Friday, June 17, 2005
Team welcomes new Yankee Stadium
NEW YORK -- Most times, when a player is asked a specific question about Yankee Stadium, it's usually about the past: the heroics, glory, mystique and aura the old ballpark has become known for over its long and illustrious career.
Wednesday represented a totally different line of questioning altogether.
For the first time, Yankees players were being asked about a future that placed them in a new home ballpark, a facility other than the building in which a host of legends took their most heroic turns on center stage.
As the Yankees held an afternoon press conference downstairs, officially announcing plans to construct an $800 million new Yankee Stadium adjacent to their current home, the events were of a certain curiosity to players.
What was once unthinkable is now being billed as reality. Yankees captain Derek Jeter was among those to welcome the entry into what he called baseball's "new era" of stadiums.
"I think it's a great day," said Jeter. "There's a lot of history here. There were a lot of good memories here. Now we'll try to take that over across the street."
"Things change, times change," Bernie Williams said. "I guess it was time for a change."
The new facility will join the family of baseball's ongoing trend of 'retro' stadia, designed by the renowned HOK firm and playing off the characteristics of the old-time stadium against which all others are judged: Yankee Stadium, before its 1973 remodeling.
Mixing the rich tradition of The House that Ruth Built with modern amenities such as more luxury boxes, wider concourses and improved shopping and entertainment options for fans, the 2009 opening of the new Yankee Stadium is sure to be an event to behold. The first shovels are to hit the soil of Macombs Dam Park next spring.
"You don't get excited until they break ground," said Alex Rodriguez. "But a franchise like this that's been around, four years is pretty short anyways."
"It's progress," said manager Joe Torre, who briefly dropped in on the press conference before the Yankees' game with Pittsburgh. Today, with technology and everything they do building stadiums, I'm sure it's going to be impressive. ... Just from the looks of it, it looks like it's going to be a classy joint."
Several players were happy to hear that the current Yankee Stadium would be converted into a sort of baseball museum, with the facade and playing field to be preserved. Such a gesture, the Yankees felt, will give the sport's most hallowed cathedral the respect it deserves.
"You think about the United States of America, and this is one of our major landmarks," Rodriguez said. "It's one of the greatest museums."
The gesture has sentimental meaning to Torre, who grew up in Brooklyn and fondly recalled driving on the Major Deegan Expressway in the 1950s and 1960s.
Heading toward the George Washington Bridge, the two iconic landmarks were unmistakable; there was old Yankee Stadium, rising above the Bronx to the right, and to the left, across the river in Manhattan, the Polo Grounds.
Then, one day in April 1964, the Polo Grounds disappeared, replaced by a group of apartment buildings. Torre was pleased that the same could never happen to this Yankee Stadium, a place that has been the host of so many of his fondest memories over the last 10 years.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"There were a lot of good memories here. Now we'll try to take that over across the street."
-- Derek Jeter
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I saw some renderings and [the new Stadium] looks like a special place," Torre said. "This is a special place, but again, it's old. ... You know it's going to be a sad time, but at the same time, you understand that it's been up here a long time."
Though further details will be revealed in the weeks and months to come, a jazzed-up version of Monument Park will eventually be moved next door to the new facility, along with many other striking qualities of the Stadium.
So many great players have passed through the walls of the Stadium, the place has taken on a sort of magical ambience. Though players accepted the move with open arms, all were unanimous in saying they'd treasure their memories of the current Stadium -- as Rodriguez stated, every Major League player remembers his first at-bat in the Bronx.
"You always hear stories about the history of the Yankees, but it's never like when you're living it," Mariano Rivera agreed. "I had an opportunity to be a part of it and live it. Hopefully when they open [the new Stadium], I'll be here. I think it's something great for the city and the fans."
As Torre joked, the "ghosts" of Octobers past will be invited to take limos and vans over to the new Yankee Stadium. The Yankees' storied tradition should not -- perhaps, could not -- suffer with a move to a new stage.
"It can be done," Jeter said. "It's still the New York Yankees."
"And you can't take away the history that happened here," Rodriguez said. "No one will ever forget it."
Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/
Wednesday represented a totally different line of questioning altogether.
For the first time, Yankees players were being asked about a future that placed them in a new home ballpark, a facility other than the building in which a host of legends took their most heroic turns on center stage.
As the Yankees held an afternoon press conference downstairs, officially announcing plans to construct an $800 million new Yankee Stadium adjacent to their current home, the events were of a certain curiosity to players.
What was once unthinkable is now being billed as reality. Yankees captain Derek Jeter was among those to welcome the entry into what he called baseball's "new era" of stadiums.
"I think it's a great day," said Jeter. "There's a lot of history here. There were a lot of good memories here. Now we'll try to take that over across the street."
"Things change, times change," Bernie Williams said. "I guess it was time for a change."
The new facility will join the family of baseball's ongoing trend of 'retro' stadia, designed by the renowned HOK firm and playing off the characteristics of the old-time stadium against which all others are judged: Yankee Stadium, before its 1973 remodeling.
Mixing the rich tradition of The House that Ruth Built with modern amenities such as more luxury boxes, wider concourses and improved shopping and entertainment options for fans, the 2009 opening of the new Yankee Stadium is sure to be an event to behold. The first shovels are to hit the soil of Macombs Dam Park next spring.
"You don't get excited until they break ground," said Alex Rodriguez. "But a franchise like this that's been around, four years is pretty short anyways."
"It's progress," said manager Joe Torre, who briefly dropped in on the press conference before the Yankees' game with Pittsburgh. Today, with technology and everything they do building stadiums, I'm sure it's going to be impressive. ... Just from the looks of it, it looks like it's going to be a classy joint."
Several players were happy to hear that the current Yankee Stadium would be converted into a sort of baseball museum, with the facade and playing field to be preserved. Such a gesture, the Yankees felt, will give the sport's most hallowed cathedral the respect it deserves.
"You think about the United States of America, and this is one of our major landmarks," Rodriguez said. "It's one of the greatest museums."
The gesture has sentimental meaning to Torre, who grew up in Brooklyn and fondly recalled driving on the Major Deegan Expressway in the 1950s and 1960s.
Heading toward the George Washington Bridge, the two iconic landmarks were unmistakable; there was old Yankee Stadium, rising above the Bronx to the right, and to the left, across the river in Manhattan, the Polo Grounds.
Then, one day in April 1964, the Polo Grounds disappeared, replaced by a group of apartment buildings. Torre was pleased that the same could never happen to this Yankee Stadium, a place that has been the host of so many of his fondest memories over the last 10 years.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"There were a lot of good memories here. Now we'll try to take that over across the street."
-- Derek Jeter
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I saw some renderings and [the new Stadium] looks like a special place," Torre said. "This is a special place, but again, it's old. ... You know it's going to be a sad time, but at the same time, you understand that it's been up here a long time."
Though further details will be revealed in the weeks and months to come, a jazzed-up version of Monument Park will eventually be moved next door to the new facility, along with many other striking qualities of the Stadium.
So many great players have passed through the walls of the Stadium, the place has taken on a sort of magical ambience. Though players accepted the move with open arms, all were unanimous in saying they'd treasure their memories of the current Stadium -- as Rodriguez stated, every Major League player remembers his first at-bat in the Bronx.
"You always hear stories about the history of the Yankees, but it's never like when you're living it," Mariano Rivera agreed. "I had an opportunity to be a part of it and live it. Hopefully when they open [the new Stadium], I'll be here. I think it's something great for the city and the fans."
As Torre joked, the "ghosts" of Octobers past will be invited to take limos and vans over to the new Yankee Stadium. The Yankees' storied tradition should not -- perhaps, could not -- suffer with a move to a new stage.
"It can be done," Jeter said. "It's still the New York Yankees."
"And you can't take away the history that happened here," Rodriguez said. "No one will ever forget it."
Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/
