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Tuesday, September 30, 2008

The End of the House of Ruth


For God's sake let us sit upon the ground
And tell sad stories of the death of kings!
How some have been deposed, some slain in war,
Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed...

It's many long years since I was a fervent Yankee fan, but well do I remember the heyday of Mickey Mantle. I attended my first major league baseball game at Yankee Stadium, at age eleven. The vast expanse of emerald outfield was my first glimpse into the revered sports cathedral that was Yankee Stadium, and I remember the sight like it was yesterday.

The day before yesterday, Yankee Stadium followed Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig into the mists of history. A bigger, "better" venue will be constructed close by. But the legendary "ghosts" of Yankee Stadium, will they follow the team from their hallowed ground into the new stadium? Time will tell. I, for one, am dubious. I think moving the stadium seriously messes with Yankee mojo--and I think the negative chi started this season.

For the sake of all my loyal Yankee fans "back East," I do hope I'm wrong. I hope the Bambino and the Iron Horse will smile down upon the new Yankee playing field. I hope that Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto's oft-cited "wind," that almost magical outfield force, will follow the team to mysteriously assist those wavering long balls over the wall.

Game over; thanks for the memories.


There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
The earth, and every common sight,
To me did seem
Apparelled in celestial light,
The glory and the freshness of a dream.
It is not now as it hath been of yore;--
Turn whereso'er I may,
By night or day,
The things which I have seen I now can see no more.