A fond farewell

The season will likely end without much fanfare, but for one night all eyes were fixated on the Bronx Bombers.

Fittingly, 85 years after Babe Ruth opened Yankee Stadium with a victory, Marino Rivera recorded the final out. What was likely the last home run was the game winning run, a hit by No. 26 Jose Molina matching the number of championship banners brought back to the Bronx.

As the lights were turned off at the old Yankee Stadium, baseball history has once again been darkened in New York. In putting their stamp on the Yankees, the Steinbrenners traded away the richest history in professional sports for cup holders and luxury boxes.

When the new stadium opens next year it will retain the Yankee name and shape, but it be a clean slate. Gone is the storied building where Lou gave the Gettysburg Address of baseball, where Joltin' Joe and the Mick patrolled a vast center field, where Maris' 61st home run was belted and the spot where Don Larsen, David Cone and David Wells were all perfect.

When Yankee Stadium is turned into another Bronx public park, MLB will be left with just two meccas -- Wrigley and Fenway. Baseball's new wave in stadium building is refreshing, gone are the old concrete mausoleums. From coast-to-coast new baseball parks like PNC, Petco and Comerica are characters in themselves. Unfortunately, new parks have no ghosts (or demons like the Black cat).

It will soon be up to aging stars such as Jeter, Rodriguez, Rivera and Posada to write the first new memorable moments. But today, it's time to wish a fond farewell to Yankee Stadium.

For pictures of the last game at Yankee Stadium click here.