Witnessing History from Half the World Away

My farewell to the House that Ruth Built.

Six thousand, five hundred and eighty down, one to go.

Sunday night baseball in the Bronx, New York marks the end of one of the most iconic and beloved sporting venues in the whole world. The Yankee Stadium, home of the most successful sports franchise in the world, will host its penultimate baseball game before meeting its fate courtesy of a wrecking ball.

I was in high school when I started watching baseball through ESPN on cable. A few playoff games later, I was hooked. I became an avid fan, not only of the Yankees but the game itself. It was a dream of mine to actually watch a game at the Stadium. Having watched countless Yankee games on tv, I have become accustomed to its facade and lay-out – from the white frieze to the short right field porch – and there really is no other one like it.

From 1923 when it was first opened to the public, 6,580 games have since been played in the House that Ruth built. George Herman “Babe” Ruth’s first homerun, Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series, Lou Gehrig's moving farewell speech in 1939, Roger Maris's towering 61st home run in 1961, Charlie Hayes’ catch for the final out to win the 1996 World Series – are just some of the great moments all witnessed at Yankee Stadium. (The much earlier footage I’ve been able to watch after browsing through the archives of MLB.com.)

Moving to a bigger and dare I say better stadium next year may be inevitable at this point. It just saddens me that the last game to be played is between a 3rd place home team against the last placed Baltimore Orioles. This was not how it’s supposed to end for the great stadium. The last game it should have hosted won’t have happened until mid-October, or until the clinching game of the World Series (preferably by the Yankees) whichever is nearer. But a year of freak injuries and underperformance later, such a victorious send-off is nothing but a pipe dream.

No matter, tomorrow morning is an important piece of Baseball and Yankee history that I eagerly await as I write this post. I may not have cable access in my boarding house, but at least I have a wi-fi enabled notebook. Thank God for my neighbor’s broadband!