Baseball came second on Opening Day.
Yankee Stadium honored the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting and the community of Newtown, Conn., inviting a joint honor guard of Newtown police and firefighters, who appeared during a pregame ceremony.
The stadium held a moment of silence, during which the victims’ names slowly scrolled on the centerfield scoreboard.
The Yankees and Red Sox wore special patches on their uniforms, featuring a ribbon and 26 stars, one to honor each victim, with the same design painted in front of both dugouts. Commissioner Bud Selig asked all teams to wear the ribbons during the season-openers.
“On Opening Day, we will reflect upon more important things and play the game to honor the community of Newtown,” Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said in a statement. ”Since the day of the tragedy, our hearts and thoughts have been with those who were affected.”
Approximately 120 first responders and their family members were in attendance, while the victims’ families and Newtown residents will be invited to Yankee Stadium for the July 7th game against the Orioles, when approximately 3,000 tickets will be allocated to the community on “Newtown Day at Yankee Stadium.”
Jason Frank, who has spent 17 years with the Newtown Police Department, and Dan McAanaspie, a veteran of 10 years, were still emotional while recounting the horrific events of Dec. 14. Many of the first responders, they said, are still undergoing counseling.
“I’ve probably spent more time in the last couple months with individual guys than I have my entire career, just for the listening, the laughing, the crying still,” Frank said. “Whatever gets us through the days. It’s still heartwrenching.”
Patrick Kinney of the Western Connecticut United Way said the Yankees were one of the first organizations to call and offer assistance, donating $100,000 for services to support the families in the town. Kinney said people can continue to donate by texting the word “responders” to 80888.
Players, like Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, just hoped yesterday could provide a few hours of distraction.
“We can’t do much to change what happened,” Rivera said. “I wish we could. Hopefully we can give them a good moment. Hopefully we can take the tragedy from their minds for a little bit.”
howard.kussoy@nypost.com