Bronx, N.Y., September 21, 2008 — At the end of a full day packed with time-consuming activity, hours of circumspection, and symbolic representations of heroism and excellence, the south Bronx was treated to a dazzling view Sunday night. The half moon rose above the left field outfield facade right after Mariano Rivera had put the finishing touches on a 7-3 Yankee win. The metaphor could hardly have been more apt: Five days removed from an almost blinding harvest moon, the orb was bathed in otherwordly colors, but the fact that half the show was missing from view spoke volumes as well.

Let’s be clear: The Yankees did a phenomenal job in staging a special day to host the last game in The House That Ruth Built. They paid fitting homage to the stars who have gone before, and this year’s team won a game that they had to in front of a packed house of adoring fans. The 55,000-strong was aware that Boston had reduced their magic number to eliminate the Yankees to one with an afternoon victory over Toronto. To suffer a defeat in the old Stadium’s final game that would have ended their 13-year playoff run would have been too much to bear.

Not everything went perfectly Sunday, but with all the treats our hosts had in store, given a Yankee win, the party was almost bulletproof. To start with, security, apparently consumed with concerns about potential destruction to the premises, badly underestimated the swarm that arrived outside Gate 2 early in answer to the club’s invite to walk on the field’s warning track and then to Monument Park. Thousands of early arrivers were sent climbing the ramps to the top deck and around the edifice on a trek to slowly work their way back to the lower left field corner, only to learn during their descent that many latecomers took advantage of the overtaxed system to meld into the descending swarm and onto the field, planting their feet on hallowed ground that was denied to those who had preceded them.

Frustrating and unfair? Yes. But it all melted away once the U.S. Army Field Band got the evening festivities going at 6:52 pm. Old-time and more recent Yankee highlights graced the Diamond Vision, and John Sterling and Michael Kay, serving as hosts, set a great tone when the 1923 Championship Pennant was shown spread across the black seats in dead center field. Using a bit of poetic license, a group of 10 actors dressed in old-time uni’s were announced as Manager Miller Huggins and the starting lineup of the Yankee team that opened this Stadium in 1923. By the time eight or 10 “stars” joined them, the travails of the long afternoon were forgotten. We were then treated with a display of the names of the greatest Pinstriped ballplayers of all time, offered by position in this order: left field, shortstop, third base, right field, second base, first base, catcher, pitcher, and finally center field.

The place exploded in celebration as some of these players, or family representatives in the case of the deceased many in today’s fanbase remember, assembled on the field. The latter included Phil Rizzuto’s widow Cora (escorted by Mariano Rivera) at short; Randy Maris, son of Roger, in right; Billy Martin, Jr., at second; Elston Howard’s daughter, Cheryl, and Thurman’s boy Michael Munson at catcher; Catfish’s widow Helen Hunter on the mound; and David Mantle, The Mick’s son, in center field along with Bobby Murcer’s widow Kay and their children Tori and Todd.

Major League baseball has not held two All Star Games in one year since a brief four-year experiment that ended in 1962, but Yankee Stadium truly hosted two this year, the first back in July with Hall of Famers dotting the field, and Sunday when many Yankee greats took their turn. The largest applause was for the not yet officially retired Bernie Williams in his first visit to the Stadium in two years. Also, recent retirees Paul O’Neill, Scott Brosius, and Tino Martinez drew scads of attention along with Hall inductee Goose Gossage and Willie Randolph, who was dismissed as Mets manager this year. It was difficult not to be thrilled at yet another appearance by Yogi Berra at the plate, and Whitey Ford and Don Larsen on the mound as the two of them fumbled to snatch some Stadium dirt for their private collections. Special attention was given to Babe Ruth, of course, the guy who really started it all, and his daughter Julia Ruth Stevens did a good job of throwing out the last ceremonial first pitch in her father’s stadium’s history to Jorge Posada, who has been disabled much of 2008.

The surprises kept coming, as beloved long-time emcee Bob Sheppard, speaking from his home, announced the night’s home starting nine, who then joined those who came before them in the field. Bob later regaled one and all with a superb Stadium poem, and offered his hope that he would be joining us all across the street in the new Stadium next year. One more thought on Mr. Sheppard, who speaks with an authority unmatched in the experiences of many of us: I’m sure if he were onsite this evening, the twice-repeated blunder, both by fill-in mouthpiece Jim Hall, and by Derek Jeter as well, that this was the 85th and last year of the Stadium would have been corrected. With the conclusion of tonight’s game, the Stadium has been Yankee central for 86 years. The Steinbrenners had one more pregame surprise, acknowledging Jeter along with his family because he had succeeded in breaking Lou Gehrig’s stranglehold on the all-time Stadium hit list, just one week before it is closed forever. Jennifer Swindal and Hal Steinbrenner presented the Yankee Captain with a crystal bat.

And yes, there was a game as well. Following a disturbing recent pattern, starter Andy Pettitte struggled and fell behind Baltimore 2-0 early, though one run was directly attributable to Andy’s own error. It could have been worse, but Pettitte garnered his 2,000th career strike out when he set Ramon Hernandez down swinging in the second. Meanwhile, Yankee bats were being stymied by young Baltimore lefty Chris Waters, who did not allow a hit until Hideki Matsui singled leading off the home third. After a Jose Molina one-base hit, the Yanks solved their lack of speed on the basepaths in the best way possible: Johnny Damon homered for a 3-2 lead. The O’s tied it on a one-out Kevin Millar double in the fourth, but not until first-base ump Marty Foster ruled Jay Payton safe on a bing-bang play on a comebacker to Pettitte. Robbie Cano walked to start the home fourth, and one out later the Yanks had a lead they would not relinquish (and an answer to the question of who would hit the last home run in old Yankee Stadium) when Molina lofted a long fly to left.

Pettitte left after five with a lead that would hold up for his 14th win, the Yanks would add two tainted runs in the seventh, and we were advised (by Sheppard) that the Bombers had accumulated 151,959,005 paying fans to the Stadium over its 86-year history. Jose Veras, Phil Coke, Joba Chamberlain, and (of course) Mariano Rivera finished out the win, and Jose Molina was the hitting star with three hits, two rbi’s, and two runs.

The Yankees did all they could to commemorate the great day. Although the choice of speaker took us by surprise, it was a good moment in the fifth inning when Michael Kay appeared at the podium ready to advance the descending games-remaining ticker down from one. He explained that the Stadium was not ending, but rather being reborn, and therefore rather than moving the counter from “1” to “0”, the register replaced the “loneliest” number with the word the word forever. The always inspiring Ronan Tynan was on hand for God Bless America in the seventh. Postgame, Jeter led his teammates to the mound and gave a stirring speech about how it was fans’ memories that had ensured the Stadium’s lofty status until now, and how if they faithfully continued to pass the good times on in the new Stadium, continued Yankee success would be assured. He dared us to carry that faith across 161st Street with us. Then the team traversed the field, signalling their thanks to the fans. No one wanted to leave.

And yet, although the Stadium torch appears to be readied to traverse 161st Street, and although the 2008 team won the last game in the old place as the 1923 team had won the first, an undeniable sense of sadness filled the crowd even as they celebrated late into the night. The half moon was indeed an apt symbol going forward. The Sunday night festivities finally ended, and so must this column. In that regard we call for an assist from late Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, etc., animator Chuck Jones, who would have celebrated his 96th birthday this day:

That’s all, Folks.

BTW,TYW

YANKEE BASEBALL!!!