and present, has been calling this place home for eighty-five years. It’s a lot of tradition, a lot of history, and a lot of memories. Now the great thing about memories is you’re able to pass it along from generation to generation. And although things are gonna change next year, we’re gonna move across the street, there are a few things with the New York Yankees that never change. That’s pride, tradition, and most of all, we have the greatest fans in the world. And we’re relying on you to take the memories from this stadium, add them to the new memories to come at the new Yankee Stadium, and continue to pass them on from generation to generation. So on behalf of the entire organization, we just want to take this moment to salute you, the greatest fans in the world.

He doffed his cap to salute the fans and his teammates followed.

Jeter always seemed to get it right. The familiar sight of his postgame interviews, the little cough into his fist, the squeezing of the nose, the small smile, had become so familiar over the years. But it had taken his parents to tell him to enjoy it all a little more. “Make sure you enjoy this,” they told him. “You don’t want to look back and wish you’d done something different.”

With that, led by Jeter, the team took a lap around the field, waving their caps, sharing the emotion. Security was tight, including police officers on horseback. Joba Chamberlain went back to the mound to slap the pitching rubber and wave to his dad. All the while, Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” played over and over until the last fans had filed out, well past midnight.

The final message on DiamondVision: TO BE CONTINUED.

SELENA ROBERTS OF
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
arrived at the University of Miami weight room on February 5, 2009, to seek out Alex Rodriguez.

A-Rod was working out in the final weeks before spring training.

Roberts confronted him. She had learned he tested positive for steroids in 2003.

He directed her to the Players Association and chose not to speak about it any further.