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Most of the 41,000 in attendance arrived by 6 p.m., and from beyond the walls of the stadium, fans and players could hear the distant sounds of the NYPD's bagpipe band, the Pipes & Drums of the Emerald Society, warming up. Players began to meander around the field, most wearing NYPD or FDNY hats that had been put in both clubhouses. They hugged and shook hands, an uncharacteristic scene from two teams who'd shared a heated rivalry over the past few seasons. There was a mix of electricity and sadness in the ether that no one had ever felt before. But she had spent 10 days feeling numb, so there was something about finally feeling the grief with 40,000 other people that lifted some of the heaviness. The boys didn't cry -- they just watched, silently.
The Mets were losing when Piazza stepped up to the plate at the bottom of the eighth. There was a runner on base and the normal pressures of baseball seemed insignificant to the pressure of giving New Yorkers something to distract themselves with. Major League Baseball had canceled all its games for a week after 9/11. Play would resume but the Mets would not return to Shea Stadium until Sept. 21.
“It was paramount for baseball to resume”
“To have that ripped away from so many of us was tough. We talked about the frustration of not knowing when to come back after a tragedy like that and all the feelings going into that game were something you can’t describe. New York went on to win, cementing the moment in Mets lore and providing a modicum of normalcy for the 41,235 fans in attendance, including many first responders and their families, and the countless others watching at home. The game had personal meaning for Karsay as well, even being on the wrong side of it. He grew up in an apartment building just minutes from Shea, and from his bedroom window he could see both the stadium and the Twin Towers. “When you have a lot of people pulling for you, you feel it,” Piazza told MLB Network in 2016.
The moment on Sept. 21, 2001, when that ball cleared the center-field fence will live forever. It is part of Piazza’s legacy, one magical home run of 427. Piazza debuted in 1992 with the Dodgers, who selected him in the 62nd round of the '88 Draft, and took home National League Rookie of the Year honors in his first full season in '93.
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People ask if the country can ever get back to the unity we had post-9/11. For that one period of time, we saw more of what we have in common instead of our differences. I don’t think anyone really cared about politics. Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Piazza, 53, tells The Post’s Dean Balsamini about his emotions on the evening of Sept. 21, 2001, at Shea Stadium. The Mets were losing to the rival Atlanta Braves 2-1 when Piazza’s dramatic, two-run, eighth-inning homer propelled the team to victory — and lifted the spirits of heartbroken New Yorkers. “That moment, I think, gave the fans in the stadium and the City of New York a small amount of time to take their mind away from the outside world,” Karsay said.
After Queens native Steve Karsay threw over to first and then threw a strike to Piazza, the Mets star drilled the next pitch high over the left-center field wall and into the camera tower. In the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks, Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig postponed a week’s worth of games. The following weekend, the NFL resumed play, but the Jets were in Foxborough to meet the Patriots and the Giants were in Kansas City to take on the Chiefs. So, exactly 10 days later, professional sports returned to New York when the Mets hosted the Braves at Shea Stadium. As the game moved into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Braves held a 2-1 lead. But with a man on andSteve Karsayon the mound, Piazza delivered one of the most memorable moments in Mets history, launching a two-run homer to left-center for what proved to be so much more than a game-winning home run.
Letters to the Editor — Sept. 18, 2021
Piazza barely moved the bat off his shoulder, and as he stepped out of the batter's box for a moment, he thought, "S--t, I think I missed my best pitch." When they were done, the bagpipers pivoted and followed the cops and firefighters out beyond the stadium walls. The Braves headed for their dugout and the Mets took the field.
He played the majority of his career with Los Angeles and New York, but also had brief stints with the Marlins, Padres and A's. "It was just this incredible release of emotion," Piazza told MLB Network earlier this year. On Sept. 21, 2001, 10 days after the terror attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, Piazza provided a small dose of healing for a city rebounding from tragedy.
"You never like to lose, but that was one that was pretty easy to accept." Diana Ross followed with a gut-wrenching version of "God Bless America." She started out at a mic stand set up behind home plate, facing the crowd. As she powered through the song, she slowly drifted past the four umps, stationed staring out from home plate, and stood halfway between the plate and the pitcher's mound.
Most of the 41,235 in attendance didn’t know what to expect or how to act. The crowd mustered only a low murmur and a few scattered cheers of “U-S-A! ” Both teams exited the dugouts to line up along their respective baselines — something that only happens on Opening Day or in the postseason. "It was a release of emotion and people just wanted to be together," he continued.
"I felt myself starting to break down. I didn't really know if I could finish the game. Fortunately, as everything unfolded, I did receive emotional strength from everyone, and the old feelings of competitiveness kicked in." The New York Yankees played their first home game following the 9/11 attacks on Sept. 25 of the 2001 season and lost to Tampa Bay, 4-0. The World Series-bound Yankees clinched their fourth straight division title, though, when Boston lost to Baltimore earlier that day. "It'll be a hard day for us on Sept. 11 of this year, for sure," Gies says, before reflecting on the game that helped her family heal. "But I'll also spend some time just feeling grateful for that night, and for that Mike Piazza home run. Everything changed for us when he hit that ball. We could smile again."
By the 7th-inning stretch, when Liza Minnelli belted out a rousing rendition of “New York, New York,” the crowd was raucous. His eyes welled, his bottom lip quivered, as he fought tears. It was a stirring show of compassion for a city that had always treated him as the enemy. I became a Chipper Jones fan in that moment. But I’ll never forget the face of Braves third baseman Chipper Jones. Like most Met fans, I hated this cocky future Hall of Famer and inveterate Met killer.
Atlanta players were solemn as the crowd erupted for 30 seconds, enough to lure Piazza out for a curtain call. But deep down, even the Braves were cheering. "It seems only fitting that Mike hit a game-winning home run," Maddux says.