Berra Back at Yankee Stadium

Wandering through the halls that twist and turn in the catacombs of Yankee Stadium, Yogi Berra could have used a road map.

“I had to find my way back,” Berra said after ending a 14-year exile and returning to throw out the first pitch on opening day Friday. “I got lost. I’ve got to get my bearings. It’s a lot different. They fixed it up so much.”

Berra, who played for 10 World Series championship teams with the Yankees, vowed he would never return to the stadium after owner George Steinbrenner fired him as manager after 16 games in 1985. He resisted repeated overtures to return for games, even when former teammates tried to intercede.

“I’ve been asking him to come back for years,” said old battery mate Whitey Ford, who joined Phil Rizzuto to raise the 1998 World Series championship banner. “I told him, ‘I don’t care what you think of Steinbrenner, the people miss you.’ ”

This winter, spurred by Joe DiMaggio’s illness, Steinbrenner apologized to Berra and the feud was settled.

Berra took over the first-pitch role that DiMaggio held for so long. The team remembered DiMaggio, who died March 8 at 84, with signs around the ballpark that quoted the Hall of Famer as saying, “I want to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee.”

Before the national anthem, fans were asked to remember the Yankee Clipper with a moment of silence.

Then, Berra walked slowly out of the Yankees’ dugout, favoring a gimpy right knee, as a sellout crowd roared.

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A day after throwing four innings in a minor league simulated game, Yankee left-hander Andy Pettitte said he hopes to rejoin the rotation April 17 at Detroit.

Pettitte is scheduled to start Monday for the Yankees’ double-A team at Norwich, Conn., against New Britain in an Eastern League game.

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All-star shortstop Alex Rodriguez was put on the 15-day disabled list by the Seattle Mariners, a day after he had surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee.

Rodriguez suffered the injury during an agility drill March 30. Seattle made the move retroactive to Wednesday and said they will recall right-hander Ken Cloude from triple-A Tacoma today.

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Boston Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra remained sidelined by a strained left hamstring and could miss the rest of the weekend series against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Garciaparra, whose status is day to day, left in the ninth inning of Boston’s victory over Kansas City on Wednesday night. He sat out the finale of a three-game series against the Royals on Thursday.

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The Oakland Tribune has joined an investor group that is considering making an offer to buy the Oakland Athletics, the newspaper reported.

With the deadline looming for the $112-million sale of the team to a local group that would keep the team in place, the Tribune joined former A’s executive Andy Dolich.