Former New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza famously hit the first MLB home run in New York after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In a Sept. 21 home game against the Atlanta Braves, Piazza stepped to the plate at Shea Stadium with the Mets down 2-1.
However, Piazza smacked a Steve Karsay pitch to deep left-center for the go-ahead two-run homer, as the Mets won the game. Today, it is considered one of the most iconic home runs in New York sports and MLB history, as many first responders and family members of those lost in the attack were in attendance that night.
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New York Mets’ Mike Piazza hits an 8th inning homerun to lead the Mets past the Atlanta Braves, 3-2, on a patriotic and dramatic night at Shea Stadium as baseball returns to New York City. (Howard Earl Simmons/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
Piazza’s manager at the time, longtime player and manager Bobby Valentine, gave credit to former President George W. Bush for the catcher hitting the historic home run at that moment.
“Bush truly believed, he was the one who believed that if baseball came back, the road to recovery would be a lot better. And he pushed for it and I believed in him and I think the reason we played in New York, the reason the Atlanta Braves came to New York, the reason Mike Piazza hit the home run in New York, was mainly because George W. felt that that was the right thing to do,” Valentine said during an interview with OutKick’s Dan Dakich.
MLB had postponed all games in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. After a week of silence, games slowly resumed, but the nation was still reeling as New Yorkers were still in shock. However, Bush was one of the biggest proponents for having baseball resume as quickly as it did, culminating in Piazza’s home run.
It was considered a symbolic moment in the city and the country’s road to recovery from the attack that killed nearly 3,000 Americans. Valentine said it was one of the most memorable times of his career.
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Former President George W. addresses the nation after the 9/11 terror attacks. ( Greg Mathieson/Mai/Getty Images)
“It was the craziest time that I was ever apart of anything. To be part of New York City, to be a part of the New York Mets, to be apart of the recovery ensued was amazing. We waited ten days, came back on 9/21, Mike Piazza hit that home run, it was the shot heard round the world, for sure. Because the sound of it was so crackling. It was an amazing barrel, if you will, that’s why they call them these days. And it just turned the frowns upside down and go things going in the right direction again,” Valentine said.
Later that year, Bush made an in-person appearance at the third game of the World Series between the Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks at Yankee Stadium.
Bush was invited to throw the first pitch at Game in Arizona for security purposes, but he declined, instead waiting for Game 3 in the Bronx on Oct. 30.
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Dressed in an FDNY sweater covering a bulletproof vest, a somber Bush walked out of the Yankees dugout and waved to the crowd as he took the mound. The electric crowd cheered as the president threw a strike directly over home plate.
“I had never had such an adrenaline rush as when I finally made it to the mound. I was saying to the crowd, ‘I’m with you, the country’s with you’ … And I wound up and fired the pitch,” Bush previously told MLB.com. “I’ve been to conventions and rallies and speeches: I’ve never felt anything so powerful and emotions so strong, and the collective will of the crowd so evident.”
The Yankees went on to win that night, but ultimately lost to Arizona in seven games, snapping their streak of three straight titles.
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