Jason Bay and Mitch Mansfield have different orbits in baseball's solar system, but they shared the same reaction when it was determined that the Pirates would be playing in Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park.

		WHERE ARE THEY NOW? The last time the Pirates played in Yankee Stadium was in the 1960 World Series. Ten members of that world championship team attended Saturday's game and were honored in pre-game ceremonies. Here's what they are doing now: Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski, who turns 69 in September, serves as special infield instructor for the Pirates in spring training and is retired in Panama City, Fla. Bill Virdon, who turned 74 on Friday, lives in Springfield, Mo., and serves as a special outfield instructor for the Pirates during spring training. Dick Groat, 74, has served as a color analyst for University of Pittsburgh basketball games for 26 years and recently worked as a broadcast analyst for the Big East baseball tournament. He also runs Champion Lakes Golf Club in Ligonier. Vernon Law, 75, lives in Provo, Utah, and is active with the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints. Bob Friend, 74, retired as an investment and insurance broker two years ago and lives in O'Hara Township. Elroy Face, 77, retired in 1990 as a carpenter and lives in North Versailles. Dick Schofield, 70, is retired and lives in Springfield, Ill. Bob Oldis, 77, still scouts the Midwest for the Florida Marlins, evaluates basketball officials for the Big 10 Conference and works the chains for University of Iowa football games. Joe Gibbon, 70, is retired and lives in Newton, Miss. Mickey Vernon, 87, is retired and lives in the Philadelphia area.

"I started looking forward to it as soon as the schedule came out. Wow," said Bay, the Pirates' left fielder.

His father is a big Red Sox fan, so Bay has made plans to bring family and friends along for the historic trip this week.

Mansfield, who has season tickets to Pirates games, has arranged a trip with his father, son and seven other fans to sandwich visits to New York and Boston in between stops at a field of dreams called Doubleday Farms near Harrisburg and the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

"As soon as we saw the Pirates were playing in those two places, I called my friends and said, 'Let's do this trip.' I just want to sit in the seats in both places and take it all in," said Mansfield, a Penn Hills resident who had T-shirts made proclaiming this the Ultimate Baseball Trip 2005.

"I mean, Yankee Stadium. There's so much history there I can't wait to take it all in. I've always wanted to see it for myself. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," he added.

From a provincial standpoint, it would have been ideal for the Yankees and defending world champion Red Sox to be playing at PNC Park during this interleague interlude.

At the same time, there's anticipation for players and fans alike as the Pirates visit the Bronx tomorrow for the first time since they took two out of three games at Yankee Stadium in the 1960 World Series. They follow with their inaugural trip to Fenway, which opened in 1912 the same week the HMS Titanic hit the iceberg.

Switch-hitting rookie catcher Ryan Doumit, so fresh to the big leagues that he has not been on a road trip yet, is supposed to be used as the designated hitter in two venues considered baseball cathedrals.

"Mind-blowing," said Doumit, who was born 21 years after Bill Mazeroski hit the only home run in World Series history to decide a seventh game.

"I don't know anything about the history between the Pirates and Yankees. But Yankee Stadium and then Fenway Park, those two stadiums are nothing but history," he added. "I get to stand in the same batter's box as Babe Ruth and Ted Williams. I can't wait."

Pitcher Rick White was with the Mets during the 2000 all-New York World Series. His advice to those who haven't been to Yankee Stadium is to get there early and get the tour out of the way.

"The first time I walked in there, there was an energy, an unbelievable energy," White said. "To be able to tell my kids and grandkids that I played in the same places as those great players, that's just cool."

Shortstop Jack Wilson, sounding every bit as gleeful as a tourist visiting one of New York City's fabled museums for the first time, plans to get to the ballpark a couple of hours earlier than usual tomorrow.

"That's the history of baseball right there. I want to see what the fuss is all about," Wilson said.

Indeed. The House That Ruth Built, the place that displays 26 world championship banners, was the first baseball palace big enough to be called a stadium. It features a nook called Monument Row celebrating such Yankee greats as Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra. Its seats are filled with some of the toughest critics in sports, the fans who created the Bronx cheer. There may even be a celebrity or two in attendance such as Billy Crystal, Robin Williams or Robert DeNiro.

"It can be an intimidating place," said Brian Meadows, who was with the Royals when they opened at Yankee Stadium in 2001. "You see the sign coming up on the train -- Yankee Stadium. You know you're in a historic place. It has an aura about it."

First baseman Daryle Ward's father played for the Yankees, so he has been inside the place before and has an idea of the reception the visiting Pirates can expect.

"I know what the fans are like. It feels like they're right on top of you. That's going to be a fun series," Ward said.

"The fans try to take you out of your game," said Jose Mesa, who pitched there when he was in the American League.

But whatever the venue, there's still the business of baseball to tend to.

Vernon Law knows a thing or two about pitching there. He won Game 4 in 1960, driving home a run and scoring a run while winning a 3-2 thriller. He made sure the experience wasn't overwhelming.

"I wasn't too impressed with that kind of stuff," said Law, now 75. "I've always said they put their pants on just like I do."

The way the season has gone, the Pirates could have a better record than the Yankees and their $200 million payroll with All-Stars up and down their roster.

In the Bronx, hovering at .500 can trigger a volcanic outburst at any time from George Steinbrenner. In Pittsburgh, getting to .500 was a front page story.

Like a performer who relishes the chance to play on Broadway or in Carnegie Hall, players actually get hyped about going to Yankee Stadium.

"It brings out the competitor in you," said Rob Mackowiak. "We're going in there with some pretty good feelings."

"I love to go there. There's so much history," said Matt Lawton, who played in the Bronx in his years in the American League. "You get a great feeling when you walk in. A different feeling. You know all about the world championships. You have to respect the way the Yankees go about their business. Those pinstripes. The way they wear their pants a different way. The way their facial hair has to be trimmed."

But does Lawton think the current Pirates, comprised of mostly younger talent, might get stage fright?

"To be honest with you, I don't think they know any better," he laughed. "I'm sure they've had these dates circled for a long time."

Third baseman Freddy Sanchez came up through the Red Sox organization. The first time he was in uniform for a major-league game was as a September call up in 2000, and it happened to be in the middle of that Red Sox-Yankees rivalry in New York.

"That was the loudest crowd I ever heard in my life," Sanchez said. "It's unreal. It's a whole different atmosphere. They know the game, just like the fans do in Boston. If the Red Sox are down, 11-0, there won't be an open seat at Fenway Park. If they're up, 15-0, there won't be an empty seat. They know the game."