Remembrances on the closing of Yankee Stadium from those who played there:
“It was incredibly impressive and majestic. The first game that I played there, I remember looking out at the stands from second base and thinking: ‘It looks like an imperial palace.”’ – Jerry Coleman, Yankees second baseman in the 1940s and 1950s.
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“(Derek) Jeter was a great teammate. He used to randomly say to me, ‘The ghosts will show up.’ It would be September and we’d be making a comment, and he’d say: ‘Every now and then, they’ll show up, but in October, they’re out.’ He would say that to me every now and then, and now it’s been taken and run with a little bit.” – Aaron Boone, whose 11th-inning home run in Game 7 lifted the Yankees over Boston in the 2003 ALCS.
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wn, it would be different.” – Phillies coach Davey Lopes, who played in three World Series for the Dodgers against the Yankees.
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“I remember when I walked in there the first time a few hours before the game, it was like a graveyard because of all the great players who played there. It’s quiet. There are all these different images in your head. You see Monument Park, you think about Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson, all those greats. I did that every time I saw that Yankee Stadium sign.” – Angels center fielder Torii Hunter.
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“It was the first time I ever set foot in Yankee Stadium, and it was absolutely amazing. After the game Cooperstown called and said, `Hey, could you sign your hat? We want to put it in Cooperstown.’ It was the coolest thing that ever happened to me in my career. I have an incredible memory of that.” – Philadelphia closer Brad Lidge, one of six Houston pitchers who combined on a no-hitter against the Yankees in 2003.
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“I grew up in Philadelphia, so the connection to the Yankees was always there. Before the draft in 1976, I was invited to Yankee Stadium to work out. I got to put on a Yankee uniform and work out on the field. That was an incredible thrill for me. I got to play there in the World Series in ’81, and managed in the playoffs there.” – Angels manager Mike Scioscia.
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y memory and 13 years with the Yankees, but never having been a staff memory at the major league level, it’s not breaking my heart and I’m not shedding any tears.” – Kansas City manager Trey Hillman, a longtime manager and coach in the Yankees’ minor league system.
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