Major League Baseball and teams nationwide paused Friday to honor the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. The observances included on-field tributes, special programming, community service projects, and moments of silence, according to league and team sources.
In New York, MLB and the New York Mets co-hosted a meal-packing event at Citi Field with the nonprofit 9/11 Day as part of the UNITE for Good initiative. The event took place just miles from the site of the original attacks. Later, players, managers, coaches, and umpires wore caps with a “We Shall Never Forget” side patch. The Toronto Blue Jays donned caps featuring both Canadian and American flags, while the Yankees and Mets wore first-responder caps at Yankee Stadium.
Before Friday night’s game in the Bronx, Mets players and manager Buck Showalter laid a wreath at the 9/11 memorial in Monument Park. The national anthem was sung by opera tenor James Valenti, followed by Lee Greenwood performing “God Bless America.” Across Major League Baseball ballparks, league-wide tributes included customized base jewels and official lineup cards. Teams also observed a moment of silence before their games.
Universities across the country paid tribute as well. Shea Stadium served as a staging ground for relief efforts shortly after the attacks, with players and volunteers loading trucks bound for Ground Zero. The Mets moved to Citi Field in 2009. Baseball returned to New York on Sept. 21, when Mike Piazza hit an eighth-inning home run to lift the Mets to a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves. Six weeks later, President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch at Game 3 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees ultimately lost the series to the Arizona Diamondbacks in seven games.
College football also commemorated the anniversary. Boston College and Rutgers met in a special-edition game, with Rutgers wearing red jerseys and white helmets featuring No. 37 and an American flag inside the number to honor alumni lost in the attacks. “Never Forget” appeared on the side of the Scarlet Knights’ pants. Boston College’s uniforms included a red bandanna design on the sleeves, chest logo, and helmet stripe, honoring Welles Crowther, a Boston College lacrosse player who rescued others during the attacks and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
