Now That’s A Stadium

A game at Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George on Staten Island reminds you how baseball can be experienced. Not so much for the level of play — the oldest players for the short-season Single A team were born in 1984, and the youngest ones were born in (ugh) 1990 — but rather for the experience of visiting a basic stadium that has a complete view of the field (try that at Citi Field) and which isn’t completely overpriced. The added-value charm of the ballpark in St. George is the panoramic view of New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty, the passing freighter ships and Midtown Manhattan. Neither of the two major league parks take advantage of their views in this way (owing in large part, I imagine, to the tradition of aligning the third base foul line along the north-south axis, but still . . .).

On a nice evening dusk emerges in the midst of this panoramic view, and you watch the colors slowly shift. It’s mesmerizing:

The passing ships are equally mesmerizing:

The prices are great — $5.25 for a draft beer, cheaper than many bars in the city, and tickets starting at $12. And the team, like many minor league organizations, makes a real effort to engage the fans. In all, Staten Island Yankees games continue to be one of the finest baseball experiences in the city or elsewhere. Thank god there is still a place in this great city that features the Cotton Eye Joe Dance: