Yankee Stadium, July 2, 2014

I finally got to the new Yankee Stadium, five years after it was built.  The reason it took so long is simple:  I preferred going with my wife and son to the Staten Island Yankees and the Brooklyn Cyclones, where the seats are better, the prices are much lower, the fans are more intelligent and sober, and the elegant geometry of the game is the same, albeit at a slightly lower level of skill.  Also, major league baseball has few day games during the week; even in Chicago they are fewer, as television money calls the shots.  With our young daughter in daycare we were able to go to the day game on July 2nd and it was a lovely experience.  During the day during the week the fans tend to be older folks and young kids, often grandparents with their grandchildren, and one can avoid the drunken louts of night and week-end games, talk baseball history with the old-timers and share the enthusiasm of the younger fans.  We sat in the third row of the grandstand, upper deck (out of the sun, fortunately),, and I found the view comparable to the fourth ring of the NYC Ballet:  one is close enough to see everything well while enjoying the whole spread of the spectacle.  From the first inning, when Brett Gardner in left field ran in a straight line to intersect the parabola of a line drive hit by Sean Rodriquez, I enjoyed watching how all the elements of the game intersected; even watching a high pop-up, with the white ball against the blue sky, or fans chase a foul ball, was enjoyable.  One could see a player rounding third as an outfielder fielded the ball and threw home, or watch the catcher cover third base when there was a shift on.  It was even a good game until the sixth inning when, with the score tied 3-3, Yankee reliever Shawn Kelley gave up a two-run homer, the Tampa Bay Rays winning 6-3.