This year marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11, and MLB Network is rolling out a new documentary on how baseball helped bring the country back to good following the largest loss of life in a terrorist attack on American soil that fateful morning in 2001.
Premiering Sept. 10 at 10 P.M. ET on MLB Network, “When America Took The Field” explores ‘how baseball helped heal a nation following the tragic events of September 11, 2001.’
Former Mets infielder Todd Zeile serves as an executive producer for the two-hour documentary, and is one of many players, broadcasters, and persons impacted by 9/11 who lent their perspectives to the film – with Zeile among many remembering the Mets’ 3-2 win over the Braves on Sept. 21, 2001, at Shea Stadium, the first MLB game to be played after the tragedy.
“September 21st, 2001 will always be the most significant day of my baseball career,” Zeile said in an MLB Network release. “While wearing the caps of our first responders, it wasn’t just another baseball game. It helped unite America through the healing power of baseball and the strength of the human spirit. My hope is that this film preserves these stories for future generations and, above all, reminds us of the promise we all share: Never Forget.”
Mike Piazza, whose emotional home run sparked the Mets in that first game back, is another one of several then-Yankees and Mets in the film, and the New York flavor also extends to a joint interview with Mike and the Mad Dog, the iconic duo who owned WFAN’s afternoon airwaves for over a decade before 9/11 and nearly a decade after.
From MLB Network’s release:
“While many of the defining images emerged in New York, the documentary reveals how the tragedy also touched clubhouses and communities across the country. Players, managers and executives share personal stories of where they were on 9/11, how the attacks affected them and how baseball helped in the time that followed. Families of the victims will also share deeply personal accounts from that tragic time in their lives and the lasting bonds forged from the baseball world.
By preserving firsthand memories from those in baseball who lived through September 11th, When America Took the Field honors the lives changed by the attacks and ensures that stories of courage, compassion and resilience will continue to impact the nation well into the future.”
The film premieres Sept. 10 on TV, but hours earlier, there will also be a showing at Citi Field that day in an event for Mets season ticket holders and select guests – with Piazza, Zeile, and several other Mets legends also expected to be in attendance.
