Contact: Colleen Roche/Samantha Lugo (212) 788-2958
"On behalf of all New Yorkers, I am proud to congratulate the New York Yankees for a history making season and for winning the American League Championship convincingly. The City is hopeful that the Bombers will culminate the baseball season with yet another record breaking World Series title for New York," Mayor Giuliani said.
Joining the Mayor were Yankee pitchers David Wells and David Cone, former Yankee player Joe Pepiton,; Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman and WABC Radio Personalities Mike Gallagher and Curtis Sliwa, who emceed the pep rally. Yankee organist Eddie Layton, opera star Robert Merrill and the Jackie Robinson Marching Band provided the music at the event.
Strawberry cheesecake provided by Junior's ChesseCake and strawberry ice cream provided by Haagen Dazs were given out during the rally to honor Yankee Darryl Strawberry, who is recovering from colon cancer. Following the ballpark tradition, free hot dogs, pretzels and nuts were also distributed to the fans.
This year, the team had one of the best seasons in the history of the franchise. At the end of the regular season, the Yankees won 114 games, an American League record and second only to the 1906 Chicago Cubs who won 116 games. Bernie Williams, the Yankee center fielder, won the American League Batting Title with a .339 average and David Wells pitched a perfect game on May 17.
The first game of the 1998 World Series will be played at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, October 17against the San Diego Padres. A Yankee win would make the Bombers the first American League team to earn 24th World Series titles.
The rally was sponsored by Chase Manhattan Bank, J&R Music and Computer World; Coca-Cola; Junior's CheeseCake; Modell's; Haagen Dazs, Bazzini Nuts; Cracker Jack's; Alphabet City;New York Pretzel; Tic Tacs; Dennis Riese & The Riese Organization; Wise Potato Chips and the New York Yankees.