As I’m sitting back to reflect on some of my favorite moments of going to a ballpark to watch a game up close, I couldn’t help but write about my very first ballpark experience. It was August 2013 at Yankee Stadium with my sister.
Its the first day of September, and I realized that it’d been nine years since I made my ballpark debut at Yankee Stadium. I forgot the actual date, but it was a hot summer day. My family and I are lifelong Yankee fans. I’ve been a Yankee fan since I was eight years old. It took a long time for my sister and me to visit the ballpark, but one day we decided to plan this the right way and finally make it happen, and we did. My sister was 24, and I was 22. She had a Robinson Cano shirt, and I had a white tank top with a Yankee hat. I’m not sure if I still have pictures from that day. Probably not, lol. It’s been nine years, and phones have changed.
We were fortunate to witness a game where Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter were still playing. We also noticed Mariano picking up a save, and the Yankees won the game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
On this day, I also received a phone call from the retail store “Express,” giving me the news that I got hired as a Sales Associate. The report had me a little nervous and excited. Why nervous? Because it was my first job. Excitement? Because I was about to start working and earn my own money. However, the celebration didn’t last long term. I only worked for about a month because I couldn’t juggle between college and part-time work. Had I done things all over again, I would’ve done it differently.
Anyway, my first experience going to the ballpark was a success. It became the first of many more that came right after. I’ve been to Yankee Stadium about 14 or 15 times now. My last appearance at Yankee Stadium was back in 2019 in Game 1 between the Twins and Yankees in the division series. How cool is that? To have a playoff experience in person? It’s amazing.
I also went to Dodger Stadium, Citi Field, Fenway Park, Camden Yards, and Citizen Bank Park. The next ones I have on my list are the following: Coors Field, AT&T Park, Tropicana Field, and Petco Park.
My main goal is to watch a World Series game up close. It’s costly, but I hope to do this in my lifetime.
