The Yankees' new $1.5 billion show palace opened Thursday with a team workout, and while players were marveling at the computer screens at their lockers, the banquet hall-sized clubhouse and other amenities, they were also working hard to learn Stadium quirks such as how the ball will carom off the outfield walls.Knowing Yankee Stadium's eccentricities could mean the difference in a late-season game against the Red Sox, so it was serious business. Pitchers tested the mound, Jorge Posada checked the sightlines for both hitting and catching and Johnny Damon explored the left-field corner.
But yesterday's workout also afforded plenty of time for fun, both for the Yankees and the crowd of about 20,000 made up of ticket-holders and neighborhood community groups who showed up for their first look at the new ballpark.
Music blared during batting practice as fans pointed cameras toward the field. The Stadium's huge video screen flashed pictures of players enjoying their new home. Derek Jeter slugged a BP homer on his third swing, eliciting big cheers.
"There was a lot of energy out there, which was great to see," Damon said. "It seems like everyone is excited and we're thrilled.
"This is by far the best new stadium out there and it's supposed to be - it belongs to the New York Yankees. Now it's our job to christen it the right way."
"The Stadium is better than even any of us expected," added Jeter. "If you were going to design a stadium as a player, there's nothing you'd add to this."
The team worked out for about two hours, including a session of infield, and will play exhibitions against the Cubs Friday night and Saturday. Several players said the field felt quite similar to the old Stadium, in part because the outfield fences are the same distances from the plate.
A night game and a day game will give the team a chance to see how the lights affect play and how to handle the sun - if there is any on Saturday. Still, as manager Joe Girardi noted, "a park will play differently in April than it will in July."
Damon noted that there is extra room - "maybe a foot or two feet from the line to the wall" - in left field and he was eager to see how more space would change the way he tries to cut off a ball in the corner.
"It's amazing how similar it is to the old Stadium, as far as playing surface," third-base coach Rob Thomson said. "We'll find out how quick the grass is, how quickly balls get into the gaps in the outfield. We'll find all that out."
Bench coach Tony Pena threw some balls to Posada crouched behind the plate and the catcher said the ball came out of the video screen. It's supposed to be dark during play, Posada said, but it might take some getting used to. The "batter's eye," located above the new Monument Park beyond the 408-foot mark in center, was "great," Posada said, giving hitters a good view of a pitch.
There is more room in foul territory near the dugouts, which is good for pitchers who might get an extra out on a foul pop that would have fallen into the stands. But it also might mean a runner can take an extra base after a throwing error in the infield. The backstop is 20 feet closer to home plate than the old Stadium, meaning "I won't have to run as far if a ball gets behind me," Posada said.
Beyond the field, players were gushing over the clubhouse, which CC Sabathia said was the coolest thing he'd seen all day. Girardi said his first visit to the completed park after the team's plane landed Wednesday was "like Christmas morning." Andy Pettitte was delighted by the hot tub, saying, "I'm a whirlpool guy."
Jeter noted it was "a little weird" to not be in the only home park he's ever known. "It hasn't really sunk in yet," he said.
Still, at least one thing hasn't changed at the new park - the expectations are enormous. Asked to assess his team, Girardi said the Yankees were more athletic, better defensively and had a deeper rotation.
"We have a chance," Girardi said, "to be very, very good."
Posts
