"New York, New York," sung by the amazing Frank Sinatra, will always remind me of Yankee Stadium - both the old cathedral, and the new, grand mansion. They play New York, New York as soon as the last out is recorded. The funny thing is, they play the old Sinatra version following a Yankee win, and the Liza Minnelli version following a loss. Thankfully, I've been lucky enough to almost always hear Sinatra's crooning as I make my way out of the hallowed grounds.
So here's Old Blue Eyes, himself. To go along with the song, we have a delightful montage of Yankee-related images. If I close my eyes, I can almost smell the hot dogs and taste the cool beer....
About 42 seconds in, you'll see Freddy Sez. He's been a stadium icon for as long as I can remember, with a new "Freddy Sez" sign every game. Sadly, he died during last year's postseason run. Poor Charlie will never get the chance to bang on the pan.
1:07 shows you the most iconic photograph of Manager Joe Torre - being carried off the field after a World Series victory, good old Bernie Williams immediately to the left. A classic Jeter fist pump at 1:36, and one of my favorite baseball memories, ever, at 1:43 - the Yankees and the Diamondbacks lining up to pay respect to the flag just weeks after 9/11. The Ground Zero Flag, itself, at 1:57. And the midnight magic - what baseball fan doesn't remember the late-inning heroics by the boys in Blue that year? To come from behind and win all three home games in New York, in super dramatic fashion, at a time when the city (and America, at large) needed just such a release. Yes, baseball is just a game, but in so many ways it's also the glue that holds people together - something to bond over, something to celebrate about, and something to distract you from the more painful parts of life. This was never more true than post 9/11. Baseball, Yankee Baseball, was exactly what the city needed to start recovering.
Jeter at the bat!
With my little cousin Danny, at his first Yankee game back in 2005. Bernie hit a Grand Slam!
The new Digs
Next week's topic will be another vague one - "A Song that Reminds you of Summer."
Good song. I didn't know the different versions for win/loss - must make Liza Minnelli a little down. Baseball is so American and I think that is the reason for the nostalgic view of it. I enjoy it live.
ReplyDeleteHave you watched any of the Ken Burns baseball documentary? Lots of history.
Yes, I actually have it on tape. I really enjoy baseball history. Buster Olney is one of my favorites, though, probably because he used to be a Yankee writer :)
ReplyDeleteHave you seen 9 Innings to Ground Zero? It's a really nice documentary about how baseball helped us through 9/11.
joined your links.
ReplyDelete