New Yankee Stadium?

[mjrbaseball]

As a Yankees fan for close to 40 years, I have mixed feelings about these plans for a new stadium. A little bit of me is sad about losing The House That Ruth Built, but for the most part I am excited about this new chapter in Yankee history.

I went to the old (pre-1974) Yankee Stadium many times, and I remember it vividly. Believe me, it was nothing like the current stadium. The old ballpark was truly a classic.

From what I hear, the new Stadium will bring back much of the feel of the original park. True, the exterior will be a sand-color. That was the color of the original limestone used in the stadium. (Yes, limestone, not concrete ... and they will use limestone again.) The stadium was painted white in the 1960s.

The distinctive facade will return to its rightful place above the grandstand, and once again it will be made of copper. The replica that was placed over the bleachers during the 1974 renovation is fiberglass.

The bullpens will once again be between the bleachers and the grandstand, instead of in front of the bleachers (Yankees in right field, visitors in left field). That means the bleachers can come right up to the field like they used to.

One thing that won't be like it was in the old stadium: the monuments. They won't be on the field in deep left-center, but still behind the wall in a Monument Park. (That is for safety reasons, I'm sure.)

From what I've heard, the field dimensions will be somewhere in-between the original and the current. They say the old was far too deep in left-center, and the current stadium is way too symetrical.

I'm not sure if they are going to do this, but I'd like to see them put the little auxiliary scoreboards back at field level, instead of hung from the upper deck. Also, there should be a big scoreboard in right-center field, showing all the out-of-town scores like they used to.

All in all, I am looking forward to the new Yankee Stadium.

[BBTV]

So are you saying that the monuments used to be in play? Someone else told me that, but I just couldn't believe them. That would have to be about the most unsafe thing ever.

[DEAD!]

So are you saying that the monuments used to be in play? Someone else told me that, but I just couldn't believe them. That would have to be about the most unsafe thing ever.

Yeah, I heard they were in play as well. Though, I guess they are so far away, an outfielder would not be able to chase a fly ball that is headed for monument park. A flag pole on the field is just as unsafe even with the padding.

[jkrdevil]

So are you saying that the monuments used to be in play? Someone else told me that, but I just couldn't believe them. That would have to be about the most unsafe thing ever.

They were in play, right in front of where the Black Seats are now. Centerfield then was 460 feet away so it almost never came into play. There is a funny clip of Bobby Murcer playing centerfield trying to get to a ball behind the Monuments. The old Yankee Stadium was very big, you had to hit a ball into the current bleachers for a home run. Center field was 460 away left center was about 450, and when it first opened left center was 500 feet away.

Here's a pic of the monuments in the old stadium.

[BBTV]

So are you saying that the monuments used to be in play? Someone else told me that, but I just couldn't believe them. That would have to be about the most unsafe thing ever.

They were in play, right in front of where the Black Seats are now. Centerfield then was 460 feet away so it almost never came into play. There is a funny clip of Bobby Murcer playing centerfield trying to get to a ball behind the Monuments. The old Yankee Stadium was very big, you had to hit a ball into the current bleachers for a home run. Center field was 460 away left center was about 450, and when it first opened left center was 500 feet away.

Here's a pic of the monuments in the old stadium.

That's not too bad, I guess. I was picturing something much more elaborate / dangerous.

The new design for the monuments looks kind of like what the Phillies did for their plaques in CBPark. That's the only time I'll ever compare the Phillies plaques w/ the Yankees.

[jkrdevil]

So are you saying that the monuments used to be in play? Someone else told me that, but I just couldn't believe them. That would have to be about the most unsafe thing ever.

They were in play, right in front of where the Black Seats are now. Centerfield then was 460 feet away so it almost never came into play. There is a funny clip of Bobby Murcer playing centerfield trying to get to a ball behind the Monuments. The old Yankee Stadium was very big, you had to hit a ball into the current bleachers for a home run. Center field was 460 away left center was about 450, and when it first opened left center was 500 feet away.

Here's a pic of the monuments in the old stadium.

That's not too bad, I guess. I was picturing something much more elaborate / dangerous.

The new design for the monuments looks kind of like what the Phillies did for their plaques in CBPark. That's the only time I'll ever compare the Phillies plaques w/ the Yankees.

Yea, most of the plaques were added after the renovations. They did put up plaques for Mantle and Joe D. in 69 I believe. Their monuments were added in the 90's when they died.

[mjrbaseball]

Here is a photo from the '60s that at the time people referred to as "The Fourth Monument" -- Mickey Mantle alongside the monuments for Huggins, Ruth and Gehrig.

[mjrbaseball]

Compare the architect's drawing of the new Stadium with a photo of Opening Day 1923:

[NJTank]

I like the new design

[winghaz]

I like the Model Ts in front of the old picture of Yankee Stadium.

But to be serious for a moment, I'm not a Yankee fan and I have never been to Yankee Stadium. But I do have a special feel for both, even though I often hate the Yankees (and it was easy to root against them during the Bronx Zoo era).

My dad was a die-hard Yankees fan. He went to Yankee Stadium a couple of times and told me stories about the stadium. When I first learned about baseball, in about 1960, I was a Yankee fan and was for about two years. And those were good years to be a Yankee fan what with players such as Mantle, Maris, Ford, Yogi, Skowron, Richardson, Boyer, Kubek, etc., etc.

So, on this day before Father's Day, thinking about Yankee Stadium makes me think of my dad, who passed away in November 1982. (When he was in the hospital, dying of cancer, he couldn't watch much of the World Series between the Cubs and Brewers, but he said, "That's OK, the Yankees aren't in it, anyway.")

So I would hate to see Yankee Stadium torn down.

But if it's broken and beyond repair, you have to move on. And the best way would be to do what they are doing.

But it sure will be a nasty day when the Yankees play their last game at old Yankee Stadium.

[redsfan39]

i dont want to see it gone, but as long as the new one is done tastefully with a respect for the past im sure im not going to have a problem

[DEAD!]

But it sure will be a nasty day when the Yankees play their last game at old Yankee Stadium.

Fans will run onto the field on the last game and the Yankees will have to forfeit the game.... oh wait.....

[The_Admiral]

The distinctive facade will return to its rightful place above the grandstand, and once again it will be made of copper. The replica that was placed over the bleachers during the 1974 renovation is fiberglass.

I kind of like the white replica over the bleachers. Maybe they could have both.