Toronto Blue Jays @ New York Yankees

The one and only game in New York, and the final game of all for me this season, was to see the series opener between the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees, who had clinched the AL East division title the previous night against the Angels.

After leaving Virgil's BBQ, I went straight up to the stadium, using the 4 express train.  I was surprised at how empty the trains were, because usually they are packed.  Perhaps it was because there was still 50 minutes before the game was due to start, so I beat the rush.

That also meant that I entered the stadium much sooner than usual, too.  So I got to hear both National Anthems play - because, of course, games involving the Blue Jays have the Canadian anthem played as all as the United States anthem.

I had a cheaper seat than usual, emphasis on the relativeness of the cheapness, given it still cost $135.  However, the view was good from here.

Crew Chief 'Country' Joe West was umpiring the game tonight.  His crew had just done the three games in Boston, and Joe had the plate for the 15 inning game on Tuesday that had over 600 pitches in it!  He's published a Country & Western album, hence the nickname.  He's the longest tenured umpire in the majors, having done it for decades, and all being well, during the 2020 season, he will become the record holder for most major league baseball games umpired.


I saw Aaron Judge hit a home run for New York, that sent the crowd into a frenzy early on, but it was a nip and tuck game, and Toronto edged ahead and held on for a win that disappointed most of the crowd, despite a double by Judge that he'd just hit in this photo.

However, it was a close game and most exciting, which is all you can ask for as a neutral really.

Of course, I saw the Yankees play in London back in June, so it wasn't the first time that I'd seen them this year, but it was good to see Judge play at home and all the other well-known New York players.

I've not seen Toronto for a few years, though - I don't recognise most of their players, but some of them have familiar names, as several have fathers with distinguished careers too: Cavan Biggio (father is Craig Biggio, Hall of Fame 2B for the Houston Astros); Vladimir Guerrero Jr (father Vladimir Guerrero mostly of the Angels - the man who thought he could hit any pitch, even those above his head, and did so!); Lourdes Gurriel Jr (father, Lourdes Gurriel who played in Cuba)