Many things have been said about George Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees, over the years.

Rarely has this been heard: "Mr. Steinbrenner cares."

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that, and Steinbrenner certainly has shown he cares about Virginia Tech.

Last April, after a Virginia Tech student fatally shot 32 students and faculty members and wounded 17 more before taking his own life, Steinbrenner and the Yankees donated $1 million to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund.

Steinbrenner also said the Yankees would go to Blacksburg in 2008 to play an exhibition game against the Hokies as one more way to show the Yankees' support for Virginia Tech.

Steinbrenner kept his word. Today's the day.

The Yankees and Hokies will play at 3 p.m. at English Field on Tech's campus. The game will last seven innings, and both teams will use wooden bats.

The ballpark, which seats 1,500, has added temporary bleachers so that 5,000 can be accommodated. All the tickets for the game have been disbursed.

"It's a wonderful thing that our team has this opportunity," Girardi said.

The Yankees are leaving their spring-training site in Tampa, Fla., for a one-day trip to a small town in the mountains of Virginia. It's not exactly convenient.

"I've been looking forward to it since I found out we were going," said Yankees shortstop and team captain Derek Jeter. "I haven't heard one person say he doesn't want to go. Every one of my teammates is looking forward to it."

The Yankees plan to bring their full complement of position players. Their entire pitching staff is not expected to be present.

"That will depend on who pitches the day before," Girardi said last week.

Jeff Karstens, who started nine games and pitched 571/3 innings for the Yankees during the past two seasons, is scheduled to start.

"He's trying to earn a spot in our rotation or in the bullpen as a long reliever," Girardi said. "Our lineup should be pretty much what it's going to be during the season."

The game can be seen on HokieTV.com; the CBS affiliate in 5Roanoke, WDBJ7; and the YES Network on DirecTV. It can be heard on MLB.com and on FM station 105.3 in the New River Valley.

The game also will be shown on the video screen in Lane Stadium. A valid Virginia Tech ID is required to enter Lane Stadium.
Contact Paul Woody at (804) 649-6444 or pwoody@timesdispatch.com.