Yankees' "HOPE Week" Focuses On Giving Back To N.Y. Community

The Yankees' "HOPE Week" initative was profiled on NBC's "Today" this morning, with NBC News' Matt Lauer noting the week-long community service effort brings "care, attention and a few surprises to deserving honorees." The segment profiled N.Y.-based Flying Manes, a therapeutic horseback riding program for disabled children. Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira said, "We want to give back to the community, but also hopefully inspire other people to give back as well." Other honorees include a former school bus driver who cooks and delivers meals to N.Y. area homeless. Lauer said the Yankees "wanted to help him by filling his pantry and inviting him" to throw out the first pitch at an upcoming home game. Yankees SS Derek Jeter said the program "draws attention to people that are doing great, wonderful things in the community. ... The easy way is to give money, but when you look at people who give their time, that's something that's cherished a little bit more" ("Today," NBC, 6/28). In N.Y., Howie Kussoy notes as part of "HOPE Week," the Yankees yesterday had five-year-old Andy Fass "present the lineup card to the umpires and throw out the first pitch before the Yankees' 5-4 win over the Indians." Fass "has a condition called oculocutaneous albinism, is legally blind and without pigment in his skin, forcing him to avoid long exposure to the sun" (N.Y. POST, 6/28).

THE PERFECT GIFT: The Yankees uniform worn by Don Larsen when he pitched the only perfect game in World Series history in '56 will go the auction block later this year. Steiner Sports will hold an online auction for the uniform from October to early December. Steiner Sports CEO Brandon Steiner said the reserve on the item will be $250,000 or more, but he expects to get far more. “We have already turned down offers of more than a million," he said. The earliest-known Yankees jersey worn by Babe Ruth recently sold for $4.4M, a record price for sports memorabilia (Terry Lefton, THE DAILY).