BY SCOTT LAUBERMIAMI -- As the Phillies wrap their three-game series here at Dolphin Stadium, a few words about the Cathedral of Baseball:
Butch Wynegar hit his solo home run with one out in the eighth inning, the lone highlight from an otherwise gloomy day for the Yankees.
And I missed it.
It was June 6, 1982. I was 5 years old and attending my very first baseball game at Yankee Stadium. The Royals, powered by George Brett's four hits, were leading 14-0 when my dad decided we should beat the traffic on the George Washington Bridge. Wynegar's blast left the stadium just as we did.
We kept going back, though. My dad and I saw countless other games at The House That Ruth Built. It's where I learned to keep score, where I caught a foul ball hit by Claudell Washington (I still have it), where so many father-son moments were shared. The place stood on the footsteps of Ruth, Gehrig and DiMaggio, and their aura was unmistakable. I was there for Cal Ripken Jr.'s final game in New York in 2001. I was there once on Old Timers' Day. I was there during the 2000 World Series, sitting in left field, when Roger Clemens fired that shattered bat handle back at Mike Piazza.
The hallowed, 85-year-old ballpark in the Bronx will host its last game tonight, and there has been an outpouring of emotion. It's how I imagine Red Sox' fans would feel if Fenway Park closed or Cubs' fans would react if Wrigley Field was in its final days. I'm certain the new Stadium, the $1.3 billion structure rising across 161st Street, will be state of the art. It will still have Monument Park and the famous white frieze facade spanning the outfield. And it will have enough luxury suites to please even the Steinbrenners.
But it won't be the same. Not even close.
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