How to Raise a New York Yankees Fan

On Wednesday afternoon, August 4, 2010, Alex Rodriguez finally hit his 600th career home run. A-Rod became not only the 7th player in Major League Baseball history, but also the youngest, to reach that milestone.

Although it took A-Rod 3 years (to the day) to hit home runs 500 to 600, he still has enough productive years left in his career, that it is not only very probable that he will not only surpass Barry Bonds, but may become the very first member of the 800 Home Run club.

In the past 15 years, here's how Alex Rodriguez has compiled is 600 home runs:

#1 - June 12, 1995 (vs Tim Gordon - KC Royals)
#100 - August 12, 1998 (vs Nerio Rodriguez - Toronto Blue Jays)
#200 - May 12, 2001 (vs Jon Garland - Chicago White Sox)
#300 - April 2, 2003 (vs Ramon Ortiz - California Angels)
#400 - June 8, 2005 (vs Jorge De La Rosa - Milwaukee Brewers)
#500 - August 4, 2007 (vs Kyle Davies - Kansas City Royals)
#600 - August 4, 2010 (vs Shaun Marcum - Toronto Blue Jays)

The other members of the 600 HR club, that A-Rod will be passing (provided he remains healthy) are:

Sammy Sosa - 609
Ken Griffey Jr - 630
Willie Mays - 660
Babe Ruth - 714
Hank Aaron - 755
Barry Bonds - 762

Replica and autographed jerseys are available for all members of the 600 HR club - just click on the player who's jersey you're interested in for additional pricing information.

In 1935, Babe Ruth ended his illustrious career with a total of 2,873 hits, at the time landing him in 14th place all-time.

75 years later, on August 8, 2010, The Bambino was passed by another Yankee, when Derek Jeter got hit number 2,874, moving him into 39th on the all-time list.

Two more hits, and Jeter will pass Mel Ott (2,876) and move into 38th place.

Some time in the 2011 season, Jeter should hit #3000, tying him with Roberto Clemente.

284 hits later, Derek will pass Willie Mays and move into #10 on the all-time list.

Although he is unlikely to catch Pete Rose (4,256), Derek Jeter will most likely join Rose and Ty Cobb in the elite 4,000 hit club (passing baseball legends Eddie Collins, Paul Molitor, Honus Wagner, Carl Yastrezmski, Tris Speaker, Stan Musial and Hank Aaron along the way.

Congratulations Derek - take every game one hit at a time.

Today, May 16, 2010, was Championship Bat Day at Yankee Stadium. The first 10,000 fans under the age of 14 received a comemorative NYY 2009 World Series Bat - a black, full length Louisville Slugger.

It's always great going to Yankee Stadium, and today's Championship Bat promo made it even better. Unfortunately, my son's 3 game win streak for winning while in attendance came to an end when Mariano Rivera gave up a Grand Slam in the top of the 8th inning (guess you can't win them all). But reguardless of the outcome of the game, visiting Monument Park and being among all the Pinstripe history is one of the best ways to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon.

We arrived about 45 minutes before the gates opened, to insure we were among the first 10,000 and would get a bat, then headed straight for Monument Park (directly behind the center field wall). Once among the Monuments we had plenty of time to read the plaques, take some photos and enjoy the view of batting practice from center field. As big a Yankee fan as my son is, he made sure that I took a picture of the #42 Plaque for Jackie Robinson (appropriately in Dodger Blue. I also managed to get him to stand still long enough for photos with Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio. After a leisurely stroll around the stadium trying to decide what to have for lunch (Andrew had pizza, I chose the hot italian sausage, and our friend Justin tried the BBQ pulled pork - all were very tasty).

Finally settled in our seats, we watched and waited for a foul ball to come our way. Nine innings later, nothing was even close. However, with souvineer bat in hand, we headed back to the B train for the trip downtown with fresh memories of another Yankee game.

I remember going to Bat Day as a child and getting a bat with Bobby Mercer's name on it. It didn't take long for it to become an unrecognisable piece of lumber in my parent's garage. I'll make sure we take much better care of this one. Who knows, maybe in the off season we'll get the chance at a Sports Memorabilia Show to get one of the Yankees to autograph it (Andrew naturally wants A-Rod or Jeter). Time will tell.

For New York Yankees fans, December 26th is just as important a day as Christmas is to children.

Why?

Because on December 26, 1919, The Boston Red Sox agreed to trade their pitcher/slugger Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000 (plus a $300,000 loan to their owner Harry Frazee).

After winning the World Series in 1918, the Red Sox relieved Ruth of his pitching duties and in 1919 he went on to hit .322 and led the league with 29 HRs and 114 RBIs. His demands for a significant raise created a dispute with owner Frazee which eventually led to his trade to the Yankees.

In 1920, Ruth took immediate advantage of the Polo Grounds short right field (258 ft) hitting .376 and leading the league with 54 HRs, 137 RBIs, 158 runs, 150 walks, and an on-base-percentage of .533. The Yankees best hitter of 1919 was Frank Baker who hit only 10 HRs.

Over the next 15 seasons, Ruth would become major league baseball's marquee player hitting for a .349 average and 659 HRs. In that time the New York Yankees would win 4 World Series, starting their rise to baseball prominence.

For Boston, 1919 marked the start of the Curse of the Bambino (they would not win another World Series for 86 years), but for the New York Yankees, December 26, 1919 is a date to be celebrated and remembered .

It was an historic night that almost didn't happen. After a day of on and off rain, the start of the Yankess game against the Baltimore Orioles was delayed 87 minutes.

Still, by 8:30 we were fixated on the screen hoping to witness Yankee history. After Jeter struck out in the first inning, Andrew was disappointed, and hoped he wasn't starting on another 0 for night. Fortunately, less than an hour later, when Jeter came to bat in the third inning, the wait was over, and Yankee history was made.

At 9:23 pm, Derek Jeter slapped an opposite field single into right field for hit #2,722, surpassing Lou Gehrig's 70 yr old record. Once Andrew stopped jumping and cheering, I could tell he'd have no trouble falling asleep. I'm sure he was more worried about when Jeter would get the record breaking hit than Derek was. But now that he's sleeping, here's a quick look back at how Derek Jeter got to 2,722 hits.

#1 - May 20, 1995 vs Tim Belcher (Seattle)
#500 - July 20, 1998 vs Bryce Florie (Detroit)
#1000 - September 25, 2000 vs Steve Sparks (Detroit)
#1500 - August 16, 2003 vs Pat Hentgen (Baltimore)
#2000 - May 26, 2006 vs Scott Elarton (Kansas City)
#2500 - August 22, 2008 vs Radhames Liz (Baltimore)
#2721 - September 9, 2009 vs Jeff Niemann (Tampa Bay)
#2722 - Septebmer 11, 2009 vs Chris Tillman (Baltimore)

Congratualtions Derek!

As I'm sure everyone who follows baseball knows, the 2008 Major League Baseball All Star Game is being held at Yankee Stadium, in the final season of 'The House that Ruth Built'. Since my son Andrew has become a die-hard NY Yankee fan (at the age of 7), and Fan Fest is being held at NYC's Jacob Javits Center, what better way to spend a Saturday, than with my son enjoying America's Favorite Pastime.

The great advantage of arrivng early is that you beat the crowds. The disadvantage is that you have to wake up very early to do it. Fortunately, I was able to relax a little on the train ride in, and after the 3 block walk from Penn Station to Jacob Javits, we arrived refreshed and ready to go!

The first thing I wanted to do was get on line for the free autographs. The first thing Andrew wanted to do was play. So since this was his first trip to any type of large scale sports/memorabilia show, I wanted him to have enjoy it, so we bypassed the live interview with Whitey Ford and made our way to the interactive games.

Fan Fest was filled with many opportunities to test your skills in pitching, batting, fielding and baserunning. Our first stop was the Fan Fest Batting Practice, where after filling out the mandaory waiver in case of injury, Andrew headed in bat in hand. No sooner had I pulled out my camera to get an action shot, and Andrew was down - hit by the pitch from the batting machine (the pitches, although slow, were still faster than what he's seen in little league and he was just unable to get out of the way). A few tears, and a quick visit from the staff paramedic (to insure he was ok) and we were on our way to the pitching booths. This was very cool.

Here, you had the chance to pitch against the All Star of your choice (on a video display). Throw the ball to the catcher's glove & it's a strike. If you strike him out, you win a prize. Being a NY Yankee fan, Andrew decided to pitch against Derek Jeter. Watching the fans before us, I wasn't too optimistic about his chances since the strike zone sensor seemed to have a mind of its own. However, 5 minutes later (remember we arrived early so there were virtually no lines) my little fire-baller was on the mound. Three incredibly well placed pitches later, Jeter was struck out and Andrew was thrilled (and the proud owner of his first souvineer plush baseball).

A few feet away from the video pitching, we had the chance to see exactly how much heat Andrew was sending Jeter's way. Again, after another 5 minute wait, he was back on the mound.

For a boy of 7 years old, I must admit he's got a pretty good arm. His pitches clocked in between 27 and 35 mph (the fastest in the Boys under 12 was 45mph). Since we had plenty of time, I decided to see what kind of mustard was on my fastball.

As much as Andrew wanted me to top the fastest throw, I was under no illusions that I would be able to throw better than 89mph, but I had to try. At the very least, I was consistent clocking in 7 throws between 56 and 60mph. Honestly, I was glad I managed to hit the target every time and not throw the ball into either the ground or the netting (as a few overly enthusiastic adults before me did). With batting and pitching down, we next made our way to the interactive fielding.

A short fly ball away from the Strikeout Challenge, I found myself stepping over ropes (and picking them up for Andrew - remember, we're early so no lines) and making my way to third base. The Steal Home Challenge is a 90ft dash against the clock. The key to this one is to step on the center of Home Plate to stop the clock and record your time, otherwise it just keeps going and going and going...

Similar to the Strikeout Challenge, Stealing Home kept a display of the fastest times for the different age groups. Not knowing exactly how fast Andrew can run made it exciting (for both of us) to see what his time would be. I, on the other hand, never considered myself fast. Quick, with good relfexes yes, fast - no. In any case, there was no way I was going to beat the 3.42 seconds, honestly I was hoping to finish in under 6 seconds.

Soon enough, it was our turn. There were three lanes of 3rd-to-Home baselines set up, but we were allowed to run against each other. Out of sheer curiousity, when the 'Ump' said go!, I took off and finished in a respectable 4.46 seconds. Andrew, to my surprise, was not very far behind posting a time of 5.65 seconds.

I did feel a little bad having beaten him (my wife still doesn't understand why I couldn't just let him win), but after the race I knew he couldn't care less when he said "Wow Dad, I didn't know you were that fast".

Honestly, neither did I.

What to me, looked like a pretty boring activity, turned out to be one of Andrew's favorites - the Fan Fest Fielding Practice.

The set-up rather creative, the 'outfielder' stood some 150ft across from a pitching machine that in the first lane would send a grounder, you then moved to the 2nd lane for a short pop-up, onto lane #3 for a line drive, then lanes #4 & #5 for longor short fly balls, all of which you had to field, and throw back to the 'hitter' (the person operating the pitching machine). Gloves were provided, so once Andrew found an appropriately sized one, he was into the outfield (did I mention we only had to wait behind 6 other people since we arrived early and it still wasn't crowded).

Anyway, the first 'hit' was a ground ball that was expertly fielded by my son and thrown back with superb accuracy (remember, he struck out Jeter on three pitches). He then moved to the short pop-up, which he dropped - and later blamed on the fact that he wasn't using his own glove and the ball were a semi-hard foam, not real baseballs. Anyway, he fielded the line- drive on 1 hop, and caught several of the fly balls (since there was virtually no line, the 'hitter' in the last lane sent several balls his way).

After returning his glove, I had barely asked if he liked it, when he asked if he could do it again. With no line, why not.

For me, the best part of Fan Fest is the opportunity to meet some of the games greatest players, and get their autographs. The interesting thing about Fan Fest is that although they provide a list of the players scheduled to appear each day, they do not mention the times that they will be signing. The other issue is the line.

Since we had spent ~2hrs enjoying all of the interactive skills challenges, by the time we reached the Topps Collector's Showcase, where the Major League Baseball Legends were signing autographs(free with the price of admission), the line stretched from one end of the building to the other. The usher at the end of the line told us the wait from where we were would be ~2.5 hrs, which turned out to be almost exactly correct. We were also informed of who that the current signers were Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda and Steve Sax, but they would be gone by the time we reached the podium. Apparently, the Legends signed in 2 hr shifts, so although 2 new Legends would be signing, we had no idea of who they would be.

To my surprise, Andrew was very patient and well behaved for a 7yr old on a 2.5hr line. We were kept occupied by various DHL & Upper Deck reps who handed out assorted common cards, and were also able to view many of the vendor booths that we passes at a snails pace. We were also surprosed to see LA Dodger great Steve Garvey walking among the crowd, stopping to take pictures with fans as he was escorted through the room (as he was not an announced signer, his presence was quite a surprise). Finally, at noon, Cepeda and Sax left the podium, to be replaced a few minutes later by Boston Red Sox great Fred Lynn, NYY favorite Oscar Gamble, and (surprise) Steve Garvey.

This turned out to be quite fortunate for us since Andrew had no intention getting the autograph of a Boston Red Sox player (no matter how good he was). If there was no Yankee signing he would have been rather upset, lucky for us Oscar showed up.

Within the next 30 minutes, after reminding me several times about how hungry he was, we had Oscar's autograph and all was good again. In our quest for quest for chicken tenders (we ended up with a personal size cheese pizza), we paused only briefly to admire the Rawlings Gold Glove Award, and Mickey Mantle's autographed glove from his "Perfect Catch" in the Game 5 of the 1956 World Series (in which Don Larsen would also end up pitching the only post-season Perfect Game). But all of these moments and memories are lost on a hungry 7yr old, so we hurried out to find lunch, and plan the rest of our day.

One of the great things about having kids is their complete predictability. Given the choice between learning about the History of Baseball
, viewing rare memorabilia from The National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum, waiting for another autograph (possibly Harmon Killebrew) or playing games; they will almost always want to play.

So, soon after lunch ended, did we stop to listen to the interview with Gaylord Perry on 'The Diamond' ballfield - of course not. Did we view the exhibits on the Negro Leagues, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, The National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum, or even the Hometown Heroes tribute to the NY Yankees - definitely not. We made a bee-line (or should I say a line-drive) to the back of the exhibition hall for more Fielding Practice. Didn't matter that there was now at least a 45 min wait, when your child is genuinely excited about something, it's absolutely worth it. Even when they ask to do it again. Same goes for the now 1 hr wait for a 6 second sprint to try to Steal Home.

It was only around 5pm, when all the activity of the day began to take it's toll did Andrew finally announce that he was getting tired and wanted to go home. So with our All Star Fan Fest memories fresh in our minds, and another free Baby Ruth candy bar in hand, did we end our day.

Sign up to be a Lensmaster and Earn Extra Money
A lensmaster is someone who creates Squidoo Lenses (webpages) just like the one you're viewing now. If you have a passion for subject and want to share your knowledge with the rest of the world, and make a few dollars while you're at it, sign up now.

Webmasters Make $$$