The Yankees began a massive selloff of the House That Ruth Built Tuesday, hawking crystal-encased dirt, freeze-dried sod and used stadium seats for almost $1,500 a pair.

"These are treasures which can be passed on from generation to generation," said Lonn Trost, the team's chief operating officer.

"Today is about saving the memories."

Collectors can buy 1 square inch of grass from the field for $120 or much larger chunks for up to $10,000.

A pair of seats runs $1,499. Season ticket holders can buy their own seat for $1,999, and bleacher seats range from $399 to $749.

Thousands of other items will be made available for purchase at steinersports.com in the coming months, the team said.

The Yankees and Steiner Sports Memorabilia paid the city $11.5 million for the rights to chop up and sell the stadium.

That led critics of the club's relationship with the city to cry foul.

"The value of the relics of Yankee Stadium is clearly much more than $11.5 million," said Westchester Assemblyman Richard Brodsky.

"With these guys, it's always the Yankees win and the taxpayers lose."

Brodsky told the Daily News the original plan to sell pieces of the stadium gave the city a cut of the proceeds in addition to a lump sum, but the provision was abandoned.

Steiner and the Yankees would not say how much they expect to earn - but sports auction expert Pete Siegel said $20 million is a conservative estimate.

"According to my calculations, they Yankees need to sell 7,700 pairs of seats at $1,500 to break even," said Siegel, co-founder of Gotta Have It! Collectibles in Manhattan.

"The rest is gravy, and there's an awful lot of stuff to sell."

Brodsky estimated the value of the stadium relics at more than $100 million. Trost accused the assemblyman of "grandstanding."

Steinersports.com owner Brandon Steiner (l.)
and Yankees COO Lonn Trost showcase a
pair of Stadium seats