Friday proved that the New York Yankees are hardly the 'Evil Empire'

FROM KEITH GROLLER

I had a story in an unusual place in the paper on Sunday -- on page 6 of the news section.

The story was about Friday and a special day Bethlehem Township resident and Freedom High graduate John Lahutsky experienced in New York City. I was there to see a good portion of it.

John is the young man who was abandoned by his alcoholic birth mother at a very young age and placed in a horrible Russian orphanage where the conditions made it hard just to survive. John has cerebral palsy and it seemed like the Russian society just gave up on him and cast him aside. The atrocities were almost unbelievable. It's all in a book that John wrote "The Boy from Baby House 10."

In that brutal orphanage, John's good friend became Andrei. Andrei also has cerebral palsy and the two helped each other to survive. John even taught Andrei how to speak. They became brothers.

Fortunately, both young men were adopted by wonderful people through the Russian Orthodox Church and brought to America.

John found a home here in the Lehigh Valley with Paula Lahutsky, a wonderfully caring lady.

Andrei found a home with the Sullivan family and first lived in Tampa and now lives in Michigan.

John and Andrei hadn't seen each other for 14 years when they were struggling to live in Russia.

But on Friday, they were reunited for the first time in New York City by the Yankees as part of the team's "HOPE Week" festivities.

And their reunion at NBC in Rockefeller Studio was just the start of an unbelievable day.

My friend Chuck Frantz, the president of the Lehigh Valley Yankee Fan Club (seen at the right with John),Yankees 006
was the one who set everything in motion by writing a letter alerting the Yankees about John Lahutsky, who told Chuck back in February that he was a Yankee fan.

Chuck said he was only trying to arrange a visit to the stadium for John, but the Yankees decided to take it to the next level -- and a very big level at that -- by making John and Andrei two of their "HOPE Week" honorees.

What unfolded on Friday was just unbelievably touching and heartwarming. After being reunited at the "Today" show, John and Andrei were taken on a horse carriage ride from Rockefeller Center to Central Park and manager Joe Girardi (below left with John) was along for the ride and couldn't have been more considerate.Lahutsky (1)

At Central Park, Yankee stars Mark Teixeria and Brett Gardner, along with several coaches, joined in the fun.

And I will say that, Teixeria was amazing how he interacted with John and Andrei, absolutely amazing. Could not have been nicer or more concerned. Gardner was excellent, too, but Teixeria was engaging, connected and involved with everything that went on.

There was nothing that he wouldn't do for John. I have to say that since I was sitting at a picnic table right aside of them for an hour, I have a new appreciation for Mark Teixeria (seen below right with John) as a classy human being in addition to being an outstanding player. Lahutsky (7)

I am sure these guys are asked to do a lot of appearances and benefits, and sometimes you can sense they are just "phoning it in" and can't wait to get out of there.

But not these Yankees. They were genuninely nice guys.

From Central Park, it was on to the stadium and again, the Yankees couldn't have been nicer, allowing John and Andrei to stand by the batting cage as they took batting practice and virtually every team member came over at some point to say hello or share a laugh. Most impressive to me were Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada, who really seemed to enjoy meeting John and Andrei.

Derek Jeter also paid a visit and was quite nice.Lahutsky (12)



And then John and Andrei got to go on the field for a pregame ceremony, throw out the ceremonial first-pitch and got to shout "Play Ball" over the P.A. system. Even after the game began, the goodies kept coming.

It was just a wonderful day, and again, you got to see the good that still exists in sports, even professional, high-priced sports.

I know a lot of people around here don't like the Yankees. The Yankees are one of those teams -- Notre Dame football and the Dallas Cowboys also may fit the bill -- that you either love or hate.

But after seeing what the organization did for John Lahutsky and his dear friend Andrei on Friday, I can't imagine anyone hating the Yankees. They were first-class in everything they did. It truly was an eye-opening experience, one that I never forget. And more importantly, I am sure John, Andrei and both of those wonderful families will never forget it as well.

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/