The Newberg Report: My Trip to Yankee Stadium

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The New York City forecast called for an 80 percent chance of rain, but even Mario Mendoza hit four home runs in the big leagues, and so you can never bet against the 20 percent. My first and probably only visit to original Yankee Stadium was perfect: completely dry, a balmy 48 degrees, and the Yanks got absolutely pounded.

1 - Took the D train to the game. I bet 60 percent of the folks on the subway were asleep, and not just the ones on the back end of their Friday commute.

2 - The stadium blew me away—because of how raw and stripped down everything is. It’s cold, colorless, dank. Not very clean. The concession areas look like the State Fair if it stayed open until 3 a.m. There’s very little music played as part of the game presentation. The video elements look like something you’d see if you tuned into a 1978 Yankees-Royals game on ESPN Classic, the scoreboard font a weak, sickly yellow that might have been created on a TRS-80. Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco is exponentially more well appointed.

10 - This unexpected reaction I had is not an exaggeration: Attending a Yankees game almost felt like going to a minor league game in a small town that really cares about its team. The ballpark features are modest, if not dilapidated. But it has a ton of character, a culture, a vibe. Everyone there was there for the baseball game.