It’s been almost ten years since the family visited Yankee Stadium together, but back then we were just three. Clearly it took us a while to get back… but WE’RE BACK…. WE’RE BAAAAACCKKKKK!!!
Years ago, my grandfather, brother, and I would walk the hollowed grounds that was “The Old Yankee Stadium.” Walking through those old turnstiles and coming through the main field level tunnel was a rite of passage for families and Yankees fans. As I’ve talked about before the game of baseball is something that’s passed down from generations to generations, fathers to sons, grandfathers to grandchildren and so on.
Spending time in the Bronx growing up playing catch with my grandfather are memories that will never fade. Nor will, the $235 we just spent on the concession stands and souvenirs all these years later. What happened to $2 hotdogs and $5 beers? All joking aside, it’s so much more than that.
The difference in tickets, prices and experiences may differ… However, what happens when family gets together and is able to experience something so magical as the cathedral that is Yankee Stadium… that truly, is priceless. As we walked down River Ave we couldn’t go more than a couple steps without Jax and Ollie shouting out each player whose picture adorned the less sunny side of the stadium under the elevated subway.
As we turned the corner and entered Babe Ruth Plaza the massive size of the colossus that is Yankee Stadium put all of us in awe. The Stadium tends to do that both for returning visitors and those experiencing it for the first time.
Seeing it from the outside, walking into the Hall of Legends you can hear the whispers of Yankees past; however, it’s not until you get out to your seats on a clear blue day and see the field that you feel the generations of memories that have been created here.
This trip was not just any visit, it was the first time the four of us were here together. Jackson was barely 10 months old during his first visit to the Yankee Stadium. And while this was Oliver’s first time ever in “The The House that Ruth Jeter Built”, it really was like an initial trip for big brother as well.
The boys and I’ve spent a lot of time watching games together on TV and Oliver, especially, has really gotten into collecting baseball cards. They both enjoy hearing me pass on the stories that I was told by my grandfather. They’ve heard me talk about Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, and Babe Ruth and they’ve seen pictures and cards of Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto, and Derek Jeter. So walking into Monument Park was like entering into a Time Machine.
But let’s be real the boys were here to see the captain. Not my captain… Not Derek Jeter… But the new captain… Aaron Freaking Judge
and he didn’t disappoint. Hitting a massive blast in his second at bat while we were a few rows away!
I loved watching both boys with their gloves on hoping to catch a foul ball or have a player who is warming up toss them a keepsake they would never forget.
While that ball never came. No one in this family would need a keepsake to remember the experience we all shared together on one of the hottest days of 2024. Watching their favorite players come to life. Bringing Oliver to his first ever game at Yankee Stadium.
They were points in time where I thought Oliver might wind up on the field himself. It was fun, engaging in the old tradition of wandering down as many rows as you can until someone called you out for sitting in their seats…. And big shout out to Stephanie, who typically will only sit in the seat she was assigned.
Having Jackson experience a game where he is actually old enough to remember and taking Oliver to his first ever game, all the while spending time with the whole family together at a venue that already holds so many memories for me was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had! I hope we have many more experiences like this… But there’s something about your first visit to the stadium. I hope this day is ingrained in my boys heads and it’s some thing that they will be able to pass on from now as well.
Moonlight Graham put it perfectly in Field of Dreams, “You Know, We Just Don’t Recognize The Most Significant Moments Of Our Lives While They’re Happening. Back Then, I Thought, “Well There’ll Be Other Days.”
I know there will be more days for us at Yankee Stadium, but for today, it sure felt like Heaven.
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Read about Jackson’s first trip to Yankee Stadium here: https://chroniclesofanewdad.com/2014/09/24/the-house-that-jeter-built/
Sorry Sons: Chronicles of a New Dad 