Earlier today the Yankees announced they will hold a ceremony honoring the 20th anniversary of 1996 Yankees on Saturday, August 13th. A total of 32 members of that 1996 team will be in attendance, including Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, Wade Boggs, Paul O’Neill, Tim Raines, David Cone, Jimmy Key, Jim Leyritz, and Joe Torre. But not Kenny Rogers. He wasn’t invited. (I don’t know if that’s true, but he won’t be there.)
Here is the press release with the full list of attendees. The Yankees are playing the Rays, who didn’t even exist back in 1996, that weekend. Here’s the schedule of events:
- Friday, Saturday 12th (7pm ET): First 15,000 fans receive a 1996 World Series replica trophy.
- Saturday, Saturday 13th (1pm ET): 1996 Yankees reunion ceremony.
- Sunday, Saturday 14th (1pm ET): Mariano Rivera Monument Park plaque dedication ceremony.
That is going to be a pretty awesome weekend. I’m sure the cynical folks among us will say the Yankees are doing all this because attendance is down and the 2016 team stinks, but this has been in the works for a while. The 20th anniversary of the 1996 Yankees was always going to have a special day, as it should. They’re going to do this again in 1998, 1999, and 2000 too.
We had an entire Retro Week dedicated to the 1996 Yankees earlier this season, so go back and check that all out if you haven’t seen it. And even if you have seen it, read it again.
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