Interacting with our Bleeding Yankee Blue readers is something I love, especially if everyone is respectful in the conversation. I want to introduce you to Len Ferrara who reached out to me and had a few things to say. So, I asked that an article be written. Here you go, folks, enjoy. And thank you Len.
-Casey
Every once in a while, on Facebook, an ad pops up for people to show that they are the oldest Yankee fan. I have put my name in, but I am obviously not the oldest because every Wednesday I have breakfast with a bunch of guys, three of whom are Yankee fans and are older than I am. Thus, age is just a number.
Since I’m rambling, I thought I would share some Yankee Stadium experiences.
My first trip to Yankee Stadium happened when I was seven or eight. I can’t really remember how old I was. You have to understand that was 75 years ago. It was a bus trip from Saint Anne’s Church in Newark, New Jersey. Basically, most of my family went.
Since I was an insignificant seven-year-old, I got to sit directly behind one of the vertical girders in the original Yankee Stadium. I can't recall how little of the game I saw, looking back and forth on either side of the girder. Since the year would have been 1950 or 1951, let me list some of the people who would’ve been playing in that game: Berra, Mize, Coleman, Rizzuto, Brown, Woodling, DiMaggio, and Bauer.
Now let me jump forward to when I was in the eighth grade. I was a school crossing guard. The reward for eighth graders who got the crossing guard assignments was a trip to Yankee Stadium. We sat in the bleachers. It was a sunny day. We roasted.
I remember telling the chaperone, my history teacher, that we had “found our place in the sun” (you have to dig back into your history book to understand that reference). The highlight of the day was my favorite player, Andy Carey, who played third base. He hit a home run right in the direction where we were sitting, but it didn’t quite reach us, proving you can’t have everything in life.
Some 25 years later, in the “new” Yankee Stadium, I was able to grab a foul ball that came into the upper deck at the weirdest angle I could ever imagine. I never thought you would get a foul ball sitting in that section, but I did.
That brings us to the latest and current iteration of Yankee Stadium. The best thing about it, I find, is the steak sandwich.
Was I there for Mariano’s last game? Yes, I was.
Am I crying now as I write about it? Yes, I am.
We, as Yankee fans, are so spoiled by players of that caliber, and I guess it’s just that we demand excellence, which is so hard to come by at this point in time.
As far as the current team is concerned, I don’t think it’s difficult to point to the holes. I don’t think you can win a championship when you have three guys batting below .200, or close to it. I also don’t think a hitting coach can take a .210 hitter and make him into a .250 hitter, but I have been known to be wrong a few times in my life.
Does the bullpen need help? Absolutely.
What I don’t understand is why we seem to have excellent prospects in the minors who stay in the minors while we get to watch relievers give up runs every time they come in.
The Yankees are worth $7 billion, or something like that, and Hal Steinbrenner thinks salaries are out of control. He's in favor of a salary cap that may cause him to cut $70 million in payroll. How is that going to happen?
Did the fans vote to give Trent Grisham $20.2 million for the year?
Will he be on the team next year?
Why do the owners vote in favor of selling teams to guys or groups that have absurd amounts of money and then complain when those same people give out absurd contracts?
Why did the league allow the bankruptcy sale of the Dodgers, and now they have a ridiculous financial advantage? Excuse me, you didn't see that coming?
When Stanton is healthy, will Boone put Rice in at catcher so the lineup would include Goldy, Rice, and Giancarlo? Or are they worried that his legs are not in shape to catch? Has Boone noticed the increase in Rice's size over the last two years?
Will Volpe playing second help with his hitting or mental gaffes? Or do we have to settle for a shortstop with less range?
You know Hal does not want to pay Jazz.
What is it about Yankees prospects that causes them to flame out in New York and then succeed elsewhere?
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I still have my 1959 and 1960 Yankees yearbooks. I have a scrapbook with a newspaper clipping from April 18, 1948. That should tell you who I am.
Do you think I bleed Yankee blue?
I love the Yankees, but sometimes they just tick me off.
I am an observational scientist by occupation, although you can tell by my age that I am retired.
These are a few of my observations and concerns.
--Len Ferrara
