Presented by BACON BOISE.
This Day In Sports…July 16, 2008:
In the wee hours of the morning, the previous night’s All-Star Game finally comes to an end after four hours and 50 minutes with a 4-3 American League victory. It was staged amidst a plethora of pageantry at the original Yankee Stadium, which was in the midst of its final season, and it lasted 15 innings. From Sheryl Crow’s National Anthem to the walk-off sacrifice fly by Michael Young of the Texas Rangers in the bottom of the 15th that won it for the AL, it was somethin’ else. Every available player was used in the game, as the AL improved to 6-0 since the Midsummer Classic began determining homefield advantage in the World Series.
But the theme of the night was the salute to the 85-year-old “House that Ruth Built” throughout the evening. Babe Ruth wasn’t there, of course, but a “who’s who” in baseball lore was part of the festivities. It leaned heavily on the Yankees, but 49 members of the Baseball Hall of Fame filed onto the field before the game sporting their classic team blazers. Legendary Yankees took the field in their old positions, with Yogi Berra behind home plate, Reggie Jackson in right field and Whitey Ford on the mound. The current All-Stars ran out to greet them, creating an emotional meshing of the eras.
The loudest pregame roars were reserved not for former Yankees, but for two all-time greats from the 1960s, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. Then there were four ceremonial first pitches, as Yankee icons Berra, Ford, Jackson and Rich “Goose” Gossage threw simultaneously to the four Yankees representatives selected for the game, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, and manager Joe Girardi. Little did they know the spectacle wouldn’t technically finish until the next day. “It seemed like the Stadium didn’t want it to end,” said Jeter after the game.
Many in the crowd of 55,632 had a view of the future as they took it all in—the new Yankee Stadium was under construction next door, on track to open in 2009. The new facility introduced wider concourses, more restrooms, and modern amenities for 21st century fans while keeping the traditional arched façade at the top of the upper deck in an effort to keep the old stadium’s aesthetic. But the new place’s emphasis was on premium seating, and many fans maintained it lost some of its vibe along the way.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
