Game #10-Yankee Stadium to see Yankees vs. Guardians

How about this two games and two stadiums in one day! Monday, May 1 we rushed via very expensive taxi from Citi Field to Yankee Stadium. Don't ask what that 30 minute taxi ride cost! We got to the stadium early because I had been corresponding with Kevin in Guest Services who offered us a free stadium tour. The tour was scheduled to start at 5:30pm and we had an hour so we walked the exterior of the stadium which much resembled the original stadium. The walk was a little sketchy to say the least. Glad it was daylight. We slipped into the Hard Rock Cafe for a pregame beverage and to get out of the wind. Oh that wind! When 5:30pm approached we entered the stadium and quickly found guest services. I told them Kevin had offered a stadium tour and soon we were on our way with a very lovely public relations person, Heather. She has been working at the stadium for 15 years through college and now still works there as a second job or should I say love. Jim and I felt like celebrities as she whisked us around all the back hallways and private elevators. The new Yankee Staduim opened in 2009 and like the New York Mets fought a big battle to get their stadium. Yankee Stadium is often referred to as "The House That Jeter Built." The capacity in Yankee stadium is 47,309 and the third largest in Major League Baseball. Tonight's game was very well attended for a chilly Monday evening with 33,414 energized fans. The New Yankee Stadium had big shoes to fill having to replace the original stadium that operated from 1923 to 2008. Talk about history and baseball legends that were a part of the original stadium. For this reason the architects and designers worked extremely hard to replicate some of the design elements of the original Yankee Stadium. One of the things that the architects did was incorporte the "frieze" lining to the roof of the stadium. It looks like a white picket fence along the top with flags from all the MLB teams. See the pictures on our Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. This stadium is also the most expensive stadiums ever built, costing $2.3 billion dollars. I know where some of the money went....every gate has gold-leaf lettering YANKEE STADIUM. The stadium is kind of shaped in a bowl and not necessarily into stacked-tiers like most stadiums. Felt a little like Ancient Rome as we looked down from our seats in the third level. Poor Jim does not like heights and hung a little tight to the handrails, so did I! The Great Hall is something to see which is better seen in pictures than me trying to describe it. It is a very large concourse with seven-story ceilings that is just jawdropping. Heather our tour guide took us in through a private entry to see Monument Park. This features all the Yankees retired numbers. Did you know that 1-9 are all retired numbers for the Yankees? Only 0 remains as a single digit number on the Yankees team. We were told that way back in the early days of baseball that players numbers were their batting order. Okay you asked, well maybe you didn't but here is the list of Yankee retired numbers: 1 Billy Martin, 2 Derek Jeter, 3 Babe Ruth, 4 Lou Gehrig, 5 Joe DiMaggio, 6 Joe Torre, 7 Mickey Mantle, 8 Yogi Berra, 9 Roger Maris. WHAT A LIST OF BASEBALL GREATS! One little detail Heather pointed out is that the Yankees bullpen has a door that connects it to Monument Park making it accessible to Yankee relievers. Next Heather took us to the New York Yankee Museum which displays a wide array of Yankee memorabillia. There is a very large "Ball Wall" featuring hundreds of balls autographed by past and present Yankees. On each side of the Ball Wall are statues, one of Yankee pitcher Don Larsen pitching to Yogi Berra commemorating the perfect game in the 1956 World Series. Another feature in the museum is Thurman Munson's locker having been brought over from the original Yankee stadium. They also have the final pitcher's plate used at the old stadium and the first pitcher's plate used at the new stadium. One thing we found facinating was that in the early days players used to get pocket watches to commemorate their vistory in a World Series. On display was the pocket watch from the Yankees 1923 World Series win. So much to see in this museum dripping with baseball history. One word overwhelming! Finally Heather walked us to our seats and took a few pictures for us. What a pleasant time we had with Heather, she made it a very memorable experience. Now off to the hot dog vendor. We were told to get the foot-long Yankee Hot Dog. Jim connected well with the people at the hot dog stand so they agreed to be in the video review. He gave the Yankee Hot Dog an 8. I was still full from the last stadium but not to full for french fries. My french fries were nothing special just plain old fries. Boring! Now on to the game. Getting to our seats as I mentioned was a little challenging if you don't like heights. I'm not fearful but held tightly to the railing. This game started off as one of the fastest games I have ever been to and probably was with game time being 2 hours and 3 minutes. It was three up and three down until the bottom of the 3rd inning. Yankees Jose Trevino hit a homer and we got to see the lights flash on the stadium in celebration of the home run. Then DJ LeMahieu knocked in a run with a single making it Yankees 2 and the Guardians 0. It remained here until the final inning when the Guardians showed some life. Top of the 9th inning the Guardians got a few singles and then Guardians Josh Naylor hit a single bringing home two runners to tie the game. Unfortunately for the Yankees their pitching struggled and they ended up walking in the winning run. The Yankees final at bat did not serve them well. Game over! Yankees 2 Guardians 3. Now that is two losses in a row for the home team. Let's hope the tide turns when we head to Fenway Park to see the Red Sox take on the Toronto Blue Jays. Until next time PLAY BALL!