WATCH: Liberty Star Breanna Stewart Throws 1st Pitch at Yankee Stadium
THE BRONX — Frequently lauded for her hardwood magic, New York Liberty star pulled off one of her most improbable feats yet by bringing about a verbal ceasefire in the most intense edition of the Subway Series in recent memory.
New York Mets and Yankees fans briefly put aside their differences in the finale of their first get-together of the 2025 season at Yankee Stadium when Stewart tossed the ceremonial first pitch before game time. With her Liberty teammates behind her, the two-time WNBA MVP toed the rubber and threw the first toss to Yankees backup catcher J.C. Escarra.
Breanna Stewart throws the first pitch #RepBX #LightItUpNYL https://t.co/wR5GRwxkMv
— Geoff Magliocchetti (@GeoffJMags) May 18, 2025
"It just shows what we do as the Liberty, really bringing New York City together as a whole," Stewart said. "It's amazing to be able to come to Yankee Stadium, to celebrate that with my teammates, and hopefully we'll have more collaborations in the future."
Stewart took the hill adorned in her latest bit of hardware, the 2024 Liberty championship earned last fall and presented before Saturday's season opener, which saw New York (1-0) take down the Las Vegas Aces by a 92-78 final at Barclays Center.
She and the rest of the Liberty contingent, which included almost all of her teammates and head coach Sandy Brondello, then enjoyed the Yankees-Mets rubber match in a Yankee Stadium suite. Stewart also goes home with a special souvenir, as she and injured Yankees utility man Jazz Chisholm Jr. swapped jerseys before her moment on the mound.
Perhaps inspired by teammate Sabrina Ionescu's similar endeavor during last year's Subway Series, Stewart firmly decided to throw the first pitch from the mound itself rather than in front. She previously earned the honor at Seattle Mariners games at T-Mobile Park (then Safeco Field) during her time with the Seattle Storm and also got a few warm-up throws in the batting cages behind the Yankee dugout.
"I've seen some other people not throw from the mound, and I didn't want to do that," Stewart said, fully committed to the bit. "I threw before in Seattle, so I've had some practice [and] in the back. The dugout is so cool! I didn't know there was all that back there."
Business is booming in New York sports both on and off the hardwood, with the Subway Series intensity at its peak thanks to Juan Soto's transfer from The Bronx to Queens. Inspired by the Yankees rolling out the seafoam carpet, Stewart hopes that the Liberty's identity reaches a similar level of metropolitan recognition that the interlocking "NY" of Sunday's hosts has obtained.
"I think that we can definitely take the lead from the Yankees," Stewart said. "When they continue to establish themselves and really embrace themselves into the New York culture, and that's what we want to do as part of the Liberty. "
"Hopefully, when people see Liberty fans from afar, they're like, 'that's New York,' because the hard work, the grit, the way we fight through anything, but also the way we have each other's backs is going to be different than anywhere else."
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
Geoff Magliocchetti is a veteran sportswriter who contributes to a variety of sites on the "On SI" network. In addition to the Yankees/Mets, Geoff also covers the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, and New York Giants and has previously written about the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Staten Island Yankees, and NASCAR.