On This Date in Sports September 21 & 28, 2008
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
The New York Yankees play the final game at the Original Yankee Stadium, beating the Baltimore Orioles 7-3, as many former Yankee greats were on hand to say goodbye as the Yankees miss the postseason for the first time since 1993. A week later, the New York Mets lose the final game at Shea Stadium, as fans numbed by any other disappointing finish watched Mets greats touch home plate one last time.
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The 2008 season was one of transition for New York baseball as both the Mets and Yankees were saying goodbye to their stadiums, with the construction of a new park for each team for the 2009 season. Plans for new stadiums for both teams had been in the works for a decade, as the Yankees while winning three straight championships wanted more money from suites, while the Mets desperately needed to replace Shea Stadium, which had been in decay for years. The teams each had deals in place in 1998, after the Yankees vaguely threatened a move to New Jersey when a steel beam fell.
Yankee Stadium originally opened in 1923 and was called “The House That Babe Ruth Built”. Naturally, the Babe himself hit the first home run at Yankee Stadium on April 18, 1923. The stadium was the grandest in all of baseball when it opened and served as a model for future ballparks. The stadium’s distinguishing feature was frieze that hung on top of the roof around the grandstand. After a half-century, Yankee Stadium underwent a massive renovation project with the Yankees playing two seasons at Shea Stadium. When Yankee Stadium re-opened in 1976, it took on a different look with the frieze preserved only atop the scoreboard and the bleacher section. The Yankees would return the frieze to its original location around the grandstand when the new stadium opened in 2009.
The 2008 season for the Yankees had been a strange one, as it was the first for new manager Joe Girardi. While the Yankees again had a solid record, they were not in the playoff picture, with the Tampa Bay Rays sudden rise, and the Boston Red Sox well ahead in the Wild Card race as the season came to a close. The Yankees would finish the season with a record of 89-73 as they missed the playoffs for the first time since 1993.
The final game at Yankee Stadium would be a nationally televised game on Sunday Night baseball. Andy Pettitte would get the start for the final game for the Yankees; Orioles manager Dave Tremblay had Chris Waters on the mound. Before the game, many greats from the past took their position with Bob Sheppard calling their name one last time. After Melvin Mora drove in a run in the third inning for Baltimore, Johnny Damon gave the Yankees a 3-1 lead with a shot into the right-field stands. After Brian Roberts plated two runs to tie the game in the fourth, it was Jose Molina hitting the final stadium home run with Robinson Cano on base 5-3. Jason Giambi got the final hit with an RBI single in the seventh, while Brett Gardner scored the final run on a sacrifice fly by Cano. Leading 7-3, Mariano Rivera came on to pitch in the final inning with Brian Roberts grounding out to Cody Ransom at first to end the game. After the game was over, Yankees Captain Derek Jeter addressed the crowd as the players took one last lap around the ballpark.
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As the Yankees finished their season on the road, the New York Mets came home for the final games at Shea Stadium. Unlike the Yankees, the Mets had something to play for in the final week as a season of tribulation with manager Willie Randolph being fired in the middle of the night on the west coast had them battling down to the final games for the National League Wild Card with new manager Jerry Manuel.
The Mets went into the final game tied with the Milwaukee Brewers for the Wild Card lead at 89-72, after a brilliant performance by Johan Santana the previous game. For the final game, the Mets had Oliver Perez on the mound against Scott Olsen, who was making the start for the Florida Marlins managed by Fredi Gonzalez. The game was scoreless through the first five innings before Cameron Maybin led off the sixth with a double. John Baker would single home Maybin to give the Marlins a 1-0 lead. The Marlins added a second run in the sixth when Joe Smith reliving Perez walked Josh Willingham with the bases loaded. The Mets came back right away tying the game 2-2 on a two-run homer by Carlos Beltran. However, the bullpen that had been the Mets Achilles all season faltered again as Scott Schoeneweis gave up a home run to Wes Helms to lead off the eighth. One batter later Dan Uggla went deep against Luis Ayala to make it 4-2. It was the final hit and run ever recorded at Shea Stadium. The Mets would get the tying run to the plate after a walk by Damion Easley. However, Matt Lindstrom a former Mets prospect got Ryan Church to fly out to right to end the game and the Mets season.
The Mets would follow the game, with a ceremony as fans stunned and numbed by losing a chance to make the playoffs on the final game of the season. In the ceremony, Mets favorites of the past entered through the bullpens and went down the line to touch home plate one last time. The final moments of the Shea Goodbye ceremony had Tom Seaver step on the mound and throw one last pitch to Mike Piazza. The two then walked out together through a gate in Centerfield signifying a move on to Citi Field that was omnipresent behind the old scoreboard. A scoreboard that just a day later would be torn down as the Mets quickly began tearing down Shea Stadium.