Times They Are A’ Changin’

Last night Derek Jeter took over the No. 2 position on the
Yankees list of most hits. He passed Babe Ruth’s record, and now is 201 hits
behind Gehrig, who had 2,721 career hits with the Yankees. For some reason it
always makes me feel a bit melancholy when someone breaks a record from one of
the baseball greats, but I suppose that things always continue on, and records
are made to be broken.

 

Despite Jeter’s hit to surpass Ruth last night, and an
excellent performance by rookie Alfredo Aceves, the Yankees are still 9.5 games
back from the wildcard spot. One can certainly hold out hope that their last
season in this stadium will prove a successful one. Perhaps it is fitting
though, that one of this country’s most famous stadiums, “The House that Ruth
Built,” will fade out just as one of his records did last night. A new era has
come, and times are changing.

 

There will be plenty of fanfare around the end of this era,
and rightfully so. Baseball, more than any sport, has been around to watch all
of the ups and downs of the last century, and will continue to be there long
into the next. Despite wavering support and criticism, there has been a
continual bond between baseball and the American people. In many senses it has
been a marriage of sorts. This is why it is fitting that Michael C. Fina and
Hearts on Fire are sponsoring an engagement event for one lucky Yankees fan.
You can have the chance to propose to the woman you love in Yankees stadium
before a packed house: a prize in and of itself. But, even better is that you
will get to do it with a ring from Hearts on Fire, which is valued around
$40,000.

 

Regardless of how the season ends, Yankee Stadium will go
out instilling the promise of hope in new beginnings. And it is my firm belief
that that promise will hold true not only for next baseball season, but for
many to come.