"A New York Treasure" --Village Voice

Steamy Night in the Bronx

I went to the game last night with a longtime Banter reader. I’d never met him before but he was in town, had tickets, and was kind enough to invite me. We were joined by a childhood friend of his who was also in town.

We sat in the sky down the left field line. It was the kind of muggy that you just have to give yourself over to, which in some ways is what it’s like following this year’s Yankees. (Resistance is futile.) By the second inning, my pants were clinging to my legs and I was already dreaming of the shower I’d take when I got home.

The Yankees loaded the bases against James Shields in the first inning but only scored one run, the only one they’d score all night. They managed just two more hits so it was another one of those nights, an admirable loss for C.C. Sabathia who went the distance, gave up two solo homers and another run late as the Royals won it, 3-1.

My favorite part of the night came as an unspoken moment of recognition between fans. So we’re watching the game and talking and our we’re involved in our conversation when Luis Cruz, playing third base, took a step to his left and dove for a ground ball. He snagged it and our conversation was interrupted by all three of us spontaneously shouting, “Ooooooh!” We exchanged high-fives, our only such celebration of the night, and then went back to talking.

Those shared instincts were enough to make me feel close to two guys I’d just met.

The loss seemed inevitable but a surprising number of fans stayed at the game til the end. It was a weeknight, broiling hot, but I got the sense that people wanted to linger, they didn’t want to leave the ballpark yet.

When it was over we parted ways and I was pleased to have made two new pals. Outside, on the street, people cluttered together and you could here shouts of “Water, one dollar, one dollar, one dollar, water.”

I took a few pictures.

Across the street from the new Stadium is a ball field where the old stadium used to stand. There was a fast pitch softball game going on and fans stopped to watch.

 

Categories:  1: Featured  Game Recap  Yankees

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8 comments

1 peter12546@gmail.com   ~  Jul 10, 2013 8:52 am

Real nice...and real glad the old field has real baseball!

2 Sliced Bread   ~  Jul 10, 2013 8:55 am

I'll take a steamy night at the stadium over a cold, and rainy one everytime. Fans should stick around to appreciate nights like last night regardless of the score, or the sustained drought that is the 2013 Yankees.
Haven't been to the stadium this year. Taking my sons in August. I miss the days when I didn't plan to go to games. If you had $15 bucks to your name, you just went, exerting youthful disregard for ticket prices, traffic, early alarm clocks, etc.

3 Jon DeRosa   ~  Jul 10, 2013 9:06 am

The kinship of the spontaneous shared reaction to a great play also plays out while watching in the confines of an apartment building when you realize your neighbors are watching the same thing at the same time.

LeBron's clinching jumper in Game 7 was a recent example. Calling Ohio in the last election. DVRs screw it up a little bit.

4 Alex Belth   ~  Jul 10, 2013 9:41 am

Yeah, it's the drawback to DVRs. You miss the shared experience.

5 thelarmis   ~  Jul 10, 2013 1:03 pm

Do we get to know which lucky longtime Banter reader got to take in a game with our fearless leader?!

6 Alex Belth   ~  Jul 10, 2013 1:20 pm

It's a non-commenter. LOL. But really nice guy.

7 thelarmis   ~  Jul 10, 2013 1:40 pm

acha!

8 MSM35   ~  Jul 10, 2013 2:08 pm

Went to the game last night. Couldn't download the tickets from Stubhub. Got on the wrong train at 125st. on the Metro-North. Ended up at Spyten Divel. Took the train back. Had to walk to Stubhub to get my tickets. Long walk, very hot. Walked back to the Stadium and sat down on Babe Ruth Plaza waiting for my brother. Got to my seats as Overbay fanned ensuring only one run in the first. Waited for the Royals to score two and knew it was over. Went home without incident. The Yanks are not fielding a major league team at the moment.

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"This ain't football. We do this every day."
--Earl Weaver