NEW YORK – Derek Jeter remembers wondering if they should play at all. In the days after Sept. 11, 2001, baseball felt inconsequential amid the fear and grief that gripped New York. Yet as the wounded city grappled with an altered skyline and a new reality, the Yankees came to understand that their presence meant something.
It certainly did for 10-year-old Brielle Saracini, marking the beginning of a bond with Jeter that endures a quarter of a century later.
“As an athlete, it was the first time that I said to myself, ‘Why am I even playing?’” Jeter said. “The games got canceled, and my initial thought was, ‘We’re not going to come back and play. What does baseball mean?’ And then you had a chance to meet a lot of family members who’d lost loved ones, and Bri is at the top of the list.”
Jeter and Saracini reunited at Yankee Stadium on Friday as the Yankees commemorated those lost and impacted by the Sept. 11 tragedy. Saracini’s father, Victor, was the captain of United Flight 175, which was directed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
Three days after the attacks, Saracini wrote a letter to Jeter, detailing her loss and explaining that her father would have wanted her to realize her dream of meeting the Yankees shortstop. To her surprise, Jeter responded, inviting Saracini and her family to a game at the original Yankee Stadium.
Not that he knew quite what to say when she arrived.
“You realized that our job was to at least try to give people something to cheer for a few hours a day,” Jeter said. “I don’t even know if I said, ‘I’m sorry,’ or anything like that. I just tried to make her day feel special. I remember introducing [her] to all the players and bringing [her] down. You just try to make her feel as comfortable as you possibly can. So basically, I guess I winged it.”
Saracini said Jeter made her feel at ease, teasing her about her Yankees cap and inviting her to sit atop manager Joe Torre’s perch behind the batting cage.
“I remember just talking about anything and everything,” she said. “I remember just feeling normal for a day, which was hard to do. Having the opportunity to reflect 25 years now, looking back, I don’t know how you were able to do that … to make me feel like a kid, like I was supposed to feel at the time.”
Several members of the 2001 Yankees were on hand Friday, including Torre, Jorge Posada, Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez, Scott Brosius and Mariano Rivera. The Yankees and Mets last played on this date in 2021.
“I think Major League Baseball got this one right, putting these two teams together on this day,” said Mets interim manager Andy Green. “I was watching part of the [MLB Network] documentary earlier today and literally crying at the Mike Piazza home run.”
Saracini tossed the ceremonial first pitch alongside her husband, Sean McGuire, who also lost his father in the Sept. 11 attacks. McGuire’s father, Patrick, was working on the 84th floor of the South Tower.
The couple met two years later at Camp Better Days, established to provide support for children who lost a parent in the tragedy. They were married in September 2017; as he tossed his pitch on Friday, McGuire wore a black Piazza jersey.
“Which is a remarkable move for the Yankees organization, to allow a Mets jersey,” Saracini joked.
The Yankees have been commemorating Sept. 11 with numerous activities and outreach over the past several weeks, including visits to FDNY firehouses and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone recounted his visit to FDNY Engine 22/Ladder 13/Battalion 10 on the Upper East Side, where he slid down the fire pole – twice.
“We understand, playing here, what the Yankees and Mets mean to the people of this city,” said Boone, who added that it felt “like an honor” to take the field in New York on this date.
Earlier on Friday, Boone, Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole placed a wreath beside the Sept. 11 monument in Monument Park.
Among those recognized in pregame ceremonies were representatives of the NYPD, FDNY, Port Authority Police Department (PAPD), Tunnel to Towers Foundation and Tuesday’s Promise (formerly known as Tuesday’s Children).
The presentation of colors was performed by honor guards from the NYPD, FDNY and PAPD. A large American flag was unfurled in the outfield prior to the national anthem, performed by internationally acclaimed opera tenor James Valenti.
Country recording artist Lee Greenwood performed “God Bless the U.S.A.,” as he did prior to Game 4 of the 2001 World Series.
“Some of the memories are so vivid in your mind, and I think they’ll always be vivid, because that was a day that changed the world forever,” Jeter said. “You look at some of the players that are here, they were born after Sept. 11. I think it’s very important that we make sure we teach them the history of what happened.”