Yankee Stadium: Cathedral of Baseball 2008

[Music] the memories the pictures will never go away [Music] you think about Cathedral for me it's like this historic building history history you realize when you walk down that tunnel the history that this stadium seen leaps on larsson the cathedral draws people of like faith here the religion is baseball the spirit of what you get in that Park the Yankee Stadium was sacred nany's Dana was sacred it's just something to you there's something about this state there's an aura about Yankee Stadium when you first see it in all tradition tradition tradition it's almost like you know the history of the game has passed through there [Music] [Applause] [Music] the greatness of the players and the teams that call that home [Applause] [Applause] I think the fact every time I take the fields all the great moments [Music] players have played their Babe Ruth they moved the blue Garrick to the DiMaggio and bam Yogi Berra Roger Maris somehow Jackson whitey Ford months of just thank God you know the Lord with all archives there's a feeling somehow that the stadium produces winners [Music] [Applause] championships championship it only happens in October magical magical [Music] [Applause] [Music] such a mystique about Yankee Stadium just seems like the ghosts come out of every corner to show up eventually [Applause] I don't think there's any more storage Stadium than Yankee Stadium it is a shrine president walking out to the mouths of Buckner's applause it's taken on such a mythical almost religious connotation it does something to you it won't let you forget what has happened here [Music] I think that makes it the mecca baseball that's the mecca of baseball Yankee Stadium truly is the thing of beauty Yankee Stadium transcends baseball yes yes the events but more so structure you just feel like you're in a Cathedral Major League Baseball Productions presents Yankee Stadium baseball's Cathedral just go whenever walked in this stadium 18 years ago I felt much the same way I do right now I don't have words to describe how I felt that or how I feel now [Applause] [Music] there is nothing more indelible than a memory of your first time first time I walked in the Yankee Stadium it seemed like it was larger than life it's probably six seven years old and it seemed like the grass was greener in Yankee Stadium everything was huge the players we were probably in the upper deck players look so small but it's an experience that you'll never forget the first time that I visited the Yankee Stadium I was maybe in the 8th grade and my dad brought me over to some games on a regular season and I remember at one time I was sitting in the bleachers and Lou Gehrig hit a line drive home run that landed about ten feet from where I was sitting but I can remember it's just kind of a majestic place and it was just a very very inspiring sight yeah just kind of the shape of the stadium for me when I remember walking in the first time as a minor league player getting called up walking down the tunnel coming out and seeing that horseshoe in left field the first time I saw Yankee Stadium was 1954 or coming up the East Side Highway and now I see Yankee Stadium and we get closer and closer and my the lump on my throat and get swole off a little bit more and pretty soon a terror trickles down my face and I tried to hide the fact that I had the tear going down but I got pretty choked up looking at the stadium first time I walked on the Yankee Stadium it was incredible settle up against the Orioles and people when you walk to the bullpen or chanting my name that's it's a feeling that I'll never ever forget and being accepted Yankee Stadium and being part of something that's so magical is very very special I remember walking down the into the bowels of Yankee Stadium and down to the clubhouse and everybody filed into the clubhouse tonight I couldn't wait to go on the field you know and I said I asked a guard there I said where's the how did you get to the dugout you know he said we'll follow that rubber mat there you know and I followed that rubber bat and then it goes down into the tunnel and there was a light you know daylight showing down at the end of the tunnel and I walked down there and and the closer I got you know that I mean just the anticipation was unbelievable and I I stepped out into the dugout into this daylight and now I'm standing in the dugout and now I climbed the steps and now I'm standing on the field and I'll tell you it was one of the most awesome experiences that I've ever had in the game well the first time that I saw a Yankee Stadium there were 60,000 people for an exhibition game there and if you walked on the field and you stood at second base and looked up you never saw a ballpark like that it was absolutely mesmerizing it was just incredible and I was lucky to play on those things my first experience that go on to Yankee Stadium with my dad was 1857 I'm nine years old and we're walking through the streets of the Bronx it was pretty exciting and we come into this big building Yankee Stadium and we walk through a tunnel and you see a glimpse and it's as if my world was changing from black and white to CinemaScope Technicolor and it just unfolded it explodes it overwhelms your senses first is the color it's striking it's the green grass it's the white uniforms and to see these guys that I had only seen either on baseball cards or in television now it wasn't a black-and-white newspaper they were alive they were moving it was color [Music] 19:56 Don Larson's perfect game I was sitting in the third deck between third base and and left field I remember Mickey Mantle running toward me it seemed like he ran toward me to catch Gil Hodges line drive in left-center field and that that certainly was a lasting memory and still is an enduring memory for me of Yankee Stadium I got caught up in 95 in September and I got there really really early I didn't want to miss it it's like 2 o'clock in the afternoon and the team was not supposed to get there to about 4:00 so I was the only one there I didn't go into the clubhouse I went straight to the dugout and as I walk to the dugout with my luggage I couldn't stop crying and we just a dream come true first time they got up to that you know going in to play Yankee Stadium with Charlie Keller Tommy Hendrick Joe DiMaggio been dealt Billy Johnson Phil Rizzuto that was a pretty big honor for me together look I'm playing with all these guys that I watched play when I was a kid in my first game you know there's something that I guess never forget 1996 opening day that we played against Kansas City there's the for me they come from the Dominican Republic you know a hot weather country and come to New York that was really cold or they started snoring the fifth inning and I remember in the eighth inning I come to the play with a base and Lauder into our you know we're winning by one run and uh and I just calling timeout about three or four time because there's no starting get it right in my in my eyes Mariano got a snowflake or two in his eyes got tired and the home plate umpire Tim you know say you know I don't want to give it no more you know time how he gotta call it in and hit and I just get lucky and that guy taught me high fastball I hit him base hit to right field and drove it to running and they said a great experience that I have in on in the end Yankee Stadium I was playing with the A's the Oakland A's and I walked out to centerfield to look at the monuments and I'll never forget that I remember that it was so far out in centerfield and left-center was for 63 I helped by the flagpoles Yankee Stadium centerfield was 400 at 61 feet left-center for 57 left-field 402 that's what made DiMaggio and Mantle so great they could run like a deer and they could catch balls that nobody else could catch they would go over the ballpark fences today so if you played in Yankee Stadium eat the ball straight away you're out [Music] it's just enormous it's it's such an incredibly big place and to know that except for Josh Gibson nobody ever had a fair ball out of Yankee Stadium and you can see why even though mantle came pretty close there are many features of Yankee Stadium that fans connect with but one stands high above the rest I think the thing that makes Yankee Stadium really is that facade and when you think of Yankee Stadium you think of the it's really called the frieze I always loved the facade the sort of scalloping around the top the thing that I remember during the World Series when the National League team would come out on the field and they'd all stand up in that top step and they wouldn't say anything you could just see them looking around that field and I think the the vastness uh but this kind of really sort of got to them a little bit [Applause] in 2008 Yankee Stadium celebrated its final opening day but this was not where the Yankees first played their home games the team made its New York debut in 1903 known then as the Highlanders as part of the fledgling American League well the Yankees began their tenure in New York at Hilltop Park the small rickety wooden grandstand located in Upper Manhattan and that's where they played for those 10 years from 1903 to 1912 up where the New York Presbyterian Hospital is today the Highlanders changed their name to the Yankees in 1913 that same year they left hilltop Park and became guests at the Polo Grounds home of the New York Giants and John McGraw but 7 years later they became unwelcome guests after acquiring a man who commandeered the spotlight roof in 1920 he hit New York like a thunderbolt the Yankees have just purchased him from the Boston Red Sox and he's lugging his way to baseball immortality and attendance was out of this world was the first time they actually beat the Giants in attendance it was the first time anybody had gone over a million in attendance and as a result that created a very untenable situation for the giant management to endure so giant management yes the Yankees to leave they eventually settled on this parcel of land in the Bronx they hired the Osborn engineering company in Cleveland to design the ballpark at that time we were probably one of the preeminent firms in concrete and steel they came to us and said come in and help us build something fantastic for the New York Yankees construction began at a hundred and sixty first Street and River Avenue in the Bronx in May of 1922 and it was clear that this would be no ordinary ballpark the owners really wanted something unique something large something very grand and we designed that it was amazing feat of construction was an amazing feat of engineering and design you first come in there you grade the land get to a rough configuration come in you dig your holes for your foundation support your columns you start doing the formwork for that get the column bases configured start doing the outfield and then you start doing a structural steel you can all see it the skeleton taking shape you talk about to the vast quantities of materials that were used in the construction of the stadium things like 800 tons of rebar and 20,000 yards of concrete to the average fan that may not mean a whole lot but to an engineer to a construction person that's really impressive to do that in 284 days with those sorts of materials is really about standing feet indeed the first Yankee Stadium miracle is that it was built in less than a year what's more the Yankees new home one of the first to be called the stadium had emerged as an architectural and engineering marvel we came up with the innovation of the three tiered seating decks not only allowed us to add more seats but keep them off fairly close to the field maybe not quite up with the building of the pyramids but certainly a very good engineering feat but like any other Cathedral of its time the stadium needed something to top it off to make it stand out so a stylish feature was added one that would become the stadium's trade book the owners of the New York Yankees at the time decided that they wanted to give it an air of dignity so the Osborn engineering company had erected what was known originally as a frieze somewhere along the way took on the term of facade and for most people know it today as the decide an F Assad really kind of reflected the architectural character and design influences at a time which is some of the Greek Revival the Greek architecture in Roman architecture with the arches you'll see it with a masterpiece complete it was time to play ball and what a regal opener it was opening day April 18 1923 Yankees hope and shop with John Philip Sousa marching bands around Smith throwing out the first ball it was as we say today New York's hottest ticket it was unbelievable they were supposedly 74,000 people there an opening day and another 15,000 that would turned away the fortunate fans that did get in got to see the Yankees beat the Red Sox and in the process the stadium received the nickname that would last forever Babe Ruth capped it off and fine fashion with a three-run homer till this day if you refer to it as the house that Ruth Built everybody will know what you're talking about fact is it wasn't so much built by Ruth as it was forward especially with its short right-field porch the saying that Yankee Stadium was the house that Ruth Built and that's true to a certain extent but more so because it was built for Ruth it was designed for his capabilities behind Ruth the Yankees had a great year in 1923 and capped off their first season at the stadium with a championship this lineup which became known as murderers row would win two more titles in the 20s and Yankee Stadium beyond its majestic grandeur was also becoming synonymous with success you're sitting in a place that is more than a ballpark I like to think of it as the home of Champions there were so many successful preeminent teams indeed New York won an incredible twenty World Series titles in the Yankee stadium's first 50 years but it soon began to show its age and so in the mid 70s Yankees owner George Steinbrenner convinced the city to give the stadium a much-needed facelift the stadium had been in existence since 1923 and there were aspects of the stadium that no longer work we used to have bad days in the early 70s and the young fans would pound their bats on the concrete to sort of stimulate a Yankee rally and some chunks of concrete would fall as a result of that and that was the early warning sign to us that the stadium needed repair mrs. Stein Bennett came in and immediately pushed with Mayor Lindsay for the renovation in the stadium it had to get done the Yankees at that time with Steinbrenner were able to successfully leverage the city of New York to help support this major renovation his presence and his lobbying had a major effect on what was done the stadium was gutted during the two-year renovation and while the original foundation remained intact the house that Ruth Built became almost unrecognizable demolition began the very day after the baseball season ended and before the end of the day wrecking balls had pulled up and heavy demolition equipment was there and the whole process began quickly a part of the renovation the Yankee Stadium entailed many many improvements the field was dropped five feet or sightline improvement see my name is removed in Monument Park they took out the columns which is supporting the mezzanine and upper levels and they took down that facade and that facade was an interesting thing when it came down the salvage outfits thought that they were going to take away this precious metal they thought it was copper so after they took down the first section and they looked at his head this isn't copper this is turn metal it's virtually worthless what would a disappointed once again the Yankees became guests this time at Shea Stadium in Queens where they played in 1974 and 75 back in the Bronx Oh working chimney just outside gate fall would emerge as an iconic feature of the stadium almost as an afterthought you know it'd really be interesting would be neat if we could get it painted with the logos like a bath so I called up the people of Louisville Slugger and pitch this whole idea to them and the result of it all was they painted the the bat up talked like a Louisville Slugger with the markings and it was a Babe Ruth autographed model standing in front of Yankee Stadium and so in April of 1976 the newly renovated Yankee Stadium opened for business and the past was on hand to celebrate the present we had all these dignitaries there including Joe Lewis great New York Giants players who had played there big honor for all of us I think that they invited so many of us back who played there had been involved in Yankee Stadium it was a special moment for me I was more caught up in the ceremonies and the needs in the press box then I was in the history that was going on whereas Babe Ruth hit the first home run in the original Yankee Stadium Minnesota's Dan Ford hit the first home run in the new one still it was almost as if Yankee Stadium had been built for the first time and the New York fans immediately embraced it color sitting view when we came back home in 1976 is magnificent refurbished facility it was a great feeling I think that people adjusted to it well because for one thing the Yankees got back into the World Series that year 1976 and while they didn't win at all that yeah the new Yankee Stadium would play host to six more championship teams through 2007 from 76 on this franchise under George Steinbrenner has been all about you know putting the best team on the field and many occasions that's translated into a world championship its Yankee Stadium it's the Cathedral of baseball and the memories and its position really never changed the aura of Yankee Stadium has always been intrinsically linked to the legends that have played them to another extra special day at this landmark ballpark Yankee Stadium men like Yogi Berra Phil Rizzuto and Don Madden they all have graced the stadium with their presence and it is here that they are still are rightfully on there's been a parade of great days for stars Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris and super stars joltin Joe DiMaggio since 1932 the answers have honored their greatest of grace and no day at the stadium proved more magnificent than the one when the Yankees honored their beloved icon of the 50s and 60s the thing that I got the biggest kick out of in 1969 the Yankees had Mickey Mantle day at Yankee Stadium Mickey Mantle day was as perfectly staged an event as I ever remember being at the people who were there representing his whole career [Applause] they each stood behind pennants from the different years that Mickey was on a pennant winning team the joy you could feel in the stadium that day was unparalleled as a generation of fans thank their hero [Music] [Applause] the length of the ovation from Nikki the love that came from those fans for nine Hennis this throwing at Yankee Stadium stood until they had to be asked to be quiet number seven will never be worn again at Yankee Stadium Nikki speech was wonderful everything about that day was perfect and I think every day for an immortal ballplayer retiring ever since has to be compared to that one Lera pin Lew was once the symbol of enduring strength for New York but when his career was cut short by an incurable disease the Yankee Stadium provided a venue for his poignant fellow the most iconic emotional moment at Yankee Stadium was the Lou Gehrig day when the players lined up on either side of home plate and Lou made that speech he was a genuinely admired and loved player and man and for generations poison America they will point to your records it was extraordinary you had a full house about 62,000 fans as blue approached home plate the crowd started to implore Lou to speak Lou is called upon without notes to make what has since become regarded I guess without any sarcasm as baseball's Gettysburg Address [Music] and to see this magnificent player choking up as he as he spoke to this gigantic stadium is for me at least in my memory the most prominent event wouldn't you to associate yourself with such a fine-looking man as a standing in uniform and this ballpark [Applause] never did say very much about himself he didn't feel sorry about himself and which certainly was a very very sad day for all of us today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth [Applause] might have been given a bad break but I've got an awful lot to look for thank you congratulations to the New York Yankees on their twenty years at the Garrick passed away Babe Ruth stricken with throat cancer returned to his house to thank his countless fans the cancer had really ravaged him he looked like he weighed about 135 440 pounds on the very field that Ruth used to carry of 44-ounce back he could now barely carry himself daddy looking so frail I was on the verge of tears his vocal cords and larynx were involved with the malignancy and and he spoke with almost a hoarse whisper [Applause] and it was a very dramatic scene and a very sad scene to see him because you knew that his days on earth were limited [Applause] the following year you've returned one final time you could just tell that the end was close and it was a great effort for him to be there you just knew that this was there going to be the last time that people saw and heard Babe Ruth it was a sad day for everybody in baseball less than two months later the bay was gone and more than a hundred thousand fans came to baseball's Cathedral to pay their respects only could see poor people I remember thinking all these people have saying goodbye the Yankee Clipper Joe DiMaggio called Yankee Stadium his home for 13 seasons and his farewell was pure joy said a couple of words and that was it and I thanked him it was three and I still think as that as one of the nicest days of my life still Joe remained a frequent honored guest at the stadium and in his final visit in 1998 he threw a strike joltin Joe passed away in March of 99 and later that year he was honored with a monument in the park and remembered and so on you got your magic [Music] what's that you say mrs. Robinson Jordan Joyce left and but no one was prepared for the outpouring of love and emotion at the stadium when a revered Yankee captain died tragically and suddenly very much wore the pinstripes number 15 but in living loving and legend history would court remember what the emotion of the day had been so much for them it's incredible that they were able to play before the game when the Yankees took the field they left the catcher's box empty it was just an eerie kind of a thing having returned from the funeral in Cleveland that morning the Yankees tried their best to play after delivering the eulogy just hours prior Mercer honored his dear friend the best way he knew how [Music] obviously Mercer was charged up by the emotion of the day because he had been so close to Thurmond [Music] I think you could say it's the only time that all the fans left the ballpark in tears after a Yankee victory 86 years of baseball at Yankee Stadium have provided countless chilling moments in regular season play moments rented by some of the very best that played the game none greater than the man who personifies the pinstripes the greatest idol in American sports the Bambino Babe Ruth babe's impact on the game of baseball is unmatched Ruth's made Yankee Stadium his personal playground by hitting more home runs than entire teams and in 1927 he reached a number that became a baseball benchmark for more than 30 years previously he had set the record of 59 home runs and people wondered if he could ever muscle up again to hit 60 at the end of the season last game of the year he hits number 60 [Applause] when they did that it was so far beyond what other players were capable [Applause] [Music] right behind Ruth was the Iron Horse Lou Gehrig he too achieved the magical number and his incredible durability and work ethic was so honored at the stadium [Music] still another legendary teammate of Lou's also had an amazing streak one that began in the house that we did as I recall it it was a fella by the name of Edgar Smith for the White Sox I got a base hit didn't mean very much but that started me off of my Street safe hits in 56 consecutive games with each new generation more pinstripe heroes emerge some of them were destined to break former Yankee records and make history of the stadium this lethal weapon belonging to Roger Maris has helped Walt the X Kansas City outfielder into the limelight as the outstanding Slugger of the young season it was the summer of 61 and Roger Maris was hitting home runs at a phenomenal pace in the final game of the regular season Maris came to the plate in Yankee Stadium with a chance to break the game's most cherished record the fourth inning came and I watched everything every move that tracy stalard made on the mound and I watched Roger I didn't take my eye off of it [Applause] number 61 well anyway Roger hit the ball [Applause] Susy hit the ball I jumped on my seat for some reason I knew it was gonna be over my head I reached as high as I can reached will hit me and brighten upon the end and that's pretty much what happened when I came in of course the people kept clapping clapping the guy's trying to push me out of it back out and I was embarrassed to go out there Raji gained baseball immortality that day six years later his good friend would join him [Music] Mickey Mantle was a matinee idol for the New York Yankees and at Yankee Stadium as his career came to a close he approached a home run milestone at that point there were just a handful of guys that had achieved 500 home runs I mean he was a monumental career number when I come out of the dugout the people all stood up and they applauded for like 10 minutes all I was want to do is just not strike yeah here's the payoff pitch [Music] [Applause] luckily I hit a home run that was a big thrill for me I was just so happy for Mickey because he was hurt and in those days his knees were like two toothaches at all times you could just see the pain out there the mix historic blast rattled the rough tees 40 years later still another Yankee reached the same mark and its own record time reaches 500 I was nervous because you had 55,000 people hoping and cheering that I hit the homerun he steps in against the right-handed a visa set [Applause] [Music] when I hit that bar just was hoping that State Fair in it sure did it stays straight as an arrow I just couldn't believe if I went out I was so happy what was the most surprised [Music] seeing you remember most of our whitey Ford is he won every game it seemed that the Yankees had a win and he was the pitcher on the mound in every game that they had to win Ford pitched 33 and 2/3 scoreless innings in World Series play he still holds the major league record with 10 Fall Classic victories 7 of them came in Yankee Stadium more than any other player but whitey is certainly not the only Yankee pitcher who's performed amazing feats on these hallowed grounds practice there have been 11 no-hitters thrown in Yankee Stadium in its first 85 years and eight of them were thrown by men in pinstripes it is no surprise that many of these gems had a special aura about them black on the fourth of July 1983 George Steinbrenner's birthday and the boss would receive a special gift from Dave Righetti on a hot steamy day in the Bronx about 94 degrees here at game time despite the fact that Righetti was facing the Yankees most hated rival they battled through the intense huge in high-pitched hum and found himself one out away from the Yankees first no-hitter in 27 years [Applause] [Music] [Applause] July 4th was a special day Steinbrenner's birthday with Garrett day in the Yankee Stadium it was a great day it fits in with the Yankee lure the mere fact that Jim Abbey had they did to the major leagues with just one hand was one of the most inspiring stories the sports world would ever know but then came the final out on September 4th 1993 I remember seeing that ground ball go to Andy Velarde he threw it across the diamond and in the dining Mattingly catching it [Music] is the excitement seeing the fans jump up and down and then going back out for a curtain call it's a great honor Jim Abbott had obviously made the most of his talent Dwight Gooden had the tongue but after a time he wasted it away but doc got a second chance with the Yankees and thanks to a surprise start he got a measure of salvation at the stadium the only reason he was in a starting rotation is because David Cone and aneurysm and couldn't pitch what's more Gooden wasn't in the best frame of mind as his father was scheduled to undergo double heart bypass surgery the following day doc was struggling before the game because his dad was sick and didn't know exactly you know if he was gonna be able to pitch that game free of worry I didn't know that Dave I really want to take them out but then at the same time I was telling myself what better place for my father want me to be on that day and with that in mind Gooden went to work it wasn't like he had great stuff that night he fought and willed all the way through it was personal once while I mind a drift off a little bit wonder what its gonna be like for him the next day and I just got refocused somehow when I take them out [Applause] the Seattle Mariners no runs I cried for the man I cried for the fact that in between innings he needed to go inside and let out his emotion and on the strength of that emotion good and found himself went out away from his second win as a Yankee and incredibly and no hidden just see doc sweating out there and we got two out in the ninth inning see Derek Jeter waving his arms [Applause] the memory I have is doc gooden with that just that fierce look on his face of accomplishment [Applause] what if you of the eight Yankee no-hitters pitched at the stadium three of them have been perfect games and all three have had almost mystical connections it began with dawn Lawson's perfect game in the World Series Lawson was a graduate of Point Loma High School in San Diego where he also threw a perfect game as did another Yankee pitcher years later David welds we've got something in common we went to the same high school we both the perfect games in high school so you know there's always gonna be that bond but Wells had no idea how strong that bond was about to become when he took the mound at Yankee Stadium on May 17 1998 [Applause] David was perfect through seven innings and his fellow teammates began to adhere to an age-old tradition I've walked to the dugout and it's a parting of the sea man it was like nobody was there to talking as the day wore on I think he knew exactly what was going on and he actually came up to me first and talked about how nervous he wasn't nobody would talk to him so I told him you really get some guts here he each one time just throw a knuckleball then that'll really be something and he got a chuckle out of it and I look in the dugout he's got his hat down Jersey nice he's playing peekaboo what's this guy doing I mean but it was great because kind of broke the moment cuz you don't want to get all tense and the good old buddy Coney was right there to break it up but while Cohn did his best to keep welds loose the overall atmosphere of the stadium was impossible to ignore that last inning the fans are screaming I was getting nervous because of the fans they were making me nervous [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Koni sitting there with me and he goes hey man look at the bar you don't know if you'll ever see that again take a look at the board and I look up on the big screen it says stay well it's just pitched a perfect game and you know I just got chills down my spine it always seems that the good things happen in Yankee Stadium but this theory confluence had yet to run its course and this time cone was the central figure there was July 18th 1999 Yogi Berra day at the stadium a celebration for the man who caught Lawson's perfect game [Music] there's something about yogi berra you know we all were looking forward to that day I mean we all knew on the schedule when it was coming well I want to take you all making me feel right at home god bless you thank you I was out in the bullpen mound warming up before the game and Yogi was riding around and I convertible waving at the people the look on his face and how proud he was how happy he wasn't and if that wasn't enough Lawson himself was on hand to throw out the first pitch looking back on it later it was enough to give you chills it's really pretty amazing that Don Larsen threw out the first pitch to Yogi Berra that day I never could imagine that something so special could happen but that's the way Yankee Stadium is Larson will throw out the first pitch of this game in commemoration of 1956 and once the game began Cohan began to do already has five then came the rain in the bottom of the third and the game was delayed for more than a half an hour there were even thoughts that Cohen might not return but he did [Applause] we're gonna get to five no my pitch counts really low air we've got some runs on the board and I had a real good slider going that day and they were swinging at it everyone began to connect the perfect game dots and it was almost too much to enjoy vicariously the thrill that the players were enjoying on the field particularly David who's such a warrior you realize how knowledgeable the New York baseball fan is a two strike chance get a little louder outs become a little more pronounced from the stands and you can almost sense it you can feel an emotion rising in the stand [Applause] [Music] and in the ninth-inning on the brink of disaster chorus Eve some divided son-in-law got that deer in the headlights work in his eyes [Applause] Wow I can't believe you know this just happened and now I've got two outs in the night only Yankee Stadium did something this magical this unbelievable take place looked up to try to find the ball that almost like the Sun was said he no friend of that area and I got kind of blinded by it so I immediately pointed up as if it's a show Scotty Brosius where the ball was Girardi we kind of gave me a bear hug and pulled me down on top of them and yeah I didn't think we were ever gonna get up I was so so exhausted so elated after the game I saw that I thrown 88 pitches and I had this vivid memory of a big number 8 painted into the grass and honor of Yogi Bear whose number was 8 [Music] it's just a cold chill went down my spine and that was the most surreal part of the whole day it really makes you wonder about the mystique of Yankee Stadium [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] beyond the right-field wall the Vulcan Stadium just beneath the subway lives a different breed of Yankee fan with a very special nickname the bleacher creature named started probably back in like 95 and 96 when Philip Bondy from The Daily News started writing routine articles about kind of the nonsense that happened in the bleachers night after night it's a pretty cool thing you know the bleacher creatures are are people that that you fear as a visiting player you know but you love as a home player it's the bleacher creatures who are responsible for the daily roll call the first pitches thrown we start a roll call they just took it upon themselves to keep yelling until they were acknowledged Derek would look at me go or you gotta wave if you get too involved in the game and don't acknowledge them if I might be on the bad their bad side for the night generations they do such a great job of keeping the history alive that when you walk in you kind of feel that you feel like you're a part of something bigger than just that day's game as soon as you you get in that game and you hear the fans and feel those goosebumps in those butterflies and that adrenalin picks up it's just it's a special place in the first postseason of his storied career the crowd filled a fan favorite to hit his first ever playoff homerun [Applause] and while the fans might have helped will Donnie's moment they took matters into their own hands in the 96 ALCS in right field Tarasco going back to the track to the wall [Applause] was a play that he was a gift from God so to speak sometimes the moments are spontaneous like the night the fans serenaded Paul O'Neill and what they knew would be his final game at the stadium this will be his final year that's the way the fans in New York are they love to cheer for you they love to you know to welcome your say bye and I think they were saying you know Paul O'Neill we're gonna miss your life even to this day I mean it's pretty overwhelming when you are sent off in a fashion like that it makes you feel good that you know things were well here in New York when you played here this kind of tribute is reserved for those special Yankees who always give the fans their best you're expected to perform every single night and Joe DiMaggio said it best when he said he plays hard every night because you never know when that one person comes to the first game to see you play and that's the only impression he's and a half of you one of the grandest days of all that Thank You Stadium his old-timers their players from the past get to reconnect with their former teammates and the stadium in which they once played and the fans get to witness these living legends firsthand perhaps the most memorable one was when Bill Iman made a surprise appearance in 1978 they're reading the announcement we want to welcome back to be the Yankees manager in 1980 and hopefully for many years to come Billy Martin no one could believe it it was a well-kept secret the Yankees are so defined by their generations it's never more apparent than when it's on display from the old-timers day [Music] the great names just they reverberate it throughout the stadium and reverberate throughout the history of the franchise the fans come out they make you feel like you know what you did when you were here it was worth their time you know it is over and you're not gonna play anymore so you go out for old timers Dan you you know you just have fun running around that field one more time it's like being a little kid in a candy store you know it reminds me of the days when I was a little boy and I used to go to the ballpark and yell players names you know over the fence it just takes you back to being a child again and you look at these guys and say you know these were my heroes you envision a success that they had on the field and the history and the monuments and it all adds up to a wonderful wonderful baseball experience [Music] in the outer reaches of Yankee Stadium lies a sacred site a place where past heroes are immortalized and everyone can pay tribute Monument Park really is the kind of thing that tugs at all ballplayers hearts everybody's kind of got a dream of boy if I really stay in this game and do something special that I can be honored in that particular way it's so special so unique all the people that have played for this organization only a handful of people have that honor to have a monument made for them it's the people that you see in the history books and all of a sudden you realize when you see him out there on a plaque in Yankee Stadium that they walked the field every once in a while you'll walk out there and just kind of remind yourself what this place is all about these days all the Yankee legends are housed in Monument Park but that wasn't always the case and that created some unique ground rules in the outfield in 1932 the monument to Miller Huggins was erected placed in dead center field that was the first monument and it stayed out there for about nine years until the monuments to Lou Gehrig was erected and then the greatest of them all Babe Ruth placed directly in front of the flag pole in left centerfield the monuments were in play though they were 461 feet from home plate there they would remain for more than 40 years the monuments were in fair territory but so far out in deep centerfield that rarely rarely do they ever come into play there will all get over my head towards those monuments over there and I figured they went in one side and I went through the monuments I could cut it off I squeezed through those monuments a couple of times unlike today fans could only pay homage to the heroes once the game was over and it was quite a sight in those days you were allowed to walk across the outfield to get to an exit you weren't allowed on the infield but you could stroll across this vast expanse of the outfield and of course we stopped at the at the monuments and and I thought that all three of those men Huggins Gehrig and Ruth were buried there because they looked like grave stone during the renovation of Yankee Stadium in the 70s the monuments were moved to their current location and Ruth Garrett and Huggins would soon have company this is called the Memorial Park section of Yankee Stadium and when Opening Day rolls around the familiar monuments and plaques which used to be out and dead center will be out here and left-center off the playing field Monument Park eventually became the most exclusive party not only Yankee Stadium but any ballpark for that matter there's really no other like it as in any Cathedral those who were in attendance at Yankee Stadium heeded a voice from above [Music] ladies and gentlemen welcome to Yankee Stadium Bob Sheppard has been known as the voice of Yankee Stadium and commonly referred to as the voice of God to have one's voice become such a part of a ballpark people come from far and near to hear the Bob Sheppard voice at first day number 25 Jason Giambi it just seems to be built into the ballpark itself here's that special sound and just part of the sounds of the stadium and so Bob's a best special character are part of that you know fabric over the years really need for him to come down and talk to him beforehand and you just realize how long he's been there very hard to imagine games without him there because he was the voice that that you heard in the stadium my purpose as a public address announcer is to inform to let the crowd know that the next batter is Derek Jeter not I think the greatest compliment to Bob Sheppard is you hear so many people try to imitate players try to imitate him because he sounds so wonderful we all love the way that he says our names now batting number two number two Derek Jeter Derek Jeter there's nothing wrong with Derek Jeter needed boom clear concise correct Derek Jeter Bob Sheppard was a speech teacher a speech professor and a living example of the way proper speech should be spoken when he's on the PA system it is the voice of God welcome to have your name called by Bob Sheppard Yankee Stadium is probably one of the most special things that can happen Mickey Mantle said every time Bob Sheppard introduced me at Yankee Stadium I got shivers up my spine and I said to him so did I people come to Yankee Stadium because of its mystique it's the monuments it's the plaques it's Bob Sheppard it's also Eddy later it's a package you come to Yankee Stadium for an experience and without Eddie Layton that package would never have been complete [Music] everybody instantly why first did it all joy it in with the Brisbane applause like that I looked over at that time when I did it for the first time I looked over to the then owner of the Yankees he gave me a thumbs up side and I got an immediate raise I remember Eddy's exuberance even after so many years he still loved what he was doing and it showed right up to the very end [Music] a lot of people talk about it all the great players guys like the Maggio and nays a minion I can outfit I had one day I would like okay for the history afternoon baseball fans the Yankees also had a legendary voice to spread the word outside of the Cathedral and he will forever be known as the voice of the Yankees nel was known for his booming voice [Applause] mel brought a measure of class to the broadcast and his signature phrase still resonates today he also created some enduring nicknames quite often on the spur of the moment nickname is just sorry popped up the scooter that was for the little kids and he was a good touch hitter I just said here comes old reliable he really was the Yankees he's part and parcel of the franchise Gary tells Mel that his broadcast are what are keeping Garrett going and Mel thanks him and then just gets away from as quickly as he can because he he's just in tears his voice will always be remembered as the voice of the Yankees for a short time mill worked side by side with another classic baseball broadcaster red bomber congratulations now on a great job and congratulations to the New York Yankees then this talented tandem would soon be joined by still another Hall of Famer red barber Mel Allen pseudos the only thing I'm worried about this is one of Phil's Yankee caps me always puts chewing gum on the spot where the button yeah yeah the broadcasting booth you better it's doing its ticketing where I beat you put on your own hair Phil Rizzuto was the complete honest broadcaster he would be so honest with you now I didn't think he could make that whoa I'm out of terrible for a home run in an elevator shaft those things like that that were idioms used by no one else [Applause] [Music] all the sayings talking about eating food in the booth talking about getting out of there and beating the traffic happy anniversary I'll be home in a while no you won't you be here for nine I'll be home in a wild car it was just like the guy sitting out in the bleachers you know only he had a microphone and he was up in the booth and it I think that's why he endeared himself to so many legions of fans throughout the whole New York area just like he would include everybody he would mention the cameramen deullyeo constable not you do Leo I can't understand you anyway he would mention the birthdays she turned 18 today from George he would say things that would be almost cutting-edge that would crack bill white up hi everybody and welcome to New York Yankee baseball I'm bill white or I swear to cut that did Phil made it appear that it was just pure fun to be on the air phil rizzuto along with Tom Seaver and Bobby Mercer together for the Frick he came from an era of honesty and he became a living legend and every time I go to Yankee Stadium I think about him Rizzuto has since passed away but everyone can pay their respects to him and all the Yankee greats in one place you walk out to Monument Park and you see all the monuments and retired numbers and you think about the Yankees have been such a big part of history Monument Park for me it was the very first place that I went to as a visiting player the first time I came to Yankee Stadium as I said I want to see what that was all about I mean just to be in the league for 20 years this is amazing let alone be into an all-star game 20 times seen it on TV you've seen it on the highlights to actually go out there and walk around and read the inscriptions is very special a great teammate I mean right there I mean that just shows you what kind of player he was being in a place where you can touch something that you read about you seen the pictures of the monuments and books you read about the players just go there and stand there and look at the sculpt of faces and read the histories that's another timeless classic my dear Park has become such an institution that people wanted to make sure they make a pilgrimage out to that spot to witness where history actually lives [Music] the mystique surrounding the Yankees is a label that they acquired because of dominance over time they've won more championships than any professional team they have more Hall of Famers than any other team the Yankees pure and simple are the best there ever was and probably the best there ever will be since the stadium open the Yankees have had an unparalleled winning tradition including a record four straight championships in the 30s followed by another record five in a row [Applause] we had a streak going when you know he won from 49 to 53 the fact that's my favorite oral Series ring and had a 5 on it we're the only ones had ever done that book we just had a bunch of guys that really wanted to win every year and we never lived on our laurels from what we had done the year before in 1955 the Brooklyn Dodgers won their only World Series in six tries against the Yankees but they soon learned that a triumph on Yankee soil comes with a price when the Dodger celebrated on the field like that I know it should be you know we had one all the time we expected to win all the time but we didn't they beat us as I can't say farewell we'd be an X here in 56 we got even indeed revenge was not only sweet that year that was perfect after the seventh inning I mentioned that to mantels and I told look at the scoreboard early and it wouldn't be something to were nice to go but when I said that Doug I was like Mork to me nobody would talk to a I think figure they might listen to say some a jinx I don't believe in that I think what's gonna happen it's gonna happen if it's not it's not never in my wildest dreams that I think when I did my first World Series that I'd have the great fortune to call but developed to be the Don Larson perfect game but I'd give it a little thought if it ever happened that I was calling the perfect game how I'd go about it I could use every word in the book from the people know it was a no-hitter without using those specific words so I did when he went out sin a role the only people on base so far up in the Yankees allusions so there was no question and I find you a chance to say that no-hitter a perfect game for dar Larsen Yogi Berra runs at leaps on mercy no headed a perfect game those were the perfect words for the perfect game [Applause] and I didn't know it was a perfect game until somebody told me in the clubhouse after the game I think everybody's entitled to a good day you couldn't pick a better time than my game we were in the bottom of the ninth inning this game is for the American League championship thing about that moment was we had that three-run leading and George Brett hits this home run off of grant Jackson that ties it up and and it gifts that moment where were I come up [Music] [Applause] [Music] nicely played and he threw the first pitch and it was a high fastball and I just swung we knew it was a Bobby Thomson moment it won the pennant [Applause] you had everything but Russ Hodges yelling the Yankees win the pennant the Yankees win the pennant and of course the famous run around the bases it's amazing he survived it at all when I hit second base there's like people all over the place and what made it scary for me is that I tripped and went down to one knee and the only thing I could think of is that what if I was on the ground and there's all these thousands of people on top of me and I can't breathe third base was just a mountain of people so I went around those folks and I took a beeline straight to our dugout everybody's asking the same question did you touch on play and I said it was impossible to do that in what we did and this is a true story I took two cops with me and made our way through that crowd and and home plate was gone of course but I did put my foot on on that area and I was told by umpires after that they said they'd under those circumstances that soon as that ball went over a fence that it was a home run and it's in the book I don't think I understood the impact that would have on the game because it really is what I'm most remembered for [Applause] [Music] look Reggie did special things at special times [Music] he was a great player and and heroes of the occasion we were ready to pounce on the doctors and graduate finish the job [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] heralded the resurrection of the Yankees and championship form I think the most important you know part of it all it makes me feel part of the Yankee family so of course I'm extremely proud to be part of its history and part of a great moments that I remember [Applause] what if you almost two decades would pass before the Yankees would win again the year was 1996 and this time they had come back from the two games to none deficit just hit one charlie almost caught selling the dugout and when he hit it I was just hoping that it would stay in fair territory then when I saw Charlie was about to catch it I can't really explain the feeling because New York hadn't had a World Series in a long time we finally won a World Series that's always going to be a special moment for me pound on top of the guys and celebrate and then watching video Paul O'Neill running in from right field and jumping on the pile and rolling off and then doing it again like once wasn't enough to smash me you know I think it's always gonna remember Wade Boggs riding around the field on the policeman's worth celebrating with the fans winning the first World Series 19 years the team laying the foundation for a new yet new dynasty the record-setting 9018 staked its claim to a title early with a dramatic game one comeback [Music] I remember a left hand picture whose name just escaped no the older you get to have trouble remembering everybody's name we struck somebody out but then par call the ball the next pitch put over the left-field wall forever eventually at home [Music] [Applause] that at the end of the work eight seven [Music] what was there about that team that didn't impress you it was an extraordinary ballclub certainly in my view has to go down as one of the best teams in the history beginning I've been a part of no-hitters perfect games but the two things that stand out the most are being on the field winning a championship at Yankee Stadium we did it in 96 we did it in 99 they were part of a dynasty that won four World Championships [Applause] [Music] prior to Game three of the 2001 Fall Classic emotions ran high at the stadium as baseball continues its efforts to help a nation heal well I was down below loosening up when Derek Jeter came in and he said mr. president we'll be throwing from the mound or from the front of the mound I said what do you think Derek he said throw from the mound and then as he's walking out the room he looks over his shoulder and says but don't bounce it they'll boo you please welcome [Applause] you can't possibly plan for a moment like that when I walked out there in that field the crowd started chanting USA my reaction was to give a thumbs up is to indicate that America stands with you and we're united in our determination to protect our country everything kind of just Stood Still I'm sure there's a picture around but I have a picture in my mind that's it's pretty awesome I had give him a fair amount of big speeches by then in my life and others I've been in front of crowds before but I had never had such an adrenaline rush try to take a deep breath and wound up and fired the pitch and I was almost relieved men in America at that moment when the ball actually made it to the plate throw a perfect pitch it was incredible it was incredible the Yankee Stadium series this was the year for that to happen and Game four was the time when both mystique and on made their appearance at Yankee Stadium and about finally left the ballpark you pick the outfield wall out there to hear the fans take that noise level it's so loud and so exciting one of the greatest feelings I've ever have [Applause] I think Jeter had faced their closer Kim in the eating before and when he came in and I quote Jesus said games over [Applause] I've never hit a walk-off home run before not even in Little League on high school it's the ultimate you dream when your kids hit a home run in a key situation in the World Series and get an opportunity to do that it's really what I want to know about Derek's home run which came after midnight on November 1st is that how did that guy have the smarts to have that sign ready that's the thing that always baffled me about that where did that sign come from that said mr. November [Music] what a thrill it put us back in shape for two games apiece with a lot of confidence going into a big game 5-4 and as I say junk you would say the next night was deja vu all over again what we were feeling was you know we're down to the last out the night before down to last out and the place was loud but also kind of leery of the situation and then it was just kind of pandemonium again once the ball went over the fence [Music] [Music] Genki state has been loud a lot but I just don't remember it ever being as loud place just absolutely go nuts [Applause] [Music] going around the bases I'm kind of seeing this place and thinking myself no way did this just happen again I mean that's really kind of what kept going through my head was no way that it just happened again those are the stories in that people are gonna remember you know where you at game for you at game 5 of the 2001 was theirs it brings goosebumps back thinking about it because it was absolutely the most fun two games I think I've ever played mine [Music] the Red Sox five defensive outs away from heading to the World Series but first of all to get the X trainings in that particular ballgame with Pedro we managed to come back on and then now here we are in the X trainings the American League stake and here's Aaron Boone coming up to the plate I knew I was leading off the inning actually feeling like I was gonna do something good he's facing Wakefield you know he loves to hit the fastball he jumps at everything Joe had said I just think back through the middle I just happened to say to him Isis just to get a single doesn't mean you won't hit a home run it doesn't mean you won't it won't hit a home run but you stay through the middle with the knuckleball it tried to hit a single as I was walking up to the plate I said you know I just get a good pitch to hit Aaron Boone to lead off his first at-bat of the game [Applause] first pitch he gets a knuckleball and all of a sudden the prettiest sight you ever want to see you see the ball go up into the air it was the greatest feeling that could ever have especially in that tense of battle in Game seven championship series 2003 all of a sudden you know we're heading to another World Series [Applause] [Music] Aaron Boone hit the first pitch of the end just like Chris Chambliss 1976 it was perfect it was just unbelievable you just thankful and blessed that you get to be in situations like that you know sometimes you fail sometimes you succeed and to have a you know a small place and in the history of that stadium is something that I'll get to I guess tell my grandkids about [Music] [Music] Yankee Stadium for more than eight decades it has been the cornerstone of the most successful franchise in all of sports a playground for generations of Legends opening day of 2008 was the 84th and five at the storage site and fittingly the great Yankee traditions of both the present and the past were on display make sure you reach it it was incredibly special a lot of emotions go through your mind it was a beautiful evening to watch Reggie and you'll be out there we're very very special [Applause] get close whatever you do [Applause] there was a lot of a lot of people who spent so much time in that Park as a fan it's the last opening day in a place that we all know so well come next year come 2009 will open up a new ballpark and it'll be a real special opening day good morning ladies and gentlemen welcome to the future home of the new Yankee Stadium the Yankees broke ground for their new home on August 16th 2006 the 58th anniversary of the passing of Babe Ruth and the question has to be asked can the new pole park embody the spirit of all things tangible and mystical that the house that Ruth Built it the Yankees are resolved that the new stadium will be a worthy heir reminiscent of its predecessor I'm so excited about the new stadium because it's old school it's eternity return back the clock and going to the original Yankee Stadium footprint but with all the new amenities at New York City you would expect and deserve our goal is to recreate for the fans the original 1923 stadium with the best of the renovated 1973 stadium you approach the new Yankee Stadium it's gonna be just as the fans approached it in 1923 just whet Babe Ruth saw the great Cathedral windows and the facade on the front the traditional symbol of the Yankee Stadium the fries are surrounding on top of the roof we're going to move the tarp from right field to left field the black won't be there we're putting in a sports bar but we're putting Monument Park that can center field and then to be fan-friendly home played in the backstop will be 20 feet closer but other than that that bull clock is coming back I still want the bleacher creatures singing out the praises of our players we still want YMCA being played as we sweep the field have the old school board down then I saw them out it looks great a 3d gonna be something I can't wait to when it's all finished everybody kind of looks with anticipation but also a touch of apprehension you want and hope that the new stadium will be able to carry forward of some of this mystique or a tradition that that the old stadium has we're just happy that we're able to do this for the Yankees and happy to do it for you people and enjoy the new stadium I hope it's wonderful we know and so the countdown begins giving everyone fans and players alike one last chance to revel in the wondrous history of these friendly confines in 1981 I'm pitching the third game of the playoffs against the Brewers that was the summer my son Travis fell and was in a coma for 17 days George Steinbrenner offer to throw out the first ball fifty-six fifty-seven thousand people chanting his name Travis Travis traps that will get to me as long as I live today I consider myself the luckiest man Yankee Stadium is unmatched in the glory it has witnessed and those who were blessed to experience this Cathedral of the game are that much richer for all those memories for me will never go away even if they do I hate to say tear the stadium down Yankee Stadium is the host for any and every sport in any and every dignitary I don't know if any other stadium around the country that even compares I don't think there's any more storied stadium than Yankee Stadium you get attached to the building the building that you played in spent so much time in is it's actually gon be like having a house you grew up in or something for me that you know the King has wiped it out we got the greatest fans before the Yankees did a lot of memories in their fellowship us been there and have had a chance to be part of it it'll never leave our memory this place to play the world it stands the test of time a part of me is gonna die a part of me is gonna go down with this stadium as well thanks for watching Yankee Stadium baseball its Cathedral [Music]

Channel: Yankee Classics

Views: 136,994

Keywords: Yankees, Yankee Stadium

Id: FV7XnosmyaU

Length: 90min 22sec (5422 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 21 2018