The New York Yankees honored their retiring captain Sunday with a 45-minute pregame ceremony that included surprise appearances by NBA great Michael Jordan and baseball ironman Cal Ripken Jr.

But there was one person for whom Derek Jeter's two-decade career has meant more than anyone on the field at Yankee Stadium.

Brielle Saracini, 23, couldn't be at Derek Jeter Day, a celebration of the Yankee's shortstop three weeks before the likely end of his baseball career, even though she desperately wanted to be.

Mutual admiration: Brielle Saracini may be Derek Jeter's biggest fan, but he's in awe of her bravery

Bright moment: Brielle first met Derek Jeter as a 10-year-old, just two weeks after losing her father in 9/11

Fans in high places: Jeter is greeted by basketball legend Michael Jordan at Derek Jeter, the event Brielle Saracini bought tickets for but was unable to attend

The 23-year-old first met Jeter as a 10-year-old girl just 15 days after losing her father.

Her first Yankees game was on September 26, 2001. Her father, Victor Saracini, was the pilot flying United Flight 175 that was hijacked by terrorists and flew into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

Brielle had read a book Jeter co-wrote with Jack Curry and it struck a chord with her. She loved the way Jeter wrote about his close relationship with his parents.

Brielle went back to school the day after her father died, unable to stay at home with her thoughts.

'I didn’t know what to do so I hid behind my Yankee cap,' Brielle told the Yes Network in 2011.

School authorities decided to waive their no-hat rule for her and Brielle wore the hat everywhere.

She became obsessed with baseball and Jeter and decided that he could be the one person who could help her in her hour of need.

She penned a letter that began, 'My name is Brielle Saracini. As you have heard, there was a horrible accident that involved the Twin Towers, there was a hijacking on a plane. Terrible people are in this world, but you and I both know that. . . That horrible hijacking happened to my father,' reports the New York Daily News.

Dark time: Brielle (left), her mother Ellen Saracini (center) and her elder sister Kirsten (right) during a church service for Victor Saracini on September 18, 2001

Miraculously, the letter found its way to Jeter, who called an awestruck Brielle and invited her, her 13-year-old sister Kirsten and their mother Ellen to the game on September 26.

It was a moment of light in a very dark time for the family.

The years passed, but Jeter stayed in contact with Brielle and her family, and always greeted her with a hug.

'He’s such a genuine person,' Brielle told the New York Daily News.

'You never get the feeling he’s doing it because he has to do it, or that he’s going through the motions. You get the feeling that he wants to do it.'

Brielle grew up, went to college and began a career and her life was going in the right direction until the summer of 2013 when she was diagnosed with Hodgkins' lymphoma.

She underwent aggressive chemo, all the while willing Jeter to recover from his own physical problems that affected his season.

Brielle says that she was watching a Yankees game on TV on September 26, the 12th anniversary of their meeting.

Grief: Victor Saracini was pilot of the second plane that was hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center

Big fans: For Brielle (center) and her sister Kirsten, their day out at the ballgame with Derek Jeter is a treasured memory and a day where they could forget their heartache and be children again

She left the room and when she went back, there was a missed call on her phone.

Jeter had called in the middle of the game to tell her, 'I just wanted to call and say, keep your head up, stay positive and everything will work out just great.'

After an initial scan that indicated she was cancer-free in 2014, Brielle received devastating news: the cancer had returned.

She began a second round of even more intensive chemotherapy. Jeter's experience with the disease is extremely intimate: his sister battled Hodgkins' lymphoma 13 years ago.

When Brielle managed to make it to a Yankees game in July, he told her,'You’ve got to stay positive. You shouldn’t worry about statistics or what anybody says. You are going to beat this. Everything is going to be great,' reports the New York Daily News.

On Sunday, Brielle was to weak to be there to support Jeter, even though she wanted to more than anything.

Outgoing captain: Derek Jeter #2 of the New York Yankees gestures to the crowd during Derek Jeter Day

Special bond: Jeter and Brielle have kept up contact over the years - and she needs him now than ever, as she battles an aggressive form of cancer for the second time

Reserved as always and with no hints of tears, Jeter thanked people a dozen times as he spoke to a capacity crowd of 48,110 at Yankee Stadium for about three minutes before a 2-0 loss to Kansas City further damaged New York's slim playoff chances.

'It's kind of hard to believe that 20 seasons has gone by so quickly,' the 40-year-old Jeter said following a 1½-minute ovation. 'You guys have all watched me grow up over the last 20 years. I've watched you, too. Some of you guys getting old, too. But I want to thank you for helping me feel like a kid for the last 20 years.'

"In my opinion, I've had the greatest job in the world. I got a chance to be the shortstop for the New York Yankees, and there's only one of those," he said. "I always felt as though it was my job — was to try to provide joy and entertainment for you guys. But it can't compare to what you brought me."