NY Athletes Remebrance of 9/11

The attacks on 9/11 affected everyone in New York. Area professional athletes were unsure how to react and how to get back to work. New York Jets coach Herm Edwards said in an interview to the New York Post, "I got the team together and said, ‘Boys, let me tell you something. If you're not focused today, I get it, because I ain't focused.’ I said, ‘You guys go home. What we need to do right now is pray. We need to pray as Americans.’”

Michael Strahan, who was the Giants defensive end was deeply affected, changed his feelings about going on the road. He said in an ESPN interview, “The feeling of going on the road, playing an NFL game, it definitely changed ... because there was patriotism.”

After 9/11 baseball had a huge impact on the emotions of New Yorkers. The two major baseball teams that had a major effect were the Yankees and the Mets. Before 9/11, the Yankees players were resting at home. The Mets were traveling back from Pittsburgh. As they entered New York they noticed a large puff of black smoke. Feelings of sorrow, grief and fear passed through their minds. Despite their feelings they had to move on.

Ten days after the attack, the Mets had their first game. Although the Mets were very depressed, they had to play. The crowd wasn’t too happy before that game, but Mike Piazza’s home run turned their frowns upside down.

Now ten years after 9/11 the Mets look back and remember the event as if it were a picture. Bobby Parnell, the closer for the Mets, still remembers the exact number of firefighter and paramedic casualties. This year the Mets third baseman David Wright said, "The whole week was special leading up to tonight." Obviously, we remember and honor those heroes, but at the same time, I think it should be done a little more often than once a year."

Mike Piazza was present at the 10th anniversary game. During that day,Piazza had a chance to reflect, “It definitely is painful looking back, thinking about that week and reflecting on it,I thought the ceremony was very moving and just very well done. I'm very proud to be a part of it, very humbled to be a part of it.”

During the aftermath of 9/11, Yankee players came to lower Manhattan to see how the situation was. The level of pain that victims’ families were facing emotionally made visiting it awkward for the players, but they eventually learned that families appreciated them coming. In a previous interview, Derek Jeter said, “I think after that we had a better appreciation of what we represented.”

MLB eventually restarted and the Yankees were back to the World Series. Mariano Rivera and Jeter both sensed a boost in the importance of winning. “That’s when it seemed like most of the city was rallying around us,” said Jeter. The New York Yankees won all three of their next games, two of which where late-inning rallies.

Ten years later, the effects of 9/11 are still in the minds of athletes. Each day goes by in remorse. Now the athletes are more aware of their role on the general public.


By: Shafat Choudhury, Nasif Chowdhury and Velid Mulic

Local hero Pedro Beato cracks the New York Mets opening day roster

Pedro Beato / Nicholas Diunte

Once he steps foot on the mound for the New York Mets, Xaverian high school graduate Pedro Beato will have accomplished what every kid with a bat and a glove toiling the New York City sandlots desires - to play big league baseball for the hometown team.

As profiled earlier this spring by our own Marcelo Bravo, Beato represents the hopes and dreams of the thousands of area school-aged children wanting to follow in his footsteps. Blessed with a tremendous arm and a tantalizing 6’4” build, it is apparent why the Orioles offered him a $1 million signing bonus.

Acquired from the Orioles during the Rule 5 draft this winter, Beato will have to stay with the Mets the entire season or else be offered back to the Orioles for $25,000, half of his draft fee. Beato is no stranger to the Mets organization, as they drafted him out of high school in the 2005 MLB Draft, but opted for a year at St. Petersburg Community College when the Mets could not meet his demands for the $1 million he sought as a bonus.

In 12.2 innings this spring, Beato posted a 3.55 ERA. He figures to be used in the bullpen for middle relief. Regardless of whatever capacity he serves for the Mets, Beato will fulfill a boyhood dream when he climbs on the mound fully clad in his Mets uniform. Legions of New Yorkers will be vicariously watching one of their own embark on his major league career.