Friday marked the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City. And the two Major League Baseball teams who played a role in the city’s emotional recovery met at Yankee Stadium to commemorate the occasion, allowing fans to remember and pay tribute to all those affected by what happened 25 years ago.
Both the New York Yankees and New York Mets wore first responder caps paying tribute to the FDNY and NYPD.
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Earlier in the day, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was joined by Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole to lay a wreath beside a plaque in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park paying tribute to the victims and heroes of 9/11.
Members of the 2001 team that advanced to the World Series took the field, beginning with manager Joe Torre. He was followed by key team leaders Jorge Posada and Paul O’Neill. Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius, who hit home runs in that World Series then joined their teammates. Finally, Hall of Famers Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera came out to the pitching mound with the other five.
Prior to the Yankees legends emerging from the dugout, the pregame ceremonies called back to Lee Greenwood singing “God Bless the U.S.A.” before Game 4 of that World Series with the country music singer performing the song 25 years later.
Demonstrating how much time has passed since the 9/11 attacks and the bonds that were created among so many that lost loved ones on that day, Brielle Saracini was introduced. Her father, Victor, was a pilot of one of the planes that struck the World Trade Center.
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Saracini later wrote a letter to Jeter, who invited the family to attend a Yankees game and meet the team.
Joining Saracini on the field to throw the ceremonial first pitch before Friday’s game was her husband Sean McGuire. McGuire also lost his father, who was working on the 84th floor of the South Tower. The two met at Camp Better Days, a camp to support children who lost parents on 9/11. Saracini and McGuire were married in 2017.
With the seven Yankees luminaries standing behind the pitching mound, the two threw the ceremonial first pitch with current players Cody Bellinger (whose father, Clay, was on the 2001 Yankees team) and Paul Goldschmidt receiving the tosses.
The pregame festivities ended with opera tenor James Valenti performing the National Anthem as a giant American flag was unfurled in center field held by several longtime Yankees season ticket holders.
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Additionally, the Port Authority honor guard, NYPD ceremonial unit and FDNY ceremonial unit stood at the edge of the infield and presented colors. FDNY Lieutenant William Arce was set to sing “God Bless America” in the middle of the seventh inning.
Before the pregame festivities started, Saracini and Jeter sat together at a podium to speak with reporters and share their memories.
“Thinking back to that day, I remember… you came up, sat next to me and immediately started teasing me about my hat,” Saracini said. “He’s like, ‘We can’t get her a new hat; this one’s too iconic.'”
“I remember just talking about anything and everything, anything that came through my mind that day,” she added. “And you just made it so comfortable. I remember just feeling normal for a day, which was hard to do.”
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