Via the Associated Press (props to Ben over at RAB):
Boxing is making its long-awaited return to Yankee Stadium, where icons like Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis once plied their trade. WBA junior middleweight champion Yuri Foreman will defend his title against former welterweight champion Miguel Cotto on June 5 at the year-old ballpark in the Bronx, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told The Associated Press late Thursday night.
Arum promoted the final bout at the old Yankee Stadium across 161st Street when Muhammad Ali fought Ken Norton on Sept. 28, 1976. Arum had approached the club several times over the past three decades about staging another event, but George Steinbrenner and club brass had always been tepid about erecting a ring and seating on the immaculate infield grass.
“We have a preliminary agreement with them. Nothing has been signed or finalized,” Yankees chief operating officer Lonn Trost told AP, calling the deal subject to approval from team higher-ups. “We do plan, if things go well, to have it on June 5.”
These non-baseball events, while very cool, have to be logistical nightmares for the Yankees.
Photo by Reuters
Before CC Sabathia completed his eight-inning gem and before Mariano Rivera threw his his 122nd inning of postseason baseball, a strange situation unfolded during last night’s ballgame in the Bronx. The Yankees had announced the attendance for the ALCS home opener and, remarkably, the recorded crowd of 49,688—while rather large—was not a sell-out audience. Given that the new Stadium seats a grand total of 52,325 fans, nearly 2,700 seats went unfilled despite the fact that October baseball had once again fully captivated the city.
Pete Abraham tweeted such while the game was in progress and, about 2 hours later, like clockwork, the Yankees announced that the game had, indeed, sold out, though not everyone—apparently close to 2,700 fans—who purchased tickets had shown up. The turnstiles, according to the Yankees, were simply not spinning in the Bronx.
To be honest, I find it hard to believe that such a large contingency of fans would fail to attend Game 1 of the ALCS. Yes, it was a frigid and damp night with more rain in the forecast, but it was also a night that featured CC Sabathia versus John Lackey—a marquee matchup. Still, 49,688 was the best that we—the pinstriped faithful—could manage. Is this at all believable?
I really don’t think so. In fact, I would not put it past the Yankees to actually embellish their ticket sales or purchase their own available tickets, last minute, in order to avoid a possible PR nightmare. Record companies engage in similar practices in order to inflate underwhelming album sales, especially when an album’s sales fail to meet high expectations. Is it really that far fetched to assume that the Yankees are involved in a similar system of self-promotion? Again, I think it’s naive to rule this out entirely. The discrepancy between 49,688 and 52,325 is too large to accept without at least some level of even the most cursory questioning. Remember, this wasn’t a Royals-Yankees game—this was the team’s most important game of the year, thus far.
However, though these ticket dilemmas are, indeed, problematic, this is not the central issue at hand. The central issue is that the Yankees are essentially saying, “It’s not our fault. We sold the tickets—all of them—the fans just didn’t materialize.” The blame for this seating situation is not necessarily projected on to the fans—that’s not what I’m saying, really—rather, it is deflected from the Yankees and their organization. They fail to hold themselves accountable for creating a contemporary caste system within a ballpark. Instead of purchasing their own tickets or merely fudging the numbers in order to avoid embarrassing headlines, perhaps they should further examine the culture they have created in regards to the new Yankee Stadium.
As Jeff Passan noted earlier today, ever since the beginning of the season, “the message was obvious to every proletariat Yankees fan: The new stadium was the domain of kings, and peasants need not bother.” Even the most average Yankee fans, Passan continues, despite their undying dedication for CC Sabathia and Derek Jeter, “are now conditioned to believe they can’t afford a ticket.” For proof of this, Passan points to $101 tickets that are still available for today’s game. Instead of blaming the team’s fans for this absurd availability, which I’ve seen occur, perhaps the Yankees are the ones who should shoulder the blame. It is ultimately their fault if the fans, under the impression that the Stadium will not accommodate those with lighter wallets, have simply stopped trying to purchase tickets for the ALCS—the Yankees most important series of the year.
In the end, last night’s victory was a beautiful one for the Yankees, the city, and their followers. Sadly, witnessing such an event continues to be fairly limited and, although I can watch the games from the privacy of my home and at relatively no cost, I’m still forced to see dozens of empty blue seats behind Mark Teixeira as he robs Torii Hunter of a single. Each empty seat serves as a very public reminder that this is an expensive affair, one that many simply cannot afford access to regardless of their fandom. So, even though the Yankees claim to have sold every available ticket at Yankee Stadium—a claim that I cannot bring myself to fully believe—those empty seats showcased on FOX loom large and will continue to do so throughout October (and into November).
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
From Stewart Mandel (SI):
NEW YORK — New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and the commissioners of the Big East and Big 12 will announce at a news conference Wednesday the formation of the Yankee Bowl, to be held at the new Yankee Stadium beginning with the 2010-11 postseason, according to sources with knowledge of the event.
The game, which will seek NCAA certification next spring, would reportedly pit the Big East’s fourth-place team against the Big 12’s No. 7 selection. Organizers plan to hold the first edition between Dec. 29, 2010 and Jan. 2, 2011.
With Hal Steinbrenner as the leading figure in the Yankees’ organization, it has become exceedingly clear that the new Yankee Stadium will be host to an assortment of non-baseball events, especially football games. It seems as though the Yankees intend on showcasing Yankee Stadium as a sports venue, rather than just a baseball park. I don’t really have any problems with that, as the old Stadium was also host to a number of non-baseball events. I just hope they don’t go overboard.
In 2010, the Yankees will have cut the ticket prices for 6,454 of their seats while the rest—41,928 seats—will remain at the same season price as this year. Only 1,704 seats in the Main Level will experience an increase in pricing as those tickets will go from $100 to $125. You can see more information about the prices and a grid reflecting the changes for next year, here.
Obviously, I think we can all agree that the Yankees made the right decision with these cuts. Many of the price decreases involve the ridiculously expensive Legends Suite seats, which line the infield. I have yet to see a number regarding the price decrease with those—this year, folks are paying $500-$2,625 per game—but, according to the reports, 97% of the Legends Suite seats will drop in price. Therefore, they’ll go from ridiculously expensive to far too expensive.
. . isn’t it? We all know the new Yankee Stadium in leading all of Baseball in Home Runs allowed this season, and the Yanks are #2 only to Texas in HRs as a team. The Park Factor for HRs is 1.430, which leads all of Baseball in that category. So I think we can safely call the new place a bandbox, and just admit the place is a joke with the way it gives up Home Runs.
But there’s just one problem. Those stats I just cited are from 2005, not 2009. Yes, the old venerable ballpark led all of Baseball in HRs allowed just a few short seasons ago. It was actually MORE of a bandbox that year than the current facility, with a HR Factor of 1.430 wheras the new facility stands at 1.320. Further, if we estimate the annual number of Home Runs based on how many have been hit so far this year (as of 8/10) the Yanks should hit about 243 HRs for the season. In 2004, the Yankees hit 242 HRs as a team. How is this possible?
Turns out that Park Factors and Home Runs vary wildly from season to season. Here’s a list of the recent Yankee Stadium HR numbers, from the old facility to the new:
Year-HR Park Factor-Ranking
2001-1.069-13th
2002-1.254-8th
2003-0.994-17th
2004-0.776-27th
2005-1.430-1st
2006-1.023-13th
2007-1.181-6th
2008-0.982-16th
2009-1.374-1st
A quick and easy explanation would be same park, but different team playing in it. But varying weather patterns could play into it as well. The Yanks certainly have good hitters up and down the lineup, but the 103 Home/73 Away for 2009 tells us that clearly the new facility has been more friendly to the Yankee lineup when they’re at home. Comparing that to other seasons, the Yanks posted a 107 Home/94 Away in 2007, a 111 Home/99 Away in 2006 and a 126 Home/116 Away in 2004. So the Yanks will often hit more dingers at home than they do on the road, but clearly the spread is bigger this year than it has been in years past.
So while the new facility is clearly playing small, it’s FAR too soon to say if this is related to the facility itself, or just another seasonal statistical anomaly. We will need a few years of data to make that assertion one way or the other.
NOTE-A very happy birthday to the Melk man, who turned 25 yesterday.
Here are three quick items to start the day:
- Yesterday, the Yankees defeated the Orioles, 2-1, thanks to good pitching by Andy Pettitte and a walk-off home run by Hideki Matsui. I also have to point out the great Yankee defense exhibited throughout, especially in the top of inning number 8, when two runs were saved at home. This victory—their fourth consecutive win—was an important one for the Yankees as they tied the Red Sox for first place in the AL East. Ha! Take that, John Henry.
- Damaso Marte continues to rehab and will pitch for Scranton later today. Marte has pitched for the Gulf Coast League, thus far, giving up 1 ER over 2 innings pitched (2 K, 2 H). The Yankees have noted that they would like to have two left-handed relievers Virus move in their bullpen, therefore, Marte is an important piece to the Yankees’ pitching puzzle. If he can return, then Brian Cashman won’t be forced to acquire a lefty via trade (I think a trade will occur if Marte experiences a significant setback).
- Finally, according to Tyler Kepner, Monument Park will not be moved and will remain in its current location. Lonn Trost, the Yankees’ “chief operating officer,” stated that such a move would be logistically “implausible.” Many folks have commented about the park’s location, as it is somewhat hidden in CF. However, when I went through it the other day I really had no complaints regarding its location. Based on my own experience, the main problem is that the corridor leading into Monument Park is far too narrow and dark. It has a “back alley” feel that needs to be altered.
This is the news story of the day, the one with serious and far reaching implications if the Yanks don’t figure out how to deal with it. Andy Pettitte admitted yesterday that he’s getting frustrated with the new Yankee Stadium, that its getting into his head and making him consider changing the way he pitches. He said:
“It’s simple, if you leave a ball up and they hit it with the barrel right now, it’s a home run,” Pettitte said. “You can’t make a mistake up in the zone.”
Pettitte was reminded of the hazards of the ballpark when he gave up a first-inning shot to Raul Ibanez.
“I ran a ball in off the plate and then I felt like I didn’t have to worry about keeping the next pitch down and got a little lackadaisical with a four-seamer away, and just left it up,” Pettitte said. “He hit it right out. You have to get the ball down, especially if you are not overpowering. If you don’t have, or if you are not throwing, overpowering stuff, you cannot let your guard down ever out there right now.”
Pettitte let his guard down again in the fifth. He gave up a leadoff single to Shane Victorino and walked Pedro Feliz, before John Mayberry Jr., making his major league debut, homered.
“It’s so frustrating, because I felt so good and I just had a horrible pitch,” Pettitte said. “I couldn’t have felt more confident, I couldn’t have been more confident about what I wanted to do with the hitters and all that. I left a ball up and the kid hit it out of the park.”
But it’s that one bad pitch or one bad inning that is frustrating Pettitte.
Of the eight home runs he has given up this season, seven of them have been in the new ballpark. He said he now has to go out there thinking about limiting the damage.
“I cannot walk guys,” Pettitte said. “I walked a guy in that inning before the three-run homer. I am gonna have to stop doing that, because you know you are gonna give up home runs. I am gonna give up a few homers, so I just can’t walk guys.”
We all know the effect Coors Field had on pitchers, with the most famous case being Mike Hampton. Joe Girardi played for 3 years in Colorado before becoming a Yankee, I hope he has some answers for his increasingly frustrated pitchers.
The Daily News has the story, Joe Torre and his LA Dodgers are slated for a series in the Yankee stadium next year. They report:
Joe Torre appears headed toward a Bronx homecoming in 2010.
Though next season’s schedule won’t be official for several weeks, an industry source told The Post yesterday that the Dodgers are preliminarily slated for a three-game, interleague series at Yankee Stadium, in what would be their first visit to The Bronx — barring a Yankees-Dodgers World Series this year — since the 1981 World Series.
As you can imagine, this means mixed feelings for many of the players who played under Torre.
Jeter is happy his former manager has found success in Hollywood — Torre led the Dodgers to the NLCS last year, and has the team in first place this season.
“He’s like a second father to me, and a lot of people that are in here,” Jeter said. “I’m happy that he’s happy. He’s given me every indication that he enjoys being out there in L.A.”
The Yankees faced the Dodgers in 2004, playing three games in Los Angeles. The Dodgers and Brewers are the only teams that have not played in The Bronx since the start of interleague play in 1997.
“It’s going to be great, because my first year in the big leagues [Joe] Girardi was the bench coach and Torre was the manager,” Robinson Cano said. “It would be great to see Girardi on one side and Torre on the other side. That would be fun.”
It certainly will be must-see TV, but as a fan I must admit to having mixed feelings myself. While I undeniably have warm memories of the early Torre years (as a Yankee fan, who wouldn’t) the overly dramatic way he left the team left a bitter taste in my mouth that lingers to this day. The idea that he was somehow owed more than the twelve years he served as Yankee manager (tied for second longest in Yankee History) is something I’ll never embrace. The confidences he breached in his book and the shots he took at people he owes his legacy to was disgraceful and sullied his Yankee heritage. After 12 years, I had enough of Saint Joe the Martyr to last a lifetime.
That being said, there are many current and former Yankees who have done things I don’t care for. Joe’s transgressions are fairly minor compared to others. You root for the laundry, and their exploits on the field. His accomplishments were the best of my lifetime as a Yankee fan who has been watching the team since the late 1970’s. I’ll stand and cheer for him when he returns to the Stadium.
As old as the Hindenburg, as American as Apple Pie, Yankee hating has a long and storied tradition in this country. Broadway plays have been written about it, and a million gallons of ink have been spilled in its pursuit. The latest installment comes from Deadspin magazine:
If you want a human face to put on the new, already-insufferable Yankee Stadium, you’ll find none better than the smirking man at left. Meet Lonn Trost, a man of lordly disdain for the not-rich.
Earlier today, Trost, the Yankees’ chief operating officer, discussed possible changes to the ballpark — excuse me, stadium — with the Associated Press:
He said no changes were planned to the policy preventing fans with tickets in other parts of the stadium from getting close to the field during batting practice. Seats in the first nine rows, called the Legends Suite, cost $500 to $2,625 and come with access to three restaurants and lounges. The area is separated from the rest of the lower deck by a concrete moat.
“There’s an area by the Legends Suite which is not an area that fans can get into,” Trost said. “If you purchase a suite, do you want somebody in your suite? If you purchase a home, do you want somebody in your home?”
No, certainly not. Some slob might scratch the teak.
I remain fascinated by this moat, which has quickly joined the likes of Tal’s Hill and the Wrigley ivy in the pantheon of defining stadium quirks. Most teams go for some homey, red-brick, vintage Americana. Not Trost and the Yankees. They prefer feudal England.
A few things here. First, the fact of the matter is fans without tickets are not allowed into ANY seating area. Not in the Second deck, not in the Third deck, the Bleachers or Field level. You have to have a ticket to access ALL seating areas. Which is good for all fans, so you don’t have some yahoo sitting in your seat every time you leave to grab a beer. But why let the facts get in the way of a good story. To ask the Yanks to give their best customers, the ones who paid the MOST for their seats LESS security than everyone else enjoys is one of the most ridiculous things imaginable. Nobody who runs a business would ever treat their best customers that way, and the reality is the exorbitant prices those rich folks pay down there subsidize everyone else’s seats. Since demand was so soft for those high priced seats, the Yanks will wind up cutting prices on them next year, which means everyone else’s seats will be higher to make up for it. Also, while it would be nice allow all fans to get close to the field during batting practice, the reality is the days of players signing balls is largely gone and it was the same at the old building.
The people who sit in those lower bowl seats aren’t ‘fans’ in the sense that you or I are. Most of them are corporate business people, who use those seats to entertain clients and close deals. They view the prices as a business expense. You can’t close a multi-million dollar deal with a bunch of drunk, obnoxious Red Sox fans screaming at you. Kind of kills the mood. So if you’re in the Bleachers or Grandstand and complaining about the ‘moat’ around the Field level seats, then what you’re really doing is arguing for your own price increase next year. Also, the moat is in THE MIDDLE of the Field level section. So it really separates the $300 seats from the people in the $1000+ seats. Finally, the field level seats were largely own by corporations in the old building as well, so all the Yanks did was make the new facility more attractive for their existing customers, just like they did for everybody else.
But most of these complaints are coming from non-Yankee fans, who seize upon every opportunity to bash the team.
We still don’t have a ton of data, but I think that we can start to make some statements about how the new park is playing. Small sample size and self-selected data caveats should apply here. However, the numbers are pretty interesting.
Hit Tracker gives us the following spray chart:
We can see that a lot of home runs are being hit very close to to the fence in right field. Now, look at the chart by hit tracker comparing the fences of old and new Yankee Stadium.
It looks like quite a few home runs would be questionable hits in that location in the old Yankee Stadium. A relatively small change in the outfield dimensions of the new ballpark seem to have created a fairly big impact. Hit Tracker also gives us the number of home runs hit per game in each ballpark:
1. Citizens Bank Park – 3.43
2. New Yankee Stadium – 3.38
3. Ameriquest Field – 3.29
4. Camden Yards – 2.59
5. Coors Field – 2.55
Yankee Stadium is right up there with four other parks that are traditionally home run havens.
Now, some more concrete data tells another story:
Yankee Pitching Staff Away: 15 HR (18th in MLB) 5.15 ERA (21st in MLB)
Yankee Pitching Staff at Home: 24 HR (28th in MLB) 6.59 ERA (Dead last in the MLB by a full run)
Yankee Hitters At Home: .274/.365/.479, 23 home runs
Yankee Hitters Away: .276/.349/.449 18 home runs
We have two contradictory pieces of data. Yankee hitters play Yankee Stadium basically as a neutral ballpark. They’ve hit a little bit better in Yankee Stadium, but not enough to be statistically significant.
Yankee pitchers on the other hand have been absolutely blasted in the new ballpark. They are a slightly below average pitching staff when away from its confines, but one of the worst in recent memory inside it. There is no reason that Yankee pitchers should be seeing a different ballpark from their hitters.
The only explantions for that data: luck, sample size error, or nerves. I think that the logical explanation at this point is still luck. But, luck runs both ways. While the batting splits seem to suggest that the home runs given up at Yankee Stadium are more a product of pitching than the ballpark, but there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. I think that this data is statically significant enough even at this point in the season to conclude that Yankee Stadium is going to have some kind of permament hitters park tilt, but right now it looks a lot worse because our starting pitching is allowing too many fly balls.
