An Afternoon of Baseball & Skateboarding in the Bronx

Last Saturday afternoon–May 18, 2013–found me at Yankee Stadium for the game with the Toronto Blue Jays. The weather was questionable, but we got nothing worse that grey skies and a few, teasing sprinkles.

I rarely attend a game, but this year’s Yankees have caught my interest: so many regulars out with injuries and “green” youngsters getting an opportunity to show their stuff. Mix in a few regulars like Cano, Suzuki, Hafner and Gardner for stability, and the Yankees are likely to have a pretty good season. In fact, as of today (Memorial Day, May 27), the Yankees are 30-19 and in first place in the AL East.

Not bad for a team many were writing off, such as Rana Jazayerli in Grantland in March: “when you build around old, expensive players, the reckoning coming up in your side mirror is…closer than it appears….Even the Yankees are capable of down cycles. This looks like the start of one.”

All other things being equal (which they’re not), watching the Yankees without Jeter, Rodriguez, Texiera, Youkilis, Cervelli, Pineda, Pettitte and Chamberlain is a bit like watching the Knicks last year during that brief period of “Linsanity.”

The Yankees have become fun to watch (again), like in Saturday night’s unbelievable 4-3 win over Tampa Bay in the 11th inning. And in the game I saw–pictured below–Toronto pitcher Brandon Morrow looked very sharp, even though the Yankees won, 7-2, and Robinson Cano hit two homers, while Travis Hafner added another in the 8th inning.

Below are some photographs that I took on the way to the game, from my seat behind home plate last Saturday, and then during my walk home, where I encountered a skateboarding contest in process a mere four blocks south of Yankee Stadium. All in all, it was a fun day to be out in the Bronx with a camera.

Wanda & Ilday, also waiting for the #4 train to Yankee Stadium, May 18, 2013

The #4 train to Yankee Stadium, packed as usual, May 18, 2013

The crowds flow towards the Stadium, May 18, 2013

Outside Yankee Stadium, a crowd will draw fanatics, not all of whom focus on baseball, May 18, 2013

A Veteran working the crowd for donations, May 18, 2013

Yankee Stadium, third base line, Toronto Blue Jay dugout, May 18, 2013

Yankee Stadium, home plate, exchange of lineups, May 18, 2013

Yankee Stadium, Color Guard; on scoreboard is Ramin Karimloo to sing the national anthems, May 18, 2013

Yankee Stadium, on deck circle for visiting team, May 18, 2013

Yankee Stadium, game begins: David Phelps’ first pitch to Cabrera, May 18, 2013

Yankee Stadium, Brandon Morrow’s first pitch to Gardner, bottom of the 1st inning, May 18, 2013

Yankee Stadium, food service, May 18, 2013

Yankee Stadium, beer and wine service, May 18, 2013

Yankee Stadium, Cano coming home (first home run), May 18, 2013

Yankee Stadium, Bautiste flies out to deep center field, May 18, 2013

Yankee Stadium, Cano coming home (second home run), May 18, 2013

Yankee Stadium, Travis Hafner fouls one off, May 18, 2013

Yankee Stadium, 7th inning stretch, May 18, 2013

Yankee Stadium, Megan & Liz (true Yankee fans) refueling, May 18, 2013

Yankee Stadium, Hafner coming home (an 8th inning home run), May 18, 2013

Bronx, River Avenue, Yankee caps for sale, May 18, 2013

Bronx, River Avenue, Old Veteran, May 18, 2013

Bronx, 836 River Avenue, Stan’s Sports Bar, take-out window, May 18, 2013

Bronx, 836 River Avenue, Stan’s Sports Bar, the post-game crowd, May 18, 2013

Bronx, River Avenue, Kim & Nicole outside Stan’s Sports Bar, May 18, 2013

Stan’s Sports Bar was started in the 1970s by Stan Martucci and is reputed to be the “home of the diehard Yankee fan.”

River Avenue Skate Plaza

A mere four blocks from Yankee Stadium–pictured below–is a poured concrete park dedicated to skateboarding. It was overflowing with skateboarders and spectators when I walked by: the venue for the 2013 Battle for the Bronx. The competition was organized into group heats for all levels and even offered prize money to the winners of the final rounds.

Three things in particular fascinated me about this event: First, the seeming chaos, with skateboarders everywhere, yet no collisions. Second, the fact that spectators were seated on the ground no more than eight feet from the main jump, and never had a competitor plow through them. Third that none of the competitors wore protective gear; no gloves and wrist protectors, no elbow or knee pads, and no helmets. Time-and-again, a skateboarder would fall after a jump, get up and go back at it. I was aware of no injuries. If anyone was hurt, nobody showed it. These kids are tough!