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MILWAUKEE (AP) — Opening day at Miller Park got off to a highly emotional start Monday for Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio and his family.
For the last decade, the national anthem at the opener been performed by Attanasio's father, Joe. He died in January at 89.
The Brewers paid tribute to Joe Attanasio by having a moment of silence and fading the center-field scoreboard to black. A video of him singing the national anthem at last year's opener then played on the scoreboard.
"I'm looking forward to hearing it one last time," Mark Attanasio said prior to the Brewers' game against Colorado.
Members of his family gathered on the field behind home plate where the name "Joe" was chalked in the dirt. Mark Attanasio put his arm around his mother, Connie, who had been married to Joe for 60 years, as the video played.
Former Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch, wore a "Joe" button on his lapel, as did many Brewers employees.
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