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Tags: Travel Snapshot / Baseball / Ballparks / Yankee Stadium / → All Tags

Yankee Stadium Is The Place To See Home Runs

In keeping with our tradition of visiting a ballpark on our trips to big cities, we caught a Yankee game at the new Yankee Stadium the other night. As the innings progressed we thought either the Yankees were a powerful hitting team or else the MLB has some more performance enhancement drug testing to do. (The Yanks had four home runs, Tampa Bay had one.)

But we're not the first ones to wonder if there are more home runs than usual (So far there's been 105.) Most people have even speculated that there was a wind tunnel over right field which was causing the balls to fly outta the park (or really, into the stands.) But Accuweather.com has smacked down any talk of a wind tunnel, saying the ball park is actually shorter in some spots.

"The wall structure is slightly different than the old park," AccuWeather said. "The main difference involves curvature. The gentle curve from right field to center field seen in original Yankee Stadium has largely been eliminated at the new stadium. This is due in large part to the presence of a manual scoreboard embedded within the wall. Losing this curvature has resulted in a right field that is shorter by four-to-five feet on average, but up to nine feet in spots.

The Yankees of course insist that the new ball park dimensions are exactly the same as the old. Maybe people just hit better in a new park. Either way, attending a game here should guarantee you some home run action.

Related Stories:
· Yankee Stadium homer surge blamed on dimensions [AP]
· A Tale of Two Stadiums [Jaunted]

Tags: Sports Travel / Spring Travel / Baseball / Ballparks / Yankee Stadium / Yankees / → All Tags

A Tale of Two Stadiums: How to Enjoy the Game at Yankee and Citi Field Ballparks

Now that spring is finally here we can finally start planning our travel around baseball games and their new stadiums. No matter who wins or loses, it’s fun just to check out what some of the new stadiums have to offer. Ever since the Baltimore Orioles opened their retro stadium in the 1990s, take me out to the ballgame has been way more exciting.

Unfortunately, most MLB teams already have new stadiums, so the building craze is finally slowing down. However, New York City’s two teams finally finished building their new homes—and we can’t wait to check them out. They’ve spent loads of cash, and it looks like these two beauties will not disappoint.

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Tags: Sports Travel / Yankee Stadium / Sports / → All Tags

Yankee Stadium Not Going Quietly into History

The first pitch is supposed to coming out right now at Yankee Stadium but the dreary, sorta-rainy weather has the game start delayed. While we normally wouldn't think that a travel story, this is the last year for the historic ball field in the Bronx.

The best way to see the stadium is by booking a tour. (Games are fun, but you don't get to see as much of the park.) A Budget Travel writer took one earlier this month after discovering how cool these tours can be on a trip to Seattle:

The Safeco Field tour was much shorter than a game (45 minutes vs. three-plus hours) and easier to schedule (10 am vs. 7:30 pm). The tour also granted us access to areas a casual fan would never see. And it was a huge bonus not having to sacrifice a night of our trip for two teams we couldn't care less about.

It's the same deal at Yankee Stadium, with walkthroughs of the press box, the clubhouse, the dugouts and Monument Park, where you'll find shines to Yankee legends like Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle. Definitely cool, even if you hate the Bombers.

Update: Opening day will now be tomorrow, thanks to foul weather in the Bronx.

Related Stories:
· Yankee Stadium Tours [Official Site]
· A Tour of Baseball's Cathedral [This Just In]
· Yankee Stadium: The Long Good-bye [NYM]

[Photo: BrokenBat]