Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Video: Area Man Overjoyed To Be Only Person At Rain Delayed Yankees Game
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 29, 2016
Modified Jun 29, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 29, 2016
Modified Jun 29, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The Yankees haven't had much luck this season, as exemplified this week when Monday night's home game against the Texas Rangers was delayed in the 9th inning for three hours and a half. The Yankees were leading 6-5 before the delay, but by the time the game started again at 2:15 a.m., they ended up blowing the lead and the game, ultimately losing 9-6.
But at least one area fan won the biggest prize of all: getting to watch a baseball game with almost no one around. "Not surprisingly, when play resumed well after 2 a.m., there weren't many fans left," Zack Hample wrote about the game. "This is just a quick video to show how empty it was."
"It's hard for me to understand what happened tonight, how it got to this point," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said after the grueling game, completely ignoring how much fun at least one fan was having in the stands. "But it did, and we lost," Girardi added, not recognizing Hample's victory over the elements. In the Game of Seats, you either wait out a rain delay while all the other fans clear out of the stadium because they have day jobs they have to wake up for in the morning (and sticking around to watch the last inning of a game in June just isn't a priority), OR you go home and get a good night's rest—either way, everyone wins really.
Hample wants to make sure everyone knows he didn't intend to shove his happiness in the face of depressed Yankees fans: "Also, yes, I'm aware that this was a very tough loss for the Yankees," he wrote, likely in a rare lucid moment not spent conjuring up the sublime peacefulness of that empty stadium. "They were winning by one run before the delay, but then it all fell apart when the Rangers put up a four-spot in the top of the 9th. As I've said many times, I'm just a baseball fan—not a fan of any particular team—so that's why I was still able to appreciate the moment and enjoy myself. No disrespect intended to the Yankees or their fans!"
Tagged
baseball
mlb
sports
yankee stadium
Yankees
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
"Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger," says the co-owner of Art of Play.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 13, 2026
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
Thanks to Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, Timothée Chalamet and more, the rideshare program is having a moment.
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Arts & Entertainment
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
Thanks to Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, Timothée Chalamet and more, the rideshare program is having a moment.
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?
By
James Ramsay
What happens when NYC kids take lessons in rock music? Really good bands.
By
Jayson Greene
Inside a photographer's journey to visit every neighborhood in New York City
By
Sonia Rao
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .