Last Updated: April 10th, 2024 by Michael Schatz
We all remember where we were on September 11, 2001. It was a day when time stood still and our lives were changed forever. For Major League Baseball, they had the difficult task of deciding when to play again. Did people even want something as trivial as a baseball game to be played? Would people gather in such large numbers?
The answer came ten days later when the New York Mets became the first team to play in New York since the attacks. From a strictly baseball point-of-view, it was an important series. The NL East-leading Braves were in town with the Mets trailing by six games. It was the heat of the pennant race and any other year, Shea Stadium would rocking with the intensity that only a rivalry like this can produce.
But this was different. Emotions were still raw. The pregame ceremonies featured a tribute to the victims of the World Trade Center attacks. There was an unease amongst the crowd. Was it okay to cheer? Was it okay to smile?
What no one could have predicted was just how badly the crowd of 41,235 – and, frankly, all of us – wanted those things. We wanted something to take our minds off what had happened. And what better way to do that than a baseball game.
For the home team, they went into the bottom of the eighth trailing 2-1 and in danger of slipping even further behind the Braves. Steve Karsay was on the mound for the Braves and had just issued a one-out walk to Edgardo Alfonzo. That brought up the man Mets fans wanted at the plate in a situation like this – Mike Piazza.
Piazza had already doubled twice and now represented the go-ahead run. The crowd rose to its feet. The familiar ‘Let’s Go Mets’ chant spread through the crowd. Suddenly, things seemed normal.
And then Piazza belted a two-run home run over the center field wall, giving the Mets a 3-2 lead they would not relinquish. But it was much more than an important home run. It was like Piazza had told everyone that it was okay to smile again. “I’m just so happy I gave the people something to cheer,” said Piazza.
And he was right. It didn’t matter if you rooted for the Mets or not. Seeing that was a sign that, although it might take time, things were going to be okay. It showcased the beauty of sports. That in a time of national tragedy, something as simple as a baseball game can bring us all together.
As for the baseball of it all, the Mets faded and finished third. But if you ask any Met fan, what they remember most from that 2001 season is Mike Piazza’s emotional home run deep into the fall night.