Kathy Willens / AP

Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia wipes his brow during the fifth inning against the Indians.

After Grammy winner Kelly Clarkson sang the national anthem and New York Hall of Famer Yogi Berra threw out the ceremonial first pitch, the Bleacher Creatures chanted their Roll Call, as they did at the old stadium for many years.

Dozens of blue-vested waiters and waitresses from three exclusive restaurants and lounges filled the aisles to attend to the first nine rows wrapping the infield, where the seats start at $500 and a season ticket costs up to $202,500. That’s a far cry from the opener of the original Yankee Stadium, where grandstand seats cost $1.10.

Berra joked that the clubhouse complex, which includes a two-lane batting cage, video room, weight room and two swimming pools, is too big.

“To me, if you want to talk to a guy, you got to walk for a half-mile,” he said.

Since exhibition games against the Chicago Cubs on April 3-4, numbers of retired players were posted on a wall behind the left-field bleachers, years of the 26 World Series titles were put on a wall behind the right-field bleachers and colorful flags for each major league team were hoisted on poles above the frieze, a replica of the one removed from the original stadium during the 1974-75 renovation.

Balls from Sabathia’s first pitch and the first hit, by Damon, were removed from the game. The Hall of Fame took Sizemore’s grand slam bat, Sabathia’s spikes and a game ball signed by Lee.

Before Derek Jeter led off the bottom of the first, the bat Ruth used to hit a three-run homer in the 1923 opener was laid across home plate. Jeter picked it up and playfully tried to give his own wood to the bat boy instead of Ruth’s before surrendering the historic model, which was loaned by a collector.

Jeter, who made the last Yankees out in the old ballpark, flied out as New York’s first batter in the new stadium. He didn’t really consider using Ruth’s model, which probably weighed 40 ounces or more, but joked he might have had knuckleballer Tim Wakefield been pitching.

Jeter knew the game was a terrible precedent for baseball’s proudest team.

“Home-field advantage is all about the atmosphere. It’s all about the fans,” Jeter said. “Our fans were great today, as well. We just didn’t give them much to cheer about.”

Notes: Sabathia threw the most pitches in a game by a Yankee since Randy Johnson’s 129 on July 19, 2006. ... Sizemore hit his third career slam.

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