Ballpark Mysteries Super Special #3
Page 5
Subway Series. A Subway Series is a series of baseball games between two New York City teams, since fans can reach the stadiums via subway trains. The first Subway Series were played as World Series games. For example, the Yankees played the New York Giants in 1921, and the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1941. More recently, the Mets and the Yankees have been playing Subway Series games during the regular season. They typically play groups of two or three games at each team’s stadium. The Mets and the Yankees competed in a World Series Subway Series in 2000, and the Yankees won in five games.
Yankee Stadium. Yankee Stadium is in the area of New York City called the Bronx. It opened in 2009 and replaced the original Yankee Stadium, which opened in 1923, when Babe Ruth was on the team. Many years ago, Monument Park was actually located in the outfield, in play! Players had to avoid the monuments while fielding baseballs. The Yankees moved it behind the outfield fence in the 1970s. When they moved it to the new Yankee Stadium, they put it behind the center-field wall.
Mets’ stadium. The Mets’ stadium, known as Citi Field, is in the area of New York City called Queens. It opened in 2009 and replaced Shea Stadium, which opened in 1964. For their first two seasons, the Mets played at the Polo Grounds, a stadium used mainly for baseball and football. The Mets’ stadium is in Flushing Meadows, a large park that was the site of the World’s Fair in 1939 and again in 1964. The Unisphere, a giant globe built for the fair, is still a tourist attraction.
Mets’ stadium features. The Mets’ stadium has some interesting features. There’s a Mets Hall of Fame near the entrance, which has information on famous players, important games, and Mets history. It even has the original Mr. Met mascot costume! The main entrance to the stadium is the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, a large circular area dedicated to Jackie Robinson’s life and accomplishments. And there really is a Home Run Apple. The apple is sixteen feet tall and eighteen feet wide!
Number 4 and 7 trains. Yankees fans can take the number 4 train or the B or D train. The number 4 subway train runs through Grand Central Terminal to Yankee Stadium, at the 161st Street/Yankee Stadium stop. Mets fans take the number 7 train, which travels through Grand Central Terminal to the Mets’ stadium, at the Mets/Willets Point stop.
Whispering Gallery. There really are whispering arches in Grand Central Terminal, as well as in many other buildings. Whispering galleries, arches, or walls can be found around the world, from St. Paul’s Cathedral in London to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., to Union Station in St. Louis. Typically, the stone or tiles on the arch plus the shape of the arch or dome itself cause sounds to be carried by waves, known as whispering-gallery waves, from one side of the arch to the other.
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