From the 161st Street subway exit, Yankee Stadium looks like a drab, unmarked grey mausoleum. The mecca of baseball might not be the prettiest facility, but it’s a mythical place for sports fans worldwide.
After 26 World Series championships (and three papal visits), the New York Yankees have closed the doors of the most hallowed ground in the history of sports in favour of a palace of luxury boxes erected just across the street.
The lights of the House That Ruth Built shut off for the last time on Sunday night, bringing one of the greatest eras in sports to a close in less than spectacular fashion, with the team missing the playoffs for the first time in 13 years.
The Yankees splashed out more money than ever (nearly $400 million) in last year’s off-season simply to retain their core players, and expectations were high coming into 2008. Yet the Yankees find themselves fighting off the perennially mediocre Toronto Blue Jays for third place in the division.
How did it all go wrong?
In years past, ownership put the brunt of the team’s failures squarely on the shoulders of grizzled manager Joe Torre, who was fired unceremoniously after last season and hired mere weeks later by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Torre has since teamed up with old foe Manny Ramirez in California, as the Dodgers cruise into the post-season while the Yankees clean out their lockers.
Instead of faulting Girardi, who did an admirable job this year managing the team’s bullpen, owner Hank Steinbrenner famously put the blame on injuries when he seemed to concede the season in August.
Smug Yankee-haters claim injuries are a non-factor when your payroll is over $200 million. But it’s a fact that a rash of serious injuries are a demoralizing factor that can derail a whole season.
While catcher Jorge Posada and left fielder Hideki Matsui’s seasons were all but lost to various ailments, injuries hit the pitching staff the hardest, starting with ace Chien-Ming Wang’s freak base-running injury in June, Joba Chamberlain’s failed transition into the starting rotation due to tendonitis, and the complete failures of young prospects Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, who went a combined 0-8 before hitting the disabled list.
The biggest factor in the Yankees’ collapse has nothing to do with injuries and everything to do with complacency. Certainly this year’s batting lineup had the talent to overcome a few setbacks, but lacked the drive to compete at the highest level.
In failing to make the playoffs despite such a massive payroll, the Yankees have become the latest example of a star-studded team going down in flames. As revenue and team payrolls increase to make a championship push, perhaps a new formula for success is emerging—a core of breathtaking young talent combined with a few veteran leaders to keep the young bucks in line and deflect the media attention when things get tough. It’s a formula that has worked in recent years across all major sports—including the Boston Red Sox, Manchester United, and Detroit Red Wings.
The Yankees aren’t a youthful team. Centre field heir apparent Melky Cabrera played so badly that he was sent down to the minors, and at age 34, it looks like Johnny Damon’s best days are far behind him. Posada and Matsui are inching closer to retirement along with closer Mariano River, as the mammoth contract of Jason Giambi, the least likeable player in the league, finally comes off the books after seven excruciating seasons.
Nevertheless, Yankee Stadium is no more. Word from the City of New York is that the ballpark will be torn down and replaced by a series of children’s baseball diamonds, to make up for the loss of public space taken up by the new stadium.
When the public park opens, I hope someone suggests christening it “Field of Dreams”. Imagine kids with gloves roaming the same ground as did the Yankee pantheon, which may one day be expanded to include modern icons like Derek Jeter and maybe even—gulp—Alex Rodriguez.
While I doubt that new Yankee Stadium will be nicknamed “The House That A-Rod Built,” the team is betting that the star third baseman and close confidant of Madonna will break the all-time home run record there, cementing his place as not only the greatest player to suit up in pinstripes but arguably the greatest to ever play the game.
New memories will be made in time, but the Yankees aren’t heading into their new digs on a high note, and it will take time and a massive change in philosophy for success to come home again.
