Farewell to Yankee Stadium - Massive Legacy and an Emotional Ending

26 world championships later, the day has come. Yankee Stadium will no longer host anymore regular season games, and the emotional last game had the sell-out crowd in tears, whether they were tears of sadness, tears of happiness, or a combination of both, "The House that Ruth Built" will simply be a memory come next season. Derek Jeter led his team out to the pitcher's mound for one last emotional speech in front of the 54,610 that stayed many moments after the game ended. "We just want to take this moment to salute you, the greatest fans in the world," stated Jeter as him and the entire Yankee team took their caps off and held them up high for the capacity crowd, as well as all of the Yankee fans around the world.

Babe Ruth christened the eighty-five year old Stadium, and after the game when he was approached, he uttered the words: "God only knows who will hit the last." Well we certainly know who drilled the last homer in Yankee Stadium, and that was Jose Molina who blasted the ball out of the park in the 4th inning off of Baltimore Pitcher, Chris Waters. Johnny Damon hit a homer earlier in the 3rd inning that put the Yanks on top 3-2, and even though the homers were special because the Yankees won their final regular season game in a Stadium that has had so many memories, the Yankees look forward to having a bright future. May the ghosts of Yankee Stadium move onto the new one, which will have the same address as the old one (161st Street and River Avenue)

Yankee fans began packing Yankee Stadium around 1:00 PM which was to be expected. As I type this review up, it is currently 1:52 in the morning on September 22nd, 2008 - the New York Yankees are still mathematically able to make the postseason, so it'd be wrong to say that there won't be anymore games at Yankee Stadium, but in order for this to happen, the Boston Red Sox would have to lose the rest of their games, which currently stands at 7, while the Yankees would have to win the rest of their games, which stands at 6. This is obviously not likely if you are a fan of another team, or you are follow baseball as a whole, but as a true, die-hard Yankee fan, I have hope in my team!

As I sat here in my studio, being a radio station owner watching the Yankee game, I tried to slow down time as best as possible so the game would not end, but unfortunately it doesn't quite work like that, so I appreciate the pre-ceremonial events, as well as the post-ceremonial events that went on, which in term dragged the Yankee game on longer. The Yankees completed regular season play at Yankee Stadium in the 6,580th game, while winning 4,133 of those games. They lost 2,430 of those contests while posting 17 ties. I'd say that pretty darn great, especially for a Yankee's franchise that hosted 37 World Series, and a franchise that won 26 of them.

New York improved to 85-71, which shows fans and other teams around the MLB that even if they do not make the playoffs, they will make sure they close out their season on a positive note. It wasn't too long ago that the Yankees were behind the Twins and the Blue Jays, but now they are in second place behind the Red Sox by 6.5 games. Each and every game (Red Sox losing, while Yankees winning) needs to go the Yankee's way if they want a shot at the postseason, otherwise it would surely be the end of an era and a streak of 13 consecutive postseason appearances by the Bronx Bombers.

Last night, September 21st, 2008 marked a very emotional time for all involved with the Yankees, it definitely isn't going to be easy seeing the stadium go down, but change is needed in this world and there will be new memories to be made in the new Yankee Stadium, still called (by superior fan demand) - Yankee Stadium.

As a true Yankee fan and one who has witnessed many of the great years that the Yankees have given their fans, I say goodbye (unless the unlikely happens) to Baseball's Cathedral and welcome the new Stadium with open arms. As I sit here right now and think about everything panning out right now, I also look forward to opening day across the street - it will be a good one! Until next year, goodbye and thank you for the memories, unless there is one more burst of Yankee magic before the doors are officially closed.