American Baseball Journal: U.S. Cellular Field

Ray Whitehouse is traveling the country with his camera this summer to create a portrait of America through its national pastime. Whitehouse will visit all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums and capture moments that showcase passion for the game he fell in love with at a young age. This is part 4 of the journey.

All proceeds from Whitehouse’s pictures will be donated to the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) Scholarship Fund. Learn about the project, see more of Ray's photos and find out how you can donate.

May 25, 2014

Ray Whitehouse knew this was not going to be a normal day at U.S. Cellular Field.

The New York Yankees were in town, and with that came the Derek Jeter farewell tour. Jeter announced in February that he would retire at the end of the season, and barring a postseason matchup with the White Sox, this would be his final game in Chicago.

Those who wanted to see a final show from one of the greatest ballplayers of this generation were not disappointed. Jeter went 4-for-5 on the day with a triple, two RBIs and one run scored in a 7-1 Yankees victory.

“He played like he was 29, not 39,” Whitehouse said. “He looked like he could keep playing.”

Like so many young people who played baseball in the late 1990s and 2000s, Whitehouse grew up trying to be like Jeter. During practice, while fielding infield ground balls, Whitehouse and his teammates would deliberately backhand grounders and do the jump throw from shortstop to first that Jeter made look so easy. “I can’t believe we actually did that,” Whitehouse remembered with a laugh.

While they weren’t always able to mirror Jeter’s fielding, they strived to always emulate how he carried himself. Because at the end of the day, it wasn’t what he did on the field, but how he did it that will be Jeter’s lasting legacy.

“He played the game the right way,” Whitehouse said. “You could hate Derek Jeter because he played for the Yankees, but you always had to respect the guy because he never did anything disrespectful.”

White Sox fans showed their respect for “The Captain” throughout the game, including a standing ovation prior to his final at-bat of the game.

That same appreciation for history can be found throughout U.S. Cellular Field. Opened in 1991, the stadium mixes the old with the new, Whitehouse said. Details like the “exploding scoreboard” pay homage to Comiskey Park, the team’s previous ballpark, while the architecture resembles that of more modern stadiums.

Whitehouse’s favorite example are two seats found in the outfield bleachers. In 2007 the White Sox changed all the stadium’s seats from blue to green - with two exceptions. Two blue seats remain to honor the landing spot of Paul Konerko’s pivotal grand slam and Scott Podsednik’s walk-off home run in Game 2 of the World Series, which the White Sox went on to win.

“It’s really cool how they blended the new and the old and honored the team’s history,” Whitehouse said. “You can really see the evolution of the stadium.”

Favorite Photo:

“This was Jeter’s last moment on the field. He didn’t sign any autographs, but he tipped his cap to everyone to say thank you. It was a princely exit. I’ll never forget that moment. It was one of the greatest players of our era walking off and leaving Chicago for the last time.” - Ray Whitehouse

Final Score:
New York Yankees 7
Chicago White Sox 1

Marc Zarefsky currently works as a content strategist at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. He previously worked as communications and social media manager at Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism. Learn more about him on LinkedIn or on his personal website.