In the 1993 hit movie, “The Sandlot,” the ghost of Babe Ruth has a message for young Benny Rodriguez: “legends never die.”

Well, that was just a movie (okay, a really great movie), but in real life, the saying is true: “legends never die.” Thurman Munson was, is and forever will be a New York Yankees legend. And while he may no longer walk the earth in a physical form, his spirit will forever be present, both with his family and throughout New York City. 

Thursday night, at The Pier Sixty Collection event venue at Chelsea Piers, The AHRC NYC Foundation held the 46th annual Thurman Munson Awards Dinner, honoring former New York Mets Pitcher Bobby Ojeda, two-time Paralympic Gold Medal Swimmer and World Record Holder Gia Pergolini and New York Sirens’ Captain Micah Zandee-Hart, who also won a Gold Medal with Team Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics, with the award named for the late, great Yankees’ Captain, Thurman Munson. 

Mark Deieso (Partner, Gardiner & Theobald) was also honored with the inaugural Isaacson Family Corporate Hero Award. And, of course, on hand for all the festivities was Munson’s widow, Diana Munson.

All told, the event raised over $850,000 for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

With all the pomp and circumstance of the evening, it’s important to note how the event really is a two-for-one night. First off, raising close to a million dollars for a great cause that helps so many people is terrific in its own right. It also keeps Thurman Munson’s spirit alive and adds to his legacy year after year. 

“Thurman always gave his time to different causes,” Diana Munson explained. “He just did it behind the scenes ’cause he didn’t want it publicized.”

“Thurman did his speaking on his own,” Diana continued. “Thurman was such an unusual person. So unique that he represented exactly who he wanted to be. And I think he’d shown that through the years. And I think that’s why New Yorkers hold on to him: what you see is what you get. That’s not always the case these days. And I think that Thurman showed exactly what you can be and what you can do if you have the right platform, which he did.”

Indeed, he did. Munson was well-known for keeping things close to the vest, especially those he felt didn’t need media attention. But a night like this also shows just how much his spirit is kept alive by those he never even got the chance to meet.  

Take Bobby Ojeda, for instance. Ojeda didn’t make his MLB Debut until 1980, the season after Munson tragically died in an airplane crash. Yet, even without ever facing him, Ojeda still feels a connection to the late Yankees’ Captain through this cause.

“Well, I’ll tell you what,” began Ojeda. “It speaks to the fans, because most fans aren’t haters. Yankees, Mets, there’s a lot of haters, but most aren’t. He sort of crossed the bridge between the Mets and the Yankees. And at this point, this has taken on a life of its own. Just gotta keep going. People gotta keep digging, keep sharing their good fortune with people who could certainly use it. 

“I think it’s a statement about New York, quite frankly, without getting too New Yorky. But I’ve lived here a long time. My wife’s a New Yorker. (Just) something about New York. It’s just an edgy, great place. But there is a sense of, we’re all kind of home team. Most of us. Some aren’t. But most are and I think that’s what has sustained this organization and the people the money’s going to. It’s just a wonderful thing to be a part of, for me. I’m loving it.”

Speaking of the organization, money and the cause, it’s truly special how people continue to come out every year to support this event. Some people have direct connections to the cause, while others view it as part of their responsibility and part of being a good person.

“I’ll tell you, humanity. I went to the (AHRC) school and was blown away by the compassion from the people who worked there and by the students themselves,” Ojeda explained. “What’s fascinating, little babies, two years old and older people, you’re just seeing people help people who could use a little help. And to see them thrive in an environment that is so important. You can’t see that and be around that and not be affected. You can’t do it. Then, when you see these people selflessly bust their ass to help these people out, it’s really heartwarming. I love it.”

Seeing Ojeda get so involved with the cause and the mission is terrific. But we’re left with one glaring question. How would Munson, a Yankee through and through, have reacted to Ojeda, a Met, receiving this award?

“I know it’d probably piss him off, you know what I’m saying?” joked Ojeda. “He’d probably charge the mound or something. I didn’t know him, but he must have been a fantastic man to have affected so many people and for so many people to like him. ‘Cause, you know, a lot of people love you. A lot of people hate you. That’s just life. 

“I think he had a lot more people loved him than hate him to keep this going after 46 years. It’s an impressive statement to the type of guy he must have been. I’d like to hang out with him. I’d like to pitch against him. Just knowing through what I see now, he must have been a really good dude.”

We’re not sure about the charging the mound bit (okay, we are, but we’re trying to play nice). That part aside, Ojeda did hit the nail on the head; Munson was a “fantastic man.” And now that we’ve heard from one of the trio of award recipients, it’s time to hear from another. So let’s turn our attention to Gold Medal Paralympian and World Record Holder Gia Pergolini, who was diagnosed with Stargardt disease when she was a kid.

“It was really hard,” began Pergolini. “When I was first diagnosed with Stargardt disease, which is a genetic eye disease that causes me to be legally blind. Growing up, it was really hard. Being in high school and everyone’s learning how to drive and I’m still getting picked up by my mom my senior year. 

“So, just having such a great support team behind me and being part of the Paralympics also gave me a sense of confidence that I don’t think anything else in this world can give me. I just try not to let it define who I am, not let it stop me, because my disability has given me more opportunities, more success, made me create so many relationships around the world, because I have this disability and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

It takes true strength not to let a disability like that run your life. And it takes even more strength to adapt and overcome to the point of becoming a two-time gold medalist and world record holder.

“It’s surreal. I still can’t believe it,” said Pergolini. Being able to represent my country and at the biggest sporting event in the world and getting that world record was absolutely amazing. At the end of the day, I don’t win gold for myself, or I don’t win world records for myself. I do it for my country. I do it for my friends and family that have supported me. My coaches. And that is the true experience that I absolutely love. Hopefully, in LA 2028, I get it again. But one day at a time.”

Yes, one day at a time. And speaking of time, we’re wondering what that time was like when Pergolini found out she was being honored as a Thurman Munson Award recipient?

“Oh my goodness. It’s kind of embarrassing to say, but my family’s not really a baseball family,” Pergolini explained. “We’re more of football. So, when I heard about it, I was obviously very, very grateful and honored. Then, as I did more research on Thurman Munson and AHRC, I was extremely grateful. It’s been such an honor in representing them and I’m here representing the Paralympics. Our mission is to redefine what it means to be disabled. And that’s what this award is all about to me and AHRC. I am so thrilled to be here meeting Diana Munson, which has been such an honor. She’s the kindest woman ever. It’s surreal being here.”

You can clearly and easily tell how much the night and the award mean to Pergolini. And just like with Ojeda, there’s something in her that helps keep Thurman Munson’s spirit alive.

“I think it’s a sense of being selfless,” Pergolini explained. “I don’t wanna toot my own horn here, but Thurman and I both have succeeded in so many ways. But being able to ground ourselves and spread the words that might not be directly towards us, but being able to sit down and have conversations with people and spreading the word like AHRC and people that also have disabilities, I think, is what we have most in common. Just striving for everyone to be heard, because that’s what I want.”

Now, for the third honoree of the evening, the Captain of the New York Sirens in The PWHL and an Olympic Gold Medalist for Team Canada in 2022, Micah Zandee-Hart. And since we left off with how Pergolini felt she and Munson were similar, let’s start there with Zandee-Hart and Munson.

For starters, both came to New York from other places: Munson from Akron, Ohio and Zandee-Hart from Saanichton, British Columbia. They both became captains of their respective New York teams, Munson with the Yankees and Zandee-Hart with the Sirens. And both reached the pinnacle of their sport by winning a championship. Munson, of course, won two World Series Titles with the Yankees and Zandee-Hart helped the Canadian Women’s Ice Hockey Team to take home a Gold Medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics. 

“For sure. I mean, it’s like the greatest city in the world, right?” said Zandee-Hart. “People really follow sports here. So, when you’re on a sports team in New York City, that really means something to the community. And then, if you add on the layer of being a Captain, it means they know who you are and they know what you’re up to. I felt that for sure from our fan base. People have really had my back and supported me. 

“We’ve had a couple seasons where we didn’t make the playoffs, but they’re still with us. They still want to know what we’re up to. They still wanna be out in the community with us and bring more people to the games and get to know me as a person. I’m sure, as an adopted son of the New York area, Thurman felt that as well and wanted to give back. And that’s exactly what I wanna do.”

Of the three honorees, Zandee-Hart carries herself most like Munson. And now that she’s received this award, it’s up to her (as well as the rest of the recipients) to help carry on his legacy, while also building her (their) own.

“It’s incredible,” said Zandee-Hart. “For this event to be in its 46th year and to be named after him and to be able to be a part of that, obviously, it means that he was known for more than just an athlete and what he did off the field, as well as on the field. And that’s something that I take a lot of pride in as an athlete. So, just to be part of an event that’s associated with that and obviously associated with raising funds for such a great organization. I’ve had great experiences with them in the short time that I’ve been able to connect with them and giving back to this kind of New York City community means a lot to me.”

As we said earlier, some people have direct connections to the cause, while others view it as part of their responsibility and part of being a good person. 

“It means a lot to me,” Zandee-Hart explained. “I have a brother with a physical disability and I grew up watching him and watching him make opportunities for himself. ‘Cause he wasn’t necessarily given a lot of opportunities like I was. I was given every opportunity I wanted in sport and he didn’t get that equal opportunity. 

“So, to be able to meet some of the individuals yesterday that benefit from what AHRC does and what they provide and just see the life they’ve built for themselves and the autonomy they have and the enjoyment they have and the fulfillment they’ve had. I met someone who just retired. That means they’ve had a great career and now they’re onto the next chapter. They just have such a passion for life and that’s because of what AHRC does. That really hits close to home to me, ’cause I watched my brother and what he went through.”

AHRC does so much for those who can’t do for themselves. And to have people like Bobby Ojeda, Gia Pergolini and Micah Zandee-Hart getting involved is only going to help the organization continue to grow in the community. So, now, let’s wrap things up by circling back to Diana Munson, who has often learned quite a bit from each year’s award recipients. 

“Through the years, I have seen connections that I never expected,” Diana Munson explained. “As a matter of fact, I’m not always aware of them. The recipients will tell me a story, or some of them will say, ‘I didn’t know your husband and because this award is so meaningful to me, I looked him up and I read about him and I’m so, so proud and impressed to be representing him because of the kind of man he was.’ 

“Now, that’s not the ballplayer. That’s the man they’re talking about. And I think that’s the connection that many recipients have, because they realize you can be an athlete, which is wonderful, and you can be at the top of your game. What counts is what’s in your heart and what kind of person you are. And that’s why so many of these recipients mean so much to me, because they have foundations and they give back. It’s wonderful to see.”