Gene Monahan showed up at the game yesterday, and got a rousing ovation from the Yankees faithful, and all the players on the Yankees ball club. It was a very emotional moment for Gene, and it just showed everyone how much this guy really means to the organization.
“The toughest part of this has been missing my family here,” said the 65-year-old Monahan, who has worked in the Yankees organization for 48 years and was making his 38th consecutive Opening Day appearance with the big club.
“This particular group is very special because it looks out for each other, and they certainly looked out for me. Everybody stayed in touch, they sent me videos, and they told me to stay strong.
“I didn’t want to come. I didn’t want to be a distraction. I didn’t want to be in the way, but I got convinced by everybody it was important to stop by and say hello and let the guys know I’m here to help out in any way I can until I get back.”
Tears were brought to the eyes of Joe Girardi when he spoke about Gene. He said, “The toughest ring I gave out was probably the first one to Geno.” Mr. Monahan is staying optimistic about his prognosis, and hopes to return to the club some time this summer.
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George M. Steinbrenner III was also in the house yesterday, as expected. He was shown on the big video board in centerfield, and got a nice ovation from the crowd. Derek Jeter and Joe Girardi personally met with Mr. Steinbrenner in his box prior to the ceremony, and hand delivered his World Series ring. From the Yankees Official Website:
“It was fun,” Jeter said about giving the Boss his ring. “None of us would be here. The Stadium wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him. To get the opportunity to present him with the ring was probably the thing I’ll take most out of today.”
Hal Steinbrenner said that his father sat in stunned silence as Jeter gave him the ring, and he put it on his hand to replace the one representing the 2000 World Series, which the Yankees won in five games over the Mets for their third in a row and fourth in five years.
“He was very choked up and kind of silent,” Hal Steinbrenner said. “It was what I expected. He was very emotional and choked up as we all get from time to time. He said, ‘You’ve done a great job. Keep going, you guys.’ As he’s gotten older, he’s gotten more emotional and he’s calmed down. He’s certainly different than 10-15 years ago, when Jeter and Girardi played for him. No doubt, he’s done with that.”
One more thing, Steinbrenner said. Jeter, who grew up in Michigan and whose first Yankees opener was in 1996, jokingly asked the elder Steinbrenner to remove his Ohio State ring.
“He didn’t do that — he took the 2000 ring off and put the new one on,” Hal Steinbrenner told reporters earlier. “Jeter is great at breaking the ice in situations like that. My dad looked right at him, pointed right at him, and said, ‘Michigan!’ I think it all came back to him. Other than that, he was just about speechless, which is what we expected.”
Derek Jeter pulled a nice prank on Matsui yesterday, during the Yankees ring ceremony. From Andrew Marchand:
“The captain got a ring that they gave in Tampa [at the end of spring training],” Joe Girardi said. “It was a ring that they handed out to all the fans. It was a giveaway so Jeet thought it would be appropriate to put it in Matsui’s box because he would be the only one that wouldn’t be standing next to someone to compare it. So [Matsui] took it over [to the Angels dugout].
“[Mike] Scioscia was kind of looking at it and he said, ‘It didn’t really look right.’ So when I was introduced [during the pregame introductions], I asked Mike if I could give [the real one] to [Matsui]. He had a huge smile. That is one of the things that sometimes people don’t know about Jeet, he likes to pull pranks.”
Jeter imagined that when Matsui looked at the ring his eyes bulged from his head.
“You knew it would be funny,” Jeter said.
Matsui said he didn’t know he was given a fake until Girardi handed him the real one during the player introductions. He didn’t know it was Jeter behind the prank until the media told him.
“We knew [Matsui] wouldn’t be able to compare it to anyone’s on the other side, so we gave him the bootleg one,” a grinning Jeter told Jones after the Yankees’ 7-5 win. “Knowing him, he was probably happy to receive that one, too.”
“I will remember it forever,” said Matsui
(more…)
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Luis Castillo, the Yankees batboy from 1998-2005 
Yankees (5-2) vs. Angels (2-6)
