August 28, 2003
Yankees 7, White Sox 5
W: Mike Mussina
L: Neal Cotts
S: Mariano Rivera
HR: Carl Everett (CHW)
Attendance: 40,569
Time of Game: 3 hours, 11 minutes
Stadium Facts
Location: Bronx, NY
First Game: April 18, 1923
Capacity: 57,480
Type: Open
Surface: Grass
2003 was the first year I took a long summer trip with the specific purpose of going to baseball games in different stadiums. The trip took me all over the northeast part of the country, into Canada and back to the Midwest. Over the course of a week, I got to see a couple of the most historic baseball cathedrals, visited some awesome cities and even threw in a stop at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Since there was more to the trip than just baseball, I'll write a little bit about my other activities in these reviews.
My buddy Pete was nice enough to accompany me for the whole trip. I think the final stop at Notre Dame for the football season opener was the clincher. We were able to meet up with several other friends along the way. The combination of the stadiums, cities and friends probably made this my favorite of all the baseball trips I have taken.
The first stop on the 2003 trip was Yankee Stadium in New York. We left DC early on a Thursday morning and arrived in the city in plenty of time for the afternoon matinee between the Yankees and White Sox. We took the George Washington Bridge across the Hudson River into the Bronx and parked in a garage right next to the stadium. We were probably fortunate with our timing, but I was very surprised at how easily accessible the stadium was by car, and clearly by train too since the tracks run right by the park.
The outside of Yankee Stadium isn't terribly impressive and shows the park's age a bit. However, once I stepped inside the gates, I would not have guessed by the looks of it that I was in an 80 year old stadium. Clearly the renovations done to the park in the '70s modernized the park a great deal. Especially impressive was the lack of obstructed view seats, a staple of the old ballparks.
Regrettably, I did not go out to Monument Park in left field, although as a Yankee hater, I probably would not have appreciated it as much as the Yankees fans do. I was able to see a little of that area from my seat down the left field line though. The other impressive aspect of the park is its massive size. The enormous upper deck surrounding a good portion of the stadium is quite a sight when filled with fans. The stadium holds over 57,000 people. It was the first three tiered baseball stadium. The outfield area is enclosed with signage and scoreboards, topped by the traditional white frieze, which ran the length of the roof of the stadium before the renovations.
The short porch in right field is certainly inviting to left handed hitters, however the park plays pretty fairly for hitters and pitchers. The left field power alley is very deep, but not nearly as bad as it used to be when the current Monument Park was part of the outfield. There aren't many cheap home runs hit to left, except possibly directly down the line.
Our seats were in the lower level, down near the left field corner, but in the back of the section. The tickets were actually marked as "obstructed view", but I'm not exactly sure why. The only obstruction was the deck above, which meant we could not see balls hit in the air, however I'd much rather have that sort of obstruction than a pole blocking my view of the plate like they have at Fenway and Wrigley.
As for the game, this was one of the most frustrating White Sox games I have ever attended. Die hard Sox fans like myself might remember this game as the one that sealed Jerry Manuel's fate to lose his job as Sox manager at the end of the season. They were in a heated division race in late August, holding a 2 1/2 game lead over the Twins thanks to demolishing the first place Yankees in the first two games of this series. The Sox had an opportunity for a huge road sweep on this afternoon and could have pitched staff ace Mark Buehrle on full rest. Instead, Manuel elected to keep the rotation in tact and went with rookie Neal Cotts who had been wild and ineffective in his first three career starts that season. This left Buehrle to face the pathetic Tigers the following night. Starting Cotts against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium was a disaster waiting to happen.
Well, it played out exactly as I expected. The Sox scored two runs off Mike Mussina in the top of the first, but the lead would not last long. Cotts only faced eight hitters. Seven of them reached base. Here is how the bottom of the first started: double, walk, walk, single, lineout, walk, walk. That was all she wrote for Cotts. 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 H in 1/3 IP. The Yankees held their 5-2 lead until Carl Everett connected for a solo home run in the fourth. The Sox put the heat on the Yankees in the 8th inning too. Two more runs cut the Yankees lead to 6-5.
The Yankees added an insurance run in the bottom half of the 8th on a single by Alfonso Soriano. John Flaherty tried to score a second run on the hit, but was thrown out at the plate, the second time he was thrown out at home in the game. Mariano Rivera shut things down in the 9th for yet another save.
There is no doubt in my mind the Sox would have won this game had Buehrle pitched. Mussina was not sharp, but was able to get the win thanks to the gift runs the Yankees got in the first against a pitcher who clearly didn't belong out there. The wheels fell off for the Sox after this game as they faded to a distant second place finish and Manuel was fired (thankfully leading to the hiring of Ozzie Guillen). Meanwhile, the Yankees won another division championship, beat the Red Sox in the ALCS but lost to the Marlins in the 2003 World Series.
I'm glad I was able to make it to Yankee Stadium, though this was the only game I saw there prior to it closing this past year. The most impressive part of Yankee Stadium isn't so much the park itself, but the knowledge of all the history that was made there. I was surprised and impressed with the modern feel of the very old ballpark, however I'm sure their new park will be much more comfortable and luxurious. I plan on going back up to New York this upcoming summer to check out the new stadium.
In retrospect, I bet the Yankees wish they could have rethought the program cover below, touting Jason Giambi's "modern muscle".
Photo Album
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| From New York Yankees |
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| From New York Yankees |
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| From New York Yankees |
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| From New York Yankees |
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| From New York Yankees |
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| From New York Yankees |
Next stadium: Shea Stadium, New York
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