There are a handful of ballparks that are accompanied by a mystique that places them in an entirely different strata than all other parks. I had the great pleasure of visiting one such park earlier this year when I went to Wrigley. These great parks might be great because of unique architecture, great backdrops, but most of all because of their history. One such ballpark is closing this year.
Yankee Stadium first hosted a baseball game on April 18th, 1923. Since that time it has been the court of baseball royalty and lore. Some of the greatest players of all time have played there. The list of Yankee players that called the park home reads like it’s own private baseball history book. Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Micky Mantle, Yogi Berra, and the list goes on and on.
2008 is the last year that baseball will be played at Yankee Stadium. For a lover of the game of baseball this is a sad event. One of the most historic landmarks in American sport will soon be no more. Throughout the year my wife and I have planned on making a trip to New York to see a game at Yankee Stadium before it is destroyed. Unfortunately, an unexpected force came tearing through our life this year; Dave Ramsey. My work started offering the Financial Peace University class and my wife and I (after much convincing from the afore mentioned wife) decided that we couldn’t justify the expense of going to New York while we were still in debt. I have emotionally bounced back and forth in my resolve on this decision. This is my last opportunity to go to this historic park and I keep summoning to mind images of myself 20 years from now telling my kids that I could have gone to a game at “The House That Ruth Built”, but I didn’t because Dave Ramsey said it wouldn’t be wise.
Yankee Stadium Now
So, although this isn’t the primary purpose of this blog, I have set up a Paypal donation button for anyone who would like to help send me to a Yankees game. I think that $1200 is probably about as cheap as I could manage to get my wife and I to New York and a game. We would have to drive 6 hours to Dallas in order to fly to New York, and then we would have tickets to the game, and a night at a motel. I will be chronicling any donations that come in, as well as my efforts to sell some items to help get me to the magical number. I have decided that if anyone donates and I don’t get enough to go to a game by the end of the season, I will donate all of the money collected here to Make-a-Wish Foundation. The same applies to any amount that might exceed the cost of going to the game.
For the record, I recognize that this is a very short window to make this happen, so I don’t anticipate it working. But I would try anything to get a chance to visit this historic park before it is no more.
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