Yankees legends were paraded to the crowd before the game

New York's iconic Yankee Stadium has staged its final game, after the Yankees beat Baltimore Orioles 7-3 on Sunday to end 85 years of history.

The result itself meant little as the Yankees have been all but eliminated from contention for the play-offs.

A new $1.3bn stadium, across the street from "The House That Ruth Built" will open its doors next spring.

Julia Ruth Stevens, daughter of legendary slugger Babe Ruth, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Yankees legends such as Reggie Jackson and Yogi Berra were paraded before the game, as were actors dressed as deceased legends Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio.

606: DEBATE Many great moments have occurred at Yankee Stadium - heavyweight boxing, soccer matches, papal masses as well as World Series and NFL title games AmericanSportFan

Meanwhile, veteran left-handed pitcher Andy Pettitte, in his second spell with the club, collected his 178th win as a Yankee after giving up just two earned runs off seven hits in five innings, while closer Mariano Rivera came in to seal the victory by pitching a scoreless ninth inning.

The final act saw Baltimore's Brian Roberts ground the ball to Yankees first baseman Cody Ransom, who then handed the ball to Rivera - who pledged to give it to owner George Steinbrenner.

Yankees shortstop and captain Derek Jeter, who recently passed Ruth in the club's all-time hits list, addressed the crowd after the game.

"We are relying on you to take the memories from this stadium and add them to the new memories that come with the new Yankee Stadium and continue to pass them on from generation to generation," he said.

"We are moving across the street but a few things about the Yankees never change."

Pettitte added: "It's very surreal. You can't believe this place isn't going to exist next year."

MLB PLAY-OFFS 2008 AL East: Tampa Bay or Boston AL Central: Chicago WS or Minnesota AL West: LA Angels AL wild card: Tampa Bay, Boston, Chicago WS or NY Yankees NL East: Philadelphia or NY Mets NL Central: Chicago Cubs NL West: LA Dodgers or Arizona NL wild card: Philadelphia, NY Mets, Milwaukee, Houston, Florida or St Louis (clubs guaranteed to reach the post-season in bold)

With a week left of the regular season, three of the eight play-off places have already been decided.

Los Angeles Angels at Anaheim and Chicago Cubs have already wrapped up the American League West and National League Central titles respectively.

Tampa Bay Rays are guaranteed to feature in the post-season, and either they or Boston Red Sox will win the AL East - with the other team likely to claim the AL wild card.

The AL Central title is between Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins, while the NL West is another straight fight between Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks.

The NL East race looks set to go to the wire between Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets, while the loser of that race is likely to contend with Milwaukee Brewers and possibly Houston Astros for the NL wild card.