Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Yankees hit with close to $25.7M luxury tax
Yankees hit with close to $25.7M luxury tax
NEW YORK (AP) — Winning came with a hefty price for the New York Yankees.
The World Series champions were hit with a luxury tax of nearly $25.69 million Monday, the penalty for once again crossing the payroll threshold in baseball's collective bargaining agreement.
New York is the only team to pay a tax for this season and has crossed the threshold in all seven years since the tax started. According to the collective bargaining agreement, the Yankees must send a check to the commissioner's office by Jan. 31.
The Yankees have been billed $174 million of the tax's $190 million total since 2003. The only other teams to pay have been Boston ($13.9 million for 2004-7), Detroit ($1.3 million for 2008) and the Los Angeles Angels ($927,059 for 2004).
At least the Yankees got value for their spending, winning the World Series for the first time since 2000 after adding high-priced free agents CC Sabathia (FSY), A.J. Burnett (FSY) and Mark Teixeira (FSY). And the Yankees did lower their tax bill from $26.86 million last year, when their streak of consecutive playoff appearances ended at 13.
WORLD SERIES REWIND: Relive the Yankees 2009 championship
New York's payroll was $226.2 million for the purpose of the luxury tax and the Yankees pay at a 40% rate for the amount over $162 million. To compute the payroll, Major League Baseball uses the average annual values of contracts for players on 40-man rosters and adds benefits.
The Yankees' regular payroll — using 2009 salaries and prorated shares of signing bonuses — finished at $220 million. That was a drop of $2.5 million from 2008 but more than $77.8 million higher than any other team — a gap larger than the payrolls of the bottom 11 clubs.
The New York Mets were second at $142.2 million, followed by the equally disappointing Chicago Cubs ($141.6 million).
Boston ($140.5 million) was next, followed by Detroit ($139.4 million) and NL champion Philadelphia ($138.3 million), a big increase from the $112.7 million the Phillies spent when they won the World Series in 2008.
Only two teams outside the top 11 by payroll made the postseason: Colorado (16th at $84.5 million) and Minnesota (23rd at $73.1 million).
Florida again was last in the majors, even though the Marlins raised their payroll by $10.5 million to $37.5 million. San Diego dropped from 23rd at $71.2 million to 29th at $43.2 million.
Half the 30 teams cut payroll from 2008. In addition to the Padres, Seattle dropped from $120.5 million to $102.3 million, Toronto fell from $98.3 million to $84.1 million and Cincinnati sliced from $82.9 million to $72.7 million.
Besides the Phillies, other teams with big increases were Tampa Bay ($51.0 million to $71.2 million), San Francisco ($82.1 million to $95.2 million), Kansas City ($69.2 million to $81.9 million), the Cubs ($130.5 million to $141.6 million) and Washington ($59.7 million to $69.3 million).
Overall payroll rose 1.2% to $2.91 billion from $2.88 billion, down from a 6.3% increase the previous year.
Payroll figures are for 40-man rosters and include salaries and prorated shares of signing bonuses, earned incentive bonuses, non-cash compensation, buyouts of unexercised options and cash transactions, such as money included in trades. In some cases, parts of salaries that are deferred are discounted to reflect present-day values.
The commissioner's office computed the average salary at $2,882,336. The players' association, which uses slightly different methods of calculation, had its average at $2,996,106.
NEW YORK (AP) — Winning came with a hefty price for the New York Yankees.
The World Series champions were hit with a luxury tax of nearly $25.69 million Monday, the penalty for once again crossing the payroll threshold in baseball's collective bargaining agreement.
New York is the only team to pay a tax for this season and has crossed the threshold in all seven years since the tax started. According to the collective bargaining agreement, the Yankees must send a check to the commissioner's office by Jan. 31.
The Yankees have been billed $174 million of the tax's $190 million total since 2003. The only other teams to pay have been Boston ($13.9 million for 2004-7), Detroit ($1.3 million for 2008) and the Los Angeles Angels ($927,059 for 2004).
At least the Yankees got value for their spending, winning the World Series for the first time since 2000 after adding high-priced free agents CC Sabathia (FSY), A.J. Burnett (FSY) and Mark Teixeira (FSY). And the Yankees did lower their tax bill from $26.86 million last year, when their streak of consecutive playoff appearances ended at 13.
WORLD SERIES REWIND: Relive the Yankees 2009 championship
New York's payroll was $226.2 million for the purpose of the luxury tax and the Yankees pay at a 40% rate for the amount over $162 million. To compute the payroll, Major League Baseball uses the average annual values of contracts for players on 40-man rosters and adds benefits.
The Yankees' regular payroll — using 2009 salaries and prorated shares of signing bonuses — finished at $220 million. That was a drop of $2.5 million from 2008 but more than $77.8 million higher than any other team — a gap larger than the payrolls of the bottom 11 clubs.
The New York Mets were second at $142.2 million, followed by the equally disappointing Chicago Cubs ($141.6 million).
Boston ($140.5 million) was next, followed by Detroit ($139.4 million) and NL champion Philadelphia ($138.3 million), a big increase from the $112.7 million the Phillies spent when they won the World Series in 2008.
Only two teams outside the top 11 by payroll made the postseason: Colorado (16th at $84.5 million) and Minnesota (23rd at $73.1 million).
Florida again was last in the majors, even though the Marlins raised their payroll by $10.5 million to $37.5 million. San Diego dropped from 23rd at $71.2 million to 29th at $43.2 million.
Half the 30 teams cut payroll from 2008. In addition to the Padres, Seattle dropped from $120.5 million to $102.3 million, Toronto fell from $98.3 million to $84.1 million and Cincinnati sliced from $82.9 million to $72.7 million.
Besides the Phillies, other teams with big increases were Tampa Bay ($51.0 million to $71.2 million), San Francisco ($82.1 million to $95.2 million), Kansas City ($69.2 million to $81.9 million), the Cubs ($130.5 million to $141.6 million) and Washington ($59.7 million to $69.3 million).
Overall payroll rose 1.2% to $2.91 billion from $2.88 billion, down from a 6.3% increase the previous year.
Payroll figures are for 40-man rosters and include salaries and prorated shares of signing bonuses, earned incentive bonuses, non-cash compensation, buyouts of unexercised options and cash transactions, such as money included in trades. In some cases, parts of salaries that are deferred are discounted to reflect present-day values.
The commissioner's office computed the average salary at $2,882,336. The players' association, which uses slightly different methods of calculation, had its average at $2,996,106.
Vazquez returning to Yanks, Melky off to Atlanta
Vazquez returning to Yanks, Melky off to Atlanta
December 22, 2009 by KEN DAVIDOFF / ken.davidoff@newsday.com
The Yankees are about to re-acquire Javier Vazquez, Newsday has confirmed, in return for a package headlined by Melky Cabrera.
Vazquez, 33, put up his best major-league season in 2009, going 15-10 with a 2.87 ERA for the Braves. He struck out 238 batters in 219 1/3 innings. The New York Post first reported that the Yankees were targeting Vazquez as their fourth starter.
As SI.com first reported, the Yankees will receive Vazquez and lefty Boone Logan in return for Cabrera, young lefty pitcher Mike Dunn and pitcher Arodys Vizcaino.
Most Yankees fans probably don’t have fond memories of Vazquez. The team acquired him prior to the 2004 season, as part of a plan to make the team’s starting rotation younger, and Vazquez put up a 4.91 ERA. Joe Torre didn’t use him as a starting pitcher in the 2004 American League Championship Series, and when Vazquez relieved Kevin Brown in ALCS Game 7, he promptly served up a second-inning grand slam to Boston’s Johnny Damon.
Vazquez has established himself as an innings-eater who has, in general, put up better numbers in the National League in the AL. Now that the Yankees can slot him in the back end of their rotation, however, expectations should be reduced.
Cabrera, 25, put up a solid 2009 season, and he was in line to be the Yankees’ starting leftfielder. It’s unclear whether the Yankees will replace him with a big-money veteran _ Jason Bay, Johnny Damon and Matt Holliday are all still available _ but the Yankees have insisted they’re going to stick to a budget this offseason. Vazquez has one year left on his contract, at $11.5 million.
(Graf) With four established starting pitchers, the Yankees will likely wind up using either Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes as the primary setup man for Mariano Rivera, assuming that Vazquez, CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte all stay healthy.
December 22, 2009 by KEN DAVIDOFF / ken.davidoff@newsday.com
The Yankees are about to re-acquire Javier Vazquez, Newsday has confirmed, in return for a package headlined by Melky Cabrera.
Vazquez, 33, put up his best major-league season in 2009, going 15-10 with a 2.87 ERA for the Braves. He struck out 238 batters in 219 1/3 innings. The New York Post first reported that the Yankees were targeting Vazquez as their fourth starter.
As SI.com first reported, the Yankees will receive Vazquez and lefty Boone Logan in return for Cabrera, young lefty pitcher Mike Dunn and pitcher Arodys Vizcaino.
Most Yankees fans probably don’t have fond memories of Vazquez. The team acquired him prior to the 2004 season, as part of a plan to make the team’s starting rotation younger, and Vazquez put up a 4.91 ERA. Joe Torre didn’t use him as a starting pitcher in the 2004 American League Championship Series, and when Vazquez relieved Kevin Brown in ALCS Game 7, he promptly served up a second-inning grand slam to Boston’s Johnny Damon.
Vazquez has established himself as an innings-eater who has, in general, put up better numbers in the National League in the AL. Now that the Yankees can slot him in the back end of their rotation, however, expectations should be reduced.
Cabrera, 25, put up a solid 2009 season, and he was in line to be the Yankees’ starting leftfielder. It’s unclear whether the Yankees will replace him with a big-money veteran _ Jason Bay, Johnny Damon and Matt Holliday are all still available _ but the Yankees have insisted they’re going to stick to a budget this offseason. Vazquez has one year left on his contract, at $11.5 million.
(Graf) With four established starting pitchers, the Yankees will likely wind up using either Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes as the primary setup man for Mariano Rivera, assuming that Vazquez, CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte all stay healthy.
Top 10 NY games of the decade
Top 10 NY games of the decade
December 21, 2009 by NEIL BEST / neil.best@newsday.com
Like any good story - be it from a book, a movie or a weekend in Vegas - the best part of a memorable game is reliving the details for days, and sometimes years, after it is over.
So it is with some of the best from New York sports in the 2000s, starting with the most shocking of all from a historic night in Glendale, Ariz.
As always in our series looking back at the past decade, extra credit was given for important games, but the regular season counts, too.
Especially when the Red Sox are in town. Or if Jumbo Elliott catches a touchdown pass.
1. Super Bowl XLII, Feb. 3, 2008, University of Phoenix Stadium
Some of New York's biggest championship upsets, such as Super Bowl III and the 1969 World Series, lacked a dramatic, climactic finale.
But like their Super Bowl XXV ancestors, the 2007 Giants won it all with a flourish, one so grand it was easy to forget the big picture:
Their 17-14 victory over the Patriots ruined the first 18-0 start in league history and foiled the most productive offense the NFL ever has seen.
After three quarters, the Patriots led 7-3 in a defensive struggle, one that hardly was the stuff of football lore.
The final quarter more than made up for it, with the lead changing hands thrice, the final time when Eli Manning found Plaxico Burress in the end zone with 35 seconds left.
What at the time was the largest TV audience in sports history saw Manning win the MVP award, David Tyree's life change forever and the Giants' secure their seventh league title.
2. Game 7, 2003 ALCS, Oct. 16/17, 2003, Yankee Stadium
You could fill a top 10 list with Yankees playoff games from the '00s - Game 1 of the '00 World Series, Games 4, 5 and 7 of the '01 Series, Games 4 and 5 of the '04 ALCS, Game 2 of the '09 ALCS, etc.
But one stands above the rest: Game 7 of the '03 ALCS.
The Red Sox bounced Roger Clemens en route to a 4-0 lead and led 5-2 in the eighth when the Yanks got to a tiring Pedro Martinez - who assured manager Grady Little he was fine.
Mariano Rivera came in for the ninth and would pitch three scoreless innings.
In the bottom of the 11th, Aaron Boone led off against Tim Wakefield, and soon the Red Sox would be waiting another year to seek their first championship since 1918.
3. Giants-49ers playoff game, Jan. 5, 2003, 3Com Park
It was one of the wildest, most controversial playoff games in NFL history.
The Giants led the 49ers, 38-14, in a wild-card game late in the third when the offense congealed and the defense collapsed, allowing San Francisco to rally for a 39-38 lead.
A Matt Bryant field goal still would have won it in the final seconds, but Trey Junkin's snap was off target, forcing holder Matt Allen to attempt a desperate pass.
Allen might have hit Rich Seubert if Seubert had not been pulled down by Chike Okeafor. But the officials forgot the guard had checked in as an eligible receiver. No pass interference was called.
The NFL apologized the next day. It was too late.
4. Big East quarterfinals, March 12/13, 2009, Madison Square Garden
Syracuse upset Connecticut, 127-117, which seems like an unusually high score until you consider they played six overtimes, one short of a Division I record set in the pre-shot clock era.
The Orangemen, who had an apparent buzzer-beater waved off at the end of regulation, did not lead in any of the first five OTs but took charge in the sixth, starting with a three-pointer by Andy Rautins.
Said Syracuse guard Jonny Flynn, who played 67 minutes and had 34 points and 11 assists: "I can't even feel my legs right now.''
Syracuse came back the next night to beat West Virginia - in one overtime.
5. Game 6, NBA second-round series, May 19, 2000, Madison Square Garden
The 1999-2000 playoffs were the last significant gasp of the Patrick Ewing-era Knicks, who made it to Game 6 of the conference finals before losing to the Pacers.
There were dramatic turns along the way, including a second-round struggle against Pat Riley's Heat typified by Game 6, in which the Knicks fell behind by 18 but rallied to win, 72-70.
"This is absolute madness,'' said Riley, whose team scored only 25 points in the second half.
Game 7 was another thriller, with the Heat's Clarence Weatherspoon missing a shot in the final seconds and the Knicks - controversially - being awarded the ball after an out-of-bounds play.
6. Dolphins vs. Jets, Oct. 23/24, 2000, Giants Stadium
The Dolphins and Jets both were 5-1 when they met on "Monday Night Football,'' but there was little pre-game hype, seeing as how it was the night between Games 2 and 3 of the Subway Series.
There was no ignoring this one, though, not after the Dolphins took a 30-7 lead behind quarterback Jay Fiedler of Oceanside, then watched the Jets come back to win, 40-37, in overtime.
With some of the thousands of fans who had left early returning to their seats, the Jets tied it at 37 on a tackle eligible throw to Jumbo Elliott with 42 seconds left.
In the fourth quarter alone, the other Long Island-raised quarterback in the game, Vinny Testaverde, was 18-for-26 for 235 yards and four TDs.
7. Red Sox vs. Yankees, July 1, 2004, Yankee Stadium
The ALCSes of 2003 and '04 were defining events of New York's sports decade, but between those two series the Yankees and Red Sox showed even a regular-season game between them can be a classic. GRAF
It happened in July of '04, a 13-inning battle in the Bronx best remembered for Derek Jeter's catch and dive into the stands in the 12th. GRAF
There was much more that night, including a third-to-home double play started in the 11th by Alex Rodriguez, who later moved from third to shortstop to replace the injured Jeter.
Manny Ramirez homered in the top of the 13th, but the Yankees answered with two in the bottom. John Flaherty drove home Miguel Cairo to win it, 5-4.
8. NFC Championship Game, Jan. 20, 2008, Lambeau Field
Super Bowl XLII somewhat has obscured what preceded it, but how can you beat an overtime conference title game between two historic franchises at Lambeau Field - in below-zero temperatures?
The capper was Corey Webster's interception of Brett Favre on Favre's last play as a Packer at Lambeau, setting up a 47-yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes, who had missed two earlier tries.
Favre appeared far less comfortable in the cold than did Manning, a fellow Southerner. But even Favre didn't look as frozen as Giants coach Tom Coughlin, whose face was a bright, scary shade of red. GRAF
Plaxico Burress caught 11 passes for 154 yards despite the horrendous conditions.
9. Game 7, 2006 NLCS, Oct. 19, 2006, Shea Stadium
As special as the Mets' run to the '00 pennant was, there is no game fans will remember more from the 2000s than Game 7 of the '06 NLCS against the underdog Cardinals.
Oliver Perez and Jeff Suppan battled evenly through the early innings, and the Mets' Endy Chavez kept the score tied at 1 when he leaped over the leftfield fence in the sixth to deny Scott Rolen.
Yadier Molina's two-run homer in the ninth put St. Louis ahead, 3-1, setting up a dramatic bottom of the inning.
The Mets loaded the bases with two outs, but Adam Wainwright struck out Carlos Beltran looking to eliminate the Mets' best team of the decade.
10. Galaxy-Red Bulls, Aug. 18, 2007, Giants Stadium
Why the Red Bulls when we have excluded the Nets and Devils? Because unlike the Nets and Devils they are the area's only major-league team in their sport - the world's favorite, by the way.
The mostly moribund franchise flashed its potential when it hosted David Beckham and the Galaxy in the summer of '07 and drew 66,238, the most for a league game there since the Cosmos era.
Better yet, the teams provided enough action to satisfy even the most skeptical soccer spectator, with the Red Bulls winning, 5-4, on a late goal.
Said Beckham, who set up three scores: "I haven't been involved in a game like that since I was 9 or 10 years old.''
December 21, 2009 by NEIL BEST / neil.best@newsday.com
Like any good story - be it from a book, a movie or a weekend in Vegas - the best part of a memorable game is reliving the details for days, and sometimes years, after it is over.
So it is with some of the best from New York sports in the 2000s, starting with the most shocking of all from a historic night in Glendale, Ariz.
As always in our series looking back at the past decade, extra credit was given for important games, but the regular season counts, too.
Especially when the Red Sox are in town. Or if Jumbo Elliott catches a touchdown pass.
1. Super Bowl XLII, Feb. 3, 2008, University of Phoenix Stadium
Some of New York's biggest championship upsets, such as Super Bowl III and the 1969 World Series, lacked a dramatic, climactic finale.
But like their Super Bowl XXV ancestors, the 2007 Giants won it all with a flourish, one so grand it was easy to forget the big picture:
Their 17-14 victory over the Patriots ruined the first 18-0 start in league history and foiled the most productive offense the NFL ever has seen.
After three quarters, the Patriots led 7-3 in a defensive struggle, one that hardly was the stuff of football lore.
The final quarter more than made up for it, with the lead changing hands thrice, the final time when Eli Manning found Plaxico Burress in the end zone with 35 seconds left.
What at the time was the largest TV audience in sports history saw Manning win the MVP award, David Tyree's life change forever and the Giants' secure their seventh league title.
2. Game 7, 2003 ALCS, Oct. 16/17, 2003, Yankee Stadium
You could fill a top 10 list with Yankees playoff games from the '00s - Game 1 of the '00 World Series, Games 4, 5 and 7 of the '01 Series, Games 4 and 5 of the '04 ALCS, Game 2 of the '09 ALCS, etc.
But one stands above the rest: Game 7 of the '03 ALCS.
The Red Sox bounced Roger Clemens en route to a 4-0 lead and led 5-2 in the eighth when the Yanks got to a tiring Pedro Martinez - who assured manager Grady Little he was fine.
Mariano Rivera came in for the ninth and would pitch three scoreless innings.
In the bottom of the 11th, Aaron Boone led off against Tim Wakefield, and soon the Red Sox would be waiting another year to seek their first championship since 1918.
3. Giants-49ers playoff game, Jan. 5, 2003, 3Com Park
It was one of the wildest, most controversial playoff games in NFL history.
The Giants led the 49ers, 38-14, in a wild-card game late in the third when the offense congealed and the defense collapsed, allowing San Francisco to rally for a 39-38 lead.
A Matt Bryant field goal still would have won it in the final seconds, but Trey Junkin's snap was off target, forcing holder Matt Allen to attempt a desperate pass.
Allen might have hit Rich Seubert if Seubert had not been pulled down by Chike Okeafor. But the officials forgot the guard had checked in as an eligible receiver. No pass interference was called.
The NFL apologized the next day. It was too late.
4. Big East quarterfinals, March 12/13, 2009, Madison Square Garden
Syracuse upset Connecticut, 127-117, which seems like an unusually high score until you consider they played six overtimes, one short of a Division I record set in the pre-shot clock era.
The Orangemen, who had an apparent buzzer-beater waved off at the end of regulation, did not lead in any of the first five OTs but took charge in the sixth, starting with a three-pointer by Andy Rautins.
Said Syracuse guard Jonny Flynn, who played 67 minutes and had 34 points and 11 assists: "I can't even feel my legs right now.''
Syracuse came back the next night to beat West Virginia - in one overtime.
5. Game 6, NBA second-round series, May 19, 2000, Madison Square Garden
The 1999-2000 playoffs were the last significant gasp of the Patrick Ewing-era Knicks, who made it to Game 6 of the conference finals before losing to the Pacers.
There were dramatic turns along the way, including a second-round struggle against Pat Riley's Heat typified by Game 6, in which the Knicks fell behind by 18 but rallied to win, 72-70.
"This is absolute madness,'' said Riley, whose team scored only 25 points in the second half.
Game 7 was another thriller, with the Heat's Clarence Weatherspoon missing a shot in the final seconds and the Knicks - controversially - being awarded the ball after an out-of-bounds play.
6. Dolphins vs. Jets, Oct. 23/24, 2000, Giants Stadium
The Dolphins and Jets both were 5-1 when they met on "Monday Night Football,'' but there was little pre-game hype, seeing as how it was the night between Games 2 and 3 of the Subway Series.
There was no ignoring this one, though, not after the Dolphins took a 30-7 lead behind quarterback Jay Fiedler of Oceanside, then watched the Jets come back to win, 40-37, in overtime.
With some of the thousands of fans who had left early returning to their seats, the Jets tied it at 37 on a tackle eligible throw to Jumbo Elliott with 42 seconds left.
In the fourth quarter alone, the other Long Island-raised quarterback in the game, Vinny Testaverde, was 18-for-26 for 235 yards and four TDs.
7. Red Sox vs. Yankees, July 1, 2004, Yankee Stadium
The ALCSes of 2003 and '04 were defining events of New York's sports decade, but between those two series the Yankees and Red Sox showed even a regular-season game between them can be a classic. GRAF
It happened in July of '04, a 13-inning battle in the Bronx best remembered for Derek Jeter's catch and dive into the stands in the 12th. GRAF
There was much more that night, including a third-to-home double play started in the 11th by Alex Rodriguez, who later moved from third to shortstop to replace the injured Jeter.
Manny Ramirez homered in the top of the 13th, but the Yankees answered with two in the bottom. John Flaherty drove home Miguel Cairo to win it, 5-4.
8. NFC Championship Game, Jan. 20, 2008, Lambeau Field
Super Bowl XLII somewhat has obscured what preceded it, but how can you beat an overtime conference title game between two historic franchises at Lambeau Field - in below-zero temperatures?
The capper was Corey Webster's interception of Brett Favre on Favre's last play as a Packer at Lambeau, setting up a 47-yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes, who had missed two earlier tries.
Favre appeared far less comfortable in the cold than did Manning, a fellow Southerner. But even Favre didn't look as frozen as Giants coach Tom Coughlin, whose face was a bright, scary shade of red. GRAF
Plaxico Burress caught 11 passes for 154 yards despite the horrendous conditions.
9. Game 7, 2006 NLCS, Oct. 19, 2006, Shea Stadium
As special as the Mets' run to the '00 pennant was, there is no game fans will remember more from the 2000s than Game 7 of the '06 NLCS against the underdog Cardinals.
Oliver Perez and Jeff Suppan battled evenly through the early innings, and the Mets' Endy Chavez kept the score tied at 1 when he leaped over the leftfield fence in the sixth to deny Scott Rolen.
Yadier Molina's two-run homer in the ninth put St. Louis ahead, 3-1, setting up a dramatic bottom of the inning.
The Mets loaded the bases with two outs, but Adam Wainwright struck out Carlos Beltran looking to eliminate the Mets' best team of the decade.
10. Galaxy-Red Bulls, Aug. 18, 2007, Giants Stadium
Why the Red Bulls when we have excluded the Nets and Devils? Because unlike the Nets and Devils they are the area's only major-league team in their sport - the world's favorite, by the way.
The mostly moribund franchise flashed its potential when it hosted David Beckham and the Galaxy in the summer of '07 and drew 66,238, the most for a league game there since the Cosmos era.
Better yet, the teams provided enough action to satisfy even the most skeptical soccer spectator, with the Red Bulls winning, 5-4, on a late goal.
Said Beckham, who set up three scores: "I haven't been involved in a game like that since I was 9 or 10 years old.''
Monday, December 21, 2009
Yankee Stadium not a landmark to U.S. government
Yankee Stadium not a landmark to U.S. government
Sep. 21--There will be no last-minute federal bailout of Yankee Stadium. The National Register of Historic Places has declined, more than once, to consider the big ballpark in the Bronx for landmark status -- an honorific, it turns out, that would not have guaranteed protection from demolition.
And the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, which could have stopped this year's scheduled tear-down of the 85-year-old walls, repeatedly has rejected landmark designation because of the Stadium's 1974-75 "unsympathetic renovation."
One more game tonight and the joint is a goner. All those who are now offering testimonials extolling the Stadium as a cultural marker, a place of mythology and folklore passed from generation to generation and reflecting America's soul, will just have to accept that, of more than 80,000 National Register listings and more than 2,400 National Historic Landmarks, Yankee Stadium did not make the cut.
Even though the high school football field in Newton, Kan., a Works Progress Administration project completed in 1936 as part of the New Deal's recovery from the Great Depression, did. So did the former minor league/Negro League park in Indianapolis, used in filming the 1988 movie "Eight Men Out," formerly called Bush Stadium and now the 16th Street Speedway, site of midget auto dirt racing. Just to name two athletic museum pieces.
If it will make Yankee Stadium fans feel any better, both Tiger Stadium in Detroit and Cleveland's Municipal Stadium are listed as National Historic Landmarks, and both were bulldozed into oblivion, anyway.
In 1999, South Bronx Congressman Jose Serrano wrote to President Clinton about NHL status for the Stadium, only to be informed by the historic-places director at the time that, "while the contribution of the New York Yankees to baseball and America is of national importance in many respects, the National Park Service is unable to conclude that Yankee Stadium retains the high degree of architectural integrity required . . . "
A 1986 landmark survey, which examined several professional baseball stadiums, already had concluded that the Stadium's mid-1970s remodeling "compromised the integrity of the Stadium."
Likewise, NYC Landmarks Commission spokeswoman Lisi de Bourbon said in an e-mail, a "number of requests" for landmark designation -- from Bronx assembly member Jeffrey Klein (now a state senator) and several members of the public -- were not pursued for the same reason. (The Yankees, by the way, never asked.)
"From an architectural perspective, they're right," said "Field of Schemes" author Neil deMause, who operates a Web site casting a critical eye on public subsidies for sports facilities. "But from a baseball perspective or fan perspective, they're not. The current stadium is much more like the original Yankee Stadium than the new one will be. It's the same footprint, the same building with a different face on it. I think it should have been landmarked. Probably, most people in the city feel that way, too."
Strict brick-and-mortar arguments that the 1970s modifications completely replaced the "House That Ruth Built" in 1923, ignore the hallowed-ground considerations, that the playing field remains the place where sports giants have trod for more than three-quarters of a century. (Ruth and Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle, Giants-Colts overtime, Lewis-Schmeling, Knute Rockne, and on and on.)
According to Alexis Abernathy of the National Register of Historic Places, criteria for NHL honors include "significant contribution to the broad patterns of history, associations with significant persons, distinctive architectural engineering or informational potential -- mainly archaeological."
To architect Aaron Parker, formerly based in New York and now in Minneapolis, said: "If baseball is our national sport and is a true reflection of our national character, then Yankee Stadium could easily be landmarked under [the first two criteria]. Indeed, if Yankee Stadium does not rise to that standard, no other structure in the nation qualifies."
A similar belief motivated the Boston citizens -- architects, lawyers, preservationists, hard-core fans -- who coalesced to form the "Save Fenway Park" group in the mid-1990s, when Red Sox ownership began making noises about dramatically redoing their storied old stadium.
Among the Save Fenway Park members was Erika Tarlin, a librarian from suburban Somerville who was outraged at plans to create "a Disneyland ballpark" that would replace much of the old Fenway flavor. "I grew up going to Fenway," Tarlin said in a telephone interview. "It is a symbol of Boston and I'd leave the city if they knocked it down. The city will lose its soul when they knock down Fenway.
"The situation at Yankee Stadium is so similar," she said. "These historic stadiums; what else makes you shudder besides Fenway and Yankee Stadium? It's nothing against change. That's not it. Fenway survives because it's organic and can adapt. I try to get to Yankee Stadium every year. It's a tragedy what they're doing there."
One more game, and this (unofficial) landmark will be history.
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© Copyright 2008 Newsday
Sep. 21--There will be no last-minute federal bailout of Yankee Stadium. The National Register of Historic Places has declined, more than once, to consider the big ballpark in the Bronx for landmark status -- an honorific, it turns out, that would not have guaranteed protection from demolition.
And the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, which could have stopped this year's scheduled tear-down of the 85-year-old walls, repeatedly has rejected landmark designation because of the Stadium's 1974-75 "unsympathetic renovation."
One more game tonight and the joint is a goner. All those who are now offering testimonials extolling the Stadium as a cultural marker, a place of mythology and folklore passed from generation to generation and reflecting America's soul, will just have to accept that, of more than 80,000 National Register listings and more than 2,400 National Historic Landmarks, Yankee Stadium did not make the cut.
Even though the high school football field in Newton, Kan., a Works Progress Administration project completed in 1936 as part of the New Deal's recovery from the Great Depression, did. So did the former minor league/Negro League park in Indianapolis, used in filming the 1988 movie "Eight Men Out," formerly called Bush Stadium and now the 16th Street Speedway, site of midget auto dirt racing. Just to name two athletic museum pieces.
If it will make Yankee Stadium fans feel any better, both Tiger Stadium in Detroit and Cleveland's Municipal Stadium are listed as National Historic Landmarks, and both were bulldozed into oblivion, anyway.
In 1999, South Bronx Congressman Jose Serrano wrote to President Clinton about NHL status for the Stadium, only to be informed by the historic-places director at the time that, "while the contribution of the New York Yankees to baseball and America is of national importance in many respects, the National Park Service is unable to conclude that Yankee Stadium retains the high degree of architectural integrity required . . . "
A 1986 landmark survey, which examined several professional baseball stadiums, already had concluded that the Stadium's mid-1970s remodeling "compromised the integrity of the Stadium."
Likewise, NYC Landmarks Commission spokeswoman Lisi de Bourbon said in an e-mail, a "number of requests" for landmark designation -- from Bronx assembly member Jeffrey Klein (now a state senator) and several members of the public -- were not pursued for the same reason. (The Yankees, by the way, never asked.)
"From an architectural perspective, they're right," said "Field of Schemes" author Neil deMause, who operates a Web site casting a critical eye on public subsidies for sports facilities. "But from a baseball perspective or fan perspective, they're not. The current stadium is much more like the original Yankee Stadium than the new one will be. It's the same footprint, the same building with a different face on it. I think it should have been landmarked. Probably, most people in the city feel that way, too."
Strict brick-and-mortar arguments that the 1970s modifications completely replaced the "House That Ruth Built" in 1923, ignore the hallowed-ground considerations, that the playing field remains the place where sports giants have trod for more than three-quarters of a century. (Ruth and Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle, Giants-Colts overtime, Lewis-Schmeling, Knute Rockne, and on and on.)
According to Alexis Abernathy of the National Register of Historic Places, criteria for NHL honors include "significant contribution to the broad patterns of history, associations with significant persons, distinctive architectural engineering or informational potential -- mainly archaeological."
To architect Aaron Parker, formerly based in New York and now in Minneapolis, said: "If baseball is our national sport and is a true reflection of our national character, then Yankee Stadium could easily be landmarked under [the first two criteria]. Indeed, if Yankee Stadium does not rise to that standard, no other structure in the nation qualifies."
A similar belief motivated the Boston citizens -- architects, lawyers, preservationists, hard-core fans -- who coalesced to form the "Save Fenway Park" group in the mid-1990s, when Red Sox ownership began making noises about dramatically redoing their storied old stadium.
Among the Save Fenway Park members was Erika Tarlin, a librarian from suburban Somerville who was outraged at plans to create "a Disneyland ballpark" that would replace much of the old Fenway flavor. "I grew up going to Fenway," Tarlin said in a telephone interview. "It is a symbol of Boston and I'd leave the city if they knocked it down. The city will lose its soul when they knock down Fenway.
"The situation at Yankee Stadium is so similar," she said. "These historic stadiums; what else makes you shudder besides Fenway and Yankee Stadium? It's nothing against change. That's not it. Fenway survives because it's organic and can adapt. I try to get to Yankee Stadium every year. It's a tragedy what they're doing there."
One more game, and this (unofficial) landmark will be history.
To see more of Newsday, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsday.com Copyright (c) 2008, Newsday, Melville, N.Y. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
© Copyright 2009 LexisNexis. All rights reserved.
© Copyright 2008 Newsday
SAVE THE GATE - COMMEMORATIVE BRICK DRIVE
FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT
OLD YANKEE STADIUM PARK
"SAVE THE GATE"
COMMEMORATIVE BRICK DRIVE
Proposed by Citizens and Groups
from Around the Country to Help
SAVE HISTORIC GATE 2
at the
"The House That Ruth Built"
For the purpose of saving historic Gate 2 at Old Yankee Stadium, baseball groups historyoftheyankees.com, the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium & the Committee to Commemorate Babe Ruth - speaking for and acting on behalf of Baseball fans, historians, architects, historic preservationists, and other concerned citizens, groups, and relevant experts from New York and around the nation, has voluntarily researched and developed a
public fundraising campaign to the City of New York, entitled the "SAVE THE GATE" Commemorative Brick Drive.
This Commemorative Brick Drive will be similar to ones throughout Major League Ballparks and other leading sports venues throughout the world, such as the highly successful programs employed by the Mets at Citi Field (Fanwalk), the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, and the Cleveland Indians' "Heritage Park."
Based on Committee studies and expert estimates, commemorative bricks at plazas & walkways encompassing the new parkland and ball fields scheduled to replace the historic site of Old Yankee Stadium could generate well over 5 Million dollars (as other MLB "legacy" brick memorials have) - depending on exact design. This would provide the City of New York millions of dollars more than is needed to save historic Gate 2!!
Legacy brick plazas & walkways would also dramatically increase YEAR-ROUND tourism and visitation to the much-in-need Old Yankee Stadium neighborhood - where residents and businesses have lost critical revenues with the Stadium's closure and destruction. Saving Gate 2 will make the new park one of the most respected and profitable in the country. These brick plazas & walkways would also simultaneously enhance the currently poor aesthetics of the preliminary "Heritage Field" plan, exponentially improving the historic and cultural "disconnect" decried by historic design experts. (Adding extra elegance and attraction, the commemorative bricks can be made in magnificent blue, white and gray combinations, in unique tribute to the Stadium's unparalleled place in history.)
The Parks Department's preliminary plan for the historic Old Yankee Stadium is the highly controversial and criticized "Heritage Field", which retains absolutely NOTHING from Old Yankee Stadium. This as yet unapproved plan has been emphatically objected to by officials, experts, and fans, who regard it as historically, architecturally, and aesthetically "bland" and "inauthentic". It's MOST tragic failure is that it omits saving anything from original Yankee Stadium - a fatal flaw easily corrected with the saving of the 1920's era Gate 2. (The Parks Department abruptly withdrew from their October 5 appearance before the NYC Design Commission, where they were scheduled to defend against these widespread and well-informed criticisms in a Public Hearing before New York City Design Commission, which oversees the aesthetic and architectural suitability of all public projects in New York City.)
Parks Department has told the media (without providing any evidence whatsoever ) that the cost of saving Gate 2 - the original Stadium's most glorious remaining element - is too prohibitive, claiming (again without providing any evidence) it would cost "10 Million dollars". Architectural and structural engineering experts assess the cost at only 1 Million dollars, less than the cost of demolishing and removing the Gate. In other words, experts believe it will cost less to save Gate 2 than to destroy it!!!
In any case, the "SAVE THE GATE" Commemorative Brick Drive would eliminate any cost concern - providing up to 10 Million dollars - thereby saving a majestic part of America's greatest and most historically important stadium, thereby assuring that the historic site of Old Yankee Stadium be more properly preserved, protected & commemorated - making it one of the premier urban parks in America - rather than the unnecessary mediocre and uninspired architectural, aesthetic, cultural, and historical flop that's now proposed by the Parks' Department.
For further information, please call or write the contacts below - who can also put you in touch with historians, preservationists, architects, and other relevant experts, helping to save the gate.
SAVE THE GATE videos prepared by Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium members can be seen at:
http://www.ultimateyankees.com/savethegate.htm. See, for example: "TOP 9 REASONS TO SAVE THE GATE" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyqyl1WJuJM, a musical summary of why the Gate should be saved (to Four of a Kind's "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"), which includes a brief depiction and description of the proposed SAVE THE GATE Commemorative Brick Drive (at "Reason No. 7", 1:04 - 1:14)
###
Information provided above was derived from consultation with top authorities in the fields of Baseball, architecture, New York history & historic preservation, as well as with top"legacy brick" fundraising experts.
______
For Further Information, Please contact:
Brad Turnow
historyoftheyankees.com
(516) 523-4749
(631) 874-5754
bhturnow@optonline.net
and/or
Tim Reid
Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium
(754) 368-1295
savethegate@gmail.com
OLD YANKEE STADIUM PARK
"SAVE THE GATE"
COMMEMORATIVE BRICK DRIVE
Proposed by Citizens and Groups
from Around the Country to Help
SAVE HISTORIC GATE 2
at the
"The House That Ruth Built"
For the purpose of saving historic Gate 2 at Old Yankee Stadium, baseball groups historyoftheyankees.com, the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium & the Committee to Commemorate Babe Ruth - speaking for and acting on behalf of Baseball fans, historians, architects, historic preservationists, and other concerned citizens, groups, and relevant experts from New York and around the nation, has voluntarily researched and developed a
public fundraising campaign to the City of New York, entitled the "SAVE THE GATE" Commemorative Brick Drive.
This Commemorative Brick Drive will be similar to ones throughout Major League Ballparks and other leading sports venues throughout the world, such as the highly successful programs employed by the Mets at Citi Field (Fanwalk), the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, and the Cleveland Indians' "Heritage Park."
Based on Committee studies and expert estimates, commemorative bricks at plazas & walkways encompassing the new parkland and ball fields scheduled to replace the historic site of Old Yankee Stadium could generate well over 5 Million dollars (as other MLB "legacy" brick memorials have) - depending on exact design. This would provide the City of New York millions of dollars more than is needed to save historic Gate 2!!
Legacy brick plazas & walkways would also dramatically increase YEAR-ROUND tourism and visitation to the much-in-need Old Yankee Stadium neighborhood - where residents and businesses have lost critical revenues with the Stadium's closure and destruction. Saving Gate 2 will make the new park one of the most respected and profitable in the country. These brick plazas & walkways would also simultaneously enhance the currently poor aesthetics of the preliminary "Heritage Field" plan, exponentially improving the historic and cultural "disconnect" decried by historic design experts. (Adding extra elegance and attraction, the commemorative bricks can be made in magnificent blue, white and gray combinations, in unique tribute to the Stadium's unparalleled place in history.)
The Parks Department's preliminary plan for the historic Old Yankee Stadium is the highly controversial and criticized "Heritage Field", which retains absolutely NOTHING from Old Yankee Stadium. This as yet unapproved plan has been emphatically objected to by officials, experts, and fans, who regard it as historically, architecturally, and aesthetically "bland" and "inauthentic". It's MOST tragic failure is that it omits saving anything from original Yankee Stadium - a fatal flaw easily corrected with the saving of the 1920's era Gate 2. (The Parks Department abruptly withdrew from their October 5 appearance before the NYC Design Commission, where they were scheduled to defend against these widespread and well-informed criticisms in a Public Hearing before New York City Design Commission, which oversees the aesthetic and architectural suitability of all public projects in New York City.)
Parks Department has told the media (without providing any evidence whatsoever ) that the cost of saving Gate 2 - the original Stadium's most glorious remaining element - is too prohibitive, claiming (again without providing any evidence) it would cost "10 Million dollars". Architectural and structural engineering experts assess the cost at only 1 Million dollars, less than the cost of demolishing and removing the Gate. In other words, experts believe it will cost less to save Gate 2 than to destroy it!!!
In any case, the "SAVE THE GATE" Commemorative Brick Drive would eliminate any cost concern - providing up to 10 Million dollars - thereby saving a majestic part of America's greatest and most historically important stadium, thereby assuring that the historic site of Old Yankee Stadium be more properly preserved, protected & commemorated - making it one of the premier urban parks in America - rather than the unnecessary mediocre and uninspired architectural, aesthetic, cultural, and historical flop that's now proposed by the Parks' Department.
For further information, please call or write the contacts below - who can also put you in touch with historians, preservationists, architects, and other relevant experts, helping to save the gate.
SAVE THE GATE videos prepared by Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium members can be seen at:
http://www.ultimateyankees.com/savethegate.htm. See, for example: "TOP 9 REASONS TO SAVE THE GATE" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyqyl1WJuJM, a musical summary of why the Gate should be saved (to Four of a Kind's "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"), which includes a brief depiction and description of the proposed SAVE THE GATE Commemorative Brick Drive (at "Reason No. 7", 1:04 - 1:14)
###
Information provided above was derived from consultation with top authorities in the fields of Baseball, architecture, New York history & historic preservation, as well as with top"legacy brick" fundraising experts.
______
For Further Information, Please contact:
Brad Turnow
historyoftheyankees.com
(516) 523-4749
(631) 874-5754
bhturnow@optonline.net
and/or
Tim Reid
Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium
(754) 368-1295
savethegate@gmail.com
Rivera named top Pro Athlete of '09
Rivera named top Pro Athlete of '09
Yanks closer haul grows with award from Sporting News
By Anthony DiComo / MLB.com
NEW YORK -- Adding to his cabinet of accolades, Mariano Rivera on Thursday took home the Sporting News' 2009 Pro Athlete of the Year Award.
complete awards coverage
Rivera, who turned 40 after the season, saved 44 games with a 1.76 ERA while winning the fifth World Series title of his career -- not to mention allowing just one run in 16 postseason innings in the process. In June, he became the second player in baseball history to record 500 career saves. Later increasing that mark to 526, Rivera now trails only Trevor Hoffman's 591 saves.
It's been a banner hardware year for the Yankees, who have enjoyed plenty of attention since winning their 27th World Series title last month. Rivera has already won the Delivery Man of the Year Award, given annually to the game's best reliever, and his teammate, Derek Jeter, was named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year -- becoming the first Yankee to claim that honor.
Rivera, by contrast, is the fourth Yankee to win the Sporting News' Pro Athlete of the Year Award. Ron Guidry won in 1978, followed by Joe Torre in '96 and the entire Yankees team in '99.
Two other Yankees, Jeter and first baseman Mark Teixeira, won both Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers this offseason.
The Sporting News honored Rivera alongside its College Athlete of the Year, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, and its High School Athlete of the Year, North Carolina basketball recruit Harrison Barnes.
And the accolade, like everything else in Rivera's career, is something the closer is sure to take in stride.
"You know what? I'm OK with whatever happens," Rivera told the magazine for its award story. "I'm not a guy who goes looking for numbers or chasing records."
Anthony DiComo is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Yanks closer haul grows with award from Sporting News
By Anthony DiComo / MLB.com
NEW YORK -- Adding to his cabinet of accolades, Mariano Rivera on Thursday took home the Sporting News' 2009 Pro Athlete of the Year Award.
complete awards coverage
Rivera, who turned 40 after the season, saved 44 games with a 1.76 ERA while winning the fifth World Series title of his career -- not to mention allowing just one run in 16 postseason innings in the process. In June, he became the second player in baseball history to record 500 career saves. Later increasing that mark to 526, Rivera now trails only Trevor Hoffman's 591 saves.
It's been a banner hardware year for the Yankees, who have enjoyed plenty of attention since winning their 27th World Series title last month. Rivera has already won the Delivery Man of the Year Award, given annually to the game's best reliever, and his teammate, Derek Jeter, was named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year -- becoming the first Yankee to claim that honor.
Rivera, by contrast, is the fourth Yankee to win the Sporting News' Pro Athlete of the Year Award. Ron Guidry won in 1978, followed by Joe Torre in '96 and the entire Yankees team in '99.
Two other Yankees, Jeter and first baseman Mark Teixeira, won both Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers this offseason.
The Sporting News honored Rivera alongside its College Athlete of the Year, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, and its High School Athlete of the Year, North Carolina basketball recruit Harrison Barnes.
And the accolade, like everything else in Rivera's career, is something the closer is sure to take in stride.
"You know what? I'm OK with whatever happens," Rivera told the magazine for its award story. "I'm not a guy who goes looking for numbers or chasing records."
Anthony DiComo is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Friday, December 18, 2009
MR. AND MRS. JONES GO TO WASHINGTON - GATE 2 NEWS!!!
PRESS RELEASE December 18, 2009
MR. AND MRS. JONES GO TO WASHINGTON
From: Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium
Christmas has come early to the Bronx; Gate 2 at The House That Ruth Built is alive and well, standing proudly and defiantly (must be that Edison Concrete) as the rest of the Stadium slowly crumbles around her. She still serves as a reminder of and a portal to thirty-seven American League Pennants and twenty-six World Championships.
On Monday, December 14, representatives from the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium walked the streets of the Bronx (specifically, 161st Street and River Avenue) as well as those of the Nation’s Capital, seeking funding, landmark status, and assurance that the Gate, which is original to the old Stadium (1923), will go untouched until all structural inspections, preservation cost estimates, and evaluation and analysis of those estimates have been conducted. After extensive review of its originality, aesthetic and architectural worth, and its great historical importance, the Design Commission of the City of New York recommended that the City’s Parks Department redo its preliminary plan to include Gate 2 as a monument in the new park.
Chris and Cindy Jones (Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium) traveled to Washington, DC last Monday, armed with press releases, letters, and photographs…ammunition as well as evidence of the Gate’s historical, architectural, cultural, and spiritual importance…and spoke with the offices of individuals and staff members of organizations whose support of the preservation effort could make a difference.
Chris and Cindy’s visit and correspondence(s) were also about requesting federal stimulus funds for this “shovel-ready” project, as well as for historic preservation funds for this preeminent historical site (as stated above). The Committee, to garner additional funds, has also initiated a Volunteer Worker Program and a Commemorative Brick Drive, much like the one at Citi Field’
Their trip was also a preliminary step toward application for Federal land marking and funding for the old Yankee Stadium site.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones spoke with individuals at the National Park Service (Historic Preservation Program); the office of United States Senator, Charles Schumer (New York); Congressman, Jose E. Serrano (New York’s 16th District); and Adolfo Carrion, former Bronx Borough President and currently White House Director of Urban Affairs. Ironically, the office of Jim Bunning, former Major League pitcher, 1996 inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and United States Senator from Kentucky, was down the hall from that of Senator Schumer, and information regarding Gate 2 was left for him as well.
The Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium has also contacted the Steinbrenner Family and Mayor Bloomberg and requested that they supply the needed funds (if they don’t accept/approve/apply for the proposed funding).
Contact Information for MR. AND MRS. JONES GO TO WASHINGTON
Chris and Cindy Jones, Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium
13722 Long Cove Place
Midlothian, Virginia 23112
Chris: chris_jones86@comcast.net
(804) 639-9472 (Home)
(804) 441-2112 (Cell)
Cindy: cin_jones@comcast.net
cindy_jones@ccpsnet.net
(804) 639-9472 (Home)
(804) 426-9911 (Cell)
MR. AND MRS. JONES GO TO WASHINGTON
From: Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium
Christmas has come early to the Bronx; Gate 2 at The House That Ruth Built is alive and well, standing proudly and defiantly (must be that Edison Concrete) as the rest of the Stadium slowly crumbles around her. She still serves as a reminder of and a portal to thirty-seven American League Pennants and twenty-six World Championships.
On Monday, December 14, representatives from the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium walked the streets of the Bronx (specifically, 161st Street and River Avenue) as well as those of the Nation’s Capital, seeking funding, landmark status, and assurance that the Gate, which is original to the old Stadium (1923), will go untouched until all structural inspections, preservation cost estimates, and evaluation and analysis of those estimates have been conducted. After extensive review of its originality, aesthetic and architectural worth, and its great historical importance, the Design Commission of the City of New York recommended that the City’s Parks Department redo its preliminary plan to include Gate 2 as a monument in the new park.
Chris and Cindy Jones (Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium) traveled to Washington, DC last Monday, armed with press releases, letters, and photographs…ammunition as well as evidence of the Gate’s historical, architectural, cultural, and spiritual importance…and spoke with the offices of individuals and staff members of organizations whose support of the preservation effort could make a difference.
Chris and Cindy’s visit and correspondence(s) were also about requesting federal stimulus funds for this “shovel-ready” project, as well as for historic preservation funds for this preeminent historical site (as stated above). The Committee, to garner additional funds, has also initiated a Volunteer Worker Program and a Commemorative Brick Drive, much like the one at Citi Field’
Their trip was also a preliminary step toward application for Federal land marking and funding for the old Yankee Stadium site.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones spoke with individuals at the National Park Service (Historic Preservation Program); the office of United States Senator, Charles Schumer (New York); Congressman, Jose E. Serrano (New York’s 16th District); and Adolfo Carrion, former Bronx Borough President and currently White House Director of Urban Affairs. Ironically, the office of Jim Bunning, former Major League pitcher, 1996 inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and United States Senator from Kentucky, was down the hall from that of Senator Schumer, and information regarding Gate 2 was left for him as well.
The Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium has also contacted the Steinbrenner Family and Mayor Bloomberg and requested that they supply the needed funds (if they don’t accept/approve/apply for the proposed funding).
Contact Information for MR. AND MRS. JONES GO TO WASHINGTON
Chris and Cindy Jones, Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium
13722 Long Cove Place
Midlothian, Virginia 23112
Chris: chris_jones86@comcast.net
(804) 639-9472 (Home)
(804) 441-2112 (Cell)
Cindy: cin_jones@comcast.net
cindy_jones@ccpsnet.net
(804) 639-9472 (Home)
(804) 426-9911 (Cell)
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Yankee adviser sad to see old Stadium go
Yankee adviser sad to see old Stadium go
December 17, 2009 by JIM BAUMBACH / jim.baumbach@newsday.com
Ray Negron and George Steinbrenner
In what used to be centerfield at the old Yankee Stadium Ray Negron stood Wednesday with his shoulders slumped, a somber look plastered on his face.
Clearly he did not like what he was seeing.
“Sad,” he said. “Just sad.”
The stadium is slowing coming down, and of all the people who have come through these hallowed grounds over the years, perhaps no one has a stronger connection to it than Negron.
After all, it changed his life.
It was some 36 years ago when new Yankees owner George Steinbrenner caught Negron painting graffiti on the outside of Yankee Stadium. Instead of turning Negron over to the police, Steinbrenner made him the batboy for that night’s game, telling him he could keep the job if he stayed out of trouble.
That began a lifelong relationship between Steinbrenner and Negron, one that has inspired Negron in recent years to give back to children – and to Steinbrenner, for what he describes as living a dream ever since the Yankees owner dragged him away by the shoulder that day.
He has brought sick children, underprivileged kids – basically anyone in need of hope – to the stadium for a pick-me-up. Or he has brought the Yankees to them, including one time last summer appearing with Alex Rodriguez at the handball court across from Yankee Stadium for an impromptu game of stickball.
He has written three Yankee-themed children’s books, all dedicated to Steinbrenner, but his current passion has been films.
There’s an animated movie due out next spring, “Henry and Me,” detailing a young sick boy’s magical journey in which various Yankees give him life lessons. Richard Gere lent his voice for the lede role, with more than a dozen Yankees from Yogi Berra to Joe Girardi making cameos.
Finally, there’s a movie tentatively entitled “Keeper of the Pinstripes,” focusing on a kid Steinbrenner finds on the street and instructs to move the ghosts and spirits from the old Yankee Stadium to the new one before it is gone. That’s why Negron and his movie crew were on hand at the old stadium yesterday.
“You want to feel the heart and soul of what Yankee Stadium represents, and you want to feel the spirits in the room,” executive producer Alfred Zaccagnino said, “so you can convey that on screen.”
If you believe in the Yankee Stadium ghosts and think they’re still there, then they must be residing in the Lou Gehrig room, the last place still standing in its original form. This is the place Gehrig’s widow once told Negron Gehrig used to go to sit, cry and pray in his remaining days as a Yankee.
To commemorate the room, there is a painting on the pillar of Yankees captains Gehrig, Thurman Munson and Derek Jeter, which still stands there today amid the construction.
“Jeter would never come into this room,” Negron said. “He was afraid. Everyday I used to say to him, ‘Let’s go to the room.’ And he’d say, ‘We will. We will.’ But I finally gave up.
“A month before we closed the stadium, I accidentally bumped into him right by the room and I said, ‘This is not a coincidence. Do me a favor. Let’s go there.’ And we did.
“He saw this, and he was silent but you could tell he was moved. He only said one thing. He repeated thank you, eight or nine times.”
That it was Negron who was in position to give Jeter that perspective of history is not lost on him.
Negron is the first to tell you he’s lived a life every Yankees fan could dream of, and he owes it all to a can of graffiti and an owner willing to give a kid a chance.
December 17, 2009 by JIM BAUMBACH / jim.baumbach@newsday.com
Ray Negron and George Steinbrenner
In what used to be centerfield at the old Yankee Stadium Ray Negron stood Wednesday with his shoulders slumped, a somber look plastered on his face.
Clearly he did not like what he was seeing.
“Sad,” he said. “Just sad.”
The stadium is slowing coming down, and of all the people who have come through these hallowed grounds over the years, perhaps no one has a stronger connection to it than Negron.
After all, it changed his life.
It was some 36 years ago when new Yankees owner George Steinbrenner caught Negron painting graffiti on the outside of Yankee Stadium. Instead of turning Negron over to the police, Steinbrenner made him the batboy for that night’s game, telling him he could keep the job if he stayed out of trouble.
That began a lifelong relationship between Steinbrenner and Negron, one that has inspired Negron in recent years to give back to children – and to Steinbrenner, for what he describes as living a dream ever since the Yankees owner dragged him away by the shoulder that day.
He has brought sick children, underprivileged kids – basically anyone in need of hope – to the stadium for a pick-me-up. Or he has brought the Yankees to them, including one time last summer appearing with Alex Rodriguez at the handball court across from Yankee Stadium for an impromptu game of stickball.
He has written three Yankee-themed children’s books, all dedicated to Steinbrenner, but his current passion has been films.
There’s an animated movie due out next spring, “Henry and Me,” detailing a young sick boy’s magical journey in which various Yankees give him life lessons. Richard Gere lent his voice for the lede role, with more than a dozen Yankees from Yogi Berra to Joe Girardi making cameos.
Finally, there’s a movie tentatively entitled “Keeper of the Pinstripes,” focusing on a kid Steinbrenner finds on the street and instructs to move the ghosts and spirits from the old Yankee Stadium to the new one before it is gone. That’s why Negron and his movie crew were on hand at the old stadium yesterday.
“You want to feel the heart and soul of what Yankee Stadium represents, and you want to feel the spirits in the room,” executive producer Alfred Zaccagnino said, “so you can convey that on screen.”
If you believe in the Yankee Stadium ghosts and think they’re still there, then they must be residing in the Lou Gehrig room, the last place still standing in its original form. This is the place Gehrig’s widow once told Negron Gehrig used to go to sit, cry and pray in his remaining days as a Yankee.
To commemorate the room, there is a painting on the pillar of Yankees captains Gehrig, Thurman Munson and Derek Jeter, which still stands there today amid the construction.
“Jeter would never come into this room,” Negron said. “He was afraid. Everyday I used to say to him, ‘Let’s go to the room.’ And he’d say, ‘We will. We will.’ But I finally gave up.
“A month before we closed the stadium, I accidentally bumped into him right by the room and I said, ‘This is not a coincidence. Do me a favor. Let’s go there.’ And we did.
“He saw this, and he was silent but you could tell he was moved. He only said one thing. He repeated thank you, eight or nine times.”
That it was Negron who was in position to give Jeter that perspective of history is not lost on him.
Negron is the first to tell you he’s lived a life every Yankees fan could dream of, and he owes it all to a can of graffiti and an owner willing to give a kid a chance.
Ongoing demolition of old Yankee Stadium a sad sight
Ongoing demolition of old Yankee Stadium a sad sight
December 16, 2009 by JIM BAUMBACH / jim.baumbach@newsday.com
Inside the old Yankee Stadium there's no telling where home plate is . . . errr . . . used to be. Same goes for the pitcher's mound, dugouts, outfield walls, clubhouses. They're all gone. Even Monument Park. It's a stunningly empty, sad scene.
>>CLICK HERE: Photos of the demolition of Yankee Stadium
Standing inside this once proud baseball landmark you remind yourself that this really shouldn't be that surprising. There hasn't been a game here in more than a year, and the scaffolding outside the stadium for several months has signaled that the deconstruction process was well under way.
But that knowledge still doesn't take away the sting when you walk through the doors to Yankee Stadium and see her in this sad shape, inching closer to her death with each day.
Wednesday, Yankees adviser Ray Negron accompanied a film crew to take shots for his upcoming motion picture, tentatively titled, "Keeper of the Pinstripes." Loosely based on Negron's childhood - he got his first job with the Yankees 36 years ago when George Steinbrenner found him putting graffiti on an exterior wall of the Stadium and "punished" him by making him a batboy - the film is billed as a modern-day "Pride of the Yankees."
This Newsday reporter tagged along for the trip inside the old stadium. The first thing that strikes you when you walk inside is that one of the most historic fields in baseball history is now one giant slew of mud, the soft type that sinks six inches with every step you take.
The stadium's structure is still very much in place, letting you know you're still standing inside what was once Yankee Stadium. But the upper deck is missing its seats, giving it a sickly depleted look.
At least there still remains some semblance of an upper deck. The concrete that used to hold the loge level and box seats are now only a memory, replaced by a mixture of rubble and construction trucks.
The only room still intact is "the Lou Gehrig room," an old storage room along the rightfield wall that Negron says Gehrig used for solitude during his last days.
There's a pillar there with a painting of Gehrig, Thurman Munson and Derek Jeter, completely undisturbed by the commotion going on around it. Its days are numbered, as well, but it's fitting that it is the last to go.
>>CLICK HERE: Photos of the demolition of Yankee Stadium
December 16, 2009 by JIM BAUMBACH / jim.baumbach@newsday.com
Inside the old Yankee Stadium there's no telling where home plate is . . . errr . . . used to be. Same goes for the pitcher's mound, dugouts, outfield walls, clubhouses. They're all gone. Even Monument Park. It's a stunningly empty, sad scene.
>>CLICK HERE: Photos of the demolition of Yankee Stadium
Standing inside this once proud baseball landmark you remind yourself that this really shouldn't be that surprising. There hasn't been a game here in more than a year, and the scaffolding outside the stadium for several months has signaled that the deconstruction process was well under way.
But that knowledge still doesn't take away the sting when you walk through the doors to Yankee Stadium and see her in this sad shape, inching closer to her death with each day.
Wednesday, Yankees adviser Ray Negron accompanied a film crew to take shots for his upcoming motion picture, tentatively titled, "Keeper of the Pinstripes." Loosely based on Negron's childhood - he got his first job with the Yankees 36 years ago when George Steinbrenner found him putting graffiti on an exterior wall of the Stadium and "punished" him by making him a batboy - the film is billed as a modern-day "Pride of the Yankees."
This Newsday reporter tagged along for the trip inside the old stadium. The first thing that strikes you when you walk inside is that one of the most historic fields in baseball history is now one giant slew of mud, the soft type that sinks six inches with every step you take.
The stadium's structure is still very much in place, letting you know you're still standing inside what was once Yankee Stadium. But the upper deck is missing its seats, giving it a sickly depleted look.
At least there still remains some semblance of an upper deck. The concrete that used to hold the loge level and box seats are now only a memory, replaced by a mixture of rubble and construction trucks.
The only room still intact is "the Lou Gehrig room," an old storage room along the rightfield wall that Negron says Gehrig used for solitude during his last days.
There's a pillar there with a painting of Gehrig, Thurman Munson and Derek Jeter, completely undisturbed by the commotion going on around it. Its days are numbered, as well, but it's fitting that it is the last to go.
>>CLICK HERE: Photos of the demolition of Yankee Stadium
Monday, December 14, 2009
Source: Matsui signs one-year deal with Angels
Source: Matsui signs one-year deal with Angels
December 14, 2009 by NEWSDAY.com and THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - Hideki Matsui, Most
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Hideki Matsui has signed with the Los Angeles Angels, according to a report by The New York Times.
The deal is for one year, and worth $6.5 million, according to ESPN's Buster Olney.
Matsui batted .274 with 28 homers and 90 RBIs for the New York Yankees last season, then was selected World Series MVP despite starting only three of the six games against Philadelphia. He went 8 for 13 (.615) with three homers and eight RBIs, tying
a Series record by driving in six runs in Game 6.
“I can confirm that we are in serious discussions with the Angels,” Matsui’s agent, Arn Tellem, wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
Tellem declined further comment.
Slowed by surgically repaired knees, the 35-year-old Matsui would replace Vladimir Guerrero as Los Angeles’ primary designated hitter. Guerrero, also hobbled by injuries, will turn 35 in February. Both sluggers are free agents.
Matsui has surpassed 100 RBIs four times in seven seasons with the Yankees after coming over from Japan, where he was an enormous star. He just completed a $52 million, four-year contract with New York.
Matsui and the Yankees beat Los Angeles in the AL championship series last season. The Angels have won three straight AL West titles and five of the past six, but haven’t reached the World Series since winning the 2002 title.
December 14, 2009 by NEWSDAY.com and THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - Hideki Matsui, Most
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Hideki Matsui has signed with the Los Angeles Angels, according to a report by The New York Times.
The deal is for one year, and worth $6.5 million, according to ESPN's Buster Olney.
Matsui batted .274 with 28 homers and 90 RBIs for the New York Yankees last season, then was selected World Series MVP despite starting only three of the six games against Philadelphia. He went 8 for 13 (.615) with three homers and eight RBIs, tying
a Series record by driving in six runs in Game 6.
“I can confirm that we are in serious discussions with the Angels,” Matsui’s agent, Arn Tellem, wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
Tellem declined further comment.
Slowed by surgically repaired knees, the 35-year-old Matsui would replace Vladimir Guerrero as Los Angeles’ primary designated hitter. Guerrero, also hobbled by injuries, will turn 35 in February. Both sluggers are free agents.
Matsui has surpassed 100 RBIs four times in seven seasons with the Yankees after coming over from Japan, where he was an enormous star. He just completed a $52 million, four-year contract with New York.
Matsui and the Yankees beat Los Angeles in the AL championship series last season. The Angels have won three straight AL West titles and five of the past six, but haven’t reached the World Series since winning the 2002 title.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
The Official Family Site of George Herman "Babe" Ruth
The Official Family Site of George Herman "Babe" Ruth
http://www.retirebabesnumber.com/
We added and made changes...more coming!
http://www.retirebabesnumber.com/
We added and made changes...more coming!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Yanks bring back Pettitte, but still looking to build starting rotation
Yanks bring back Pettitte, but still looking to build starting rotation
December 9, 2009 by KEN DAVIDOFF / ken.davidoff@newsday.com
INDIANAPOLIS - Andy Pettitte served as the Yankees' "first priority" this offseason, Brian Cashman said Wednesday, and that's why the general manager spoke happily of bringing back Pettitte for a 13th season in the Bronx.
But Cashman wants to build upon his starting rotation, and that looks to be a far greater challenge than bringing back the veteran lefthander.
"The starting pitching market is a headache," Cashman said at the winter meetings after the team completed both the Pettitte re-signing - a one-year, $11.75-million deal - and the three-way trade for Curtis Granderson.
The Yankees continue to engage the Blue Jays on Roy Halladay, yet the same potential roadblocks exist; the Yankees don't want to give up prospects and pay him a huge extension, and Toronto will likely charge a premium from its AL East neighbors. Toronto wants catching prospect Jesus Montero and either Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes as the nucleus to a deal.
Throw in the fact that the Yankees just weakened their farm system with the Granderson trade, and one person in the loop said the Yankees would likely not wind up with Halladay. The other high-end option is free agent John Lackey, and Cashman met Wednesday with Lackey's agent, Steve Hilliard. An agreement there, however, appears unlikely.
The Yankees will consider Ben Sheets, who missed all of 2009 after undergoing right elbow surgery, but they didn't go after him last winter because of concerns about his health. So they likely won't be very aggressive.
Pettitte, meanwhile, said he briefly considered retiring after winning the Yankees' clinching games in all three postseason series. "I could not have written a script any better after last year ended," he told reporters in a telephone news conference. "I was like, 'What else is there to do, man? Why would you even continue to play?'
"Then you start talking to guys. I want to make sure I'm done. I want to make sure I fully exhaust myself. I don't want to regret not playing. I want to try to come back and help this organization win another one, basically. That's what you play for."
December 9, 2009 by KEN DAVIDOFF / ken.davidoff@newsday.com
INDIANAPOLIS - Andy Pettitte served as the Yankees' "first priority" this offseason, Brian Cashman said Wednesday, and that's why the general manager spoke happily of bringing back Pettitte for a 13th season in the Bronx.
But Cashman wants to build upon his starting rotation, and that looks to be a far greater challenge than bringing back the veteran lefthander.
"The starting pitching market is a headache," Cashman said at the winter meetings after the team completed both the Pettitte re-signing - a one-year, $11.75-million deal - and the three-way trade for Curtis Granderson.
The Yankees continue to engage the Blue Jays on Roy Halladay, yet the same potential roadblocks exist; the Yankees don't want to give up prospects and pay him a huge extension, and Toronto will likely charge a premium from its AL East neighbors. Toronto wants catching prospect Jesus Montero and either Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes as the nucleus to a deal.
Throw in the fact that the Yankees just weakened their farm system with the Granderson trade, and one person in the loop said the Yankees would likely not wind up with Halladay. The other high-end option is free agent John Lackey, and Cashman met Wednesday with Lackey's agent, Steve Hilliard. An agreement there, however, appears unlikely.
The Yankees will consider Ben Sheets, who missed all of 2009 after undergoing right elbow surgery, but they didn't go after him last winter because of concerns about his health. So they likely won't be very aggressive.
Pettitte, meanwhile, said he briefly considered retiring after winning the Yankees' clinching games in all three postseason series. "I could not have written a script any better after last year ended," he told reporters in a telephone news conference. "I was like, 'What else is there to do, man? Why would you even continue to play?'
"Then you start talking to guys. I want to make sure I'm done. I want to make sure I fully exhaust myself. I don't want to regret not playing. I want to try to come back and help this organization win another one, basically. That's what you play for."
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Source: Yankees ink Pettitte for another year
Source: Yankees ink Pettitte for another year
December 9, 2009 by KEN DAVIDOFF / ken.davidoff@newsday.com
Andy Pettitte and the Yankees have reached a deal to bring back the left hander for another year in pinstripes, Newsday has confirmed.
The two sides reached an agreement on one-year contract worth $11.75 million, a source said. This is a significant raise over the $5.5 million he made in base salary in 2009.
For Pettitte, 37, it will be his fourth season back with the Yankees after a three-year stay with his native Astros in Houston, and his 13th season, overall, with the team that drafted him.
With Pettitte fortifying their starting rotation, the Yankees will stay engaged on free-agent starting pitchers -- more likely reclamation projects like Justin Duscherer, Rich Harden and Ben Sheets than a high-end target like John Lackey -- and in trade discussions with Roy Halladay.
However, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is wary of depleting too much of his farm system after using trade chips to acquire Detroit’s Curtis Granderson.
December 9, 2009 by KEN DAVIDOFF / ken.davidoff@newsday.com
Andy Pettitte and the Yankees have reached a deal to bring back the left hander for another year in pinstripes, Newsday has confirmed.
The two sides reached an agreement on one-year contract worth $11.75 million, a source said. This is a significant raise over the $5.5 million he made in base salary in 2009.
For Pettitte, 37, it will be his fourth season back with the Yankees after a three-year stay with his native Astros in Houston, and his 13th season, overall, with the team that drafted him.
With Pettitte fortifying their starting rotation, the Yankees will stay engaged on free-agent starting pitchers -- more likely reclamation projects like Justin Duscherer, Rich Harden and Ben Sheets than a high-end target like John Lackey -- and in trade discussions with Roy Halladay.
However, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is wary of depleting too much of his farm system after using trade chips to acquire Detroit’s Curtis Granderson.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Remembering Tommy Henrich - by Harvey Frommer
Harvey Frommer on Sports
Remembering Tommy Henrich
"I was always a Yankee fan."
The oldest living Yankee, the final survivor of their great teams of the 1930s, Thomas David Henrich has passed away at the age of 96.
Born in Massillon, Ohio February 20, 1913, Henrich took to playing baseball often and well at an early age. In April 1937, Commissioner Landis ruled Henrich a free agent after he had been illegally hidden in the Cleveland farm system. He signed with the Yankees for a reported $25,000 and made his New York debut on May 11, 1937.
In an eleven year Yankee career Henrich batted .282. In 1948, he led the league in triples and runs scored, batted .308 with 25 homers and 100 RBIs. In 1949, his consistent clutch hitting helped keep the injury-racked Yankees in the pennant race. In 115 games, he hit 24 homers, drove in 85 runs, scoring 90 more.
Along with Joe DiMaggio and Charlie Keller, Henrich formed one of baseball's most celebrated outfields for the Yankees before and after WWII. Although Henrich played in only four World Series because of injuries and three years of military service, he was a key figure in two of the most famous Series games.
In 1949, his ninth inning homer off Don Newcombe of the Dodgers in Game One gave the Yankees the win and created the atmosphere for a Yankee world championship. Moments like those inspired Mel Allen to nick-name the four time All Star "Old Reliable" for a railroad train that was always on time that ran from Cincinnati through the Yankee announcer's Alabama birthplace state.
But Henrich will always be remembered most for his role in Game 4 of the 1941 World Series. It was Sunday baseball at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn before 33,813, standing room only. Yankees against Dodgers.
The first ball was thrown out by New York Mayor LaGuardia. The match-up pitted Brooklyn's Kirby Higbe against New York's Atley McDonald in the first Subway Series between the two teams. Higbe and McDonald were long gone as the game moved to the ninth inning and Brooklyn's Hugh Casey and Yankee reliever Johnny Murphy held forth with "Dem Bums" leading 4-3.
Tommy Henrich faced the burly Casey. There were two out. The count was three and two.
MEL ALLEN (GAME CALL) "Casey goes into the windup. Around comes the right arm, in comes the pitch. A swing by Henrich . . . he swings and misses, strike three! But the ball gets away from Mickey Owen. It's rolling back to the screen. Tommy Henrich races down toward first base. He makes it safely. And the Yankees are still alive with Joe DiMaggio coming up to bat."
"That ball broke like no curve I'd ever seen Casey throw," Henrich remembered. "As I start to swing, I think, 'No good. Hold up.' That thing broke so sharp, though, that as I tried to hold up, my mind said, 'He might have trouble with it.'"
Catcher Owen that 1941 season set the National League record of 476 consecutive errorless chances accepted was the goat. But there were those who thought a bit too much spit or other substance came along with the ball to home plate.
Whatever, the passed ball shook up Casey. The Yanks scored four times and won the game 7-4 and the next day won the world championship.
And "Old Reliable" Tommy Henrich, once again in the right place at the right time, helped the Yankees to another win.
The man from Massillon, Ohio was one of a kind. He will be missed.
==
Harvey Frommer is his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. The author of 40 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work an oral and narrative history of Fenway Park will be published in 2010.
Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Remembering Tommy Henrich
"I was always a Yankee fan."
The oldest living Yankee, the final survivor of their great teams of the 1930s, Thomas David Henrich has passed away at the age of 96.
Born in Massillon, Ohio February 20, 1913, Henrich took to playing baseball often and well at an early age. In April 1937, Commissioner Landis ruled Henrich a free agent after he had been illegally hidden in the Cleveland farm system. He signed with the Yankees for a reported $25,000 and made his New York debut on May 11, 1937.
In an eleven year Yankee career Henrich batted .282. In 1948, he led the league in triples and runs scored, batted .308 with 25 homers and 100 RBIs. In 1949, his consistent clutch hitting helped keep the injury-racked Yankees in the pennant race. In 115 games, he hit 24 homers, drove in 85 runs, scoring 90 more.
Along with Joe DiMaggio and Charlie Keller, Henrich formed one of baseball's most celebrated outfields for the Yankees before and after WWII. Although Henrich played in only four World Series because of injuries and three years of military service, he was a key figure in two of the most famous Series games.
In 1949, his ninth inning homer off Don Newcombe of the Dodgers in Game One gave the Yankees the win and created the atmosphere for a Yankee world championship. Moments like those inspired Mel Allen to nick-name the four time All Star "Old Reliable" for a railroad train that was always on time that ran from Cincinnati through the Yankee announcer's Alabama birthplace state.
But Henrich will always be remembered most for his role in Game 4 of the 1941 World Series. It was Sunday baseball at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn before 33,813, standing room only. Yankees against Dodgers.
The first ball was thrown out by New York Mayor LaGuardia. The match-up pitted Brooklyn's Kirby Higbe against New York's Atley McDonald in the first Subway Series between the two teams. Higbe and McDonald were long gone as the game moved to the ninth inning and Brooklyn's Hugh Casey and Yankee reliever Johnny Murphy held forth with "Dem Bums" leading 4-3.
Tommy Henrich faced the burly Casey. There were two out. The count was three and two.
MEL ALLEN (GAME CALL) "Casey goes into the windup. Around comes the right arm, in comes the pitch. A swing by Henrich . . . he swings and misses, strike three! But the ball gets away from Mickey Owen. It's rolling back to the screen. Tommy Henrich races down toward first base. He makes it safely. And the Yankees are still alive with Joe DiMaggio coming up to bat."
"That ball broke like no curve I'd ever seen Casey throw," Henrich remembered. "As I start to swing, I think, 'No good. Hold up.' That thing broke so sharp, though, that as I tried to hold up, my mind said, 'He might have trouble with it.'"
Catcher Owen that 1941 season set the National League record of 476 consecutive errorless chances accepted was the goat. But there were those who thought a bit too much spit or other substance came along with the ball to home plate.
Whatever, the passed ball shook up Casey. The Yanks scored four times and won the game 7-4 and the next day won the world championship.
And "Old Reliable" Tommy Henrich, once again in the right place at the right time, helped the Yankees to another win.
The man from Massillon, Ohio was one of a kind. He will be missed.
==
Harvey Frommer is his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. The author of 40 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work an oral and narrative history of Fenway Park will be published in 2010.
Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Help Save Gate 2 Today! Contact the Yankees Today!
Gate 2 is nearing demolition. We must act QUICKLY to save the gate!!!!!!
You can contact the Yankees today and ask them to SAVE THE GATE!
Go here and fill out the form:
https://secure.mlb.com/help/email.jsp?c_id=nyy&primarySubject=Tickets&secondarySubject=Other&dest=tickets@yankees.mlb.com
Or Write or Call the Yankees at:
Write the Yankees:
New York Yankees
Yankee Stadium
161st St and River Ave
Bronx, NY 10452
Call the Yankees:
(718) 293-4300
You can contact the Yankees today and ask them to SAVE THE GATE!
Go here and fill out the form:
https://secure.mlb.com/help/email.jsp?c_id=nyy&primarySubject=Tickets&secondarySubject=Other&dest=tickets@yankees.mlb.com
Or Write or Call the Yankees at:
Write the Yankees:
New York Yankees
Yankee Stadium
161st St and River Ave
Bronx, NY 10452
Call the Yankees:
(718) 293-4300
Save the Gate - Contact the Yankees Today!
Gate 2 is nearing demolition. We must act QUICKLY to save the gate!!!!!!
You can contact the Yankees today and ask them to SAVE THE GATE!
Go here and fill out the form:
https://secure.mlb.com/help/email.jsp?c_id=nyy&primarySubject=Tickets&secondarySubject=Other&dest=tickets@yankees.mlb.com
Or Write or Call the Yankees at:
Write the Yankees:
New York Yankees
Yankee Stadium
161st St and River Ave
Bronx, NY 10452
Call the Yankees:
(718) 293-4300
You can contact the Yankees today and ask them to SAVE THE GATE!
Go here and fill out the form:
https://secure.mlb.com/help/email.jsp?c_id=nyy&primarySubject=Tickets&secondarySubject=Other&dest=tickets@yankees.mlb.com
Or Write or Call the Yankees at:
Write the Yankees:
New York Yankees
Yankee Stadium
161st St and River Ave
Bronx, NY 10452
Call the Yankees:
(718) 293-4300
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Remembering Bob Sheppard - By Harvey Frommer
Harvey Frommer on Sports
Remembering Bob Sheppard
Back in the late 1980s on assignment for "Yankees Magazine," a stint I held down for almost 18 years, I entered the tiny public address booth high up and behind home plate at Yankee Stadium.
My objective was to do an interview with the legendary Bob Sheppard.
A cordial and elegant man, Sheppard took both my hands in his and smiling told me to take a seat and we would talk. The game was in progress. He was at work. I was concerned that my questions would interfere with his game announcements.
"No problem," he said, "Go right ahead. I have been doing this for a while now."
He had. His first game was on April 17, 1951, Opening Day. The lineup at Yankee Stadium that day was:
Jackie Jensen lf
Phil Rizzuto ss
Mickey Mantle rf
Joe DiMaggio cf
Yogi Berra c
Johnny Mize 1b
Billy Johnson 3b
Jerry Coleman 2b
Vic Raschi p
Looking back at that long ago profile I did with the former St. John's quarterback and first baseman, I see that his favorite Yankee moments included: Larsen's Perfect Game, Maris hitting 61 home runs, Reggie's three home runs against the Dodgers and Mantle's shot almost over the roof.
Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle are on Sheppard's all time favorite list. "DiMaggio's name was symbolic of the early Yankees," Sheppard said, "and "Mickey Mantle has a nice ring to it because the two 'Ms' make it alliterative. "I just loved announcing his name. And one day, shortly before he died, we were both being interviewed on a television program. All of a sudden, he turned to me and said - right there on the air - that every time he heard me announce his name, he got goose bumps. And I felt the same way about announcing him."
Hundreds of eulogies have been written and delivered by Sheppard. "They ask me to do a eulogy. I try to tailor my remarks to the person I am eulogizing. Thurman Munson, Dick Howser, Billy Martin. Mickey Mantle's seemed to strike a cord because he died the night before."
Now the man some call "The Voice of God" will no longer grace the Yankee mystique with his voice. Over Thanksgiving the 99-year-old announced his retirement as Public Address announcer for the New York Yankees:
"I have no plans of coming back," Sheppard said. "Time has passed me by, I think. I had a good run for it. I enjoyed doing what I did. I don't think, at my age, I'm going to suddenly regain the stamina that is really needed if you do the job and do it well."
Bob Sheppard surely did his job well. He was honored with a plaque in Monument Park on May 7, 2000, commemorating his 50th season with the Yankees: "For half a century," the plaque reads, "he has welcomed generations of fans with his trademark greeting, 'Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Yankee Stadium.' His clear, concise and correct vocal style has announced the names of hundreds of players - both unfamiliar and legendary - with equal divine reverence, making him as synonymous with Yankee Stadium as its copper façade and Monument Park."
When I began work on my "Remembering Yankee Stadium: An Oral and Narrative History of the House That Ruth Built," the first one I thought of to interview and to write the book's foreword was Bob Sheppard. How fortunate and honored I was that he agreed to do both.
Here is the foreword:
Good Afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to Yankee Stadium.
By Bob Sheppard
It's hard to believe that almost 60 years have past since I first delivered this greeting to Stadium fans. I could never have imagined when I joined the Yankees that I would be the public address announcer for almost 5,000 games of baseball played on these hallowed grounds. Although I wasn't a part of the Yankees during the Ruth-Huggins-Gehrig era, I've been privileged to announce the names of almost all of the great baseball stars of the past half century. Considering that my public address announcing career as merely been an avocation to my decades as a professor of public speech, I find this most remarkable indeed.
From the old days of the Stadium's visage wrapped with a copper façade and the sounds of Bronx cheers to the recent days of the Stadium's visage wrapped with Diamond Vision and the sounds of "We Will Rock You," the Yankee Stadium has been the citadel of sport. Where in one place could so many baseball icons display their rare talents with such regularity? Where could I have viewed the transformation of Yankee fans from the jacket and tie required cognoscenti of the 50s to today's bleacher creatures. The public address announcer's chair has afforded me a virtual front row seat to Mickey Mantle's s and Reggie Jackson's' towering home runs, Joe DiMaggio's final year of his brilliant career, the magic of Don Larsen's and David Cone's perfect games, 23 World Series & dozens of playoff contests, Roger Maris' 61st homer clouted under tremendous pressure from the press and the fans, the nimble play of Phil Rizzuto, Bobby Richardson, Elston Howard, Willie Randolph, Graig Nettles & Scott Brosius, the crackling sliders of Whitey Ford & Sparky Lyle, the dazzling sinkers of Mel Stottlemyre, the sublime fastballs of Ron Guidry, Rich Gossage, & Mariano Rivera, the determined perseverance of Yogi Berra, Gil McDougald, Lou Pinella & Paul O'Neill, the steady leadership of Thurman Munson & Don Mattingly, and the recent sheer pleasure of watching Derek Jeter blossom from raw rookie into classic Yankee champion. And what other chair could have given me the opportunity to observe the strategic and individual brilliance of Casey Stengel, George Weiss, Ralph Houk, Lee MacPhail, Gabe Paul, Billy Martin, Gene Michael, and Joe Torre?
From my cat-bird seats, first in the loge along the third base line and now from the press box behind home plate, I've witnessed the Stadium go from brown & green to white & blue and now to brand new. Bounties of treasured events and memories have sprung forth from this grand cathedral for me and for several generations of Yankee fans. I extend my thanks and gratitude to Yankee owners Dan Topping & Del Webb, CBS & Mike Burke, and George Steinbrenner for allowing me this opportunity.
As author Harvey Frommer, in these pages, brings the Yankee Stadium past back to us in its full and vivid glory, I'll reflect upon my privileged past and present herein: I wish to be remembered as an announcer who carried the dignity and the style of the Yankee organization and tradition of this magnificent Stadium through the spoken word. My clear-concise-correct point-of-view has never allowed me to be a barker, a rooter, a screamer or a cheerleader. I've always aspired to be in harmony with the Yankee gestalt.
Not a bad aspiration and accomplishment for a professor of public speech who arrived at the Yankee Stadium as a New York baseball Giants' fan!
My greatest wish is that the new Yankee Stadium brings yet another four score and five years of cherished and exciting memories to new generations of Yankee fans.
Bob Sheppard added a grace, an intelligence, an elegance to the New York Yankee experience. He was one of a kind.
====
Harvey Frommer is his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. The author of 40 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK, an oral and narrative history, will be published in 2010.
Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Remembering Bob Sheppard
Back in the late 1980s on assignment for "Yankees Magazine," a stint I held down for almost 18 years, I entered the tiny public address booth high up and behind home plate at Yankee Stadium.
My objective was to do an interview with the legendary Bob Sheppard.
A cordial and elegant man, Sheppard took both my hands in his and smiling told me to take a seat and we would talk. The game was in progress. He was at work. I was concerned that my questions would interfere with his game announcements.
"No problem," he said, "Go right ahead. I have been doing this for a while now."
He had. His first game was on April 17, 1951, Opening Day. The lineup at Yankee Stadium that day was:
Jackie Jensen lf
Phil Rizzuto ss
Mickey Mantle rf
Joe DiMaggio cf
Yogi Berra c
Johnny Mize 1b
Billy Johnson 3b
Jerry Coleman 2b
Vic Raschi p
Looking back at that long ago profile I did with the former St. John's quarterback and first baseman, I see that his favorite Yankee moments included: Larsen's Perfect Game, Maris hitting 61 home runs, Reggie's three home runs against the Dodgers and Mantle's shot almost over the roof.
Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle are on Sheppard's all time favorite list. "DiMaggio's name was symbolic of the early Yankees," Sheppard said, "and "Mickey Mantle has a nice ring to it because the two 'Ms' make it alliterative. "I just loved announcing his name. And one day, shortly before he died, we were both being interviewed on a television program. All of a sudden, he turned to me and said - right there on the air - that every time he heard me announce his name, he got goose bumps. And I felt the same way about announcing him."
Hundreds of eulogies have been written and delivered by Sheppard. "They ask me to do a eulogy. I try to tailor my remarks to the person I am eulogizing. Thurman Munson, Dick Howser, Billy Martin. Mickey Mantle's seemed to strike a cord because he died the night before."
Now the man some call "The Voice of God" will no longer grace the Yankee mystique with his voice. Over Thanksgiving the 99-year-old announced his retirement as Public Address announcer for the New York Yankees:
"I have no plans of coming back," Sheppard said. "Time has passed me by, I think. I had a good run for it. I enjoyed doing what I did. I don't think, at my age, I'm going to suddenly regain the stamina that is really needed if you do the job and do it well."
Bob Sheppard surely did his job well. He was honored with a plaque in Monument Park on May 7, 2000, commemorating his 50th season with the Yankees: "For half a century," the plaque reads, "he has welcomed generations of fans with his trademark greeting, 'Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Yankee Stadium.' His clear, concise and correct vocal style has announced the names of hundreds of players - both unfamiliar and legendary - with equal divine reverence, making him as synonymous with Yankee Stadium as its copper façade and Monument Park."
When I began work on my "Remembering Yankee Stadium: An Oral and Narrative History of the House That Ruth Built," the first one I thought of to interview and to write the book's foreword was Bob Sheppard. How fortunate and honored I was that he agreed to do both.
Here is the foreword:
Good Afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to Yankee Stadium.
By Bob Sheppard
It's hard to believe that almost 60 years have past since I first delivered this greeting to Stadium fans. I could never have imagined when I joined the Yankees that I would be the public address announcer for almost 5,000 games of baseball played on these hallowed grounds. Although I wasn't a part of the Yankees during the Ruth-Huggins-Gehrig era, I've been privileged to announce the names of almost all of the great baseball stars of the past half century. Considering that my public address announcing career as merely been an avocation to my decades as a professor of public speech, I find this most remarkable indeed.
From the old days of the Stadium's visage wrapped with a copper façade and the sounds of Bronx cheers to the recent days of the Stadium's visage wrapped with Diamond Vision and the sounds of "We Will Rock You," the Yankee Stadium has been the citadel of sport. Where in one place could so many baseball icons display their rare talents with such regularity? Where could I have viewed the transformation of Yankee fans from the jacket and tie required cognoscenti of the 50s to today's bleacher creatures. The public address announcer's chair has afforded me a virtual front row seat to Mickey Mantle's s and Reggie Jackson's' towering home runs, Joe DiMaggio's final year of his brilliant career, the magic of Don Larsen's and David Cone's perfect games, 23 World Series & dozens of playoff contests, Roger Maris' 61st homer clouted under tremendous pressure from the press and the fans, the nimble play of Phil Rizzuto, Bobby Richardson, Elston Howard, Willie Randolph, Graig Nettles & Scott Brosius, the crackling sliders of Whitey Ford & Sparky Lyle, the dazzling sinkers of Mel Stottlemyre, the sublime fastballs of Ron Guidry, Rich Gossage, & Mariano Rivera, the determined perseverance of Yogi Berra, Gil McDougald, Lou Pinella & Paul O'Neill, the steady leadership of Thurman Munson & Don Mattingly, and the recent sheer pleasure of watching Derek Jeter blossom from raw rookie into classic Yankee champion. And what other chair could have given me the opportunity to observe the strategic and individual brilliance of Casey Stengel, George Weiss, Ralph Houk, Lee MacPhail, Gabe Paul, Billy Martin, Gene Michael, and Joe Torre?
From my cat-bird seats, first in the loge along the third base line and now from the press box behind home plate, I've witnessed the Stadium go from brown & green to white & blue and now to brand new. Bounties of treasured events and memories have sprung forth from this grand cathedral for me and for several generations of Yankee fans. I extend my thanks and gratitude to Yankee owners Dan Topping & Del Webb, CBS & Mike Burke, and George Steinbrenner for allowing me this opportunity.
As author Harvey Frommer, in these pages, brings the Yankee Stadium past back to us in its full and vivid glory, I'll reflect upon my privileged past and present herein: I wish to be remembered as an announcer who carried the dignity and the style of the Yankee organization and tradition of this magnificent Stadium through the spoken word. My clear-concise-correct point-of-view has never allowed me to be a barker, a rooter, a screamer or a cheerleader. I've always aspired to be in harmony with the Yankee gestalt.
Not a bad aspiration and accomplishment for a professor of public speech who arrived at the Yankee Stadium as a New York baseball Giants' fan!
My greatest wish is that the new Yankee Stadium brings yet another four score and five years of cherished and exciting memories to new generations of Yankee fans.
Bob Sheppard added a grace, an intelligence, an elegance to the New York Yankee experience. He was one of a kind.
====
Harvey Frommer is his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. The author of 40 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK, an oral and narrative history, will be published in 2010.
Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Story on SAVE THE GATE Volunteer Worker Program:
Story on SAVE THE GATE Volunteer Worker Program:
http://nhregister.com/articles/2009/11/27/news/b1-fri_beachclmngate.txt
Sign Up & Save the Gate at:
savethegate@gmail.com
http://nhregister.com/articles/2009/11/27/news/b1-fri_beachclmngate.txt
Sign Up & Save the Gate at:
savethegate@gmail.com
Friday, November 27, 2009
Right mix of personalities, not talent on bloated payroll, put NY Yankees over the top
Right mix of personalities, not talent on bloated payroll, put NY Yankees over the top
By Marc Carig/The Star-Ledger
November 07, 2009, 8:21PM
Jennifer Brown/The Star-LedgerYankees captain Derek Jeter holds the World Series Trophy above his head as the Steinbrenner family applauds at a celebration on the steps of City Hall Friday honoring the Yankees and their World Series championship.NEW YORK — Scraps of plastic sheeting covered the replica Yankee Stadium facade that rings the ceiling of the home clubhouse. Drained champagne bottles sat tucked away in lockers that would soon be emptied. A few caps rested on the floor, their labels still attached, “World Series Champions,” stitched to their fronts.
Saturday morning, days after clinching their 27th world championship, signs remained of what the Yankees accomplished together.
But soon, the physical evidence in the clubhouse will be wiped away. Soon, new players will come and old ones will go. Soon, all that will remain of the 2009 Yankees will be a bond, one that will last forever.
“That bond is always there, no matter if you don’t see each other for a month, six months, a year,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “That bond is always special.”
Before taking the Yankees to the championship in his second season as the manager, he played on three championship teams during the franchise’s dynasty. He was reminded of this constantly this postseason, as former teammates Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez, David Cone, Charlie Hayes and Scott Brosius each came to participate in pregame ceremonies.
With each, despite the passage of time, Girardi felt the connection.
By proving themselves as the best team in baseball — and doing it with a sense of chemistry despite a clubhouse filled with big names and even bigger paychecks — Girardi said the 2009 Yankees have earned the same destiny. They, too, will feel a bond.
“To be able to maintain that in this city, with the scrutiny that we have, and the egos that come with the big players we’re attracted to, it’s a remarkable job by our manager and our coaching staff,” said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.
The payroll hovered at a staggering $206 million and the roster boasted some of the best talent in baseball, which has been standard operating procedure in the Bronx for years. Yet, for the first time since the fall of the last dynasty, the Yankees also discovered the right mix of personalities, too.
“If you look at it, our guys have been able to check their egos at the door,” Girardi said earlier this season, when asked about one of his favorite qualities about the team. “You have to have a sense of pride for what you do. But you don’t necessarily have to have pride.”
These Yankees, Girardi said, proved over and over that they understood the distinction.
Derek Jeter, the captain, consented to a change in his familiar spot in the batting order. Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia, who combined to fetch $341 million in free agency last offseason, emerged as steady clubhouse influences.
But the most important shift came from Alex Rodriguez, who at long last, became just one of the guys.
“I’m a baseball player,” the Yankees’ star said. “My goal was to simplify things. I’ve done that.”
To celebrate something so ordinary seems strange. Yet in Rodriguez’s case, ordinary was an achievement. Already saddled with a perception that he was self-centered, Rodriguez’s steroids admission and hip surgery only brought on more scrutiny.
But this season, Rodriguez may have best personified the unselfishness that Girardi had preached. In the clubhouse, Girardi praised Rodriguez for mentoring the team’s younger players. At the plate, he lauded Rodriguez for show a level of patience that proved he trusted the players around him to come up with big hits.
Rodriguez spoke of forming bonds, whether with other stars or with unheralded players, such as third-string catcher Francisco Cervelli.
“Whether Cervelli, CC or Teixeira, we’re all the same,” he said. “We’re all one, and we’ve enjoyed that.”
Then, Rodriguez shared a thought that would have been unthinkable at the start of the season: “I really enjoyed this year.”
Before the World Series began, designated hitter Hideki Matsui was asked what he believed was the biggest difference between the current Yankees and teams from recent seasons past. Matsui, who during his tenure watched as talented players who proved to be poor fits came and went, answered without hesitation.
“I think every year we had some really good quality, great players,” Matsui said through a translator. “But I think the biggest between this year’s teams and the prior teams is the team chemistry. I think (with) this year’s combination, everybody clicked. We have great players but everybody sort of just blended into one team. That’s the biggest difference.”
The signs of that chemistry showed as early as spring training, where golf putting contests broke out in the middle of morning drills, where Sabathia took teammates to Orlando Magic basketball games at night, and where Girardi suspended workouts one day to take the entire team on a billiards outing.
“It was just a way to have everybody connect on every level possible,” Cashman said.
Those connections produced walk-off wins, cream pies and kangaroo court fines. And they were evident again Saturday morning in the artifacts that could be seen in an otherwise empty clubhouse.
Right fielder Nick Swisher started a collage on one of his locker walls at the start of the season, featuring photos of all his teammates. It nearly stretches to the ceiling.
Reliever Alfredo Aceves began charting wins and losses on a team schedule he taped to his locker wall halfway through the season, preserving in blue marker the second-half surge that propelled the Yankees to a championship.
Catcher Jose Molina taped a photo of the Yankees to his locker at the start of the postseason, in silver ink the words “we are a team.”
Yes, all of those tangible signs of their bond will soon be gone. But what the Yankees really accomplished this season will forever remain.
“We’re champions,” left fielder Johnny Damon said. “You can’t take that away. And it’s going to be that way for history.”
© 2009 NJ.com. All rights reserved.
By Marc Carig/The Star-Ledger
November 07, 2009, 8:21PM
Jennifer Brown/The Star-LedgerYankees captain Derek Jeter holds the World Series Trophy above his head as the Steinbrenner family applauds at a celebration on the steps of City Hall Friday honoring the Yankees and their World Series championship.NEW YORK — Scraps of plastic sheeting covered the replica Yankee Stadium facade that rings the ceiling of the home clubhouse. Drained champagne bottles sat tucked away in lockers that would soon be emptied. A few caps rested on the floor, their labels still attached, “World Series Champions,” stitched to their fronts.
Saturday morning, days after clinching their 27th world championship, signs remained of what the Yankees accomplished together.
But soon, the physical evidence in the clubhouse will be wiped away. Soon, new players will come and old ones will go. Soon, all that will remain of the 2009 Yankees will be a bond, one that will last forever.
“That bond is always there, no matter if you don’t see each other for a month, six months, a year,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “That bond is always special.”
Before taking the Yankees to the championship in his second season as the manager, he played on three championship teams during the franchise’s dynasty. He was reminded of this constantly this postseason, as former teammates Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez, David Cone, Charlie Hayes and Scott Brosius each came to participate in pregame ceremonies.
With each, despite the passage of time, Girardi felt the connection.
By proving themselves as the best team in baseball — and doing it with a sense of chemistry despite a clubhouse filled with big names and even bigger paychecks — Girardi said the 2009 Yankees have earned the same destiny. They, too, will feel a bond.
“To be able to maintain that in this city, with the scrutiny that we have, and the egos that come with the big players we’re attracted to, it’s a remarkable job by our manager and our coaching staff,” said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.
The payroll hovered at a staggering $206 million and the roster boasted some of the best talent in baseball, which has been standard operating procedure in the Bronx for years. Yet, for the first time since the fall of the last dynasty, the Yankees also discovered the right mix of personalities, too.
“If you look at it, our guys have been able to check their egos at the door,” Girardi said earlier this season, when asked about one of his favorite qualities about the team. “You have to have a sense of pride for what you do. But you don’t necessarily have to have pride.”
These Yankees, Girardi said, proved over and over that they understood the distinction.
Derek Jeter, the captain, consented to a change in his familiar spot in the batting order. Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia, who combined to fetch $341 million in free agency last offseason, emerged as steady clubhouse influences.
But the most important shift came from Alex Rodriguez, who at long last, became just one of the guys.
“I’m a baseball player,” the Yankees’ star said. “My goal was to simplify things. I’ve done that.”
To celebrate something so ordinary seems strange. Yet in Rodriguez’s case, ordinary was an achievement. Already saddled with a perception that he was self-centered, Rodriguez’s steroids admission and hip surgery only brought on more scrutiny.
But this season, Rodriguez may have best personified the unselfishness that Girardi had preached. In the clubhouse, Girardi praised Rodriguez for mentoring the team’s younger players. At the plate, he lauded Rodriguez for show a level of patience that proved he trusted the players around him to come up with big hits.
Rodriguez spoke of forming bonds, whether with other stars or with unheralded players, such as third-string catcher Francisco Cervelli.
“Whether Cervelli, CC or Teixeira, we’re all the same,” he said. “We’re all one, and we’ve enjoyed that.”
Then, Rodriguez shared a thought that would have been unthinkable at the start of the season: “I really enjoyed this year.”
Before the World Series began, designated hitter Hideki Matsui was asked what he believed was the biggest difference between the current Yankees and teams from recent seasons past. Matsui, who during his tenure watched as talented players who proved to be poor fits came and went, answered without hesitation.
“I think every year we had some really good quality, great players,” Matsui said through a translator. “But I think the biggest between this year’s teams and the prior teams is the team chemistry. I think (with) this year’s combination, everybody clicked. We have great players but everybody sort of just blended into one team. That’s the biggest difference.”
The signs of that chemistry showed as early as spring training, where golf putting contests broke out in the middle of morning drills, where Sabathia took teammates to Orlando Magic basketball games at night, and where Girardi suspended workouts one day to take the entire team on a billiards outing.
“It was just a way to have everybody connect on every level possible,” Cashman said.
Those connections produced walk-off wins, cream pies and kangaroo court fines. And they were evident again Saturday morning in the artifacts that could be seen in an otherwise empty clubhouse.
Right fielder Nick Swisher started a collage on one of his locker walls at the start of the season, featuring photos of all his teammates. It nearly stretches to the ceiling.
Reliever Alfredo Aceves began charting wins and losses on a team schedule he taped to his locker wall halfway through the season, preserving in blue marker the second-half surge that propelled the Yankees to a championship.
Catcher Jose Molina taped a photo of the Yankees to his locker at the start of the postseason, in silver ink the words “we are a team.”
Yes, all of those tangible signs of their bond will soon be gone. But what the Yankees really accomplished this season will forever remain.
“We’re champions,” left fielder Johnny Damon said. “You can’t take that away. And it’s going to be that way for history.”
© 2009 NJ.com. All rights reserved.
Volunteer brigade fighting time to save Yankee Stadium Gate 2
BEACH: Volunteer brigade fighting time to save Yankee Stadium Gate 2
Friday, November 27, 2009
By Randall Beach
A call has gone out for volunteers who want to help save the endangered gate at the original Yankee Stadium.
There is precious little time to make this happen and overcome the New York City bureaucrats as well as the uncooperative Yankees ownership.
Since I wrote about the effort in this space last June, citizens from many states have joined in the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium. Although virtually all of the old stadium is doomed to be demolished, these activists still hope to preserve the original Gate 2.
Their plan is to maintain the gate as part of Heritage Field, which will replace the stadium with three ballfields. Those fields are needed because the new Yankee Stadium was built on existing baseball diamonds and other park land.
New York City Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said the city intends to knock down the entire old stadium. “Preserving the facade would make it difficult to maximize the park space,” he said.
Moreover, a spokesman for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has repeated other city officials’ claims that restoring the gate would cost $15 million.
But the Save the Gate brigade, including Tim Reid and Mark Costello, believe it can be done for $1 million or less, especially with all of the volunteers stepping up to the plate. They also proposed raising funds through a commemorative brick drive that would place bricks at plazas around the stadium.
Reid recently e-mailed me the announcement of a “Save the Gate volunteer worker program.” It’s designed to eliminate all labor costs associated with saving Gate 2.
“Join with other architects, engineers, construction foremen and laborers, iron workers, cost estimators, lawyers, historians, preservationists, painters, masons, waterproofers, safety and security professionals, insurance and contracts experts, among others, all helping to save this irreplaceable treasure,” said the announcement.
“The more volunteers, the better!” it added.
Anybody who wants to help is asked to contact the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium by going to savethegate@gmail.com. If you do this, state your skill or trade and the number of days you can volunteer.
One of those volunteers is historic architect Jeffrey Bianco of Middletown.
Although Bianco told me this week that he has sometimes felt like “a voice crying out in the wilderness,” he now thinks the gate-savers are making solid progress.
“The New York City landmarks officials (the Design Commission) have heard us and agreed they’d like to see a new Parks and Recreation plan that we hope incorporates what we’ve proposed,” Bianco said.
“Knocking it all down is disturbing,” Bianco told me, and I certainly didn’t give him any argument about that. “It cuts against my grain as a Yankee fan and a Bronx native.”
Indeed, Bianco’s first job was selling peanuts at the Stadium “in the (Mickey) Mantle era.”
He said saving the gate “makes complete sense. It’s there already; it’s tremendously important culturally as a landmark.”
Bianco concluded, “The dream is for kids to walk through this gate and feel like Yankees.”
But ideas that make sense don’t always get acted upon by city officials. When the gate savers proposed their volunteer program, Benepe wouldn’t let Bianco and another architect make an on-site visit to evaluate the gate project.
In a follow-up letter to Benepe and other officials, Reid noted the volunteers would “save the city huge time and money.”
Reid has called the original Yankee Stadium “the most historic sports site in American history” and it’s tough to argue with that assessment. Reid wonders why Benepe is “dead-set on destroying all of the old Stadium, no matter what evidence and opportunities compel its preservation and commemoration.”
Reid noted Gate 2 is not scheduled for demolition for more than a month, so there is still time for the on-site visit and putting into gear the volunteer program.
But let’s face it, a month or so isn’t much breathing room when you’re dealing with bureaucrats.
That’s why Reid concluded in his appeal letter: “Time is of the essence.”
Randall Beach can be reached at rbeach@nhregister.com, or 203-789-5766 203-789-5766.
URL: http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2009/11/27/news/b1-fri_beachclmngate.prt
© 2009 nhregister.com, a Journal Register Property
Friday, November 27, 2009
By Randall Beach
A call has gone out for volunteers who want to help save the endangered gate at the original Yankee Stadium.
There is precious little time to make this happen and overcome the New York City bureaucrats as well as the uncooperative Yankees ownership.
Since I wrote about the effort in this space last June, citizens from many states have joined in the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium. Although virtually all of the old stadium is doomed to be demolished, these activists still hope to preserve the original Gate 2.
Their plan is to maintain the gate as part of Heritage Field, which will replace the stadium with three ballfields. Those fields are needed because the new Yankee Stadium was built on existing baseball diamonds and other park land.
New York City Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said the city intends to knock down the entire old stadium. “Preserving the facade would make it difficult to maximize the park space,” he said.
Moreover, a spokesman for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has repeated other city officials’ claims that restoring the gate would cost $15 million.
But the Save the Gate brigade, including Tim Reid and Mark Costello, believe it can be done for $1 million or less, especially with all of the volunteers stepping up to the plate. They also proposed raising funds through a commemorative brick drive that would place bricks at plazas around the stadium.
Reid recently e-mailed me the announcement of a “Save the Gate volunteer worker program.” It’s designed to eliminate all labor costs associated with saving Gate 2.
“Join with other architects, engineers, construction foremen and laborers, iron workers, cost estimators, lawyers, historians, preservationists, painters, masons, waterproofers, safety and security professionals, insurance and contracts experts, among others, all helping to save this irreplaceable treasure,” said the announcement.
“The more volunteers, the better!” it added.
Anybody who wants to help is asked to contact the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium by going to savethegate@gmail.com. If you do this, state your skill or trade and the number of days you can volunteer.
One of those volunteers is historic architect Jeffrey Bianco of Middletown.
Although Bianco told me this week that he has sometimes felt like “a voice crying out in the wilderness,” he now thinks the gate-savers are making solid progress.
“The New York City landmarks officials (the Design Commission) have heard us and agreed they’d like to see a new Parks and Recreation plan that we hope incorporates what we’ve proposed,” Bianco said.
“Knocking it all down is disturbing,” Bianco told me, and I certainly didn’t give him any argument about that. “It cuts against my grain as a Yankee fan and a Bronx native.”
Indeed, Bianco’s first job was selling peanuts at the Stadium “in the (Mickey) Mantle era.”
He said saving the gate “makes complete sense. It’s there already; it’s tremendously important culturally as a landmark.”
Bianco concluded, “The dream is for kids to walk through this gate and feel like Yankees.”
But ideas that make sense don’t always get acted upon by city officials. When the gate savers proposed their volunteer program, Benepe wouldn’t let Bianco and another architect make an on-site visit to evaluate the gate project.
In a follow-up letter to Benepe and other officials, Reid noted the volunteers would “save the city huge time and money.”
Reid has called the original Yankee Stadium “the most historic sports site in American history” and it’s tough to argue with that assessment. Reid wonders why Benepe is “dead-set on destroying all of the old Stadium, no matter what evidence and opportunities compel its preservation and commemoration.”
Reid noted Gate 2 is not scheduled for demolition for more than a month, so there is still time for the on-site visit and putting into gear the volunteer program.
But let’s face it, a month or so isn’t much breathing room when you’re dealing with bureaucrats.
That’s why Reid concluded in his appeal letter: “Time is of the essence.”
Randall Beach can be reached at rbeach@nhregister.com, or 203-789-5766 203-789-5766.
URL: http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2009/11/27/news/b1-fri_beachclmngate.prt
© 2009 nhregister.com, a Journal Register Property
Volunteer brigade fighting time to save Yankee Stadium Gate 2
The New Haven Register (nhregister.com), Serving New Haven, CT
News
BEACH: Volunteer brigade fighting time to save Yankee Stadium Gate 2
Friday, November 27, 2009
By Randall Beach
A call has gone out for volunteers who want to help save the endangered gate at the original Yankee Stadium.
There is precious little time to make this happen and overcome the New York City bureaucrats as well as the uncooperative Yankees ownership.
Since I wrote about the effort in this space last June, citizens from many states have joined in the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium. Although virtually all of the old stadium is doomed to be demolished, these activists still hope to preserve the original Gate 2.
Their plan is to maintain the gate as part of Heritage Field, which will replace the stadium with three ballfields. Those fields are needed because the new Yankee Stadium was built on existing baseball diamonds and other park land.
New York City Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said the city intends to knock down the entire old stadium. “Preserving the facade would make it difficult to maximize the park space,” he said.
Moreover, a spokesman for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has repeated other city officials’ claims that restoring the gate would cost $15 million.
But the Save the Gate brigade, including Tim Reid and Mark Costello, believe it can be done for $1 million or less, especially with all of the volunteers stepping up to the plate. They also proposed raising funds through a commemorative brick drive that would place bricks at plazas around the stadium.
Reid recently e-mailed me the announcement of a “Save the Gate volunteer worker program.” It’s designed to eliminate all labor costs associated with saving Gate 2.
“Join with other architects, engineers, construction foremen and laborers, iron workers, cost estimators, lawyers, historians, preservationists, painters, masons, waterproofers, safety and security professionals, insurance and contracts experts, among others, all helping to save this irreplaceable treasure,” said the announcement.
“The more volunteers, the better!” it added.
Anybody who wants to help is asked to contact the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium by going to savethegate@gmail.com. If you do this, state your skill or trade and the number of days you can volunteer.
One of those volunteers is historic architect Jeffrey Bianco of Middletown.
Although Bianco told me this week that he has sometimes felt like “a voice crying out in the wilderness,” he now thinks the gate-savers are making solid progress.
“The New York City landmarks officials (the Design Commission) have heard us and agreed they’d like to see a new Parks and Recreation plan that we hope incorporates what we’ve proposed,” Bianco said.
“Knocking it all down is disturbing,” Bianco told me, and I certainly didn’t give him any argument about that. “It cuts against my grain as a Yankee fan and a Bronx native.”
Indeed, Bianco’s first job was selling peanuts at the Stadium “in the (Mickey) Mantle era.”
He said saving the gate “makes complete sense. It’s there already; it’s tremendously important culturally as a landmark.”
Bianco concluded, “The dream is for kids to walk through this gate and feel like Yankees.”
But ideas that make sense don’t always get acted upon by city officials. When the gate savers proposed their volunteer program, Benepe wouldn’t let Bianco and another architect make an on-site visit to evaluate the gate project.
In a follow-up letter to Benepe and other officials, Reid noted the volunteers would “save the city huge time and money.”
Reid has called the original Yankee Stadium “the most historic sports site in American history” and it’s tough to argue with that assessment. Reid wonders why Benepe is “dead-set on destroying all of the old Stadium, no matter what evidence and opportunities compel its preservation and commemoration.”
Reid noted Gate 2 is not scheduled for demolition for more than a month, so there is still time for the on-site visit and putting into gear the volunteer program.
But let’s face it, a month or so isn’t much breathing room when you’re dealing with bureaucrats.
That’s why Reid concluded in his appeal letter: “Time is of the essence.”
Randall Beach can be reached at rbeach@nhregister.com, or 203-789-5766 203-789-5766.
News
BEACH: Volunteer brigade fighting time to save Yankee Stadium Gate 2
Friday, November 27, 2009
By Randall Beach
A call has gone out for volunteers who want to help save the endangered gate at the original Yankee Stadium.
There is precious little time to make this happen and overcome the New York City bureaucrats as well as the uncooperative Yankees ownership.
Since I wrote about the effort in this space last June, citizens from many states have joined in the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium. Although virtually all of the old stadium is doomed to be demolished, these activists still hope to preserve the original Gate 2.
Their plan is to maintain the gate as part of Heritage Field, which will replace the stadium with three ballfields. Those fields are needed because the new Yankee Stadium was built on existing baseball diamonds and other park land.
New York City Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said the city intends to knock down the entire old stadium. “Preserving the facade would make it difficult to maximize the park space,” he said.
Moreover, a spokesman for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has repeated other city officials’ claims that restoring the gate would cost $15 million.
But the Save the Gate brigade, including Tim Reid and Mark Costello, believe it can be done for $1 million or less, especially with all of the volunteers stepping up to the plate. They also proposed raising funds through a commemorative brick drive that would place bricks at plazas around the stadium.
Reid recently e-mailed me the announcement of a “Save the Gate volunteer worker program.” It’s designed to eliminate all labor costs associated with saving Gate 2.
“Join with other architects, engineers, construction foremen and laborers, iron workers, cost estimators, lawyers, historians, preservationists, painters, masons, waterproofers, safety and security professionals, insurance and contracts experts, among others, all helping to save this irreplaceable treasure,” said the announcement.
“The more volunteers, the better!” it added.
Anybody who wants to help is asked to contact the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium by going to savethegate@gmail.com. If you do this, state your skill or trade and the number of days you can volunteer.
One of those volunteers is historic architect Jeffrey Bianco of Middletown.
Although Bianco told me this week that he has sometimes felt like “a voice crying out in the wilderness,” he now thinks the gate-savers are making solid progress.
“The New York City landmarks officials (the Design Commission) have heard us and agreed they’d like to see a new Parks and Recreation plan that we hope incorporates what we’ve proposed,” Bianco said.
“Knocking it all down is disturbing,” Bianco told me, and I certainly didn’t give him any argument about that. “It cuts against my grain as a Yankee fan and a Bronx native.”
Indeed, Bianco’s first job was selling peanuts at the Stadium “in the (Mickey) Mantle era.”
He said saving the gate “makes complete sense. It’s there already; it’s tremendously important culturally as a landmark.”
Bianco concluded, “The dream is for kids to walk through this gate and feel like Yankees.”
But ideas that make sense don’t always get acted upon by city officials. When the gate savers proposed their volunteer program, Benepe wouldn’t let Bianco and another architect make an on-site visit to evaluate the gate project.
In a follow-up letter to Benepe and other officials, Reid noted the volunteers would “save the city huge time and money.”
Reid has called the original Yankee Stadium “the most historic sports site in American history” and it’s tough to argue with that assessment. Reid wonders why Benepe is “dead-set on destroying all of the old Stadium, no matter what evidence and opportunities compel its preservation and commemoration.”
Reid noted Gate 2 is not scheduled for demolition for more than a month, so there is still time for the on-site visit and putting into gear the volunteer program.
But let’s face it, a month or so isn’t much breathing room when you’re dealing with bureaucrats.
That’s why Reid concluded in his appeal letter: “Time is of the essence.”
Randall Beach can be reached at rbeach@nhregister.com, or 203-789-5766 203-789-5766.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Sheppard: 'I had a good run for it'
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Sheppard: 'I had a good run for it'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ESPN.com news services
Bob Sheppard, the legendary public address announcer for the New York Yankees, told MLB.com his career is over.
Bob Sheppard worked his first Yankees game in 1951.
"I have no plans of coming back," Sheppard told the Web site. "Time has passed me by, I think. I had a good run for it. I enjoyed doing what I did. I don't think, at my age, I'm going to suddenly regain the stamina that is really needed if you do the job and do it well."
Sheppard turned 99 last month. He had started working as the Yankees PA person on April 17, 1951 -- Joe DiMaggio's final Opening Day -- and continued until the final weeks of the 2007 season. A bronchial infection that September forced Sheppard to miss the postseason. He did not return for the 2008 season.
Paul Olden took over PA duties during the new Yankee Stadium's opening season. Sheppard told MLB.com, he and Olden keep in touch.
"He seems to me to be a very quiet, dignified and professional fellow taking over my job after my 50 or more years up there," Sheppard told the site. "When I can hear him in the background when I'm listening to the TV, he sounds clear. He sounds dignified. I think he sounds professional. That's what the Yankees were looking for."
Shortstop Derek Jeter has continued to use a recording of Sheppard to introduce his plate appearances.
Sheppard: 'I had a good run for it'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ESPN.com news services
Bob Sheppard, the legendary public address announcer for the New York Yankees, told MLB.com his career is over.
Bob Sheppard worked his first Yankees game in 1951.
"I have no plans of coming back," Sheppard told the Web site. "Time has passed me by, I think. I had a good run for it. I enjoyed doing what I did. I don't think, at my age, I'm going to suddenly regain the stamina that is really needed if you do the job and do it well."
Sheppard turned 99 last month. He had started working as the Yankees PA person on April 17, 1951 -- Joe DiMaggio's final Opening Day -- and continued until the final weeks of the 2007 season. A bronchial infection that September forced Sheppard to miss the postseason. He did not return for the 2008 season.
Paul Olden took over PA duties during the new Yankee Stadium's opening season. Sheppard told MLB.com, he and Olden keep in touch.
"He seems to me to be a very quiet, dignified and professional fellow taking over my job after my 50 or more years up there," Sheppard told the site. "When I can hear him in the background when I'm listening to the TV, he sounds clear. He sounds dignified. I think he sounds professional. That's what the Yankees were looking for."
Shortstop Derek Jeter has continued to use a recording of Sheppard to introduce his plate appearances.
Yankees annoucer Bob Sheppard to retire
Yankees annoucer Bob Sheppard to retire
November 26, 2009 by NEIL BEST / neil.best@newsday.com
Bob Sheppard refused to use the word "retired," even at age 99 and with no plans to return to work for the Yankees.
"But," he acknowledged yesterday, "I don’t intend at this moment to see myself back as a public address announcer at Yankee Stadium, feeling the way I do now."
Sheppard has not worked since late in the 2007 season and told Newsday last month that his contract expires in February, 2010.
He has inched closer and closer to acknowledging his unofficial retirement this year, but he went a step further than he has previously in an interview with MLB.com that was posted early yesterday, saying, "I have no plans of coming back."
Reached at his Baldwin home, Sheppard hedged, but only slightly, saying, "It wasn’t a resignation. It wasn’t quitting. It wasn’t throwing in the glove."
So he isn’t ruling out a future return? Sheppard laughed.
"Let me start from the bottom: I am now 99 years old," he said. "I don ’t think a man 99 years old goes back to work after two years of separation."
For decades, Sheppard adamantly has refused to discuss or confirm his age publicly. Why now? "It’s been in the paper," he said. "It’s been in Sports Illustrated. It’s no secret."
Sheppard said the Yankees have not contacted him about returning to work and noted they hired Paul Olden as a replacement. But he said it is a moot point because he has not been physically up to it for the past two years.
"I loved it while I did it, while I was able to do it, but I’m not sure I could do it now even if they said they wanted me to," he said.
"As far as I’m concerned the Yankees made a professional choice in getting Paul Olden to fill in. And he has been good to me. He gives me a call every couple of weeks or so just to touch base . . . Listening to the radio and listening to his voice in the background, the Yankees made a reasonable selection."
In his interview with MLB.com, Sheppard explained why even a single appearance in the p.a. booth for old times’ sake might be too much for him.
"It’s not just the two hours or three hours of baseball," he said. "It ’s the trip, the preparation, the trip home, and a long, long day. I think at my age, it's time to accept the fact that I had a great run. A great run. And I only made a few mistakes along the way."
Sheppard, who began with the Yankees in 1951 and also worked for decades for Giants and St. John’s, suffered from a bronchial infection in ‘07 that dropped his weight as low as 103 pounds – 62 below where he was as a quarterback for St. John’s 80 years ago.
"Now I’m up to 136 pounds," he said. "The doctor said, ‘You’re not going to be cured and cleared until you’re 145 pounds."
He suffered a further physical setback in March of this year when he fell down some steps and suffered bruises.
Sheppard said he was "thrilled" by the Yankees’ World Series victory, but he has not yet been to the new stadium, where a recording of his voice still introduces Derek Jeter's at-bats. He hopes to visit in 2010 if he is up to it physically.
"I’d like to go up and look at it," he said. "They tell me there is a Bob Sheppard dining room there." Would he like to check out the fare? "If the price is right," he said.
< back to article
November 26, 2009 by NEIL BEST / neil.best@newsday.com
Bob Sheppard refused to use the word "retired," even at age 99 and with no plans to return to work for the Yankees.
"But," he acknowledged yesterday, "I don’t intend at this moment to see myself back as a public address announcer at Yankee Stadium, feeling the way I do now."
Sheppard has not worked since late in the 2007 season and told Newsday last month that his contract expires in February, 2010.
He has inched closer and closer to acknowledging his unofficial retirement this year, but he went a step further than he has previously in an interview with MLB.com that was posted early yesterday, saying, "I have no plans of coming back."
Reached at his Baldwin home, Sheppard hedged, but only slightly, saying, "It wasn’t a resignation. It wasn’t quitting. It wasn’t throwing in the glove."
So he isn’t ruling out a future return? Sheppard laughed.
"Let me start from the bottom: I am now 99 years old," he said. "I don ’t think a man 99 years old goes back to work after two years of separation."
For decades, Sheppard adamantly has refused to discuss or confirm his age publicly. Why now? "It’s been in the paper," he said. "It’s been in Sports Illustrated. It’s no secret."
Sheppard said the Yankees have not contacted him about returning to work and noted they hired Paul Olden as a replacement. But he said it is a moot point because he has not been physically up to it for the past two years.
"I loved it while I did it, while I was able to do it, but I’m not sure I could do it now even if they said they wanted me to," he said.
"As far as I’m concerned the Yankees made a professional choice in getting Paul Olden to fill in. And he has been good to me. He gives me a call every couple of weeks or so just to touch base . . . Listening to the radio and listening to his voice in the background, the Yankees made a reasonable selection."
In his interview with MLB.com, Sheppard explained why even a single appearance in the p.a. booth for old times’ sake might be too much for him.
"It’s not just the two hours or three hours of baseball," he said. "It ’s the trip, the preparation, the trip home, and a long, long day. I think at my age, it's time to accept the fact that I had a great run. A great run. And I only made a few mistakes along the way."
Sheppard, who began with the Yankees in 1951 and also worked for decades for Giants and St. John’s, suffered from a bronchial infection in ‘07 that dropped his weight as low as 103 pounds – 62 below where he was as a quarterback for St. John’s 80 years ago.
"Now I’m up to 136 pounds," he said. "The doctor said, ‘You’re not going to be cured and cleared until you’re 145 pounds."
He suffered a further physical setback in March of this year when he fell down some steps and suffered bruises.
Sheppard said he was "thrilled" by the Yankees’ World Series victory, but he has not yet been to the new stadium, where a recording of his voice still introduces Derek Jeter's at-bats. He hopes to visit in 2010 if he is up to it physically.
"I’d like to go up and look at it," he said. "They tell me there is a Bob Sheppard dining room there." Would he like to check out the fare? "If the price is right," he said.
< back to article
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Yankee Stadium Demolition
You can follow the demolition at:
http://www.wcbs880.com/pages/4206617.php?
The CBS chopper has been tracking the demolition and photographing it.
Sad.
http://www.wcbs880.com/pages/4206617.php?
The CBS chopper has been tracking the demolition and photographing it.
Sad.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Volunteer Program - Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium
Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium
___________
SAVE THE GATE
Volunteer Worker Program
___________________________________________
Now that we've won at City Hall - getting an official ruling that Old Yankee Stadium Gate 2 should be saved, if funds can be found: The Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium has created, developed and proposed to the City of New York the "SAVE THE GATE Volunteer Worker Program" designed to eliminate all labor costs potentially associated with the saving of the Gate, and other improvements to the new park design for the Old Yankee Stadium site. Join with other architects, engineers, construction foremen and laborers, iron workers, cost estimators, lawyers, historians, preservationists, painters, masons, waterproofers, safety and security professionals, insurance and contracts experts, among others - all helping to save this irreplaceable treasure. Help SAVE THE GATE and otherwise transform the Old Yankee Stadium site into the preeminent park its majestic history compels. The more volunteers the better!!! All interested parties should contact the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium: providing your name, applicable skill, trade or profession - as well as a brief description of the services and number of days you would like to volunteer. Help make the Old Yankee Stadium site a park worthy of its unparalleled history!!!
____________
Please Contact the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium: savethegate@gmail.com
___________
SAVE THE GATE
Volunteer Worker Program
___________________________________________
Now that we've won at City Hall - getting an official ruling that Old Yankee Stadium Gate 2 should be saved, if funds can be found: The Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium has created, developed and proposed to the City of New York the "SAVE THE GATE Volunteer Worker Program" designed to eliminate all labor costs potentially associated with the saving of the Gate, and other improvements to the new park design for the Old Yankee Stadium site. Join with other architects, engineers, construction foremen and laborers, iron workers, cost estimators, lawyers, historians, preservationists, painters, masons, waterproofers, safety and security professionals, insurance and contracts experts, among others - all helping to save this irreplaceable treasure. Help SAVE THE GATE and otherwise transform the Old Yankee Stadium site into the preeminent park its majestic history compels. The more volunteers the better!!! All interested parties should contact the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium: providing your name, applicable skill, trade or profession - as well as a brief description of the services and number of days you would like to volunteer. Help make the Old Yankee Stadium site a park worthy of its unparalleled history!!!
____________
Please Contact the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium: savethegate@gmail.com
Sunday, November 22, 2009
SAVE THE GATE - Volunteer Worker Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, November 20, 2009
Committee to Commemorate
Old Yankee Stadium
___________
SAVE THE GATE
Volunteer Worker Program
___________________________________________
The Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium has created, developed, and proposed to the City of New York the "SAVE THE GATE Volunteer Worker Program", designed to eliminate all labor costs potentially associated with the saving of Gate 2 at Old Yankee Stadium, and other improvements to the new park design for the
Old Yankee Stadium site.
Join with other architects, engineers, construction foremen and laborers, iron workers, cost estimators, lawyers, historians, preservationists, painters, masons, water proofers, safety and security professionals, insurance and contracts experts, among others - all helping to save this irreplaceable treasure.
Help SAVE THE GATE and otherwise transform the Old Yankee Stadium site into the preeminent park its majestic history compels.
The more volunteers the better!!!
All interested parties should contact the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium; providing your name, applicable skill, trade or profession - as well as a brief description of the services and number of days you would like to volunteer.
Help make the Old Yankee Stadium site a park worthy of its unparalleled history!!!
____________
Please Contact the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium:
savethegate@gmail.com
Committee to Commemorate
Old Yankee Stadium
___________
SAVE THE GATE
Volunteer Worker Program
___________________________________________
The Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium has created, developed, and proposed to the City of New York the "SAVE THE GATE Volunteer Worker Program", designed to eliminate all labor costs potentially associated with the saving of Gate 2 at Old Yankee Stadium, and other improvements to the new park design for the
Old Yankee Stadium site.
Join with other architects, engineers, construction foremen and laborers, iron workers, cost estimators, lawyers, historians, preservationists, painters, masons, water proofers, safety and security professionals, insurance and contracts experts, among others - all helping to save this irreplaceable treasure.
Help SAVE THE GATE and otherwise transform the Old Yankee Stadium site into the preeminent park its majestic history compels.
The more volunteers the better!!!
All interested parties should contact the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium; providing your name, applicable skill, trade or profession - as well as a brief description of the services and number of days you would like to volunteer.
Help make the Old Yankee Stadium site a park worthy of its unparalleled history!!!
____________
Please Contact the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium:
savethegate@gmail.com
Public Design Commission Hearing - 10/26/09
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, October 26, 2009
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HELPED!!!
The Hearing was a GREAT success, resulting in official disapproval of the severely flawed preliminary plan for the old Yankee Stadium Site!!!
The Parks Department has been firmly directed to overhaul the park design - either saving the Gate - or proving why they can not!
Below is the Committee's very well received presentation
As presented by Cindy Jones
Committee to Commemorate
Old Yankee Stadium
______________________________
Public Design Commission Hearing
New York City Hall
October 26, 2009
__________________________
Thank you so very much for this great honor & opportunity to speak on behalf of people around the country, who so passionately want to pay tribute to the greatest Stadium in the American history….America’s Coliseum…Old Yankee Stadium.
As Mayor Bloomberg reported only last year, in the "Official Yankee Stadium Retrospective" Old Yankee Stadium is one of New York's three most asked-about New York City international icons, along with Empire State Building, and the Empire State Building. Wherever he travels around the world, he said, people always ask about [Old] Yankee Stadium.
Dozens of international luminaries, including presidents, governors, and celebrities of every type - joined the Mayor in this book - one of many hundreds written on the history of the Stadium - voicing how very highly regarded the Stadium is around the world.
Indeed, it is Old Yankee Stadium's unmatched prominence, that compelled me to fly in this morning from my home state of Virginia, to encourage and plead to the great City of New York to "properly preserve and celebrate" this national landmark and treasure.
Commissioners, the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium request that you please Save Gate 2,
The exciting reality is that Gate 2 IS overwhelmingly original - as the two photos of Gate 2 before you make unmistakably clear - one from the 1930's and the other taken just this year. The City's original belief that Gate 2 was NOT original was wrong.
And, moreover, Gate 2 is PERFECTLY located between New and Old Yankee Stadiums -- providing a magnificent architectural, and even spiritual, Gateway, connecting our past to our future.
As Bronx County Historian, Dr. Lloyd Ultan, observed in Paul Goldberger's recent article in the New Yorker citing authoritative criticisms of preliminary park design:
“What’s missing from the park plan is the architecture of the Stadium itself.”
- later stating that a large, tangible part of the original stadium is needed to effectively communicate the original Stadium's majesty & size, like ruins of antiquity so powerfully do.
Architectural experts Rick Bell, Jeff Bianco, Phil Reina - along with so many others - the preliminary design as "lacking authenticity".
In fact, neither Babe, nor Lou, saw ANYTHING included in the current proposal!
BUT, they saw Gate 2!!
_____________________
Yankee Stadium historians across the country - including Bill Jenkinson and the City's own Dr. Ultan - emphatically agree, adding that a meaningful tangible memory from the Stadium's most glorious days is needed to properly record its irreplaceable preeminence.
As Paul Doherty, a leading authority on Yankee Stadium, put it:
"Gate 2 will serve as a cultural lamp post to the great eras of New York City's sporting dominance - second only to the Roman Coliseum in its importance to the overall history of world sports."
The essential point we all must remember is that:
If Gate 2 is not saved, nothing of the Stadium's most glorious era and architecture will be!
We also respectfully request, Commissioners, that the Old Yankee Stadium Site be called "Old Yankee Stadium Park", rather than the overly common and nondescript "Heritage Field", or "Park" of which there are so very many across the country - including one at the Cleveland Indians' Stadium right up the road in the Yankees' own AL East!
"Old Yankee Stadium Park" is clearly a far better name - one that truly "celebrates the site's rich history", as is the charter and goal of the Commission. Paul Goldberger, the renowned New York historic architect - and the City's Board Member for the National Trust for Historic Preservation - also disapproves of the name. Dr. Ultan emphatically joins him, along with preeminent historians and Baseball fans of the Stadium across the City, and country.
For similarly compelling reasons, we request the baseball area of the new park be called "Babe Ruth Memorial Field" - to both tribute New York's greatest and beloved sports hero, and to replace the original "Babe Ruth Memorial Baseball Filed" - recently destroyed to make way for New Yankee Stadium. Your very distinguished Art Commission predecessor, Williams Adams Delano, was a leading participant in the creation of Babe Ruth Memorial Field, created sixty years ago, as a "permanent" tribute to New York's (still) most beloved and immortal sports figure - New York's great Babe Ruth.
_________________
In closing Commissioners, I quote another New York great, Jackie Kennedy, who did so very much for preserving this great City's cultural treasures, and whose statement forty years ago so perfectly addresses why we must save Gate 2:
"Is it not cruel to let New York die by degrees, stripped of all her proudest moments, until there will be nothing left of history and beauty to inspire our children? If they are not inspired by the past of our City, where will they find the strength to fight for her future? Americans care about their past, but, for short term gain, they ignore it and tear down everything that matters. This is the time to take a stand and reverse the tide."
Please, Commissioners, save Gate 2, at "Old Yankee Stadium Park" - not only for Babe & Lou … but, most of all, for all our children and loved ones - and all those who follow us - so they can see and even touch "The House That Ruth Built" - the greatest Stadium in our nation's history- "Old Yankee Stadium.".
__________________________________________________________________
SUPPORTING RECORDS & EVIDENCE
Books
"The Official Yankee Stadium Retrospective", Published 2008.
Articles
New Haven Register: "There Still May be Time to Save "The House That Ruth Built", September 7, 2008.
New Haven Register: "Yankee Fans Need to Move Quick to Save the Gate That Ruth Built", June 17, 2009.
New York Daily News: "Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe Confirms Plans to Level Yankee Stadium", June 23, 2009.
New Yorker: by Paul Goldberger, "The Future of Old Yankee Stadium", August 10, 2009
New York Daily News: "Old Yankee Stadium's Gate 2 Focus of Debate as Part of New Heritage Park", ["The Gate Debate"] August 17, 2009.
Daily News: "Last Pitch to Save Gate 2" September 28, 2009.
Written Expert Endorsements:
Paul Doherty, Yankee Stadium Historian, September 28, 2009 [Attached]
Brad Turnow, New York Yankees Historian, September 28, 2009 [Attached]
Jeff Wattrick, Historic Preservationist, September 28, 2009 [Attached]
Peter Comstock Riley, Historic Preservationist, September 30, 2009 [Attached]
George Mole', Captain NYPD, Bronx Urban Affairs Commentator, October 1, 2009 [Attached]
Phillip J. Reina, Architect, October 1, 2009 [Attached]
Jeffrey Dale Bianco, Historic Architect, Past President of Connecticut AIA,
October 2, 2009 [Attached]
Expert Endorsements on Archived Radio Shows:
Baseball Digest LIVE, with Mark Healy: "SAVE THE GATE" June 30, 2009
[Expert Opinions of Baseball Historians Bill Jenkinson, Linda Ruth Tosetti, Mark Healy & Tim Reid. Historic Preservation Architect Jeff Bianco]
http://www.baseballdigest.com/2009/06/29/baseball-digest-live-save-the-gate/
Baseball Digest LIVE, with Mark Healy: "Preserving the Past" October 5, 2009
[Expert Opinions of Baseball Historians Bill Jenkinson, Paul Doherty, Mark Healy & Tim Reid. Historic Preservation Architect Jeff Bianco. Historical Preservationists Jeff Wattrick & Peter Comstock Riley]
Visual Evidence
Side-by-Side Photographic Comparison of 1930's Gate, and Spring 2009 Gate: Produced by Joe Staluppi, Graphic Designer
Model of Proposed Gate 2 Monument at Old Yankee Stadium Site, Yankee Stadium Modeler, Mike Hagan
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HELPED!!!
The Hearing was a GREAT success, resulting in official disapproval of the severely flawed preliminary plan for the old Yankee Stadium Site!!!
The Parks Department has been firmly directed to overhaul the park design - either saving the Gate - or proving why they can not!
Below is the Committee's very well received presentation
As presented by Cindy Jones
Committee to Commemorate
Old Yankee Stadium
______________________________
Public Design Commission Hearing
New York City Hall
October 26, 2009
__________________________
Thank you so very much for this great honor & opportunity to speak on behalf of people around the country, who so passionately want to pay tribute to the greatest Stadium in the American history….America’s Coliseum…Old Yankee Stadium.
As Mayor Bloomberg reported only last year, in the "Official Yankee Stadium Retrospective" Old Yankee Stadium is one of New York's three most asked-about New York City international icons, along with Empire State Building, and the Empire State Building. Wherever he travels around the world, he said, people always ask about [Old] Yankee Stadium.
Dozens of international luminaries, including presidents, governors, and celebrities of every type - joined the Mayor in this book - one of many hundreds written on the history of the Stadium - voicing how very highly regarded the Stadium is around the world.
Indeed, it is Old Yankee Stadium's unmatched prominence, that compelled me to fly in this morning from my home state of Virginia, to encourage and plead to the great City of New York to "properly preserve and celebrate" this national landmark and treasure.
Commissioners, the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium request that you please Save Gate 2,
The exciting reality is that Gate 2 IS overwhelmingly original - as the two photos of Gate 2 before you make unmistakably clear - one from the 1930's and the other taken just this year. The City's original belief that Gate 2 was NOT original was wrong.
And, moreover, Gate 2 is PERFECTLY located between New and Old Yankee Stadiums -- providing a magnificent architectural, and even spiritual, Gateway, connecting our past to our future.
As Bronx County Historian, Dr. Lloyd Ultan, observed in Paul Goldberger's recent article in the New Yorker citing authoritative criticisms of preliminary park design:
“What’s missing from the park plan is the architecture of the Stadium itself.”
- later stating that a large, tangible part of the original stadium is needed to effectively communicate the original Stadium's majesty & size, like ruins of antiquity so powerfully do.
Architectural experts Rick Bell, Jeff Bianco, Phil Reina - along with so many others - the preliminary design as "lacking authenticity".
In fact, neither Babe, nor Lou, saw ANYTHING included in the current proposal!
BUT, they saw Gate 2!!
_____________________
Yankee Stadium historians across the country - including Bill Jenkinson and the City's own Dr. Ultan - emphatically agree, adding that a meaningful tangible memory from the Stadium's most glorious days is needed to properly record its irreplaceable preeminence.
As Paul Doherty, a leading authority on Yankee Stadium, put it:
"Gate 2 will serve as a cultural lamp post to the great eras of New York City's sporting dominance - second only to the Roman Coliseum in its importance to the overall history of world sports."
The essential point we all must remember is that:
If Gate 2 is not saved, nothing of the Stadium's most glorious era and architecture will be!
We also respectfully request, Commissioners, that the Old Yankee Stadium Site be called "Old Yankee Stadium Park", rather than the overly common and nondescript "Heritage Field", or "Park" of which there are so very many across the country - including one at the Cleveland Indians' Stadium right up the road in the Yankees' own AL East!
"Old Yankee Stadium Park" is clearly a far better name - one that truly "celebrates the site's rich history", as is the charter and goal of the Commission. Paul Goldberger, the renowned New York historic architect - and the City's Board Member for the National Trust for Historic Preservation - also disapproves of the name. Dr. Ultan emphatically joins him, along with preeminent historians and Baseball fans of the Stadium across the City, and country.
For similarly compelling reasons, we request the baseball area of the new park be called "Babe Ruth Memorial Field" - to both tribute New York's greatest and beloved sports hero, and to replace the original "Babe Ruth Memorial Baseball Filed" - recently destroyed to make way for New Yankee Stadium. Your very distinguished Art Commission predecessor, Williams Adams Delano, was a leading participant in the creation of Babe Ruth Memorial Field, created sixty years ago, as a "permanent" tribute to New York's (still) most beloved and immortal sports figure - New York's great Babe Ruth.
_________________
In closing Commissioners, I quote another New York great, Jackie Kennedy, who did so very much for preserving this great City's cultural treasures, and whose statement forty years ago so perfectly addresses why we must save Gate 2:
"Is it not cruel to let New York die by degrees, stripped of all her proudest moments, until there will be nothing left of history and beauty to inspire our children? If they are not inspired by the past of our City, where will they find the strength to fight for her future? Americans care about their past, but, for short term gain, they ignore it and tear down everything that matters. This is the time to take a stand and reverse the tide."
Please, Commissioners, save Gate 2, at "Old Yankee Stadium Park" - not only for Babe & Lou … but, most of all, for all our children and loved ones - and all those who follow us - so they can see and even touch "The House That Ruth Built" - the greatest Stadium in our nation's history- "Old Yankee Stadium.".
__________________________________________________________________
SUPPORTING RECORDS & EVIDENCE
Books
"The Official Yankee Stadium Retrospective", Published 2008.
Articles
New Haven Register: "There Still May be Time to Save "The House That Ruth Built", September 7, 2008.
New Haven Register: "Yankee Fans Need to Move Quick to Save the Gate That Ruth Built", June 17, 2009.
New York Daily News: "Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe Confirms Plans to Level Yankee Stadium", June 23, 2009.
New Yorker: by Paul Goldberger, "The Future of Old Yankee Stadium", August 10, 2009
New York Daily News: "Old Yankee Stadium's Gate 2 Focus of Debate as Part of New Heritage Park", ["The Gate Debate"] August 17, 2009.
Daily News: "Last Pitch to Save Gate 2" September 28, 2009.
Written Expert Endorsements:
Paul Doherty, Yankee Stadium Historian, September 28, 2009 [Attached]
Brad Turnow, New York Yankees Historian, September 28, 2009 [Attached]
Jeff Wattrick, Historic Preservationist, September 28, 2009 [Attached]
Peter Comstock Riley, Historic Preservationist, September 30, 2009 [Attached]
George Mole', Captain NYPD, Bronx Urban Affairs Commentator, October 1, 2009 [Attached]
Phillip J. Reina, Architect, October 1, 2009 [Attached]
Jeffrey Dale Bianco, Historic Architect, Past President of Connecticut AIA,
October 2, 2009 [Attached]
Expert Endorsements on Archived Radio Shows:
Baseball Digest LIVE, with Mark Healy: "SAVE THE GATE" June 30, 2009
[Expert Opinions of Baseball Historians Bill Jenkinson, Linda Ruth Tosetti, Mark Healy & Tim Reid. Historic Preservation Architect Jeff Bianco]
http://www.baseballdigest.com/2009/06/29/baseball-digest-live-save-the-gate/
Baseball Digest LIVE, with Mark Healy: "Preserving the Past" October 5, 2009
[Expert Opinions of Baseball Historians Bill Jenkinson, Paul Doherty, Mark Healy & Tim Reid. Historic Preservation Architect Jeff Bianco. Historical Preservationists Jeff Wattrick & Peter Comstock Riley]
Visual Evidence
Side-by-Side Photographic Comparison of 1930's Gate, and Spring 2009 Gate: Produced by Joe Staluppi, Graphic Designer
Model of Proposed Gate 2 Monument at Old Yankee Stadium Site, Yankee Stadium Modeler, Mike Hagan
"SAVE THE GATE" COMMEMORATIVE BRICK DRIVE MEDIA RELEASE!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, October 19, 2009
OLD YANKEE STADIUM PARK
"SAVE THE GATE"
COMMEMORATIVE BRICK DRIVE
Proposed by Citizens and Groups
from Around the Country to Help
SAVE HISTORIC GATE 2
at the
"The House That Ruth Built"
For the purpose of saving historic Gate 2 at Old Yankee Stadium, baseball groups HistoryOfTheYankees.com, the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium & the Committee to Commemorate Babe Ruth - speaking for and acting on behalf of Baseball fans, historians, architects, historic preservationists, and other concerned citizens, groups, and relevant experts from New York and around the nation, has voluntarily researched and developed a
public fundraising campaign to the City of New York, entitled the "SAVE THE GATE" Commemorative Brick Drive.
This Commemorative Brick Drive will be similar to ones throughout Major League Ballparks and other leading sports venues throughout the world, such as the highly successful programs employed by the Mets at Citi Field (Fanwalk), the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, and the Cleveland Indians' "Heritage Park."
Based on Committee studies and expert estimates, commemorative bricks at plazas & walkways encompassing the new parkland and ball fields scheduled to replace the historic site of Old Yankee Stadium could generate well over 5 Million dollars (as other MLB "legacy" brick memorials have) - depending on exact design. This would provide the City of New York millions of dollars more than is needed to save historic Gate 2!!
Legacy brick plazas & walkways would also dramatically increase YEAR-ROUND tourism and visitation to the much-in-need Old Yankee Stadium neighborhood - where residents and businesses have lost critical revenues with the Stadium's closure and destruction. Saving Gate 2 will make the new park one of the most respected and profitable in the country. These brick plazas & walkways would also simultaneously enhance the currently poor aesthetics of the preliminary "Heritage Field" plan, exponentially improving the historic and cultural "disconnect" decried by historic design experts. (Adding extra elegance and attraction, the commemorative bricks can be made in magnificent blue, white and gray combinations, in unique tribute to the Stadium's unparalleled place in history.)
The Parks Department's preliminary plan for the historic Old Yankee Stadium is the highly controversial and criticized "Heritage Field", which retains absolutely NOTHING from Old Yankee Stadium. This as yet unapproved plan has been emphatically objected to by officials, experts, and fans, who regard it as historically, architecturally, and aesthetically "bland" and "inauthentic". It's MOST tragic failure is that it omits saving anything from original Yankee Stadium - a fatal flaw easily corrected with the saving of the 1920's era Gate 2. (The Parks Department abruptly withdrew from their October 5 appearance before the NYC Design Commission, where they were scheduled to defend against these widespread and well-informed criticisms in a Public Hearing before New York City Design Commission, which oversees the aesthetic and architectural suitability of all public projects in New York City.)
Parks Department has told the media (without providing any evidence whatsoever ) that the cost of saving Gate 2 - the original Stadium's most glorious remaining element - is too prohibitive, claiming (again without providing any evidence) it would cost "10 Million dollars". Architectural and structural engineering experts assess the cost at only 1 Million dollars, less than the cost of demolishing and removing the Gate. In other words, experts believe it will cost less to save Gate 2 than to destroy it!!!
In any case, the "SAVE THE GATE" Commemorative Brick Drive would eliminate any cost concern - providing up to 10 Million dollars - thereby saving a majestic part of America's greatest and most historically important stadium, thereby assuring that the historic site of Old Yankee Stadium be more properly preserved, protected & commemorated - making it one of the premier urban parks in America - rather than the unnecessary mediocre and uninspired architectural, aesthetic, cultural, and historical flop that's now proposed by the Parks' Department.
For further information, please call or write the contacts below - who can also put you in touch with historians, preservationists, architects, and other relevant experts, helping to save the gate.
SAVE THE GATE videos prepared by Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium members can be seen at:
http://www.ultimateyankees.com/savethegate.htm. See, for example: "TOP 9 REASONS TO SAVE THE GATE" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyqyl1WJuJM, a musical summary of why the Gate should be saved (to Four of a Kind's "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"), which includes a brief depiction and description of the proposed SAVE THE GATE Commemorative Brick Drive (at "Reason No. 7", 1:04 - 1:14)
###
Information provided above was derived from consultation with top authorities in the fields of Baseball, architecture, New York history & historic preservation, as well as with top "legacy brick" fundraising experts.
______
For Further Information, Please contact:
Tim Reid
Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium
savethestadium@gmail.com
OLD YANKEE STADIUM PARK
"SAVE THE GATE"
COMMEMORATIVE BRICK DRIVE
Proposed by Citizens and Groups
from Around the Country to Help
SAVE HISTORIC GATE 2
at the
"The House That Ruth Built"
For the purpose of saving historic Gate 2 at Old Yankee Stadium, baseball groups HistoryOfTheYankees.com, the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium & the Committee to Commemorate Babe Ruth - speaking for and acting on behalf of Baseball fans, historians, architects, historic preservationists, and other concerned citizens, groups, and relevant experts from New York and around the nation, has voluntarily researched and developed a
public fundraising campaign to the City of New York, entitled the "SAVE THE GATE" Commemorative Brick Drive.
This Commemorative Brick Drive will be similar to ones throughout Major League Ballparks and other leading sports venues throughout the world, such as the highly successful programs employed by the Mets at Citi Field (Fanwalk), the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, and the Cleveland Indians' "Heritage Park."
Based on Committee studies and expert estimates, commemorative bricks at plazas & walkways encompassing the new parkland and ball fields scheduled to replace the historic site of Old Yankee Stadium could generate well over 5 Million dollars (as other MLB "legacy" brick memorials have) - depending on exact design. This would provide the City of New York millions of dollars more than is needed to save historic Gate 2!!
Legacy brick plazas & walkways would also dramatically increase YEAR-ROUND tourism and visitation to the much-in-need Old Yankee Stadium neighborhood - where residents and businesses have lost critical revenues with the Stadium's closure and destruction. Saving Gate 2 will make the new park one of the most respected and profitable in the country. These brick plazas & walkways would also simultaneously enhance the currently poor aesthetics of the preliminary "Heritage Field" plan, exponentially improving the historic and cultural "disconnect" decried by historic design experts. (Adding extra elegance and attraction, the commemorative bricks can be made in magnificent blue, white and gray combinations, in unique tribute to the Stadium's unparalleled place in history.)
The Parks Department's preliminary plan for the historic Old Yankee Stadium is the highly controversial and criticized "Heritage Field", which retains absolutely NOTHING from Old Yankee Stadium. This as yet unapproved plan has been emphatically objected to by officials, experts, and fans, who regard it as historically, architecturally, and aesthetically "bland" and "inauthentic". It's MOST tragic failure is that it omits saving anything from original Yankee Stadium - a fatal flaw easily corrected with the saving of the 1920's era Gate 2. (The Parks Department abruptly withdrew from their October 5 appearance before the NYC Design Commission, where they were scheduled to defend against these widespread and well-informed criticisms in a Public Hearing before New York City Design Commission, which oversees the aesthetic and architectural suitability of all public projects in New York City.)
Parks Department has told the media (without providing any evidence whatsoever ) that the cost of saving Gate 2 - the original Stadium's most glorious remaining element - is too prohibitive, claiming (again without providing any evidence) it would cost "10 Million dollars". Architectural and structural engineering experts assess the cost at only 1 Million dollars, less than the cost of demolishing and removing the Gate. In other words, experts believe it will cost less to save Gate 2 than to destroy it!!!
In any case, the "SAVE THE GATE" Commemorative Brick Drive would eliminate any cost concern - providing up to 10 Million dollars - thereby saving a majestic part of America's greatest and most historically important stadium, thereby assuring that the historic site of Old Yankee Stadium be more properly preserved, protected & commemorated - making it one of the premier urban parks in America - rather than the unnecessary mediocre and uninspired architectural, aesthetic, cultural, and historical flop that's now proposed by the Parks' Department.
For further information, please call or write the contacts below - who can also put you in touch with historians, preservationists, architects, and other relevant experts, helping to save the gate.
SAVE THE GATE videos prepared by Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium members can be seen at:
http://www.ultimateyankees.com/savethegate.htm. See, for example: "TOP 9 REASONS TO SAVE THE GATE" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyqyl1WJuJM, a musical summary of why the Gate should be saved (to Four of a Kind's "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"), which includes a brief depiction and description of the proposed SAVE THE GATE Commemorative Brick Drive (at "Reason No. 7", 1:04 - 1:14)
###
Information provided above was derived from consultation with top authorities in the fields of Baseball, architecture, New York history & historic preservation, as well as with top "legacy brick" fundraising experts.
______
For Further Information, Please contact:
Tim Reid
Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium
savethestadium@gmail.com
Welcome!
Welcome to the official blog spot for The Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium. This blog will be used to share press releases, concepts, thoughts, ideas, plans, etc. all pertaining to old Yankee Stadium and Gate 2.
We welcome input and ideas from everyone.
Start following us today and help get involved in commemorating old Yankee Stadium and helping to save gate 2!
You can visit our website at: www.ultimateyankees.com/ccoys.htm
Thanks....
The Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium - CCOYS
We welcome input and ideas from everyone.
Start following us today and help get involved in commemorating old Yankee Stadium and helping to save gate 2!
You can visit our website at: www.ultimateyankees.com/ccoys.htm
Thanks....
The Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium - CCOYS
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SCREENING OF OFFICIAL WORLD SERIES FILM
As a loyal Yankees fan, you are invited to join Brian Cashman, Joe Girardi, Michael Kay, John Sterling, Suzyn Waldman and other Yankees personalities at the red carpet screening of the Official 2009 World Series Film. Red carpet screenings start at 7:30 PM and 9:45 PM at the Ziegfeld Theatre, ceremonies begin at 6:30 PM.
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