The Yankees beginning today are holding their third annual Hope Week community event. The initiative, which runs through Friday, is the "brainchild" of team Dir of Media Relations Jason Zillo, who said, "It's the third year now, and it's grown some roots." Zillo: "You're gonna see our guys on Broadway, helping out as best they can, a musical performance." Joe Torre, Mariano Rivera, Curtis Granderson, Phil Hughes and others will appear tomorrow to "honor a special group of honorees as the 10th anniversary of 9/11 nears" (N.Y. POST, 7/24).
NBC's "Today" show this morning aired a live Hope Week segment featuring Yankees 2B Robinson Cano, SS Derek Jeter and P CC Sabathia. Jeter: “’Hope Week’ for us as an organization is a very fun time. As athletes, we have a platform, and we use that platform to impact lives in a positive way.” Jeter added, “You can give money, but I think giving your time is something that makes it a lot more worthwhile.” NBC’s Lester Holt hold told Cano, “This was a Yankees thing for awhile, but now it’s spreading to other teams who are starting to embrace this. Do you hope this to become a league-wide effort?” Cano: “Now the Minnesota Twins are doing it, so I hope more teams can join us every year” (“Today,” NBC, 7/25).
