Ultimate Baseball Road Trip (15 page)

Metro subway map:
www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm

After the game, literally dozens of opportunists line the plaza outside Gates 4 and 6, holding signs that read “Need a taxi?” We opted to just take the train home, but if we were looking to make a speedy getaway, we imagine these folks would have set us up.

If you’re heading to the game from Manhattan, consider taking the Yankees water taxi sponsored by Delta. It is a booze cruise up the East River and the cost is only a single dollar to reserve a spot on the boat. It leaves from Wall Street’s Pier 11 ninety minutes before the game and makes for a great way to get to the Bronx on a steamy summer’s day. It is only one way, though, so you’ll have to take the subway back to your hotel afterwards. The spots are limited to 147 people, so it is best to reserve in advance.

Delta Water Taxi Info:
www.nywatertaxi.com

Featuring the same Indiana limestone that composed the regal white arches and towering face of the former Yankee Stadium, the even bigger façade of the Yankees’ new yard is really something to behold … and marvel and gawk and shake one’s head at. It continues nearly all the way around the yard at seven stories high, before dropping down across the outfield so that those inside may enjoy a view of the world beyond the field. With its narrow arches and pristine white glimmer, it evokes royalty.

Adorning the façade at street level along River Avenue, banners celebrate the team’s current members. You may not find a display for the 25th man, just called up from Trenton, but most of the Yankees are represented here. Each player is recognized with three signs in succession. One shows their number. Another provides a color photo of them. And another displays their name. If you’re too cheap to buy a scorebook, this is a good way to brush up on the home team’s roster before the game. And along the way you can check out the memorabilia shops beneath the elevated subway tracks along River Ave.

Many local residents complained at the time of the new Yankee Stadium’s opening that the big league park was ready on time while ground had yet to be broken on the promised youth fields that were slated to be built in the stadium neighborhood to replace the ones on which the new Stadium had been built. By the time we visited in 2011, the fields had been laid across from Gate 4 on 161st Street. And boy did they look great. These lie within the footprint of the
old Yankee Stadium, bounded by 161st, River Avenue, and 157th. Surveying their lush green lawns and red infields, we recalled the dilapidated youth complex that had existed for years outside the former Yankee Stadium. That eyesore had prompted us to pan the Yankees and their players in the first edition of this book. We chastised the Pinstripes for driving past the pathetic digs on their way to work each day without ever laying out a few bucks to better the lives of the Bronx’s big-league-dreaming youngsters. Well, it cost more than a few bucks. And the players didn’t step up to the plate to remedy the blight (although we should mention that Curtis Granderson has done a lot to encourage inner city kids to play baseball). The Yankees front office and the City of New York allocated several million dollars to rebuild Macombs Dam Park. The fields are used by local sandlot players, youth leagues, and by the teams of All Hallows High School. As for the giant bat that once welcomed visitors to the old Yankee Stadium, it stands in its original location on the E. 157th Street side of the park.

Along Yankee Stadium’s right-field side on 161st Street, fans pose for pictures beneath the porcelain plaques of Babe Ruth Plaza. Understated placards nearby provide short narratives about the Bambino’s career and import to the Yankees. We liked the idea of this plaza, but thought the Yankees could have done a bit more. The two-sided signs offering narratives are nice, but there should be more of them. There are paragraphs titled “A Career of Success,” “A Legacy Remembered,” and “Murderer’s Row.” The “Called Shot” one reads:

Arguably the most controversial moment in baseball history came during Game 3 of the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. In the fifth inning Ruth headed to the plate with one home run already to his name. Just before Cubs pitcher Charlie Root hurled a 2-2 pitch, Ruth allegedly pointed to centerfield. He then smashed a long home run toward the area where he had pointed.

The validity of this story continues to be debated. The world may truly never know if Ruth was calling his shot. Regardless, the moment lives in baseball lore, and at the very least, Ruth’s contributions to the Yankees during the 1932 Series helped propel the club to its third World Series sweep in six years.

Josh:
How about a statue of the Bambino somewhere here?

Kevin:
Then they’d be slighting Gehrig, Mantle, DiMaggio, Ford, Rizzuto …

Josh:
No, the Bambino was in a class all his own.

There are a number of bars and eateries on River Avenue that are more or less interchangeable—a bit seedy and decorated with just enough memorabilia to make them worthy of a look. The several merchandise stores nearby are cleaner and more inviting. For those who don’t mind venturing up 161st Street or 164th Street to Gerard Avenue, which runs parallel to River, there is more variety to be found.

Meanwhile, vendors beneath the elevated subway tracks on River sell pretzels, Italian Ice, hot dogs, pork kabobs, honey roasted nuts, and cheap water. Outside the park a bottle of H2O costs $1.00, while inside one costs $5.00. Capitalism, don’t you love it? Our favorite vendor is the Fauzia’s Heavenly Delights cart, which specializes in Caribbean food, but Fauzia only sets up for day games, so don’t bother looking for her if you’re visiting the Stadium for an evening affair.

For the record, the Yankees permit each fan to carry one unopened bottle of water into the Stadium, provided that it’s thirty-two ounces or less. Isn’t that kind of them? And you can carry a sandwich in too.

1 East 161st St.

www.hardrock.com/locations/cafes3/cafe.aspx?LocationID=538&MIBEnumID=3

Built right into Yankee Stadium beside Gate 6, a Hard Rock Café stays open year-round. This is your safest pregame choice if you’re skittish when it comes to exploring the Bronx Zoo.

1 East 161st St.

http://nyysteak.com/

Also built into the Stadium, NYY Steak is the place to go if you’re wearing a collared shirt and don’t mind shelling out $50 for a piece of meat, not counting your sides and beverages. NYY is accessible from the plaza and from inside the Stadium too. There are twenty-seven wines available, in honor of the twenty-seven Yankee championships. And we hear there is a fair amount of memorabilia inside, including a big autograph wall, signed by former and current Yankees.
They wouldn’t let us inside, though, because Josh was wearing a ketchup-stained vintage Metallica T-shirt and Kevin was wearing flip-flops. It was probably just as well.

72 E. 161st St. at Gerard Avenue

Before the Pinstripes’ first summer in the Bronx came to a close in 1923, the Bastone family opened a new watering hole on the corner of Gerard Avenue and 161st. It quickly became a popular spot with Yankees fans and players alike. Nine decades later, the Yankee Tavern is still family-owned and still
the
gathering place of choice for serious Yankees rooters. While the younger crowd may prefer the drink-’em-quick bars on River, hardcore fans don’t mind heading up the hill to the joint where their fathers and grandfathers used to drink before the game. And we can see why. The walls are plastered with memorabilia, there are several flat-screens tuned to the YES pregame show, and the food is very good. The menu features fried seafood, Italian dishes, and combo meals like the Triple Play (hamburger, hot dog, and french fries) and Batting Fourth (hamburger, hot dog, buffalo wings, and french fries).

62 E. 161st St.

Right next to the Yankee Tavern, this baseball card shop sees steady traffic on game day. Our friend Joey “Bedbugs” Bird spent nearly an hour inside while we sampled the fare next door. We expected him to rejoin us sooner and to be toting a handful of newly acquired cards, but were surprised to see that when he did return he hadn’t bought a single thing. “Just looking,” he said. “Just ditching us,” Kevin replied.

101 East 161st St.

If you like Cuban and Dominican food, Molino Rojo is a solid bet. We observed several New York City police officers chowing here a few hours before the game. The Cuban sandwich and rice and beans are excellent, especially when you wash it down with an El Presidente beer, but you can also get it to go if you’d like to eat it on the walk to the stadium. We weren’t brave enough to try the octopus salad, but our friend Nathan says it’s a winner too.

880 River Ave.

This spacious drinking emporium is the best bet close to the Stadium for those wishing to eschew a chain like the Hard Rock. For a dive it ain’t half-bad.

836 River Ave.

http://stanssportsbar.com/main.html

Many serious Yankee fans swear by Stan’s. And even though it’s not as close to the main entrance as it was at the old park, they still trek to Stan’s for their pregame libations.

856 River Ave.

We like the murals of Billy Martin, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, and Marilyn Monroe. The beer was ice-cold and the postgame crowd was having a good time

860 Gerard Ave.

This little joint is the culinary highlight of Yankee Town as far as we’re concerned. And it’s dirt cheap. It costs more to get a single hot dog inside Yankee Stadium than to get four pieces of fried chicken, a jumbo order of fries, and a soda at U.S. Chicken. And this isn’t any old chicken platter. The bird is tender, plump, and moist. The fries are plentiful. Aside from the scrumptious chicken, we recommend the jumbo shrimp meal. The menu also includes barbecued ribs, pizza, gyros, corn on the cob, and mashed potatoes. The only drawback is there’s no seating—just a counter to stand at while you chow. But don’t let that scare you off. U.S. Chicken rules!

79 E 161st St.

With a name that would make Homer Simpson salivate, the Crown is a no-frills sort of place. But the burgers are juicy, the fries come loaded with delicious gravy, and the chicken and waffles are legendary.

42 Central Park South

www.mickeymantles.com/

Although it’s not in the ballpark neighborhood, serious Yankee fans from out of town may want to visit Manhattan’s Mantle tribute restaurant. The mural renderings of Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park are impressive, as are the jerseys worn by players like Mantle, Ted Williams, Jackie Robinson, and others. The in-house souvenir shop offers a diverse selection of memorabilia too. But bring your wallet. The menu isn’t cheap, but the experience is a unique one, especially since the once similarly memorabilia-strewn ESPN Zone in Times Square closed its doors a few years back. In case you’re wondering, the owners purchased the naming
rights from The Mick in 1989. He visited frequently before his death, but he never owned the joint.

Extending between Gate 4 behind home plate and Gate 6 in right field, the Great Hall runs behind the seating bowl and first level concourse. It features the highest ceilings Josh has ever seen—not just at a ballpark but anywhere. Not counting domes, where else is there a higher lid? This is essentially a concourse behind the concourse and it has seven-story-high ceilings. Kevin wouldn’t concede that these were the highest ceilings he’d ever seen, insisting that he’d been to a mall once that offered just as much head room. When pressed for details, though, he couldn’t name the city or even the state of said mall. Josh found his friend’s reluctance to grant the Yankees highest-ceiling-ever bragging rights a bit immature, but as a fellow Yankee hater, he could see where Kevin was coming from and could quietly admire Kevin’s resolve.

Despite our rooting allegiances being firmly set with the Red Sox (Josh) and Mariners (Kevin), we admit that we looked up in wonder at not only the ceilings but the massive banners of legendary Yankees like Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson, Lou Gehrig, Thurman Munson, and Babe Ruth. Then we paid our respects to the big color picture of Mr. October on the lower side of Tommy Bahama’s bar and grudgingly stepped into the Yankee team store.