?That?s how old people think now,? Torre said.

Torre was relieved to find a pair waiting for him in the Yankees? clubhouse, where a select group of participants were permitted to dress. Reggie Jackson and Goose Gossage filtered in. So did Yogi Berra and Lou Piniella. All of them won championships with the Yankees, and all endured various degrees of friction and turmoil during the George Steinbrenner era. And all had returned to take part in Sunday?s festivities, which preceded the Yankees? 6-4 victory against the Colorado Rockies. Once a Yankee, always a Yankee.

?I certainly did feel differently when I put it on today, knowing I hadn?t done it in a long time,? said Torre, wearing pinstripes for the first time since Game 4 of the 2007 division series and the three-year estrangement that followed. ?It?s obviously the uniform that has meant the most in my career.?

Wearing his 1996 championship ring, Torre received the longest ovation during introductions, about a minute of sustained applause. The loudest cheers washed over Bernie Williams, who gushed over his first Old-Timers? Day experience, if not what it signified.

?If you take away the word ?old,?�? Williams said, ?I think I probably would be a little bit more comfortable.?

Turning serious, Williams said he appreciated Old-Timers? Days when he was a player because they allowed him to connect with the icons that preceded him. Other organizations have held similar festivities, but the celebration is most distinctly associated with the Yankees, whose general manager, Larry MacPhail, established it in 1947 as a benefit for the Babe Ruth Foundation. It has been held every year since, a tradition much like the absence of players? names from the back of the Yankees uniform.

?To me, it was a reminder of the fact that we?re just part of a family that?s been growing for 100 years, and thinking that I?m part of something that?s bigger than myself,? Williams said.

That family includes Hall of Famers and long relievers, utility infielders and defensive-minded outfielders, and extends to support staff like the trainer Gene Monahan, who is retiring after 49 years. He threw the ceremonial first pitch to 39-year-old Jorge Posada, wearing his catcher?s equipment for the first time this season.

?He wanted me out there in gear on, cleats and everything,? Posada said of Monahan. ?I said, ?I don?t have a mask.? He said, ?Well, go get one.?�?

Many of the current players watched the ceremony from the dugout, clapping and cheering, erupting when Tino Martinez homered to right field. Brian Gordon, the newest member of the current Yankees roster, said he was awestruck as legends brushed past.

?My very first glove I ever put on as a youngster was a Darryl Strawberry,? Gordon said. ?And look, there he was, just walking out there. And the list goes on.?

By the indoor batting cage, generations of Yankees mingled. Andruw Jones hugged Ramiro Mendoza. Robinson Cano slapped Strawberry?s hand. Torre greeted Jeff Nelson as Bill Skowron, standing off to the side, watched, smiling. Nodding in the direction of Mendoza, Torre reminded everyone that he won a World Series ring with Boston, in 2004. ?That?s the best-kept secret,? Torre said.

Not as much, perhaps, as Williams?s retirement, a topic he dismissed Sunday with a laugh. Williams, who has not played since 2006, said he is almost ready to make his retirement official.

?You always try to trick yourself into thinking that you can do it,? he said. ?Even though people may not think you can, you always have to think that you can and that sort of mind-set never changes. To me, realistically, I know that I can?t, but it?s kind of fun to think that you still can.?

Piniella?s managerial duties prevented him from attending in the past, and now that those days are over, he said it was imperative that he came back. As a Yankees player and manager, hitting coach and general manager ? are we forgetting anything? ? Piniella said he looked forward to Old-Timers? Day more than any other day on the schedule.

?I always enjoy the guys that are older than me,? said the 67-year-old Piniella, who cited Jerry Coleman (86) and Berra (86) as examples. ?They make me feel younger.?

Torre lives a far less stressful life as a lieutenant in the commissioner?s office after retiring as the Dodgers manager in 2010. It might be a good thing that he has given up managing. With shoulder surgery forcing his right arm in a sling, Torre could summon only left-handers from the bullpen. (?I?ll go start warming up,? Graeme Lloyd said.)

Torre turns 71 next month, and it jarred him that several of his former players qualify as old-timers, to say nothing of Mariano Rivera, Posada and Derek Jeter, who celebrated his 37th birthday Sunday. But, Torre added, it was better just to see them all.

?It speaks to who they are, as a franchise, a family,? Strawberry said. ?That?s what the Boss had built this organization as and he kept it that way. Anyone who has been a part of his family and worn the Yankee uniform is a part of the tradition. Nobody else in sports has that.?

Sam Borden contributed reporting.