Yankee Stadium is beautiful in the rain

Posted on October 25, 2009

Overall exterior view of Yankee Stadium in the rain before Game 6 of the American League Championship Series between the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York on October 24, 2009. The game was postponed because of rain. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

 

Ever since the new Yankee Stadium opened up a few months ago in April I have wanted to come to New York and check out the House That Jeter and A-Rod Built. I have photographed three World Series in the original park and always loved it. I could feel the history. The old cathedral in the Bronx that housed the Pinstripes from 1923-2008 was replaced by a new ballpark that cost over $1.2 million and has priced many fans out from enjoying games in person. This really didn’t matter to me last night though. I had an opportunity to see a new yard and cross it off my list. I was making my NEW Yankee Stadium debut.

I have been in New York since Wednesday doing business at the Photo Plus Expo and visiting friends. I will be shooting the World Series in a few days so I planned on hanging around New York in case the Yankees finished off the Angels and hosted Game 1 of the World Series this coming Wednesday night. After the Angels rallied to beat the Yanks in Game 5 in Anaheim on Thursday I realized that both clubs would be coming back here for Game 6 on Saturday night. What a great opportunity for me to go to the stadium and shoot some stock images of the new park for my archive! It is a rare opportunity to cruise around a yard, inside and out, all throughout a game without having to photograph the action. This is what I wanted to do.

I headed to the Stadium on the D train from Times Square with my good friend Kevin Sullivan from the Orange County Register. We got there super early and had a great lunch with friends at the Court Deli down the street. After lunch I started shooting exteriors and dodging rain drops. As the sky grew darker and the streets became wetter the stadium became more and more beautiful to photograph. I wandered all over outside the main entrance by Gate 4 shooting the reflection of tail lights on the wet pavement as cars wizzed by. The rain kept falling, I kept getting wetter and wetter, and my pictures kept betting better and better.

I finally made my way back into the ballpark a little after 6pm soaking wet. I ran into my boss at MLB Rich Pilling who was practically sprinting with his roller to get out of the stadium. That is when I knew the game had been postponed. I was having so much fun outside I had no idea the game had been called!

The good news is I get to come back tonight and shoot more exteriors under blue skys and late afternoon golden sunlight. It is a spectacular day in New York City. There is nowhere else I would rather be!