Wake Up With Mike Piazza's Post 9/11 Home Run

I started doing another wakeup for today but then I realized what the date was. Immediately I knew that I had to switch to this moment. I’m showing my age here, but it’s wild that a decent amount of readers who don’t remember the morning of September 11,2001, or were too young to know what was going on that day. Today you’ll see some incredible videos, Red Bandana will make me cry every single time, make sure you watch that, and I’m sure you’ll read a bunch of other pieces about the heroes of 9/11, and the people who didn’t have the chance to get out on that morning.

Sports were weird during this time because people didn’t really know how to react, was it okay to cheer for sports again? Was it okay to bitch about your team losing a game with all of these events happening? The guys on SNL said it best, yes it was okay to laugh and watch sports, and go on with your life, while also remembering the people who perished on that day.

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Games were delayed, and rightfully so, sports were taking a back seat while the country was under attack. Mike Piazza made sure people knew when baseball would be back. 9/21/01, the first Mets game in New York after the attacks, a day Mets fans will never forget.

Piazza was at the plate and hit a towering 2-run home run to center field in the bottom of the 8th to put the Mets up 3-2 over the Braves, a score that would hold up resulting in a Mets win. A truly incredible moment that Piazza talked about in his Hall Of Fame speech, deflecting all the praise to the first responders who died in the attacks. Piazza was mobbed in the dugout by his teammates, many of which were wearing hats with “NYPD” and “NYFD” on them. What a wave of emotions for the people of New York.

This was really the first time the people of New York cheered and seemed happy after the attacks, and you don’t blame them. This was a great moment for Piazza and this team in the darkest time of our countries history. Watch the homer and try not to tear up, the emotion in the call, seeing Piazza round the bases trying to hold back tears. What a scene, what a moment.