Back in the Bronx

When in New York, I never get tired of hearing Sinatra.

When my first nephew was born in late January, I knew it was only a matter of time before I traveled to New York City for a visit. It’s always a pleasant surprise to receive baby photos and videos, but I certainly wanted to meet him in person.

I landed at LaGuardia Airport with a feeling of possibility. I live mere miles from Disneyland, but in truth New York has always been my magical place. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a fantastic experience every time, but Yankee Stadium is my first destination if the team is in town.

Thankfully, the Yankees would be in the midst of a seven-game homestand when I planned to visit my brother and his family. After some discussion, I opted for an April 16 Sunday matinee against the Minnesota Twins instead of a Tuesday night meeting with the Angels. That meant a second chance for Gerrit Cole to impress me after an uncharacteristically poor outing when I attended last season. Newcomers to this site can read all about that below.

New York, New York

The first full day I spent in the city was relaxed. My brother and I ended up taking his son for a stroller walk around the neighborhood. A Vietnamese sandwich and pistachio iced latte provided plenty of comfort to go with the idyllic atmosphere of a local park. The pleasant weather didn’t hurt, either. Meanwhile, I had read about a $10.40 “tax day” ticket special and quickly ordered my seat for the following afternoon’s ballgame.

I began the day in Manhattan with a walk through Greenwich Village and a visit to the Jackie Robinson Museum. Saturday had been Jackie Robinson Day in the major leagues, with every player wearing the number 42 in his honor. However, I had already planned to visit for the better part of a year and this was a perfect midway point between my brother’s apartment and the stadium.

While there’s a sizable room full of sports memorabilia, the galleries also focus on Robinson’s social and cultural impact on the country. One of my favorite features was a wall of devices that played video messages from celebrities who explained Robinson’s importance to their lives. Aside from being the man who broke baseball’s color barrier, he was a businessman and political activist. Robinson even helped raise money at charity jazz concerts where musicians like Dave Brubeck played.

The museum does a nice job describing the atmosphere among baseball fans at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn during Robinson’s playing days. There’s a display discussing his time in the Negro Leagues and college career at UCLA. Naturally, there’s a trophy case full of awards from various sports at which he excelled. John Isaacs, a basketball player of the day, explained: “The first player who I ever saw dunking as part of his game was Jackie Robinson.”

Plenty of artifacts caught my attention, such as a condolence telegram sent by Hank Aaron upon Robinson’s death in 1972. Jackie’s brother Mack won a silver medal in the 200-meter track and field at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, which is also on view. The only man faster than him in that event was Jesse Owens. Even souvenir programs from the Dodgers’ 1956 trip to Japan find themselves among the foundation’s collection. The primary mission of the museum is to bring awareness to Robinson’s quest to improve race relations nationwide, but his athletic achievements are very well documented.

I had just enough time to hop a ride on the D train and reach Yankee Stadium by game time. After negotiating a fairly long entrance line, I was ready for an Italian sausage and an afternoon of entertainment.

The hero of the game turned out to be DJ LeMahieu. LeMahieu wasn’t able to drive in a run with two men on in the first inning. However, he followed with an RBI single in the third after Aaron Judge walked and Anthony Rizzo was ruled to have been hit by a pitch. In the sixth, he homered against Minnesota starter Pablo López. The ball traveled just over the glove of right fielder Max Kepler, sending the stadium into a frenzy.

The Yanks mustered seven hits over the course of the game, which ended up being more than enough for Cole. The ace delivered just the second complete game in the majors this season and it also happened to result in a 2-0 shutout. It was the 23rd game of Cole’s Yankee career with 10 or more strikeouts, tying Ron “Gator” Guidry.

The Yankees organization won’t need to mail any cards like this one after sending me home with a victory. Cole raised his arms in triumph as Oswaldo Cabrera caught a fly ball off the bat of Carlos Correa to end the game. I made sure to enjoy the playing of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” multiple times before heading for the exit. The game lasted just over two hours, but they were decidedly blissful ones. As I left the Bronx, a mural celebrating Aaron Judge’s 2022 MVP season bade me farewell.