Three days after Brielle Sarancini lost her father, Victor, the captain of United Flight 175, which was directed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, she penned a letter to Derek Jeter.
In it, the then-10-year-old Sarancini explained the insurmountable loss of her father and that he would have loved for her to meet the Yankees’ captain. Upon receiving the letter, Jeter invited the family to attend a game and meet the team during batting practice.
Twenty-five years later, Sarancini will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Yankees’ matchup with the Mets on Friday alongside her husband, Sean McGuire, whose father worked on the 84th floor of the South Tower and never made it out.
It will be just one of numerous commemorative moments and activities the Yankees have planned on Friday, the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.
Members of the NYPD, FDNY, PAPD, Tunnel to Towers Foundation, and Tuesday’s Promise will be recognized before first pitch and will be joined by select alumni from the 2001 Yankees.
Earlier that afternoon, current members of the Yankees will place a wreath beside the 9/11 monument in Monument Park beyond the center-field wall at Yankee Stadium.
The presentation of colors will be performed by honor guards from the NYPD, FDNY, and PAPD. A giant American flag will also be unfurled in the outfield for the national anthem, which will be performed by acclaimed opera tenor James Valenti.
“God Bless the USA” will be performed by country music star Lee Greenwood, and FDNY Lieutenant William Arce will sing “God Bless America” during the seventh-inning stretch.
The Yankees also made multiple visits to local firehouses around the city; manager Aaron Boone, superstar slugger Aaron Judge, Spencer Jones, Will Warren, and Ryan Yarbrough greeted FDNY Engine 22/Ladder 13/Battalion 10 on the Upper East Side. Cam Schlittler, the club’s ace, also visited FDNY Engine 4/Ladder 15 in Lower Manhattan.
Judge, who recently returned from a lengthy IL stint, will host honored guests representing the New York Blood Center, PAPD, the National Sept. 11 Memorial & Museum, FDNY, NYPD, the Silver Shield Foundation, Tuesday’s Promise, and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation in his section, the Judge’s Cambers.
Fans attending Friday’s game are asked to be in their seats by 6:30 p.m. for the start of the pregame ceremonies.
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