The Shea Stadium scoreboard with a ribbon over the Twin Towers
My “where were you” story of 9/11 isn’t anything special. I remember I saw the last baseball played before it all stopped. My brother, my dad and I were at the A’s game against the Rangers on the night of Monday, September 10th. Barry Zito threw a complete game against a lineup that included Rafael Palmeiro, Michael Young and Alex Rodriguez. I remember walking out of the stadium on a chilly night with low attendance, a few fans on the steps in front of me in A’s windbreakers pulling out cigarettes as we neared the exit. The next morning, I was walking into the kitchen before school and two smoking towers were on the living room TV. The rest of the day was a slow school day as every classroom had the news on.
I wasn’t directly impacted by the attacks. As a high school sophomore in the Bay Area 3,000 miles across the country, I was a level removed from the horrific realities of that day. Now, 22 years later, I’ve come across many people who were much closer to the story. The 2,977 who died that day all had friends and families they left behind, many who had to wait days or weeks for any update on their missing loved ones. Some have stories of close calls, near misses, or what they can only chalk up to divine intervention on why they were not at the World Trade Center that morning. While I was fortunate enough to be spared that kind of anguish, the whole country changed.
I remember the dark cloud that hung over the nation as we waited for any uplifting news as 24/7 coverage of the disaster had everyone’s anxiety ratcheted to the max. A week later, baseball returned. Those first games back, packed with moments of silence, infield-covering American flags and FDNY and NYPD hats, were such a needed break at the time. While the country still had a long way to go, it was a relief to have a few hours with Jon Miller on the mic calling nine innings of a Giants-Astros game instead of Dan Rather sharing death toll updates. Baseball gave us an amazing two-month stretch when it returned. Barry Bonds broke the home run record. The Mariners and Japanese sensation Ichiro Suzuki set the single-season wins record. Derek Jeter became Mr. November. And one of the best World Series of all time ended in a dramatic Game 7 walk-off blooper off the greatest closer of all time.
So today, when all the “Never Forget” tributes are splashed across social media, I hope people take a moment to remember what Never Forget means. Never Forget those who lost their lives that day. Never Forget those who lost loved ones or those who are living with physical or mental ailments from that day. And Never Forget what it really means to be an American. That for a time in this nation’s history when we got punched in the mouth, the people of this country regrouped and rallied around each other. Patriotism isn’t just displaying one of the millions of mini flags that emerged afterwards or chanting U-S-A at a rally. Patriotism today involves pausing and reflecting, reminding yourself that what’s actually important requires courage and sacrifice, whether that’s running into a burning skyscraper when everyone’s running out, or to storm the cockpit of a hijacked plane, or doing whatever you can to support and lift up your fellow Americans, regardless of the differences between you and them.
After this last decade of seeing the selfish, nasty and ugly side of Americans tearing each other apart, I hope when we take a second to remember what it was really like to live through those days. When we remember how we were all pulling in the same direction for a time, maybe we can slowly back away from the anger and hatred brewing. I just hope it doesn’t take another day like 9/11 for that to happen.
Cal Poly baseball during the National Anthem before a game in 2007
That’s all I’ve got, but I did find some striking and memorable pictures from when baseball returned in 2001. I’ll put the gallery below and finish it with Jack Buck’s poem from September 17, 2001.
Since this nation was founded under God, more than 200 years ago, We have been the bastion of freedom, the light that keeps the free world aglow.
We do not covet the possessions of others; We are blessed with the bounty we share. We have rushed to help other nations; anything...anytime...anywhere.
War is just not our nature, We won't start but we will end the fight. If we are involved, We shall be resolved, To protect what we know is right.
We have been challenged by a cowardly foe, Who strikes and then hides from our view. With one voice we say, "We have no choice today, There is only one thing to do."
Everyone is saying the same thing and praying, That we end these senseless moments we are living. As our fathers did before, We shall win this unwanted war, And our children will enjoy the future we'll be giving.
"I don't know about you, but as for me, the question has already been answered: Should we be here? Yes!" - Jack Buck
