Posted: 7/15/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Bebeto Matthews, The Associated Press A downtown bound No. 4 train passes by Yankee Stadium on game day as it leaves the 161st Street subway station in the Bronx borough of New York on June 5. In its final season as home of the Yankees, the ballpark is playing host to this week's All-Star game festivities.

NEW YORK - Baseball is saying goodbye to Yankee Stadium during the All-Star break, a time when the sport's best gather and fans focus on one ballpark. New York general manager Brian Cashman hopes it isn't a final farewell.

"Certainly we're hopeful that we can get our act together," he said, "and extend it into October."

As the scoreboard in center field points out, just 32 regular-season games remain at Yankee Stadium, 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, then reinstated by the AL president.

While 13 of the Yankees' last 14 regular-season games are sold out and the team is headed to its fourth straight 4 million-plus season at the box office, the stadium was at best half-filled for Sunday's All-Star Futures game, which had an announced attendance of 48,383. Season ticket-holders had to buy seats for Sunday as part of strips that included Monday's home run derby and Tuesday night's All-Star game, the commissioner's office said.

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

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