Posted 09-22-2008 at 11:54 PM by Attyla
Sunday night, the stars shone brightly as Yankee stadium bid a fond adeiu to the fans and the players as the house that Ruth build was center stage one last time. In an era of stadiums that hold the names of corporations, it is perhaps fitting that one of the last hold outs of this new tradition remained Yankee Stadium until the final out was made.
Among the notables on hand, the daughter of the Babe was on hand to throw the final first pitch to Jorge Posada as the fans cheered on. The field was lined with former great players, family of those unable to attend, and one very old, and very small catcher who waved to the fans at the stadium for one last time.
Yogi Berra has long been a revered member of the Yankee family. There have been many bigger stars over the years, both figuratively, and physically, but Berra is the unique member of this very exclusive club. He played with DiMaggio and Mantle. He was the one who caught the perfect game in the World Series that Don Larsen threw. And Berra has the unique place in American sports history of having won more professional team sports championships than any other athlete. His ten rings reflect not only the greatness of the teams he played on, but his ability to stay healthy at a position that many maintain shortens careers.
The twenty-six World Championships won by the Yankees are a true testement to how great a sports franchise they truely are. Critics of the team will point to the "buying of those rings" with an almost unlimited budget the team currently has, but that denies the reality that the organization is the greatest in sports history.
From the day George Herman Ruth was purchased by the Yankees from the struggling Boston Red Sox, the writing was on the wall. Unique players happen every generation, but it seems most end up being found by the Yankees. This was and is a team that creates its own mistique, and attempts to duplicate its success have been short lived and in many cases a labor of futility.
So, on this day, the day after the lights went out for the last time, we honor all of the members of this unique club, from Murderers Row, to the Bronx Zoo, and to the much more polished and refined players who chose to win the final game at Yankee stadium. It started with a home run by Babe Ruth who told reporters he would give up a year of life to hit the first homr run in the newly constructed stadium, to the final pitch fo close out the final game...a pitch thrown by the Sand Man.
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