It was a rainy night in the Bronx when Kate and I went to a Tuesday evening baseball game between the Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees. It was my first trip to the new Yankee Stadium, just across the street from the original Yankee Stadium which is slowly being dismantled. We arrived with almost two hours until first pitch, until they announced a rain delay, which allowed us to walk around the concourses and get a better feel for the new ballpark. First order of business: dinner. Kate has a slice of pizza and I get a pan-fried tofu noodle bowl. Yep, that’s right. Tofu and noodles at a baseball stadium. Delicious.

Then we take full advantage of the rain delay and walk around the entire stadium, poke in and out of the team store and just take in all of the sights, sounds and smells of the new ballpark. I was really impressed with it - a very different feeling from the old Yankee Stadium, but still acknowleding the storied history of the franchise. Kate managed to spot the mayor of New York City, Michael Bloombergw, entering the Stadium on his way to his seats. 

Ah, yes, the seats. We sat in section 108, just to the first base side of the right field foul pole. The seats were in a great location and very comfortable. Because of the overhang of the seats above us our seats were dry, which was great because sitting through a game when its raining is not very much fun. We were both surprised with how small the playing area was designed to feel - much more intimate than the old Yankee Stadium. The rain delay lasted for only an hour and a great game quickly got under way.

Kate and I sat back in our seats with some lemonade and popcorn to watch Joba Chamberlain battle Ichiro, Ken Griffey Jr and the Seattle Mariners. It was a good game, with the Yankees getting out to an early lead and the Mariners clawing back to tie the score. The game ended well for us, with the Yankees rallying in the bottom of the eighth inning and breaking a tie score that allowed Mariano Rivera to come in and get his 501st career save and secure the Yankee victory.