Emotional first pitches mark 9/11 ceremony at Yankee Stadium
Beforehand, the big ballpark in the Bronx was filled with neither Yankees nor Mets fans.
Just New Yorkers honoring and reflecting, each in their own way, the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
"Feels like an honor to go out there tonight," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "Understand there will be a lot of different emotions in the building tonight, with a lot of people with a lot of different context in and around that time and that day. We don’t take lightly walking out on that field tonight."
The pregame ceremony, which began some 40 minutes before the schedule 7:08 p.m. first-pitch time, began with recognition of the New York City Police Department, Fire Department of the City of New York, Port Authority Police Department, Tunnel to Towers Foundation and Tuesday’s Promise (previously known as Tuesday’s Children).
A selection of alumni of the 2001 Yankees, including Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Paul O’Neill, Jorge Posada Tino Martinez, Scott Brosius and manager Joe Torre, were introduced to the crowd and gathered behind the pitcher’s mound.
Torre was first, followed by Posada, O'Neill, Martinez, Brosius, Rivera and then ... introduced as Mr. November ... came the captain, Jeter. To the loudest cheers, of course.
Earlier in the day, Boone and current players, Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole, placed a wreath beside the 9/11 monument in Monument Park, located behind the wall in centerfield.
Grammy-winning country music recording artist Lee Greenwood performed his iconic hit "God Bless the USA" and accomplished opera tenor James Valenti, with both teams standing at attention in full uniform in front of their respective dugouts, further stirred the crowd with his rendition of the National Anthem.
None of which was the most emotional part of the pregame ceremony.
That came when Brielle Saracini and her husband, Sean McGuire, threw out the ceremonial first pitches (The former to Cody Bellinger and the latter to Paul Goldschmidt).
Saracini’s father, Victor, was the captain of United Flight 175, which terrorists flew into the south tower of the World Trade Center. That was where, on the 84th floor, McGuire’s father, Patrick, was killed.
The pair, both 10 years old when their fathers died, met two years later at Camp Better Days, established to support children who lost a parent in the Sept. 11 attacks. The pair were married on Sept. 9, 2017.
Saracini also before the game was reunited with Jeter. Three days after her father’s death, she wrote a letter to Jeter describing what her family had experienced, part of the letter explaining it would be the fulfillment of a life-long dream to meet Jeter. The letter reached Jeter, who invited her family to a game at old Yankee Stadium, that occurring 15 days later.
With David Lennon
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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