Yankee Stadium: Old or new, it's in a league of its own

TAMPA, Fla. — Paul Goldschmidt made his major-league debut in 2011, a disappointing three seasons too late, in his eyes, to have played at old Yankee Stadium.

“I wish I would have had a chance to play in the old one,” said Goldschmidt, 38.

Gerrit Cole, who grew up a Yankees fan in Newport Beach, California, made his debut in 2013, missing the old stadium by five years.

Though Cole did get to the old Stadium multiple times as a kid, he, like Goldschmidt, considers not playing there a fantasy unfulfilled.

“Wish I would have gotten to play there for sure,” said Cole, 35. “But I just wasn’t old enough.”

There, of course, were two iterations of old Yankee Stadium. The original lasted from 1923-73 before a transformative two-year renovation produced the ballpark Cole referenced, which was in use from 1976-2008.

Though the original ballpark was almost completely rebuilt, the refurbished Stadium was still in the very same footprint as what opened its doors in April 1923. It still was The House That Ruth Built, still the home of Monument Park, still the residence of all the ghosts, goblins and other assorted representatives of the supernatural world that the opposition felt showed up far too often in October. None so much as during the franchise’s most recent dynasty from 1996-2000, when it won four titles in five years, including three straight from 1998-2000.

The current iteration of Yankee Stadium, located a lot away from the footprint of the first two ballparks, opened in 2009.

It is not the old ballpark — either one of them — in many ways.

But in a sampling of the Yankees' clubhouse among players who came to Yankee Stadium as visiting players, each of them said playing at the new Yankee Stadium still is a series they, and their teammates, circled on the calendar.

“As a visiting player, it was always a big deal to come to Yankee Stadium,” said Max Fried, who played the first eight years of his career with Atlanta before signing a free-agent deal with the Yankees before the 2025 season. “I know it doesn’t have the same historical component as the old one, but there’s enough in the new stadium that pays its respects to the old stadium. You have Monument Park, the frieze and different things when you go that are attractions for a player.”

Carlos Rodon, who pitched from 2015-21 with the White Sox and in ’22 with the Giants before signing with the Yankees as a free agent, said that when he came in as a visiting player, new Yankee Stadium, to him and his teammates, “still has an aura.”

“It’s Yankee Stadium,” Rodon said simply.

It is not an unusual sight, on the first day of a given series, to see multiple members of the opposing team venture into the third-base dugout, camera phone in hand, four or five hours before first pitch.

“There’s a ton of guys [who do that],” Rodon said. “I guarantee there’s at least one guy a homestand from the opposing team or staff that’s going to walk out and video the field.”

Cody Bellinger, who said he has only “bits and pieces” of remembrance from when his dad, Clay, played for the Yankees from 1999-2001, said the dates of a trip to New York are highlighted on many players’ calendars.

“I do think you know when you’re coming to New York to play the Yankees,” said Bellinger, a Dodger from 2017-22 and a Cub from 2023-24 before getting traded to the Yankees before the ’25 season. “I think you get a little extra type of rush. It’s not like when you’re going to some other place, you know what I mean? I definitely think it still has that vibe to it.”

Fried said Monument Park, a draw for rival players in the old stadium, remains that way for the current generation of players.

“The same way, the first time you go to Fenway, you want to go in the Monster,” Fried said. “When you go to Yankee Stadium, the first thing most guys will do [is say], ‘I want to go out and see Monument Park.’

"New York’s just different. I never went to the old Yankee Stadium, it might not have the same feeling, which I can’t comment on, but I know that as a visiting player, especially in the National League, when you went to Yankee Stadium, it was a big deal.”

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.