D-backs announce World Series tenth anniversary weekend
When the San Diego Padres visit Chase Field Sept. 9-11, the games will be anything but ordinary for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The club announced they will be celebrating the tenth anniversary of their World Series victory over the New York Yankees during the “2001 World Championship Reunion Weekend” event.
The Sept. 9 game will feature the D-backs wearing “throwback” jerseys, which consist of the traditional purple pinstripes, the “A” logo and the organization’s former color scheme of purple, teal and copper.
“Our ‘2001 World Championship Reunion Weekend’ will add to what will already be an exciting season for the D-backs at Chase Field in 2011,” said D-backs’ President & CEO Derrick Hall. “The players on the 2001 team will always be remembered by D-backs fans for our proudest achievement, so we want to make sure we have as many of them return to Chase Field in September to re-create those special memories.”
Returning to the scene of the signature come-from-behind Game 7 victory, members of the 2001 team will be honored on Sept. 10 during pregame ceremonies. During the game, the organization also plans on reliving Game 7 by providing inning-by-inning recaps. A 2001 World Championship Replica Ring, courtesy of Chase, will be handed out to the first 15,000 fans entering the ballpark.
“I can’t believe it has been ten years since our magical season in 2001 created so many thrilling memories for D-backs fans throughout Arizona,” said former D-backs outfielder Luis Gonzalez. “I am looking forward to seeing my former teammates and reliving the many memories from the 2001 World Series with our fans in September.”
Gonzalez, currently the D-backs’ Special Assistant to the President & CEO, will be forever remembered by fans as the player who made the hit in the ninth inning of Game 7 that drove in Jay Bell for the game-winning run. The clutch hit secured the win and the club’s first and only championship.
The weekend will end with a special remembrance of the first responders who lost their lives on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. A list of the former D-backs team members attending the weekend’s events and official information on the other activities will be announced at a later date.
