Monument Park

From BR Bullpen

Monument Park is a celebration of great New York Yankee players, located in the left field of Yankee Stadium. Monument Park features three different sections. There is the wall of retired numbers, the wall of plaques and the monuments themselves.

[edit] The Monuments

There are currently six monuments in the park. The monuments are dedicated to Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Miller Huggins, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio and the victims of the September 11th attacks on New York. Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Miller Huggins' monuments were orginally located in play in centerfield.

[edit] The Retired Numbers

As you first enter the area there is a large blue wall with each retired number written on it. The numbers are written on the wall in the order they were retired. The Yankees have retired 16 numbers. Although Major League Baseball has universally retired Jackie Robinson's number 42, there is no designation for this in Monument Park, due to the fact Mariano Rivera stil wears the number through the grandfather clause. 1 - Billy Martin 3 - Babe Ruth 4 - Lou Gehrig 5 - Joe DiMaggio 7 - Mickey Mantle 8 - Yogi Berra 8 - Bill Dickey 9 - Roger Maris 10 - Phil Rizzuto 15 - Thurman Munson 16 - Whitey Ford 23 - Don Mattingly 32 - Elston Howard 37 - Casey Stengel 44 - Reggie Jackson 49 - Ron Guidry

[edit] The Plaques

The last section of Monument Park is the wall filled with plaques dedicated to Yankee greats. There are currently 22 plaques in Monument Park. The plaques are dedicated to players, managers, owners, announcers and even two Popes. The plaques have been given to the following people: Mel Allen, Ed Barrow, Yogi Berra, Bill Dickey, Whitey Ford, Lefty Gomez, Ron Guidry, Elston Howard, Reggie Jackson, Billy Martin, Roger Maris, Don Mattingly, Joe McCarthy, Thurman Munson, Allie Reynolds, Phil Rizzuto, Jacob Ruppert, Red Ruffing, Bob Sheppard, Casey Stengel, Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II.