The New York Yankees paid tribute to Brett Gardner’s late son Miller prior to their opening MLB game of the season following his tragic death in Costa Rica.
Miller, 14, was found dead in his hotel room while on vacation with dad Brett and the rest of the Gardner family in the Central American country last week.
Amid an investigation into what caused his sudden passing, the Yankees honored the memory of their former outfielder’s son by holding a moment of silence before their season opener against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday.
Both sets of teams lined up along the diamond to pay their respects just under a week since tragedy rocked the Gardner family.
‘Miller had a spark in his eyes, an outgoing and feisty personality, and a warm and loving nature,’ the Yankee Stadium announce said over the PA system.
‘Miller grew up in the Yankees organization and had become a two-sport athlete, wearing his father’s No. 11 on his football jersey.
The Yankees paid tribute to Brett Gardner’s late son Miller before their MLB season opener
‘The entire Yankees organization grieves this unimaginable loss with Brett, his wife Jessica, and their son Hunter.’
Brett, who won the World Series with the Yankees in 2009, and wife Jessica revealed in a heartbreaking announcement on Sunday that Miller had died after falling ill ‘along with several other family members’ on vacation.
The teenager’s cause of death is still unclear. 24 hours after Brett and Jessica’s devastating statement, the preliminary cause of death was initially ruled as asphyxiation after eating.
That was before investigators claimed on Tuesday that asphyxia has been ruled out as there was no obstruction of his airway when he died, with authorities now probing whether he had an allergic reaction to medication.
Anxious locals in the Costa Rican town of Manuel Antonio are nervously awaiting the verdict amid fears jail sentences could be handed out.
‘It’s a hard topic,’ a bartender at one hotel in the resort town told The New York Post.
‘Everyone is worried because someone — a chef or someone who made the food — could go to jail. People are talking about it.’
He added: ‘Everyone in town is nervous.’
