Yankees remember Henry Kissinger as 'lifelong friend' in tribute statement

K.T. McFarland, a former deputy national security adviser, remembers former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

The New York Yankees on Thursday paid tribute to Henry Kissinger after the former U.S. secretary of state died Wednesday at the age of 100.

"The Yankees are profoundly saddened by the passing of former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who performed varied and vital diplomatic and advisory roles throughout his distinguished career," the team said in a statement.

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Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger takes in the game between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, August 28, 2007, at Yankee Stadium. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

"A lifelong friend of the Yankees organization, he was a frequent welcome guest of the Steinbrenner family at Yankee Stadium. We offer our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and all who had the privilege of knowing him. He will be deeply missed."

Kissinger was quoted as saying in Yankees Magazine in 2012 that he started to attend games at the old Yankee Stadium when he moved from Germany to the U.S. in 1938.

At the time, he said that Joe DiMaggio’s play made him love the sport.

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K.T. McFarland, a former deputy national security adviser, said Henry Kissinger laid the groundwork for a generation of peace in the Middle East. (Daniel Vogl/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)

"When a ball was hit to him, he sometimes looked as if he were loping, but suddenly he would get to the ball," Kissinger said. "I identified the Yankees with Joe DiMaggio, but in those days — at which time I was working in a factory — it never