Game Recap - Your 1st Game

[NetShrine.com]

Anyone have the "story" of the 1st game you saw at the Stadium? Post 'em here. This is probably weird, but, I do have the newspaper article from the 1st game that I went to............here it is:

August 9, 1973
Yank old pros win one with two out in 9th
By Jim Ogle

Gene Michael has a bad foot, a sore bunion and a bandaged big toe … but, he’s a professional; Felipe Alou packs 38 years and pulled a calf muscle in yesterday’s pre-game drill … but he’s a real pro, too.

Thurman Munson has an inbred spirit of competition ("He even wants to beat me at ping pong." says his wife, Diane) and the instincts of a riverboat gambler … and he used both; Bobby Murcer is emerging from team frustration as a leader, a guy who is "bustin’ his butt" everyday.

Put them together and they spell a 3-2, ninth-inning victory over the Texas Rangers yesterday. It was a rerun of what had been happening for two weeks—until the quartet of pros changed the script, chasing frustration and finding opportunities.

Chagrined at what he thought was a bad call on a 3-0 pitch, Murcer ripped a double to open the ninth. With one out, Munson lined a single to center that scored Murcer despite Bobby holding up a bit.

"The way things have been going with us I thought he’d make a sensational diving catch," Murcer said. "When the ball hopped up on him, I was going to make the try." Harris didn’t even make a throw.

Celerino Sanchez took a called third strike and it was up to Felipe, who had driven home the first run with a long fly, but had an 0 for 23 streak going. In the streak were a lot of caught line drives, but now Felipe topped a slow roller to Toby Harrah – and beat it out.

Gene Michael had played a doubleheader Tuesday night and was given yesterday off -- until the eighth inning. He came up for the first time and looped a 3-1 pitch into right field, just in front of Bill Sudakis, who had made two fine catches earlier.

The ball was in short right field, Sudakis can throw but there was never a chance to cut off the winning run -- because Munson likes to take chances.

"I had a super jump because Harrah and Nelson left the middle open," Munson said. "As soon as I saw Gene start to move the bat on the 3-1 pitch I was rolling. I was already at third while Dick (Howser) was still watching the ball. I was going man, no matter what.

"No, I didn’t know where the ball was. All I knew Gene had hit it and there were two out, so what could happen if I kept going. We just had to pull one out like that."

"I’m surprised we won the SOB," a weary Murcer said. "The way things have been happening to us, you have to be surprised when something good happens."

"I think I’m a better hitter with men on base," Michael said. "I concentrate more and try harder to do something. I know I’m not a good hitter, so, I try to compensate by delivering hits when they count. I’ve been doing pretty well this year."

The RBI enabled Gene to reach 40 for the first time in his career, while it was also his fifth game-winning hit, which gave the Yanks a two-game streak. It’s little, but welcome.

Fritz Peterson stood to lose the game despite making only one pitch -- which Nelson beat out for a single. Covering first, Peterson had aggravated the muscle in his thigh that he pulled last Saturday. Fritz left and Fred Beene went the rest of the way for his sixth victory without a defeat.

"In my book I pitched a complete game," Beene said. "I know it won’t be in the records, but in my mind I have pitched a complete game.

"Maybe a complete game was once one of my goals, but now I’m only concerned with ‘the team’ and I’m just glad to be here and lucky enough to contribute."

[Michaels07]

I was 6 yrs old so it was 38 ,two separate games.One was a double header with the Red Sox,Standing Room Only.I sat in the upper deck on the stairway in the aisle mid way to the upper deck.The crowd was about 80,000.I dont recall any other details of the game.But i do recall a game with the Indians & Joe DiMaggio hitting a Homer off Bob Feller.

[NetShrine.com]

Not too shabby a 1st game!

[Gehrig]

Originally posted by Michaels07
I was 6 yrs old so it was 38 ,two separate games.One was a double header with the Red Sox,Standing Room Only.I sat in the upper deck on the stairway in the aisle mid way to the upper deck.The crowd was about 80,000.I dont recall any other details of the game.But i do recall a game with the Indians & Joe DiMaggio hitting a Homer off Bob Feller.

Mon oh man oh man !!! What memories !!!

[Gehrig]

I can't really remember my first game but I know that it was in '67, the Mick was playing and my dad was mad because they had painted Yankees Stadium

[seahorse]

Early sixties. I was 7 or 8 yrs old. Some drunk Puerto Rican guy laughed at me for bringing my glove. We sat in main reserved right behind a steel column. That's it for the first game.

Another time several years later I was running around the stadium with my best bud Bobby Flanagan and we ended up in the Yankee dugout!

[koko]

I don't remember much, except the fact that the Yanks were playing the Blue Jays. It was the 1981 season and I was almost 6. Oh, and some dude scared the crap out of me because he was wearing a skull mask and had a cigarette dangling out of the mouth.

[coalcracker]

The year was 1949.

I only remember the top of the 9th.

The Yankees were leading the Red Sox 4-2. Eddie Lopat was pitching to Verne Stephens, two runners on base. Don;t remeber the count, but Stephens hits one in the left field seats - but foul. Somebody (I don;t know if it was Casey Stengel or the pitching coach, and talked to Lopat). Next pitch, Stephens hits one further into the seats - but foul, once again. Well, that was it for Eddie. Out he goes. Allie Reynolds came in and retired Stephens on a routine fly to center.

I still can't figure out why I only remember the 9th inning. I don't remember where I was sitting and even how I got to the game.

Perhaps the reason I only remember the 9th inning is because it still gives me great satisfaction that it was the Red Sox we beat.

[deranged2005]

I don't know when it was, but before 96, maybe 94. Yanks vs. A's I think. HIgh scoring game, lead switched hands a couple of times. Fernadez hit for the cycle, thats what I remember most.

I also saw El Duque pitch for the first time.

[Jersey Yankee]

My very first game was in the summer about 1970 when I was on a field trip with the local Boys Club. Just as people visit museums, they took us to a ballgame. I know for a fact it was The Stadium, since we played either White Sox or Red Sox. I just remember Yankees played the "Sox". Interleague hadn't yet arrived for years to come so it couldn't have been at Shea.

I must've been in the upper deck, since all the players looked like ants from way up there to my youthful eyes. Even back then, I'd said "Sox suck", so it must have been a premonition to my later self. Like your inner puppy speaks for the bad ol' dawg.

JY

[jiffyjeff]

my first game was in '64, Mickey hit a homerun, and after the game dad took me down to the locker room and Mick autographed a ball for me

[Carissa]

I don't know if the was the first game I attended but it is definitely the most memorable. I was 7 at the time.....

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/boxscore/07241983.shtml

On July 24, 1983 George Brett took center stage in one of baseball's most controversial incidents which has been dubbed the Pine Tar Game. This highly unusual incident involved George Brett of the Kansas City Royals, Billy Martin of the New York Yankees, a home run in Yankee Stadium, a bat with pine tar on the handle, and the umpires' interpretation of the rules.

Rule 1.10(b) reads: the bat handle, for not more than 18 inches from the end, may be covered or treated with any material or substance to improve the grip. Any such material or substance, which extends past the 18-inch limitation, shall cause the bat to be removed from the game. Umpire Tim McClelland ruled that Brett's bat had "heavy pine tar" 19 to 20 inches from the tip of the handle and lighter pine tar for another three or four inches.

The circumstances which led to the ruling occurred after Brett hit a two-out two-run homer during the ninth inning off closer Goose Gossage which gave the Royals a 5-4 lead. After crossing home plate, Brett went into his dugout, sat on the bench, and watched as Yankees' manager Billy Martin approached home plate umpire Tim McClelland. The umpiring crew conferred at home plate and measured Brett's bat up against the front side of home plate. McClelland eventually signaled that Brett was out and the infuriated thirdbaseman rushed from the bench in an attempt to attack both McClelland and Martin.

Brett was quickly ejected and Royals' manager Dick Howser argued the call, but McClelland's ruling stood and the home run was nullified resulting in a 4-3 Yankees win. The Royals protested the game and American League president Lee McPhail overruled the umpires decision and said that Brett 's home run stood and that the game was to be resumed.

Three weeks, four days, four hours, and fourteen minutes later the Pine Tar Game was resumed and the Royals won after closer Dan Quisenberry shut the door on the Yankees (part two took 12 minutes total time) to preserve a 5-4 Armstrong victory. The box score below is a reflection of the historic game as it stood after it was classified suspended.

** "Prior to 1983, I was always ridiculed at ballparks about an ailment (hemorrhoids) I had during the 1980 World Series. Now, since 1983, I'm always known as the Pine Tar Guy. Now what would you rather be known as?" - George Brett
** Billy Martin has often been wrongly credited with starting the whole incident but it was actually Graig Nettles who brought up the pine tar! Goose Gossage later said, "Graig (Nettles) knew the rule. The ump did his job. Everybody thought it was silly, but it's in the rules."
** When American League president Lee MacPhail upheld the protest ruling that Brett's bat did not violate "the spirit of the rules", Yankee owner George Steinbrenner replied, "I wouldn't want to be Lee MacPhail living in New York!"
** Did you know that when the game was resumed, the Yankees "voiced" their disapproval by playing pitcher Ron Guidry in centerfield and outfielder Don Mattingly (a lefthander) at second base?

[bxny]

August 10, 1972. I was 10 at the time. It was a night game and we sat between home and the Yankees dugout. I'll never forget the feeling of walking through the turnstile and then the tunnel to see the field for the first time. I still get goosebumps.

The Yankees beat the Tigers 1-0.

[jiffyjeff]

Originally posted by Jersey Yankee
My very first game was in the summer about 1970 when I was on a field trip with the local Boys Club. Just as people visit museums, they took us to a ballgame. I know for a fact it was The Stadium, since we played either White Sox or Red Sox. I just remember Yankees played the "Sox". Interleague hadn't yet arrived for years to come so it couldn't have been at Shea.

I must've been in the upper deck, since all the players looked like ants from way up there to my youthful eyes. Even back then, I'd said "Sox suck", so it must have been a premonition to my later self. Like your inner puppy speaks for the bad ol' dawg.

JY

that's funny JY

[deranged2005]

Originally posted by cdmirra
I don't know if the was the first game I attended but it is definitely the most memorable. I was 7 at the time.....

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/boxscore/07241983.shtml

On July 24, 1983 George Brett took center stage in one of baseball's most controversial incidents which has been dubbed the Pine Tar Game. This highly unusual incident involved George Brett of the Kansas City Royals, Billy Martin of the New York Yankees, a home run in Yankee Stadium, a bat with pine tar on the handle, and the umpires' interpretation of the rules.

Rule 1.10(b) reads: the bat handle, for not more than 18 inches from the end, may be covered or treated with any material or substance to improve the grip. Any such material or substance, which extends past the 18-inch limitation, shall cause the bat to be removed from the game. Umpire Tim McClelland ruled that Brett's bat had "heavy pine tar" 19 to 20 inches from the tip of the handle and lighter pine tar for another three or four inches.

The circumstances which led to the ruling occurred after Brett hit a two-out two-run homer during the ninth inning off closer Goose Gossage which gave the Royals a 5-4 lead. After crossing home plate, Brett went into his dugout, sat on the bench, and watched as Yankees' manager Billy Martin approached home plate umpire Tim McClelland. The umpiring crew conferred at home plate and measured Brett's bat up against the front side of home plate. McClelland eventually signaled that Brett was out and the infuriated thirdbaseman rushed from the bench in an attempt to attack both McClelland and Martin.

Brett was quickly ejected and Royals' manager Dick Howser argued the call, but McClelland's ruling stood and the home run was nullified resulting in a 4-3 Yankees win. The Royals protested the game and American League president Lee McPhail overruled the umpires decision and said that Brett 's home run stood and that the game was to be resumed.

Three weeks, four days, four hours, and fourteen minutes later the Pine Tar Game was resumed and the Royals won after closer Dan Quisenberry shut the door on the Yankees (part two took 12 minutes total time) to preserve a 5-4 Armstrong victory. The box score below is a reflection of the historic game as it stood after it was classified suspended.

** "Prior to 1983, I was always ridiculed at ballparks about an ailment (hemorrhoids) I had during the 1980 World Series. Now, since 1983, I'm always known as the Pine Tar Guy. Now what would you rather be known as?" - George Brett
** Billy Martin has often been wrongly credited with starting the whole incident but it was actually Graig Nettles who brought up the pine tar! Goose Gossage later said, "Graig (Nettles) knew the rule. The ump did his job. Everybody thought it was silly, but it's in the rules."
** When American League president Lee MacPhail upheld the protest ruling that Brett's bat did not violate "the spirit of the rules", Yankee owner George Steinbrenner replied, "I wouldn't want to be Lee MacPhail living in New York!"
** Did you know that when the game was resumed, the Yankees "voiced" their disapproval by playing pitcher Ron Guidry in centerfield and outfielder Don Mattingly (a lefthander) at second base?

I would pay to go to that game. Donnie baseball was an outfielder? For how long?

[#1YankeeLover]

Was a ticket to Part Two of the Pine Tar Game the same price as a ticket to a whole game?

-#1YankeeLover

[Jersey Yankee]

Originally posted by jiffyjeff
that's funny JY

Basically, I didn't know anything about baseball, but we did play whiffleball back then. All the kids knew that the Knicks were cool but the Celts weren't, and that it was either the Yanks or the Muts. The Muts still had Seaver on the mound which made them immensely popular but any out of town team couldn't be given respect. Among the kids playing hoops, dodgeball, eating ice cream and all that, we felt that way.

As to why it took years upon years, then going online before this all comes back to me and I revisit the stadium like a long lost relative is beyond me. All I know is that I still love the game, the Yanks, The Stadium, and the Sox still Sux.



JY

[Carissa]

I was only at the first game on July 24, 1983. All I really remember is George Brett screaming at the end. I was 7, so I was too short to see even when I was standing on the seat, so the guy who was sitting next to me lifted me up so I could see the fight.

[1TonHumanHamsterWheel]

My first Yankee game was in '93 when I was 11. My dad's company sponsored a trip to The Stadium to see the Yanks play the Tigers, and we sat in the RF main boxes. The Tigers took a quick lead thanks to future Yankee Cecil Fielder's 2-run double, but the Bombers rallied in the bottom of the 1st. Wade Boggs led off with a double, Don Mattingly knocked him in with a single, and Paul O'Neill hit a longball close to where we were sitting, into the "O'Neill target" signs to give the Yanks a 3-2 lead. Scott Kamieniecki settled down but ran into control problems in the 7th, and the bullpen allowed the tying run to score. The game went into extra innings tied at 3. Then, Boggs led off the bottom of the 10th with a walk-off homer to right; it was his first dinger in Pinstripes. With the 4-3 win, the Yanks moved into a tie for 2nd place with Detroit. I've been a Yankee fan ever since.

[RogerRacer]

My first game ever was a Yankee/White Sox game at the old Comiskey in 1965.It was a doubleheader. The Yanks were on their way down and the Sox were very good (great pitching/no hitting). The Yanks lost both games. But I saw Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle play. They both were hobbling around. Maris lined a hit down the 1st baseline, but only got a single. Everybody there but me was a Sox fan. Though I grew up in Battle Creek, MI and was a Tiger fan, my dad and brothers lived in Chi-town and were Sox fans. I always loved the Yanks though, especially Maris and Mantle. I think that was the first time I remember crying in public without being spanked first! Until I saw Yankee Stadium, I thought that Comiskey Park was the most beautiful place in the world. My memory of my dad was of a man who later in later life was more of a stranger and an inigma to me. But for that one moment, we were bonded together. My memories of him, as an adult, have faded, but not the memories of him as a child.

[#1YankeeLover]

Apparently, I'm the only one who was older than dirt when I went to my first Yankee game ... (The reason for that deserves a recap in itself!!! )

Anyway, my first Yankee game was on September 3, 2000. (It was a few days after I turned 16. ... ) Roger Clemens started for the Yankees, and he did pitch wonderfully. He only made one mistake, and that was after Tino hit a homer, so the score was tied at 1. Tino almost hit a second homer, but it banged off near the top of the wall in right field and he had to settle for a long single. Pity, because Mariano walked a Twins batter in the tenth and he came around to score. We didn't answer that in the bottom of the inning, and we lost 2-1. Oh, and there was a 54-minute rain delay stuck in there, too. The weather was sucky.

-#1YankeeLover

[KENMonteSS86]

My first game at the stadium was August 5, 1979, against the Baltimore Orioles...

In case you haven't figured it out, it was just DAYS after the death of Thurman Munson--and the mood was still somber, to say the least...

We (all 54,000 of us) managed to go home happy, however, as the Yankees won the game, 3 to 2...

What an experience....

[deranged2005]

I went to a Yankee-Tiger dounle header a couple years back, and actually saw Cecil Fielder steal a base! I know I know. I was scared too.

[jess2]

I've never been to a Yankees game . I keep telling my dad to take me, but he hates NYC. But I'm gonna live in NYC one day, and hopefully I'll get to go then...

[# 21 Forever]

This is easy for me.My first Yankees game was last September in Toronto. My hubby took me for our anniversary and I was so excited. I got Luis Sojo and David Justice to sign my baseball during batting practice. We lost but I saw Boomer and El Duque pitch and Bernie got a HR.

My first game at The Stadium was this year.Hitchcock pitched, Paulie hit a Grand Slam, I got a Tino bobblehead for my brother and WE WON! What a day it was!

[NYYCutie47]

My first game was this year on August 1st 2001. We played the Texas Rangers and Sterling Hitchcock pitched. Chuck, Derek, Tino, Paulie, and Sori all hit homers. Scottie got hit with the pitch that day too ! I could here it from my 3rd row seats too. OUCH! I was near Derek Jeter during the game and because I was near the Shortstop, when ever A-rod was there the people would shout from their seats, "you're not making you 252 mil tonight Pay-rod! They would boo him when he was at bat too! It was so funny! I had chicken tenders and fries with a world champion yankees soda cup. I accidently left it at the stadium though ! Shane went 3-4 too and he made it to third base and you can probably picture me with my camera taking like 1000 pics of him...! I guess I am a good luck charm for the boys j/k. What was cute was that they had a big sign that said "Welcome Back" and would add a "K" everytime Sterling stuck someone out. It was an awesome day and I cannot wait to go to another game. We won 9-7!

[cb2u]

Don't remember my first game, but the first game I remember was April 15, 1976, Opening Day of the refurbished Yankee Stadium. It was great. We went to lots of games. My mom used to think they were booing Lou Piniella, and we always used to have to explain it!

[ConnYankee]

It was on a Boy Scout trip in 1964. mantle hit a HR. Sadly I dont remember the rest.
And I was too young to drink then!!!!!!!!!!