2004 Yankees Homecoming Dinner

Apr 8, 2004

Sheraton Hotel NY, NY

As Phil Rizzutto would say, “Holy Cow!!” What a great night this was. All the Yankee fans were in baseball heaven as they roamed about their favorite baseball heroes, posing with them for pictures, having them sign autographs, and telling them how much a fan of theirs they are. And yes, Liberty News was also there, with our exclusive coverage of the event that marked the kick-off of yet another great baseball, and, perhaps, a 27th World Championship for the Yanks!

Among some of the baseball celebrities we rubbed shoulders with were greats like Rightfielder Gary Sheffield, Centerfielder Kenny Lofton, Pitcher Tom Gordon, Designated Hitter Ruben Sierra, and all the way from Kanazawa Japan, playing for his first time on the New York Yankees team that day, Hideki Matsui (who, by the way, hit a grand slam on opening day!). You could see the excitement in the faces of the crowd. Indeed, it was baseball heaven—free popcorn and peanuts, baseball celebrities everywhere, memorabilia everywhere. It wasn’t difficult to spot the diehard Yankee fans with their collector calendars, team photos, Jerseys, balls, caps and what-not. There were even wax figurines of the great Derek Jeter and George Steinbrenner that were furnished by the world famous Madam Toussad’s wax museums. I had to look twice before I realized why George Steinbrenner was so “quiet.”

There was even a silent auction, where people could bid on trips and memorabilia like “Fly with the Team”, where the winner could fly to a Bronx Bombers out of town series, The opportunity to throw out the first ceremonial pitch at Yankee Stadium, The opportunity to be a guest at a private party at a Hall of Fame Suite, and sports memorabilia from Derek Jeter and Alex “Arod” Rodriguez—balls and bats personally autographed by Derek and Arod.

After this great hour of mixing and mingling with the stars, the crowd started to see the lights blinking, which meant, you guessed it, it was time to head to the grand ballroom for a whopping American dinner (honestly, I wouldn’t have been surprised had they served “Yankee pot roast.”, although some of the fans might not have been so keen about the idea. The ballroom was all decked out with a stage depicting the world famous Yankee Stadium—with the crowd of fanatic Yankee fans cheering on their 26-time champion Bronx Bombers. Even the tables were beautifully decorated, with classic “Yankee” blue satin tablecloths, an assortment of candies about, and colorful, light-up “ice-cubes” scattered the center. Everyone at the dinner even got their own, personal, TY Beanie Baby Yankee stuffed teddy bear, wearing a bow-tie with the classic white-with-blue-pinstripes design on it.

The crowd was then mesmerized by the opening special-effects video which depicted some of the classic, all-time Yankee greats, many of which, sadly, are no longer with us—Joe DiMaggio, Lou Pinella, Yogi Berra, Therman Munson, and the classic great, the one who’s name is used synonymously to depict expertise in ANY area, the infamous Babe Ruth. The crowd then had the pleasure of hearing none other than John Sterling, of WCBS News Radio greet the crowd with a warm welcome to the kickoff of the Yankees 101st season. (Yes, the Yankees are a century old!!) Mr. Sterling introduced the emcee, his well-known sidekick, Mr. Charlie Steiner. Charlie then introduced all of the behind-the-scenes members of the Yankees staff, all of who are responsible for keeping the particulars of the team running so beautifully. He then introduced the President of the New York Yankees, Randy Levine, the Master of Ceremonies, Michael Kay, the co-chairs for the event, Mr. William D. Fugazy, of The Forum Club, and Gristedes Supermarkets Chairman, President and CEO, Mr. John Catsimatidis. Also introduced were Honorary Broadcast Group member Rudolph Giuliani, and Yankee Stadium Organist, Mr. Eddie Layton. The crowd was then asked to stand in observance of the National Anthem, which was played by—you guessed it, and what a “classic” ball-park style he put on that song! It took you out to the ballgame.

Everyone then remained standing and paused for the invocation, which was delivered by Rabbi Jeffrey Sirkman, of the famous Larchmont Temple, in Larchmont, NY. Next, the Mistress of Ceremonies was introduced, Ms. Suzyn Waldman, who in-turn, gave everyone an overview of the Yankee Foundation, the force behind many athletic and youth programs for kids, and—a most humanitarian mission—the saving of families who’s fathers or mother were servicemen killed in the line of duty.

Yankees Manager Joe Torre then took the stand and began to reminisce about how great how many times he’s taken the podium—over eight years. His comment about the Yankees was “they’re pretty damn good ball players.” He spoke about how great the Yanks have done over the years, and congratulated them for their 26-time World Championship victories. Among his other comments “You’ll enjoy watching these ball players play hard. You’ll enjoy watching our pitchers strike out, and you’ll enjoy watching [hopefully] a long season for the Yanks this year.”

It was then time for the first of the “Pride of the Yankees” honoree to be introduced, the one and only Greg Nettles, one of the greatest Yankee players of all time, one of baseball’s all-time home-run hitters. Mr. Nettles’ award was presented by the President of the New York Daily News, Mr. Les Goodstein, and Yankees President and CEO, Mr. Randy Levine. Greg took the podium and commented about how great it was to play for the Yankees and the great experiences he had throughout his career with the Bronx Bombers. In his words “What a great team this is. I was fined three times for missing this dinner, but now that I’m here, ‘what a great team this is…’”

Dinner was then served--a delicious pasta and shrimp appetizer, followed by seasoned chicken with green beans.

We then saw a video clip of the wacky David Letterman, giving the top ten reasons why it’s great to be a player on the Yankees team, the number one reason being “It never gets old watching the Red Sox choke.” After the David Letterman clip, we heard from Senator Chuck Schumer and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who commented that, even though Chuck is a Democrat, and Mike is a Republican, they can both agree on one thing—they’re both Yankee fans. Sentator Schumer told the audience that, when he was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, he’d say “I’ve always wanted to be Mickey Mantle—although somehow I ended up getting stuck being a Senator.” Mayor Bloomberg got a few ‘booo’s when he told the audience he grew up in “Boston.”, but then told them he was a Braves fan, and that Joe Torre played for the the Braves (I guess, to salvage his comment.)

Then, a number of the U.S. Navy Pilots were honored for their participating in the Gulf war. After which we heard Sherry Miracle and the Diva Jazz Orchestra playing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

It was then time for the second honoree, the undaunted, the “intimidating” pitcher, Goose Gossage, who numerous teammates made comments about, indicating how great a challenge it was to try and hit all the “surprised” he hurled at the batters. “You never knew what he’d throw at you—a left curve, a slow, a right-curve.. you could never tell.” was the general comment that many of opponents made about this classic pitcher that was always full of surprises. When Goose took the stand, he commented. “I had the pleasure of playing for 8 different teams throughout my 22 years career, but there’s nothing like playing for the New York Yankees.”

We then heard Jacqie Smith Lee singing “You know you make me love you.” As she walked around on the dais, caressing all of the Yankee ballplayers (many of who were “married.”), followed by an introduction of each of the New York Yankee teammates, including greats like “Yankees Captain” Derek Jeter, “One of baseball’s greatest pitchers” Kevin Brown, “The best first baseman anywhere” Tony Clark, and the great Hedeki Matsiu, straight out of Japan, who pitched a grand slam on opening day [and his first time playing for] at Yankee Stadium.

John Sterling gave the closing and everyone headed over to the adjacent reception area for dessert and coffee.

Holy Cow!!

Anyone wishing more information about the New York Yankees team may visit their website at www.yankees.com

Abbey H. Muneer is the Executive Director of H.A.D. Organization of New York City, Inc., a world-famous athlete, author and, above all, a humanitarian. Abbey will write articles about charity events, benefits, fundraisers and galas which are raising money for humantiarian causes. If you are interested in having Abbey and one his staff members cover one of your charity events, benefits, fundraisers or galas, feel free to notify us one week in advance, at LNEvents@hadofnyc.org, or telephone us at (718) 507-7616, between the hours of 8:00am and 8:00pm e.s.t. and ask to speak to Abbey or Maria. If you would like more information, or would like to have Liberty News Online Magazine consult your next charitable event, please feel free to visit our website, at http://www.hadofnyc.org/store/success.html, email us at humanitarians@hadofnyc.org, or telephone our hotline, at (718) 507-7616, between the hours of 8:00am and 8:00pm e.s.t. (U.S.A.)