The Yankee Stadium Experience - Part Four: The Yankees Museum

PART FOUR: The Yankees Museum

One of my favorite things about the New Yankee Stadium is the feeling that you are surrounded by nostalgia. As you walk up to the Stadium, something just screams out that the Legends you grew up reading and hearing about still walk the hallowed walls (albeit they actually walked within the walls that used to be across the street).  As mentioned in a previous post, the Yankees Brass made sure to transport as much of the old stadium as possible and transform the building back to the original "House that Ruth Built."

Part of the Babe Ruth Era Vignette

Well this modern-day "House that A-Rod Built" has something the old Stadium didn't have: a museum dedicated to the World Series Champions and Legends of old and new.  A short jaunt into the stadium from the Gate 6 entrance (behind the right field / first base stands) and up to the main level will get you to a door that makes you wonder why you would even need to make a trip to Cooperstown.  All joking aside (because why wouldn't you want to go to Cooperstown...besides the fact that Don Mattingly STILL isn't enshrined there), the Yankees Museum features vignettes of each Yankees era beginning with the 1920's teams with Ruth and Gehrig and ending with the modern-day dynasty.

Commissioner's Trophies

 The feature display within the room isn't the 7 Commissioners trophies accumulated during the Steinbrenner era, although admittedly that is pretty cool  Wait SEVEN? Since 1977? Wow, that's a lot...especially compared to Boston's insignificant three since then...but I digress.  It isn't the exhibit opened in 2011 featuring "The Boss".  It isn't even the display of the Yankees World Series Rings or the jersey that Derek Jeter wore for his 3,000th hit.  Those are all there, but the first thing you will notice when you walk in the doors is a wall of signatures...and what is on the back is even more special...autographed baseballs from hundreds of past and present Yankees players.  But this isn't just any ordinary baseball display case.  The case sits between two monuments showcasing the famed Perfect Game thrown by Don Larsen to Yogi Berra in the 1956 World Series.  The distance between the pitching rubber and home plate is exactly that of the actual field.  I don't want to give away the unique feature about the display, but I will give you a hint...when you visit, check out the first ball out of Larsen's hand and the one right before Yogi's glove.  The "Ball Wall" as it is known, can be seen in the 3 pictures below:

The Famed "Ball Wall" within the Museum featuring Don Larsen and Yogi Berra

There are other rotating exhibits that frequent the museum.  One of the special displays is Thurman Munson's locker, complete with his #15 jersey.  Munson is special to me as he died tragically 15 days before I was born.  That's pretty eerie actually.  While you are there you can also type out your name into a computer (or your kid's name) and have your own Yankees Locker.

There is a touchscreen within the room you can use to search the Autographed Baseball Wall, but I have included a few pictures within the wall that you will probably want to see for yourself in person.  Strange how the Babe Ruth ball and Don Mattingly ball are positioned so close to each other huh?  Come back next week for Part 5 of the Yankee Stadium Experience as I go into an in-depth discussion of the Concessions of Yankee Stadium.