The first thing the New York Yankees did upon arriving in Blacksburg yesterday for an exhibition game with the Hokies was visit the memorial for last April’s Virginia Tech Massacre. Marcy Crevonis, a lifetime Yankee fan, left a Derek Jeter jersey shirt next to the memorial of her late fiance. Jeter agreed to take a picture with Crevonis next to the bust, but only if she smiled.

This wasn’t a publicity stunt by any means. The Yankees did everything they do on normal game days, including batting practice and infield. To the Virginia Tech team, the day was about learning and cherishing what baseball was all about. New York didn’t do anything out of the ordinary besides making Blacksburg their home for a day.

Alex Rodriguez has played in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, All-Star Games and even an ALCS. But yesterday, A-Rod went on to say that the Hokie-Yankee game was the most important of his career. Rodriguez, who sat in the Hookies dugout while not at third base, literally became a member of the VaTech squad. He was just another one of the guys just chatting about baseball in the Hokie Nation.

The Yankees won the seven inning game 11-0, but none of that mattered. It was a day in which people in the Blacksburg community could come out and simply watch America’s pasttime just to enjoy it.

To me, any team could have gone to Blacksburg this spring to pay respect to the fallen. But the fact that such a high profile , high class team like the Yankees did it, speaks volumes. All in all, what the Yankees did yesterday was not just make an appearance, but leave an infinite memory on the Hokie players and community. They did what’s right.

My lasting impression of the massacre was live everyday of your life as if it were your last. I know this is told to you every once and a while, but it’s true. If you don’t live life like it’s your last day, you’re not living life at all.

I think the most special feeling came from Hokie manager Pete Hughes. The skipper said “I look at the Yankees differently after today, and I always will. I grew up my whole life hating the Yankees — I mean, just hating them — and I brought up my kids with that mentality. Now, I’ll look at them differently.”