The Yankees’ $1.5 billion stadium currently has a $2 outfield.
The Yankee Stadium outfield remains torn up from the Miguel Cotto-Yuri Foreman fight on June 5. Dead spots and dirt patches stretch from the Yankees bullpen in right-center field all the way to the area just behind shortstop.
“I’m surprised by how much space it took up,” Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson said of the footprint left by the fight.
“They told us it would be right field, but it goes pretty far.”
The dead spots and flattened grass have made balls play poorly.
One Yankee said it’s “like a sheet
of ice” out there.
Lonn Trost, the Yankees’ chief operating officer, did not return calls yesterday. Trost oversaw the construction of the Stadium and is in charge of events such as the fight.
It is unclear if the Yankees will do something to fix the outfield while the team is on the road next week. They also need to figure out a plan for Sept. 13, when Jay Z and Eminem are scheduled to hold a concert at the Stadium — just a few weeks before the playoffs in which the Bombers presumably will be playing.
“Do they really need to have things like fights and concerts during the season?” one Phillies player asked. “Don’t they have enough money?”