There’s been a lot of pomp and circumstance surrounding this year’s Baseball All-Star Game because of where the game is taking place: Yankee Stadium. This is the last year of the historic park, with the Yanks set to move into new, cursed-by-buried-Red-Sox-jersey digs next summer.
Not everyone will miss the old park, it seems.
Today’s All-Stars have their own reasons to dry their eyes at Yankee Stadium’s funeral.
“The smell,� the Texas Rangers’ Michael Young said.
“The tiny clubhouse,� Justin Duchscherer of the Oakland Athletics added.
“Hitting my head on the dugout,� the Chicago White Sox’ Joe Crede offered. “Every time somebody scored or got a hit, you jumped up and forgot how low the ceiling is in there.�
Much like I can’t blame the Mets and Yanks for building new stadiums, I can’t really blame these guys for complaining — Yankee Stadium, much like Shea, is old and scummy. But admittedly that’s actually what I really like about both stadiums. Dirty and old = character, and that atmosphere adds to the overall enjoyment of the experience.
I dunno man…I don’t think I’d qualify either Shea or YS as “dirty and old,” actually. They’re not pristine looking, sure, but that mostly has to do with their respective designs. Shea is just an ugly, ugly ballpark, and YS feels more 70s than thanks to the renovation from 3 decades ago. But YS especially, thanks to things like the Stadium Club (ever eaten there? It’s pretty amazing.) and Monument Park, in addition to the beautiful field and layout of the stands, is still one of the best places to see a ballgame. But I don’t think dirty is one of its characteristics, to be honest.