Yankees Keep 'God Bless America' at Every Game 25 Years After 9/11
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 11
Yankees Keep 'God Bless America' at Every Game 25 Years After 9/11
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 11
Summary
Yankee Stadium remains the only MLB park to play “God Bless America” at every game, and team officials said the 25-year-old post-9/11 ritual has no plans to end.
George Steinbrenner ordered the song kept in daily use after MLB scaled back its leaguewide mandate in 2002 and 2003 to Sundays, holidays and special occasions.
Friday’s 25th-anniversary game against the Mets will feature the song again as part of tributes for the more than 3,000 people killed in the attacks, with an FDNY singer and the Yankees’ “veteran of the game” ceremony.
The tradition has also drawn controversy: a 2009 lawsuit ended restrictions on fan movement during the song, and past performers and recordings were dropped over anti-Semitic remarks and racist material.
Inside the clubhouse, Gerrit Cole, Paul Goldschmidt and Aaron Judge have backed the ritual as a sign of respect for veterans and a reminder that baseball is secondary to national loss.