Yankees past and present understand the weight of playing on 9/11 anniversary

On the 25th anniversary of the Sept.11 terror attacks, the baseball world centered around The Bronx, where the Yankees hosted the Mets to open the Subway Series. Seven members of the 2001 Yankees team that had a memorable run to the World Series were on hand to join the ceremonies.  Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been 25 years,’’ Derek Jeter said.“It changed the world forever. Alongside fellow Hall of Famers Joe Torre and Mariano Rivera, as well as Jorge Posada, Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius, the Yankees commemorated the anniversary, as well as the aftermath of the attacks. With a chant of “U-S-A” breaking out following the national anthem, Aaron Boone called the night “huge.” “We understand the weight of today,’’ the Yankee manager said before the game.

“The 25th anniversary, two New York teams playing.It feels like an honor to go out there.

There’s gonna be a lot of different emotions out there.We don’t take it lightly.” Cody Bellinger likely has a stronger attachment to the anniversary than many of his contemporaries. With his father, Clay, on that 2001 Yankee team, Bellinger was 6 years old, living in Connecticut when the attacks occurred. Clay Bellinger was among the Yankees — and Mets — who visited Ground Zero in the aftermath of the attacks and went on to become a firefighter in Gilbert, Arizona, where he still works. Boone addressed the team about the importance of Friday’s ceremonies. “We talked about it today, that especially here, there will be a lot of people that have some connection to it,’’ Bellinger said.

“It’s a special moment to be here for this.It’s one of those things that’s bigger than the game.

We know it’s a pretty big game, but there will be more important things here tonight.’’ That included first pitches thrown o...