Former New York Mets and New York Yankees reflect on September 11 attacks

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Former members of the New York Mets and New York Yankees are reflecting on Sept. 11, 2001, and the role baseball played as New York grappled with the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.

For the Mets, the attacks unfolded while the team was in Pittsburgh preparing for a series against the Pirates. As news of the attacks spread, the club was forced to relocate.

"MLB wanted us to move up to the hills in the Allegheny Mountains somewhere because they were concerned the federal buildings were all targets and our hotel was next to a federal building," former Mets pitcher John Franco said.

Jay Horwitz, the Mets' longtime media relations executive, said the team moved to the suburbs near Robert Morris College before it was safe to return to New York.

"So we moved to the suburbs of Robert Morris College until it was safe to come back. We took a 10-hour bus trip back from Pittsburgh," Horwitz said.

Franco recalled the mood as the team approached the city.

"As soon as we got to the George Washington Bridge, the bus was completely silent from the GWB to Shea Stadium. Not a sound was made," he said.

Former Mets manager Bobby Valentine said players and staff were confronted by a sobering sight upon their return.

"We all together kind of saw what we didn't want to see. We saw the horrific sight of black smoke covering the greatest city in the world," Valentine said.

Todd Zeile said the quiet ride was unlike anything he had experienced.

"It was probably the most silent five to 10 minutes. It felt like an hour that I had ever seen on a team bus," he said.

When the Mets arrived back in New York, Shea Stadium had been transformed into a relief distribution center. With games suspended, players and staff looked for ways to assist recovery efforts.

"Bobby Valentine was an unbelievable leader at the time. He was like the general," Franco said.

Valentine recalled the uncertainty surrounding those first days after the attacks.

"Do something. That was the call. No one knew what to do. There was no playbook," he said.

Franco said players volunteered wherever they were needed.

"Twenty-five guys after practice went out, we unloaded tractor-trailers, whatever they needed for Ground Zero," he said.

Reflecting on the team's response, Franco said the tragedy affected everyone in the clubhouse.

"We were a band of brothers. And look, it hit everybody, not just me and Al because we were from the area. It hit everybody and everybody banded together," he said.

Hall of Famer Mike Piazza said the team felt a responsibility to help the community.

"No one told us to do it. A baseball game, a baseball team like the Mets affects the community," Piazza said.

Valentine said the players' response remains his proudest memory as a leader.

"It's my proudest moment as a leader, to say that that group of guys stood tall," he said.

When baseball returned to New York on Sept. 21, the Mets hosted the Atlanta Braves in an emotionally charged game.

"It had the pomp and circumstance of a World Series," former Mets pitcher Al Leiter said.

"This was playoff baseball, all for the wrong reasons," he added.

The game is remembered for Piazza's dramatic eighth-inning home run.

"When he hit it, I was like, 'Yeah, this is the moment,'" Zeile said.

"He was just made for that situation. He was our savior," Horwitz said.

Piazza later reflected on what the moment meant to fans and the city.

"To me, that was the biggest honor," he said.

Leiter said the significance extended far beyond baseball.

"For these men that were lost that day, we can never forget. We can't allow it," he said.

Zeile agreed.

"It couldn't be a more appropriate moniker than 'Never Forget.' It's very simple, but I think completely accurate," he said.

For members of the Yankees, the memories of Sept. 11 remain just as vivid.

"You wake up to my wife saying, 'Andy, something terrible is happening,'" former Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte said.

"You're watching TV and all of a sudden you see the second plane hit. This is terrible," he added.

Former Yankees manager Joe Torre said the attacks immediately put baseball into perspective.

"It was a numbness when you saw what was taking place. All of a sudden, baseball was not important. It's been my whole life, but it was not important because you're not believing what you're seeing," Torre said.

Major League Baseball suspended play before resuming the season Sept. 17.

"You could still see smoke from Ground Zero," former Yankees outfielder Paul O'Neill said.

Pettitte said returning to the field felt surreal.

"It was so surreal. I can't believe it happened. It almost seemed wrong to go back to playing baseball again," he said.

Torre said he reminded players they represented more than a baseball team.

"I said the 'NY' on the cap represents more than the Yankees. It represents the city of New York, and we have a responsibility here," he said.

Pettitte said the players' mindset changed as the season resumed.

"It almost shifted from, 'Should we be playing?' to you never wanted to win a game more than those games. You never wanted to perform better," he said.

The Yankees carried that emotion into the World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Before Game 3 at Yankee Stadium, President George W. Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

"It was one of the most memorable things I'll ever see, the president throwing out the first pitch," O'Neill said.

"At that time, for him to come out there, there was no political party. Everyone was united. It makes you emotional watching him stand out on the mound," Pettitte said.

Although Arizona won the series in seven games, Yankees players said the World Series became about far more than baseball.

"The outcome was not larger than the three games here, if that makes sense," O'Neill said.

"What it meant to the city and what it meant to what was going on in the world, those three games in New York are what I remember about that World Series, not the final outcome," he said.

Torre agreed.

"Those three games made it the most exciting World Series because of who we were doing it in front of," he said.

Twenty-five years later, players and coaches from both teams said the memory of Sept. 11 remains unchanged.

"Some things don't go away with time, and this is one of them because the world will never forget. And the people of New York will never forget," O'Neill said.