Yankees: Seeing my first game in-person was quite the experience

Unfortunately, I’d never before been to a Yankees game in my life — I only ever watched them on television. So as you can imagine, going to my first game in-person was an absolutely surreal experience.

Going to my first Yankees game with my friends on Friday, June 21 was a truly surreal experience.

Seeing the stadium right in front of me, walking up the stairs and watching the players on the field, I still cannot believe I was there. It’s embarrassing when you live in New York your whole life and never before have been to a game.

Comparing a game on television to in-person certainly differentiates from one another. Nothing beats the live experience. You’re in the crowd with the fans and feel part of the action.

I was recording All-Star catcher Gary Sanchez, who had one ball before hitting a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning. I didn’t think he would hit one so quickly, so I put my phone down. Talk about bad luck.

Gleyber Torres also hit a two-run home run. It’s wonderful to see these hits in person rather than on television. I was fascinated by the ‘fire’ sound effects when Aroldis Chapman came sprinting out of the bullpen to the mound. You don’t experience any of these cool things when you’re at home watching the game.

If you haven’t been to Yankee Stadium yet, it’s a lot of fun, especially having when you have your friends with you. There was an unfortunate situation with some Astros fans sitting behind us, who were chatting non-stop.

At one point, Chapman reached back across his body to try to field the ball that Jose Altuve bunted — and he ended up falling off to the third base side of the infield. Chapman was slow to get up.

The “fans” that were sitting behind us wished Chapman a torn UCL. My friend and I couldn’t believe what we were hearing — so he quickly reacted by turning around and saying, “Are you guys really wishing injury on a player?”

This clap-back made them go quiet. I just shook my head and said, “Wow.”

I’m also amused at how much things at Yankee Stadium cost, but it’s okay. I was there to enjoy my first game experience, and so we sat in Terrace A 320, Row 4. I’m sure as many of you who have been to games know we had access to Jim Beam Suite.

The free popcorn, snacks and fountain soda refills were nice. What made this a great day as well, was not only Aaron Judge returning from the IL, but the Yankees winning the game against the Astros 4-1.

Seeing Meredith Marakovits on the field from a distance was also a very cool experience. I already want to go to my next game with friends because this was an extraordinary experience