The Yankees Experience

Visual Diary:

On Sunday, September 20^th, I got the opportunity to go to the Yankees Museum located on the second floor of the new Yankee Stadium as part of the Yankee Stadium Tours offered during baseball season when the team is on the road. The NY Yankees have an elaborate history. The museum pays tribute to that history. The line outside the museum seemed endless but the wait was only ten minutes. For the full ten minutes, the entire line was chanting, “Lets go Yankees!” I knew I was with my own kind.

The museum consisted of one room the size of a baseball diamond (90 ft by 90 ft). At the center of the room stands the main attraction. A life-size statue of Don Larson, a Yankee immortal pitcher, stands a regulated 66.6 ft away from a life-size statue of Yogi Berra, a beloved Yankee catcher. These statues commemorate the historic event of Don Larson’s perfect game during the 1956 World Series. He is the only pitcher in the recorded history of baseball to achieve such an accomplishment.

In the 66.6 feet located between the pitcher and catcher is a collection of baseballs. Each ball is signed by a Yankee, whether that Yankee played in 1903, when the team was founded, or in 2009. The goal of the collection is to gather a signature by every Yankee to ever put on the traditional pinstriped uniform. The collection contains over 3,000 baseballs.

The walls of the museum are covered in pictures of all 27 World Series Yankee teams and a story to go with each championship. Each picture is holds dear to so many people, whether they were a part of it, or they remember it rowing up.

There was one section that seemed to attracts a crowd. Thurman Munson was a Yankee captain in the late 1970’s. He died on August 2nd of 1979 in a plain crash while he was on his way to see his family of four. The entire Yankee nation mourned his death. He became a legend and a story that parents have been telling their children for over 30 years now. The museum pays tribute to this Yankee hero by putting moving his original locker to the museum. Visitors can sit in his locker and feel the emotion of his great story.

Towards the end of the museum there is a section dedicated to the old Yankee Stadium, The House That Ruth Built. The section begins with a plaque and booth devoted to Babe Ruth, a baseball immortal. It explains his achievements and contributions to the game of baseball, as you can see clearly in the picture below.

The museum concludes with a seat from every generation of Yankees Stadium, from 1903 to 2009. The colors, material, shape, and cushion has clearly evolved over the years.

The Yankees Museum gave me a hands on connection to an ongoing history. It is a great place to get educated on a huge cultural impact of New York.