[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/07/20/art.mccain2.ap.jpg
caption="John McCain, standing by Oakland Athletics' manager Bob Geren, takes a break from the trail for baseball."]
NEW YORK (CNN) – Standing at home plate in the House that Ruth Built, John McCain put running for president in perspective: “It is like being in Double A and then all of a sudden you’re in Yankee Stadium.”
McCain attended Sunday’s Yankees-A’s game with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Before the game, the two went down on the field signing autographs posing for pictures and chatting with New York manager Joe Girardi and Oakland skipper Bob Geren.
The GOP presidential candidate wore his blue Navy hat, while Giuliani sported the traditional Yankee NY cap. They talked sports with the managers, with McCain telling them, “I really am a big sports nut because I was a mediocre high school athlete.”
Before settling in to watch the game, they toured the legendary Monument Park in left center field, with tributes to the greatest Yankee players.
McCain, an Arizona Diamondbacks fan, talked of watching his team in the 2001 World Series against Yankees with Giuliani, just a month after the 9-11 attacks. He often tells the story on the trail of being moved by the cheers Giuliani received from fans.
He told the YES Network as he sat in the Yankees dugout “it was an emotional time," saying, “I’ll never forget it as long as I live. Such an incredible time in our history.”
Giuliani told reporters before the game, “we have great memories, and very, very difficult memories of that period of time... Then I went out to Arizona with him for two games, and it was a very emotional World Series, that particular one. He's a good friend. We've also been to the Fiesta Bowl together, and I've gone to sporting events with John throughout the years. So, it's a little different now that he's a presidential candidate, but it's the same John McCain."
Asked whether runs for vice president or New York Governor might be in his future, Giuliani said, "I'm not thinking about any of those things. I'm thinking just about – I know you are! You have a right to think about it. And I have a right not to think about it because we've got an election right now to think about and get it done right."
McCain flew to Portland, Maine after the game where he has campaign events Monday.
Recent Comments