My Fondest Memories as a Yankees Fan of Turner Field

One of the most enjoyable and at the same time one of the most miserable experiences you can have as a fan of Major League Baseball is entering a home team’s stadium that is not your own. What do I mean? Try being a Yankees fan walking into Fenway Park. It’s awesome if you win but it can be absolute and utter hell if you lose. The same goes for Philadelphia I would imagine and I’m sure it can’t be fun being a St. Louis Cardinals fan in Wrigley Field with the Cubs on top but there are a few exceptions to this rule. Away stadiums that are actually enjoyable to go to. That’s one thing I will miss about Turner Field and one thing that I hope travels with the team over to Sun Trust Park in 2017. 

I have to say that the fans inside Turner Field were always so laid back and wonderful that at times it almost felt like being inside Yankee Stadium. I’ve been to stadiums like Shea Stadium and Tropicana Field where you get heckled and boo’d for wearing the opposing teams jersey but in Turner Field I’ve always been treated with the same amount of respect that I ever got in Yankee Stadium, maybe more. When the “Let’s Go Yankees” chants began and eventually drowned out the Turner Field crowd there wasn’t anger and beer thrown, they just let it happen. It was always just a chill place to be and I will always have some fond memories from that place. 

As you know I moved down here from New York while I was in High School and the thing I miss the most is my Yankees with pizza, Chinese food and my family not far behind (and maybe in that order… pizza sucks down here). When I got older and got my own job and car and such I went to Turner Field as much as possible, even if the Yankees weren’t in town. I’d go see the Braves play the Mets, the Nationals, hell I even watched them play the Miami Marlins one time when they were losing 100 games a season. I just loved the experience and the atmosphere. I sat behind home plate, in the bleachers, down both lines and in the outfield. There wasn’t a bad seat in the house. 

I’ve seen so much sitting in those seats inside Turner Field as well. I saw Derek Jeter signing autographs for hours at a time and even got a signed baseball from him once. I saw Alex Rodriguez tie Lou Gehrig on the all-time grand slams list live and in person. I saw Jose Fernandez pitch in either his first or second year, I can’t remember exactly. I saw Andy Pettitte hurl a gem against the team in 2009 and I watched Luis Severino hurl another gem in 2015 in the same game where a fan fell to his death right in front of my eyes while he was heckling A Rod from the top deck. 

Turner Field will leave me with so many memories that I can only hope to bring with me to Sun Trust Park in 2017. I’m sad to see it go but I loved it while it was here. Goodbye to Turner Field (unofficially, the Georgia State college baseball team will use the field in 2017 and beyond) from everyone here at The Greedy Pinstripes.