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Good Riddance to the House Ruth Didn't Build

Submitted by Eddie, Feb 9, 2007 00:40

Tim Marchman made some very good points in his article regarding Yankee Stadium, and I strongly agree with one in particular. Yankee Stadium was destroyed during the ‘74-‘75 renovation. He did go a little too far, because the main structure and walls are still original along with the majority of the concourse areas. But he was correct in that it is no longer "The House That Ruth Built", and I blame George Steinbrenner for this.

One thing that has bothered me is that someone actually had the gall to order the removal of the facade, and tried to justify it with that imitation in center field that everyone says is an exact replica. Don't insult my intelligence. That is no more an exact replica than a front bumper from a ‘59 Cadillac is.. When CBS sold the Yankees during the 1973 season, the order was given to close its doors at seasons end for the renovation. It wasn't renovated, it was gutted like a fish with no compassion or thought given to its history. For all that was done to Yankee Stadium in 1974 and 1975, I blame George Steinbrenner.

Yankee Stadium drips baseball history like a leaky faucet. No one ballpark can compare to the feats and records set and/or broken there. Since its opening in 1923, Yankee Stadium has been home to the American League representative of the World Series 45% of the time. The Stadium hosted the World Series in three consecutive years 3 times, four consecutive 2 times, and five consecutive times twice, and World Series winning streaks of back-to-back 3 times, and three, four and five straight championships once each. Numerous records were set and/or broken by Yankees here. Ruth's 60 home runs and Gehrigs 2130 consecutive games were both surpassed, but are numbers still used as a measure of greatness by others.

Yankee Stadium has been ruined by greed. There is nothing that can be done about it now, but being the fan that I am, I'm not sure that I could ever again go to the corner of 161^st and River Avenue and see a baseball field that Yankee Stadium once surrounded. In my eyes, Yankee Stadium is a working baseball museum. Had this been the site of a battle, no doubt that it would be marked as an historical site, but since there was no killing there it will not be. Instead, it will feel the slap of the wrecking ball against its walls, and I blame George Steinbrenner for this, also.

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
if by " mostly what's gone on at Yankee Stadium is great baseball" you mean a bunch of gorssly overpaid... [MORE]	farbermiller	Feb 13, 2008 09:30
Stop your crying - this article is really an attack on "rich" George Steinbrenner. Sounds like mostly jealous sour grapes... [MORE]	Dave Alan	Apr 20, 2007 13:16
Were they supposed to not replace anything in the stadium since Ruth played there? Should we be sitting on the... [MORE]	simon	Apr 1, 2007 10:36
In addition to the structural changes that came with the renovation even the FIELD was changed. It was lowered by... [MORE]	Doug	Apr 9, 2007 00:15
TIM MARCHMAN'S ARTICLE, I FELT, IS ACCURATE AS FAR AS THE STADIUM REALLY NOT BEING THE STADIUM IT WAS. THE... [MORE]	MIKE IN CONNECTICUT	Mar 21, 2007 09:11
my comment is, it's hard to tell what this sportswriter is writing about, much less what his point is in... [MORE]	mike b	Mar 9, 2007 02:13
I've been to "The Stadium" twice in my life, and will go there again before its gone. My trips were... [MORE]	Pete	Feb 19, 2007 00:14
The reason, as you say, Yankee Stadium is not the same stadium but it is the same field... it is... [MORE]	chris ippolito	Feb 12, 2007 23:44
Tim Marchman made some very good points in his article regarding Yankee Stadium, and I strongly agree with one in...	Eddie	Feb 9, 2007 00:40
Mr. Marchman: You read for all the world like one of the authors of contemporary books about ballparks. And in the... [MORE]	Jim Meyer	Feb 8, 2007 20:07
i first visited yankee stadium in april of 2001 and i enjoyed it very much. i had 2 of my... [MORE]	joyce harper	Jan 31, 2007 13:27
The old park, the new park. I'm not old enough to remember what the park was like, but I am a... [MORE]	Brian D	Jan 19, 2007 20:17
Your facts are only half-true. A lot of what was there before is still there now. And don't forget that... [MORE]	Joe Pep	Jan 18, 2007 16:21
While it's true that the new Yankees stadium will feature an upper deck farther from the action than the House... [MORE]	Neil deMause	Jan 18, 2007 07:29
or does the upper deck start at AA? I can't remember [MORE]	rich	Mar 30, 2007 08:07
Egads! The thought of professional baseball wanting to charge higher prices to attend their events. Something that has happened since...oh...the... [MORE]	James	Jan 18, 2007 00:10
You hit it on the head, man -- very well put about how nobody mentions the '70s era-blandness of the... [MORE]	Greg	Jan 17, 2007 15:54
This is what I have been saying all along. If you are old enough to remember the original stadium, then... [MORE]	Mark Pierce	Jan 17, 2007 01:56
Nice article about the stadium. I never was at the 'old' stadium, but I never felt the history at the... [MORE]	Baseball Fan	Jan 24, 2007 02:04

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