Ten days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the New York Mets had returned home in what would be the first professional sporting event to take place in the city since that tragic day. Almost 20 years later, the events of that night are still remembered as a pivotal moment in the nation’s healing.
Major League Baseball had canceled all of its games for a week after 9/11. Play would resume, but the Mets would not return to Shea Stadium until Sept. 21.
AFTER SEPTEMBER 11, GEORGE W. BUSH WAS CALLED UP TO MAKE THE PERFECT LAUNCH IN THE 2001 WORLD SERIES
There were hesitations until just before the first pitch. Was it too early? Were New Yorkers ready to fill a stadium and celebrate? Was it even safe?
The unknown consumed the minds of every player, including the visiting Atlanta Braves.
Should we be here? It’s too soon? We had a lot of restlessness, a lot of anxiety, ”Mets catcher Mike Piazza told WCBS this week. Terrorism was still prevalent in our minds, it was still in our thoughts. Much of the fear of the unknown. We didn’t know what was going to happen, we didn’t know what the feeling would be.
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The Mets were losing when Piazza came up to the plate late in the eighth. There was a running back on base and the normal pressures of baseball seemed insignificant to the pressure of giving New Yorkers something to distract themselves with.
“I had the gift of concentration and I felt very calm and was able to slow down the moment,” said Piazza.
He would hit the game-winning home run, possibly his most significant home run.
As a gloomy Piazza surrounded the bases as the crowd of more than 40,000 buzzed.
Left fielder Joe McEwing # 47, shortstop John Valentin # 4, catcher Mike Piazza # 31, third baseman Edgardo Alfonzo # 13 and right fielder Jeromy Burnitz # 20 of the New York Mets hold their FDNY and NYPD caps over their hearts during the national anthem before the second game of a MLB double header against the Atlanta Braves on September 11, 2002 at Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia. The Mets shut out the Braves 5-0. (Photo by Jamie Squire /.)
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“It was a release of emotion and people just wanted to be together,” he continued. “People wanted to cheer something up and being in the right place at the right time is an honor.”
Piazza was a hero in New York long before then, but his time with the Mets will always be highlighted by the legacy of that home run.
