How the Yankees honored John McCain

The Yankees honored late Sen. John McCain before a game against the White Sox at Yankee Stadium on Monday.

NEW YORK — Two pictures — one old, one recent — sandwiched by American flags.

That’s how the Yankees honored late Sen. John McCain before a game against the White Sox at Yankee Stadium on Monday.

He died Saturday after battling brain cancer. He was 81.

#Yankees honor McCain pic.twitter.com/Dmfb1WGFGb

— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) August 27, 2018

The team asked the crowd for a moment of silence after the public address announcer rattled off the accomplishments of McCain, a 35-year politician and one-time Republican presidential nominee.

On the giant center field scoreboard, the Yankees displayed a picture of McCain as a Marine and a more recent photo of him.

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Here’s a portion of the Associated Press’ story of McCain’s death from Saturday:

McCain, with his irascible grin and fighter-pilot moxie, was a fearless and outspoken voice on policy and politics to the end, unswerving in his defense of democratic values and unflinching in his criticism of his fellow Republican, President Donald Trump. He was elected to the Senate from Arizona six times but twice thwarted in seeking the presidency.

An upstart presidential bid in 2000 didn’t last long. Eight years later, he fought back from the brink of defeat to win the GOP nomination, only to be overpowered by Democrat Barack Obama. McCain chose a little-known Alaska governor as his running mate in that race, and turned Sarah Palin into a national political figure.

After losing to Obama in an electoral landslide, McCain returned to the Senate determined not to be defined by a failed presidential campaign in which his reputation as a maverick had faded. In the politics of the moment and in national political debate over the decades, McCain energetically advanced his ideas and punched back hard at critics — Trump not least among them.

The scion of a decorated military family, McCain embraced his role as chairman of the Armed Services Committee, pushing for aggressive U.S. military intervention overseas and eager to contribute to “defeating the forces of radical Islam that want to destroy America.”

Asked how he wanted to be remembered, McCain said simply: “That I made a major contribution to the defense of the nation.”