All-Stars | Yankees' ballyard biggest of stars

NEW YORK — There will be plenty of stars in the Bronx Tuesday night, plenty of baseball's biggest players from both past and present. But none will be bigger than the stage on which they stand.

Yankee Stadium will be the biggest star of all.

In its final season before the New York Yankees move across the street to a new ballpark, the All-Star Game will be the nation's farewell to a place that is a mecca of the sport.

"I think fans always want to see the players and the game," Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter said. "But this is one of those things where people will want to say, 'I was there.' "

As the scoreboard in center field points out, only 32 regular-season games remain at the 85-year-old monument to baseball history. There have been 106 World Series games played at the big ballyard in the Bronx — more than one-third of the American League's home total of 300.

"I've had a lot of great memories here and a lot of sad memories," said Hall of Famer George Brett, who hit three homers during a 1980 playoff game at Yankee Stadium but is best remembered for the 1983 Pine Tar Game, when his go-ahead, ninth-inning homer was disallowed by umpires.

Although 13 of the Yankees' last 14 regular-season games are sold out and the team is headed to its fourth straight season of 4 million-plus attendance, the stadium was at-best half-filled for the All-Star Futures Game on Sunday. Season ticket-holders had to buy seats for that game as part of strips that included today's home run derby and the All-Star Game.

Tuesday's game is the highest-priced in baseball history, with lower-deck seats costing $525 to $725 and bleacher tickets $150. In New York's Wall Street-driven economy, the home run derby sold for $100-$650 and the Futures Game $50-$225.

And that's the list price.

On Stubhub.com, tickets for Tuesday's game were on sale for up to $6,390 each. That's cheap next to the regular-season finale against Baltimore on Sept. 21. The asking price on Stubhub is as much as $65,000 per seat.

"It is a museum. It's a baseball museum," said NL manager Clint Hurdle, listing Yankee Stadium alongside Boston's Fenway Park and Chicago's Wrigley Field.

"They're dripping with the historic ambience of the game — the individuals that have played the game, the world [championships] that have been won there, the monuments in the outfield. I mean, the pope. Correct me if I'm wrong, didn't he speak at Yankee Stadium?"

Hall of Fame slugger Harmon Killebrew loved playing in New York, and said walking onto "The House That Ruth Built" was a thrill. But he said the stadium he played in and the one that stands today are different ballparks.

"This is not like old Yankee Stadium when I played there," he said. "When they remodeled it, it was never the same. The old stadium had a nostalgic feeling to it.

"But I think it was time to build a new ballpark. I hear it's going to be one of the greatest parks around," Killebrew said of the new stadium, rising across the street at a cost of at least $1.3 billion.

The new Yankee Stadium, which will be 63 percent larger. It will feature a Hard Rock Cafe, a Martini Bar and regular-season seats that cost up to $2,500 a game.

Red Sox prospect helps World win Futures game

NEW YORK — Che-Hsuan Lin, a 19-year-old Red Sox prospect, hit a two-run homer and nine World team pitchers combined on a three-hitter for a 3-0 Futures Game victory over the United States.

"It's one of the best memories of my life and my whole career," the Taiwanese outfielder said through a translator.

The crowd wasn't impressed, chanting "Let's Go Yankees" and booing Lin — as it would anyone in a Red Sox cap — while he was interviewed on television near the mound after the final out.

Lin earned an MVP award won previously by Alfonso Soriano, Jose Reyes and Grady Sizemore.

The World pitching staff was impressive. Oakland right-hander Henry Rodriguez struck out three in the eighth inning, slipping on the mound while buzzing a 100 mph fastball across the plate.

More than 40 Futures Game alumni have become big league All-Stars. Last year's contest included 2008 All-Stars Evan Longoria and Geovany Soto.

Notes

• A moment of silence was held before the Futures Game in honor of Bobby Murcer, the former Yankees All-Star outfielder and longtime broadcaster, who died Saturday at age 62 from a malignant brain tumor.

• The Cubs tied the NL record for most players on an All-Star team when reliever Carlos Marmol was selected to replace injured teammate Kerry Wood. Marmol, the eighth Cub chosen, was picked because he was the relief pitcher with the highest vote on the player ballot.

• Minnesota's Justin Morneau was selected for Home Run Derby, completing the eight-man field. He joins Tampa Bay rookie Evan Longoria, Texas' Josh Hamilton and Cleveland's Grady Sizemore from the American League. The NL lineup has Houston's Lance Berkman, Milwaukee's Ryan Braun, Florida's Dan Uggla and Philadelphia's Chase Utley.

• Cleveland left-hander Cliff Lee (12-2, 2.31 ERA) is expected to be the AL starting pitcher Tuesday. Among those who could start for the NL are Cincinnati's Edinson Volquez, the Chicago Cubs' Carlos Zambrano, Arizona's Dan Haren and Milwaukee's Ben Sheets. Several top NL starters pitched Sunday, including Arizona's Brandon Webb, San Francisco's Tim Lincecum and Chicago's Ryan Dempster.

Compiled from Newsday, The Associated Press and The Journal News (Westchester, N.Y.)