On the 24th anniversary of the September 11 Terror Attacks, President Donald Trump paid a visit to the Yankees clubhouse before New York's 9-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers to meet and greet with the players.
While standing in the middle of the Yankees clubhouse Trump told the Yanks that they would make the playoffs and "go all the way." "We'll start from tonight, you are going to do well. The Red Sox came to the Oval Office, they wanted to come, and they won, what? 15 in a row? We're changing the luck around here."
Perhaps that was an omen of good things to come for the Yanks. Judge, whom Trump called an "unbelievable player," tied Joe DiMaggio for fourth all time for home runs in Yankees history. Only Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Lou Gerhig stand in front of him.
"It's just an important day for all of us to come together, so it's just kind of a surreal moment, surreal day," Judge said.
It certainly was a surreal moment. Think about what has happened in the nation over the last several days. We have seen a Ukrainian immigrant stabbed to death in North Carolina. Then on September 10 conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was gunned down by a madman who tried to silence opposing viewpoints. Not to mention Minnesota senator Melisa Hortman and her husband were killed in cold blood back in June, and two assassination attempts on Trump's life last year leading up to the 2024 election.
It's been wild times almost eerily emblematic of the late 1960s.
Add the 24th anniversary of 9/11, and we are living in truly surreal times.
We live in a time where division in the country (and in the free world) had been at its apex for seemingly the past nine years. From the far reaches of social media to politics and to Hollywood -- vilifying the other side created a vacuum of hate.
Perhaps, now we could finally be seeing a sign that times are changing? Perhaps.
The President was greeted warmly - for the most part - by the Yankee Stadium crowd, and of course his presence in the clubhouse was both warm and cordial.
The photo of Trump shaking Judge's hand could prove to be a historic moment.
Why? Because baseball has that unusual power, whenever the chips are down, it brings us back together again.
On the field, the Yankees win over Detroit sets up what will be a pivotal weekend when the Bombers head up to Boston to face the Red Sox. While the AL East still seems like a pipedream with Toronto three games ahead, both the Red Sox and Yankees are battling for home field in the wild card round. The Yankees, who have struggled against Boston all season, would certainly prefer to play that series -- should it come to pass -- in the Bronx.
This series will go a long way in determining the location.
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