Yankee Stadium (1923)

====Final game, 2008====
[[File:Final Yankees Game.jpg|thumb|right|Yankee Stadium after the last game was played on September 21, 2008.]]
Yankee Stadium hosted its final baseball game on September 21, 2008. The ceremonies for the final game at Yankee Stadium began with the opening of Monument Park, as well as allowing Yankee fans to walk on the warning track around the field. Many former Yankee greats, including [[Yogi Berra]], [[Whitey Ford]], [[Reggie Jackson]], [[Bernie Williams]], [[Paul O'Neill (baseball)|Paul O'Neill]], [[Willie Randolph]], [[Roy White]] and [[Chris Chambliss]] took their positions in the playing field as their names were announced by the legendary Bob Sheppard. [[Julia Ruth Stevens]], daughter of Babe Ruth, threw out the ceremonial first pitch in the final game in "The House That Ruth Built".

With [[Andy Pettitte]] as the starting pitcher, the Yankees played their final game at Yankee Stadium against the [[2008 Baltimore Orioles season|Baltimore Orioles]], recording the final out at 11:43&nbsp;pm EDT in a 7–3 Yankee victory. Among many lasts to be recorded, a long-time standing question was answered. It was first wondered by Babe Ruth after he hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium on its opening day of April 18, 1923:
{{blockquote|I was glad to have hit the first home run in this park. God only knows who will hit the last.}}

That player turned out to be Yankees backup catcher [[José Molina (baseball)|José Molina]], as he hit a go-ahead and eventual game-winning two-run home run in the fourth inning.<ref name="baseball-reference">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/m/molinjo01.shtml |title=Jose Molina Statistics and History &#124; Baseball-Reference.com |publisher=baseball-reference.com|access-date=September 17, 2015}}</ref>

Other lasts were [[Jason Giambi]] recording the last hit in Yankee Stadium, driving in [[Brett Gardner]], who scored the last run in Yankee Stadium. Mariano Rivera made the final pitch in the stadium with [[Cody Ransom]] recording the final out at first base. In the eighth inning, Derek Jeter became the final Yankee to bat in Yankee Stadium.

After the game was over, captain Derek Jeter delivered a speech on the field surrounded by his teammates. In the unplanned speech, Jeter thanked and saluted the fans:
{{blockquote|For all of us up here, it's a huge honor to put this uniform on every day and come out here and play. And every member of this organization, past and present, has been calling this place home for eighty-five years. There's a lot of tradition, a lot of history, and a lot of memories.

Now the great thing about memories is you're able to pass it along from generation to generation. And although things are going to change next year, we're going to move across the street, there are a few things with the New York Yankees that never change— its pride, its tradition, and most of all, we have the [[Yankee Universe|greatest fans]] in the world.

And we are relying on you to take the memories from this stadium, add them to the new memories that come at the new Yankee Stadium, and continue to pass them on from generation to generation. So on behalf of the entire organization, we just want to take this moment to salute you, the greatest fans in the world.}}

Afterwards, the team circled the stadium on the warning track waving to fans and wishing the stadium goodbye.

;Line score<ref>{{cite web|title=Baltimore vs. NY Yankees–September 21, 2008 |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/y2009/index.jsp?gid=2008_09_21_balmlb_nyamlb_1&mode=gameday|access-date=December 12, 2010|publisher=MLB.com: Gameday}}</ref>
{{Linescore|
|Road=Baltimore|RoadAbr=BAL
|R1=0|R2=1|R3=1|R4=1|R5=0|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=0|RR=3|RH=7|RE=1
|Home='''New York'''|HomeAbr=NYY
|H1=0|H2=0|H3=3|H4=2|H5=0|H6=0|H7=2|H8=0|H9=X|HR=7|HH=9|HE=1
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Andy Pettitte]] (14–14)|LP=[[Chris Waters (baseball)|Chris Waters]] (3–4)
|RoadHR=|HomeHR=[[Johnny Damon]] (16), [[José Molina (baseball)|Jose Molina]] (3)
|}}