MLB honors America's heroes at parks

MLB honors America's heroes at parks
Veterans throw out first pitches in pregame festivities
By Mike Scarr / MLB.com

On Friday it was time to stand and deliver.

To honor our nation's 232nd anniversary of its birth, a select group of veterans tossed honorary first pitches at ballparks hosting games for the Fourth of July holiday.

The gesture is part of Major League Baseball's "Welcome Back Veterans" initiative taking place at big league games across the U.S. this weekend. Baseball will also honor veterans during games on Sept. 11.

Yankee Intern, Injured in Iraq, to Throw Out First Pitch Friday

Yankee Intern, Injured in Iraq, to Throw Out First Pitch Friday
Barton Silverman/The New York Times

Tony Odierno, an Army officer who lost an arm to a grenade, has helped in planning for the All-Star Game and the new stadium.

Barton Silverman/The New York Times

Tony Odierno, left, and his father, Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, threw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 2005.

Odierno lost his left arm when a rocket-propelled grenade smashed through his Humvee in Iraq almost four years ago. As an Army lieutenant, he was leading three vehicles through southwest Baghdad when his life changed. The grenade cost Odierno an arm and his driver his life.

Odierno calmly but vividly described what happened that night. As he spoke Wednesday, he sometimes clutched the prosthesis under the sleeve of his gray shirt. His story validates why the Yankees consider him an overqualified intern in their stadium operations department.