Yankee Stadium

[Smackie Chan]

I'm taking my younger son there for the first two games of the weekend series against the Angels on 8/1-2. Gotta go before they tear it down. Of course, a once-in-a-lifetime trip there wouldn't be complete without including Monument Park as part of the experience. I plan to go there before the Saturday afternoon game (which is on Oldtimers Day), and was wondering how long the line might be to get in. Game time is about 4pm, and I believe they open the gates to Monument Park two hours prior. For those who have been to Yankee Stadium's Monument Park: What time would you recommend getting there in order to ensure entry? I believe they stop letting people in 45 minutes before game time, and I'm guessing there may be more fans than usual wanting to get in on Oldtimers Day. Also looking for odds on getting out of there alive if sporting Angels' gear.

TIA

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

I went to a Yankees game a few years ago when they were also quite good at the time. I remember we drove to The Bronx and pulled up into a parking space literally within feet from the stadium. We got inside and I remember how many empty seats there were. It was weird. Of course the few fans that were there were annoying as hell, screaming the entire time, and calling all of their own players bums except for Derek Jeter of course.

Yankee Stadium is way overrated...but I'm glad I went.

[Goober McTuber]

Smackie’s going on Old-timers Day? hahaha

[ucantdoitdoggieSTyle2]

Smackie, you're right… it's SOP to open up the gates two hours before game time. Their gate entrance to Monument Park is 34??… can't remember for sure, though I'll guarantee you it'll be an even number (odd numbered sections are to the "right" of the plate.) The one time I went, we got there an hour before the gates opened and were about 10th in line.... by the time it did open, the line stretched around the Stadium for as far as the eye could see, so plan accordingly. Also, I think Old-Timers games have even earlier hours to Monument Park, so you may want to call the Stadium to be sure. If it is open earlier and you can avoid the lines, it's worth the call.

[Smackie Chan]

Smackie’s going on Old-timers Day? hahaha

I knew I'd get that response before I hit "Submit." I'da prolly lost the over/under on how many posts it would take before getting it, though.

[Smackie Chan]

The one time I went, we got there an hour before the gates opened and were about 10th in line.... by the time it did open, the line stretched around the Stadium for as far as the eye could see, so plan accordingly. Also, I think Old-Timers games have even earlier hours to Monument Park, so you may want to call the Stadium to be sure. If it is open earlier and you can avoid the lines, it's worth the call.

Thanks - that's about what I was planning. Figured I'd try to get there about 1:00 and hope that it's not too long. I'll make the call, though.

[The Whistle Is Screaming]

Smackie, was there about a month ago and we were there early, but never made it to monument park. Ended up standing at the RF foul/fair pole during BP trying to get a ball. If you are going to be there for 2 games, try Mon Park the other game, not OT day.

You can bring in food & water (maybe any non-alcoholic drinks) as long as what you bring is in a clear plastic bag, they even supply them at the gates. We brought a bunch of waters & a huge bag of peanuts & pretzels. Beers are 8.50 for bud/light or 9.50 for becks or other premium FYI.

[RumpleForeskin]

Last Yankee game I went to I saw Glen Allen Hill hit one about 5 levels up into the the black. It was one of the longest homeruns I had ever seen live. I still think Big Mac's third deck shot in left-center at the Astrodome was the farthest homerun ever.

[Smackie Chan]

If you are going to be there for 2 games, try Mon Park the other game, not OT day.

This is where the "Smackie is a tard" part of the story comes into play. I'm reminded of the not-so-funny Steve Martin bit about making sure one does things in the right order. He talked about taking a chick home, sleeping with her, then trying to get her drunk.

I only planned on attending the Friday night game, and wasn't really concerned about where the seats were - I just wanted to get into the stadium. So I bought tickets for the bleachers, then went to the Web site to see about getting into Monument Park, at which point I learned that patrons holding bleacher tix have no access to it. DOH!! So I bought non-bleacher tix for the next day. It's all good, though. Being at OT Day in the stadium's final year prolly won't suck.

[The Whistle Is Screaming]

I'm just gonna go ahead and Rack you anyway Smackie.

Yes, bleacher seats have their own way in at the back of the stadium.

They were talking abott OT day a couple day's ago during the game, 75+ OT's will be in attendence. I was at one OT game back in the 80's, fucking cool seeing those guy's.

[Smackie Chan]

Should be a good time, is this the son you introduced me to?

Yep.

And I trust you will bring a camera.

Yeah. In fact, I was just thinking this morning that this will probably be my first PET.

Oh, and thanks for the sig.

Oh, I've never shied away from the fact that I often get my tard on. I'm lucky to still be alive.

[Mikey]

Looks like I won't get to Yankme Stadium either.

I've been to Fenway and Wrigley, though, so at least I have that going for me.

gunga galunga... gunga, gunga-galunga

[Smackie Chan]

I've been to Fenway

I've been inside the stadium, but haven't seen a game there. I visited Boston when the Sox were on the road, and took the guided tour. Got to check out the press box, the seats atop the Monster, and other areas of the stadium. Pretty cool, but I still need to see a game there.

[ucantdoitdoggieSTyle2]

Pretty cool, but I still need to see a game there.

Uhm, not so much. If you ever sit down, you'll notice most of the seats face a straight line away from whatever section you're sitting in. Imagine a very boxlike seating structure. For example, if you're anywhere along the first base side, your seat directly faces the Green Monster. You have to physically turn your head and/or body a full 45+ degrees to the left if you wish to watch an AB... instead of Manny picking daisies in LF. No, I am not shitting you.

[Screw_Michigan]

No, I am not shitting you.

You're kidding.

Sin,
Shea, the Vet, Three Rivers, Riverfront, any multi-purpose shit hole that was built for both baseball and football.

[huh?]

Last Yankee game I went to I saw Glen Allen Hill hit one about 5 levels up into the the black. It was one of the longest homeruns I had ever seen live. I still think Big Mac's third deck shot in left-center at the Astrodome was the farthest homerun ever.

Dude had to be on roids. I remember him hitting one onto the rooftop across the street from Wrigley. I would have bet good money that was impossible.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

Of course Glen Allen Hill was on roids. Dude was a freaking house.

[Screw_Michigan]

Of course Glen Allen Hill was on roids. Dude was a freaking house.

It's Glenallen, tards. Get it right, or pay the price.

[huh?]

Roids or no, I don't think I've ever seen but maybe three people (Kingman, can't remember the others) even hit the building let alone land on the rooftop. That had to be a 1 in a 100 million shot.

Bold prediction...GAH (GH for you screw) will be dead of heart or liver failure before his 55th birthday.

[Smackie Chan]

Pretty cool, but I still need to see a game there.

Uhm, not so much. If you ever sit down, you'll notice most of the seats face a straight line away from whatever section you're sitting in. Imagine a very boxlike seating structure. For example, if you're anywhere along the first base side, your seat directly faces the Green Monster. You have to physically turn your head and/or body a full 45+ degrees to the left if you wish to watch an AB... instead of Manny picking daisies in LF. No, I am not shitting you.

Part of the tour was having us sit in the field box seats near home plate, which we were told have been there since the stadium was built. Most of the rest of the seats in the stadium have been thankfully replaced since then. The guide said most seats are now about 22" wide. These were 15" wide. And wooden. And expensive. I had trouble sitting there for ten minutes. Nine innings? I don't think so. While there, he pointed out a section of seats on the third base side of the press box. Said in order to get those seats, one had to buy season tickets (minimum of two) for seven years, with the price of each ticket $275 per game. My calculator tells me that two tickets times 81 games per regular season time seven seasons comes out to a minimum investment of $311,850.

But I'd still like to see one game there. And at Wrigley.

[Terry in Crapchester]

Wow! I've always wanted to see a game there. Doesn't look like I'll make it.

Last year a friend took his family and he gave me copies of his photos of the monuments/plaques of Mantle, etc. Mantle was my guy growing up. Still wore 7 when I wrapped up my softball "career". I've got a crapload of mid-60s Yankees stuff.

But this is a tight year at the ol' Mr. & Mrs. Sam household. No trip to the Bronx for me.

I'd like to take my kid this year, since he's a Yankee fan, but it doesn't look like it's in the cards.

Fortunately, I did get to go once myself. That was in 1984. I was between my sophomore and junior years in college. I had just finished up my summer NROTC training, and the Navy was flying me from Norfolk back to Rochester, with a layover in NYC. So I decided to make a weekend of it. Since I was a college student, I did the whole thing on a very tight budget -- stayed at the Y (save your emails, I'm not reading them), took the subway to the game (the stadium was very easy to find -- that subway line actually came above ground, as soon as it came above ground, you were at the stop for the stadium), etc.

The Yankees were playing the Twins. It was Old Timers' Day. It's been too long to remember all the details of the game, but I do remember that the Yankees retired the uniform numbers of Elston Howard (32) and Roger Maris (9). Sadly, Maris would be dead from leukemia less than 18 months later. Maris was there, I had no idea he was sick, and he never mentioned it.

Screw you Steinbrenner.

Seconded, on general principle if nothing else.

[ucantdoitdoggieSTyle2]

You're kidding.

Sin,
Shea, the Vet, Three Rivers, Riverfront, any multi-purpose shit hole that was built for both baseball and football.

You do realize that Fenway opened in 1912, or, many years before the NFL was even in business.. right?

Furthermore, with its unusual dimensions, small seating capacity, and left field wall (hello?), I am fairly certain Fenway was not built for anything other than baseball... so, I guess my point is... wtf is your point? How does your post explain Fenway's seats?

[RumpleForeskin]

First Yankee game I went to was when I was 14 years old in '92. Mattingly was my favorite player growing up because, like him, I was a left-handed hitting first baseman. I think he went 0fer at the plate the first night we went, but he more than made up for it during the Sunday Matinee by hitting a 2-run shot off of Scott Aldred to put the Yankees ahead for good.

Good times.

[Goober McTuber]

You're kidding.

Sin,
Shea, the Vet, Three Rivers, Riverfront, any multi-purpose shit hole that was built for both baseball and football.

You do realize that Fenway opened in 1912, or, many years before the NFL was even in business.. right?

Furthermore, with its unusual dimensions, small seating capacity, and left field wall (hello?), I am fairly certain Fenway was not built for anything other than baseball... so, I guess my point is... wtf is your point? How does your post explain Fenway's seats?

That's why they call him Screwball.

[MuchoBulls]

Monument Park is excellent. If the game tie is at 4, then you will want to get to the Stadium around noon or so.

It sucks that Yankee Stadium is coming down, but hopefully they improve the surrounding area and make the new stadium more accessible.

[The Whistle Is Screaming]

Mucho,
How much more accessible do you think it's going to be since it is right across the street? I'm certain they aren't building a parking garage (which would be a nightmare to use anyway) on the old site, so I don't see any difference in the logistics of getting to the new stadium.

[RumpleForeskin]

All 3 times I went, getting to and from the subway was no problem.

[Mikey]

Pretty cool, but I still need to see a game there.

Uhm, not so much. If you ever sit down, you'll notice most of the seats face a straight line away from whatever section you're sitting in. Imagine a very boxlike seating structure. For example, if you're anywhere along the first base side, your seat directly faces the Green Monster. You have to physically turn your head and/or body a full 45+ degrees to the left if you wish to watch an AB... instead of Manny picking daisies in LF. No, I am not shitting you.

Went to Fenway for a game sometime around 1991. Quite an experience for somebody used to West Coast ballparks.

First of all, I had to figure out how to get there without a map. You can see it from the Mass Turnpike, in fact it's almost right next to it. So you get off the freeway and, keeping the light standards in sight, try to navigate to the ballpark. Problem is that there are a bunch of one way streets with no logical arrangement and no matter how hard you try to get there you seem to be heading in the opposite direction.

Once you start getting the hang of the streets you notice that the parking consists of a multitude of empty city lots, with people charging an arm and a leg to park there. The closer you get to the ballpark, the more you pay. After you park a quarter to a half mile a way and start hiking to the ballpark you notice that as you get close there are a bunch of people selling food from carts on the street. Pretty damn good food too, if you're used to Padre dogs. To get tickets you walk right in off the street, down a few steps (if I remember this right) into the ticket office. The available seats and prices were posted on a chalkboard. Maybe that's changed by now, who knows.

We were lucky to get seats in, what I think as I look at the seating chart, must have been Section 21, slightly to the right field side of home plate. Those seats had a pretty good viewing angle. I remember you could look out into right field and see an open space between the right field boxes and the right field bleachers, like these two sections are in completely separate buildings. I had the impression that if you wanted to get to the bleachers you'd have to exit the ballpark, walk around the block and go in a different entrance.

I think the Sox beat the A's that night, with Jack Clark hitting 2 homers.

[ucantdoitdoggieSTyle2]

The available seats.

There hasn't been seats available (save for some shitty OBS view "singles" or SRO) to any game for years. The first thing they do is put up all the Aug - Sept and other shitty early games on sale in December. After those sell out (like the second the go on sale), they put up the early games and games against "quality teams" in January. These also sell out in an instant. Howeverm, these games don't include the home opening series, all Yankee games, and all Green Monster seats. There's some sort of special sale to Red Sox Nation (gay -- you must pay to be a this douchebaggery) members, season ticket holders, and I believe they also have auctions for some and/or all of these games/seats as well. It's nearly impossible to see a game unless you know people. They squeeze every last penny out of that team... I am quite certain the Red Sox will go Nascar and have sponsor patches on their unis in the next three years.

[Mikey]

Damn, that sucks. We walked in an hour or so before game time and scored some pretty deece seats. Maybe they were season ticket holder exchanges or something. Of course that was 17 years ago too.

[MuchoBulls]

Mucho,
How much more accessible do you think it's going to be since it is right across the street? I'm certain they aren't building a parking garage (which would be a nightmare to use anyway) on the old site, so I don't see any difference in the logistics of getting to the new stadium.

The original plan was to also imrove the surrounding area that borders both stadiums. They want to put in more parking. There is a park in that area that may eventually become a parking area, but the borough of the Bronx was figthing that last time I checked.

[MuchoBulls]

I was a left-handed hitting first baseman.

Me, too.

Same here. I pitched as well.

[smackaholic]

Just when it was looking as though I'd never get to see the old park before they flatten it, my buddy gives me a call and says he has a few tickets to the game from last night against crackimore. So, aazingly I came down with something and, not wanting to pass it on to anybody at work, I called in sick. Not so worried about spreading anything to those fukking yankmee fans though, so, off we went.

Nice place. Even a sox fan has to admit being a bit in awe realizing what has taken place on that pach of dirt over the 20th century. Our seat were upper deck, behind the plate, first base side. You have a pretty damn good view except for the right field corner. Had a good look at kevin millar's dinger. Boy, is Kev a popular dude at the stadium. Got a pretty good look at Arod's dead center shot as well. You gotta wonder how a fellow has the energy to ride madonna all afternoon and still have enough in the tank to do that.

Aubry Huff pretty much pwned the yanks. He smoked a double into the LF gap with the bases juiced, then knocked one out the next time up.

We left early in the top of the ninth after the leadoff guy took mariano deep, thinking that was it, but, by the time we got to the car, the fukking yanks were back in it, but they fell short.

Well, now I've been to the stadium, so, I guess they can break out the wrecking ball. I still have a feeling they aren't gonna go through with it though. How the fukk can you turn the most sacred place in baseball into a parking lot?

[Jay in Phoenix]

Had a good look at kevin millar's dinger. Boy, is Kev a popular dude at the stadium. Got a pretty good look at Arod's dead center shot as well. You gotta wonder how a fellow has the energy to ride madonna all afternoon and still have enough in the tank to do that.

Hmmm, Smackaholic? Are you sure you weren't having an Irie moment during the game?

[smackaholic]

Haven't had an Irie moment at a ballpark since fenway got rid of the trough urinals.