Whenever the Yankees and Mets lock horns, there’s a little extra juice in the building. A Friday night showdown in the Bronx to kick off a three-game set late in the regular season, even more so. But as fans streamed toward Yankee Stadium for the start of the Yanks’ third-to-last home series of 2026, they could tell by looking at the flags atop the roof -- stars and stripes at half-staff instead of the usual cities ordered by division standings -- that this game wasn’t just about a pennant chase or local bragging rights.
“Today was a day where it felt bigger than the game and bigger than yourself,” Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger said.
It was the 25th anniversary of 9/11, when coordinated attacks claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 innocent Americans on that Tuesday morning in 2001. The extreme act of hatred by the terrorists failed to break the spirit of this great nation, instead uniting the country in astonishing ways. “The very worst of humanity brought out the very best of humanity,” said FDNY assistant chief Michael V. Meyers. There were tears and heartbreak and confusion about how best to move forward, but there was also compassion, harmony and a vow that those 2,977 lives would not be lost in vain.
“Never forget” wasn’t some short-lived catchphrase. It was -- and is -- a promise. And like so many people and organizations across New York and around the country, the Yankees have done their best to keep that promise, in ways large and small, seen and unseen. Hosting their crosstown rivals 25 years later, some of those efforts came to light.
In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, 10-year-old Brielle Saracini just needed to smile again. Her world had been turned upside down by the terrorists who hijacked the airliner that her father, Capt. Victor J. Saracini, had been piloting from Boston to Los Angeles and flew it into the south tower of the World Trade Center. When she thought about the normalcy that had vanished from her life when United Flight 175 crashed into the tower, her mind went to the steady presence of baseball, so she wrote a letter to her favorite player, Derek Jeter.
At the time, sports had been put on pause, and no one knew if or when the baseball season would resume. “As an athlete, it was the first time that I said to myself, ‘Why am I even playing?’” Jeter said. “My initial thought was, ‘We’re not going to come back and play. What does baseball mean?”
A whole lot, Jeter would come to see. He invited Brielle and her family to Yankee Stadium, hoping to take the young girl’s mind off everything that was going on and make her feel like a kid again, if only for a short while. In talking to her that day, and also to other fans around a city working to get back on its feet, Jeter started to realize that baseball did, in fact, have an important role to play. The Yankees, who were pursuing a fourth straight World Series, had brought so much joy and provided so many happy memories. People needed that back in their lives. They needed to turn away from the images of the smoldering pile of rubble at Ground Zero and the missing persons flyers and watch nine innings of baseball. More than just a distraction, it was a way of moving forward, however difficult.
Jeter’s time hosting Brielle, introducing her to his teammates, making her laugh, didn’t just help him arrive at that realization. It began a lasting friendship. Over the next 25 years, he would check in on Brielle periodically. He would see her at Yankee Stadium and welcome her with a big hug. When she was in the hospital battling cancer, she lost count of how many times she listened to the uplifting voice message that Jeter had sent her.
This Sept. 11, Brielle wasn’t sure how she wanted to commemorate the anniversary of her father’s death. It’s always a hard day. Maybe just a quiet dinner with her husband, Sean McGuire, whose father, Patrick, was working on the 84th floor of the south tower and whom Brielle met at a camp for children of 9/11 victims when they were 12.
Then, the Yankees called with an invitation to throw out the ceremonial first pitches. With seven members of the 2001 Yankees standing on the infield, Brielle, in her pinstriped jersey, and Sean, wearing a No. 31 Mike Piazza Mets jersey, listened as Yankee Stadium public-address announcer Paul Olden told their story, then exited the home dugout to a thunderous ovation. Jeter hugged his longtime friend and needled her about Sean’s choice of jersey. With Jeter’s words to President George W. Bush before Game 3 of the 2001 World Series -- “Don’t bounce it, they’ll boo you” -- echoing in her mind, Brielle delivered a first pitch to Bellinger that was a tad lower than the former president’s perfect strike but nearly as poignant.
Just as when she was 10, the Yankees helped turn a difficult time into a cherished memory.
“It’s more than just, they did something nice a couple days after [9/11] because they got a letter,” the 35-year-old Saracini said. “It’s a lifelong thing to, now still 25 years later, the kindness does not stop, and I’ve been taken aback by it consistently through the last 25 years.
“It feels like I’m in the right place today. I never know what I want to do on each anniversary. I never know the proper way to honor my father. This feels really special. I know he’d be so proud of me -- I only cried like six times this morning. So, to balance it out with smiles and laughs and just overwhelming feelings of gratitude is a beautiful display of how the last 25 years has been. You’re so happy and thankful for so many things that have come your way after 9/11, but it comes at a terrible price. So, I think it’s just the duality of learning to make the best of a horrendous situation and realizing that you can’t.”
During the mid-afternoon hours of pregame preparations, cage work, advance meetings, catch play and so much more, it is common to see Yankees players wearing somewhat silly novelty T-shirts that pay homage to their teammates. On one, a cartoon bomb flexing its biceps represents a “Belli Bomb” from Bellinger, the Yanks’ slugging outfielder. Another borrows fonts from the Indiana Jones movie posters to highlight “Spencer Jones and the Barrel of Boom.” This September, though, another genre of shirts joined the rotation.
Blue tees representing different ladder companies of the FDNY popped up in the lockers and on the backs of several players. Many of the shirts were handed to them by the firefighters they met as the Yankees visited firehouses around the city in the days and weeks leading up to the anniversary of 9/11. Touring the facilities, witnessing the camaraderie among the crews, even sliding down poles and putting on gear, the players gained a new appreciation for what life is like as a New York City firefighter.
“It reminded me a lot of a clubhouse,” said Yankees captain Aaron Judge after spending time with Engine 22/Ladder 13/Battalion 10 on the Upper East Side. “They’re just ordinary guys like me and you, and then all of a sudden, they’re doing some extraordinary things. They run into burning buildings carrying all that gear, carrying people out of the most terrible situations, and it’s just incredible. Those are real heroes right there. Especially going back to 9/11, where most people are running away from danger, they were the ones that were running toward it. Just amazing. Special individuals, special people. To have that type of bravery and heart and compassion, knowing any day could be their last time working and last time here, and they sign up for it every single day, it’s pretty impressive.”
Putting on the pinstripes is an honor for any baseball player, but it’s one that comes with a certain weight attached. The Yankees are expected to carry on the legacy and traditions established by the legends who came before them, whose black-and-white photos and retired numbers and bronze plaques are ubiquitous. The FDNY is no different. The department lost 343 firefighters on 9/11, the deadliest day in its history. Today, New York’s Bravest keep their memories alive, making sure that everyone who puts on the helmet and bunker coat or even sets foot inside a firehouse understands what was sacrificed and by whom.
Andy Pettitte tried to keep a low profile as he and Ryan Weathers arrived at Engine 54/Ladder 4/Battalion 9 -- “The Pride of Midtown.” But even the most grizzled veteran FDNY leaders were transformed into giddy baseball-loving kids again upon seeing one of the heroes of their youth. After gladly signing autographs and posing for pictures, the 2001 ALCS MVP stepped further inside the firehouse, where Pettitte stopped in his tracks to view a display on the wall. Behind glass were 15 photos and names of the firefighters who were on duty when the first plane crashed into the north tower at 8:46 a.m. All 15 raced to the scene. None came home.
“We try and keep them memorialized every chance we get,” said Colin Ryan, a New York City firefighter for 21 years. “Every time a probie [probationary firefighter] comes in, it’s the first thing they have to do when they walk in the firehouse -- look at the wall and memorize the names.”
Pettitte was of the same mindset as Jeter after 9/11, wondering how anyone could think of baseball during a time of such unfathomable tragedy, until he visited Ground Zero and spoke with first responders and recognized the potential healing power the national pastime held for so many people.
“And then you realize even more how badly you wanted to win those games when you knew those guys were all watching and they were coming [to the Stadium],” he said. “It was almost like we were going to win this championship for the city, and that’s why that was one of the toughest World Series losses that I took personally. We wanted that one so bad.”
During that run to Game 7 of the Fall Classic, which ended in Arizona with the Diamondbacks scoring twice in the bottom of the ninth off Mariano Rivera, the Yankees had become America’s team. And back then, as now, they deflected some of that spotlight toward New York’s true heroes by wearing caps with NYPD and PAPD on them, honoring first responders at Yankee Stadium, thanking them for all they had endured and all they continued to do.
The appreciation still goes both ways.
“For the Yankees to recognize us, when they are so recognized around the world, it’s really an honor,” said FDNY battalion chief Michael Dowling. “It’s an honor for them to come and say they appreciate what we do when, on a daily basis, we always appreciate what they do.”
“For somebody our age to see Andy Pettitte come through the door was crazy,” said Ryan, whose fellow 21-year firefighter Daniel Beyrer predicted a title for the Yanks in ’26, noting that Knicks point guard Miles McBride visited Engine 54 prior to winning the NBA championship this year. “We have a ton of people coming in and out, but to have a guy that we watched growing up, especially with what he did in his career, it was great, and even the younger guys loved it too. Not too many days a legend walks through the door.”
Dressed in dark pants and a blue vest over his collared shirt, Yankees Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre walked beside the reflecting pool and toward the entrance of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Built on the site of Ground Zero and opened 13 years after the attacks, the museum has welcomed millions of visitors from around the world. As Torre ambled toward the door on a picturesque September day, occasionally stopping to pose for photo requests from his many admirers, it was impossible not to look up at the 1,776-foot-tall One World Trade Center tower gleaming overhead against the backdrop of a perfect blue sky and marvel at what had been built on this hallowed ground.
Torre was joined by a busload of current Yankees. Barely 12 hours after defeating the Rockies at Yankee Stadium behind another masterful performance from Cam Schlittler, manager Aaron Boone led a contingent of about 20 players and coaches downtown for a tour guided by Noah Rauch, senior vice president of education and public programs for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
Most of the Yanks had never been to the museum. Some, such as 21-year-old George Lombard Jr., weren’t even alive yet on Sept. 11, 2001. Others, such as José Caballero and Amed Rosario, were born and raised in other countries. By the end of the hourlong tour, all were thankful they had come.
When young people learn about 9/11 in school, they often view it as an attack on America, or democracy or freedom. At the museum, they see the faces of the individuals who woke up that morning having no idea they would be the first casualties in a war.
“For a guy like me who was so young when it all happened, you just think of it as this one terrible tragedy,” said Ben Rice, the Yankees’ 27-year-old first baseman. “But when you go and you see all the different people and you can literally look at their faces on the wall and hear some of their own stories, I feel like that’s really powerful, and that’s why it’s so important to have something like that because it really shines a light on everyone [who died]. It’s very moving.”
With so many exhibits dedicated to a story that continues to be written -- remains are still being identified; victims are still dying from illnesses caused by working at the toxic rubble site -- it was a lot to take in. Many Yankees expressed interest in returning. But their experience on Sept. 9 left a lasting impression. Spencer Jones was floored by the art installation titled “Trying to Remember the Color of the Sky on That September Morning” and the inscription at its center, a line from the ancient Roman poet Virgil: “No day shall erase you from the memory of time.”
“I thought that was super powerful,” said the 25-year-old outfielder from California. “I wasn’t old enough to experience it myself, but American discourse is something extremely important to recognize. To be a part of New York culture and to be a member of this organization is to show remembrance and to be a part of any team activities associated with 9/11. I was glad we went together as a group this morning and that I got to be a part of it.
“The older I get, the more I realize how recent and how intense it was, and how much it has changed the lives of Americans and the future of our country. To hear these stories of heroism and know what the people endured, it’s all super touching.”
Before the team boarded the bus for the trip back up to the Bronx, the group was invited to preview a new exhibit space that wasn’t scheduled to open until Sept. 12 called “In Their Honor,” which highlights individuals and communities who transformed their grief into action after 9/11 by committing acts of service. There, James Dowdell told the story of how his 46-year-old father, Kevin, had been 21 years on the job with the FDNY when he left for work that morning and never came home. As soon as James turned 21, he followed in his father’s footsteps. He’s now an FDNY firefighter in the Bronx, with 20 years on the job and two boys of his own.
“Here we are after all these years, and I just really want to say thank you,” he told the Yankees. “I know everyone’s got a busy schedule, and you’re going to hear the phrase ‘Never forget’ a lot, especially this time of year. But never forgetting is an action, and by you being here and taking time out of your day, that’s the action.”
Brielle and Sean’s first pitches were not the only moving moments during the Sept. 11 pregame festivities at Yankee Stadium. Earlier in the day, Judge, Boone and Gerrit Cole laid a wreath at the Sept. 11 tribute in Monument Park. Approximately 40 minutes before first pitch, the official ceremony began with a video in which members of the 2001 team shared their memories. Checks for $25,000 were presented by the New York Yankees Foundation to five 9/11-related charities: Tuesday’s Promise, Tunnel to Towers, the New York City Police Foundation, the New York & New Jersey Port Authority Police Department and the FDNY Foundation. Grammy Award winner Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless the U.S.A.” There was a presentation of colors and a powerful rendition of the national anthem sung by opera tenor James Valenti.
After all that, there was a ballgame to be played. And with an electric crowd of 47,410 waving American flags and chanting “USA! USA!” and holding up handmade signs saying, “We Will Remember” and “USA Fears Nobody, Play Ball,” the Yankees couldn’t help but feel the energy coursing through the building.
“If I told you I didn’t, I’d be lying,” said Luis García Jr., who recorded three of the Yankees’ 13 hits. “I’ve never been in the playoffs, but that’s what it felt like from start to finish. I loved it.”
Carlos Rodón, who called it “an honor to be able to pitch tonight,” worked a 1-2-3 first. The Yankees loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning against the Mets’ Nolan McLean, with Jones driving in Rice for a 1-0 lead. The Mets tied it up in the top of the second on an RBI groundout, but Bellinger -- whose dad, Clay, played for the 2001 Yankees and visited Ground Zero with teammates 25 years earlier, and is now an Arizona firefighter -- delivered the game’s biggest blow: a three-run homer in the bottom of the second.
“Pretty surreal day,” Bellinger said afterward. “Just a day to be grateful, for sure. It was a fun atmosphere. I’m sure the majority of the people here were affected by that day in some way, shape or form. So, just nice to go and play a game and give them something to cheer about.”
A Rice homer in the fifth and a Ryan McMahon RBI single in the eighth gave the Yankees a 6-3 lead heading into the ninth. David Bednar gave up a leadoff homer to start the final frame and allowed a one-out single to Francisco Lindor but got Juan Soto to hit into a 3-6-3 double play to secure a 6-4 victory that will be remembered for more than the final score.
“It was an emotional day,” Rice said. “It starts with the ‘USA!’ chants you hear right after the anthem, and just everybody being so proud to be American and watching a baseball game between New York’s teams.
“It’s a tough day for the city. We’re all just happy that we were able to provide some positivity for the fans.”
Being a Yankee means striving for greatness, and that is not limited to the playing field. Bringing positivity, honoring New York’s true heroes, lifting up those around them -- these are small acts of kindness that have made an enormous impact in the quarter century since 9/11. The team will continue -- publicly and privately -- to undertake them for years to come. Because just like the city they play in and this proud country as a whole, the Yankees made a promise that they intend to keep:
Never forget.
“Sometimes I can’t believe it’s been 25 years,” said Meyers, the assistant chief who also serves as chief of training for the FDNY. “You go back to the memories of having 25 funerals in a day and trying to figure out which ones you were going to because we had so many, and you wanted to memorialize each and every member that you worked with. The New York Yankees remembering that means the world to me and to us, to know that it all wasn’t in vain.”
Nathan Maciborski is the executive editor of Yankees Magazine. This story appears in the October 2026 edition. Get more articles like this delivered to your doorstep by purchasing a subscription to Yankees Magazine at www.yankees.com/publications.