There are few dates that brings our country together more than Sept. 11. On that day the usual divides that separate our country melt away and we all come together to remember and mourn one of the most tragic day in our nation's history.
Sports played a role in helping us recover from the shock and sadness of Sept. 11. They helped provide a sense of normalcy to people in the United States when the world they now lived in was anything but, this was especially true in New York where the destruction was the most profound and the first responders at the World Trade Center have become some of our nation's most revered heroes.
In New York, the Mets were one of the teams that provided a buoy of normalcy for the people of New York to cling to in the uncertain waters our country faced following Sept. 11.
Ten days after 9/11, in the first sporting event in New York since the attacks on the World Trade Centers, Mets legend Mike Piazza drilled a home run late in the game to give the Mets the lead. It remains the most iconic and significant blast of Piazza's career. He put the entire city of New York on his back that night, providing an emotional release for its embattled and devastated people.
Sports franchises in New York played a special role in the wake of Sept. 11 and since have found their own ways to honor the heroes of that day. For a few years now, teams have worn special ""stars and stripes"" caps each year on Sept. 11.
This season on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, the Mets devised their own plan to honor the New York Police and fire departments as well as the Port Authority Police by requesting to wear special NYPD, FDNY and PAPD hats for their Sept. 11 home game against the Chicago Cubs.
These were the very same caps the Mets wore the night of Piazza's famous home run. The hats conveyed ""we're with you"" and ""thank you"" to the first responders.
The only problem was the decree that came down from Major League Baseball (read: Bud Selig and Joe Torre) that the Mets could only wear their tribute caps during batting practice and the pre-game ceremony. Once the game started they would be forced to switch to their regular game caps with a small American flag stitched on the side, citing a league-wide policy.
I am especially baffled as to how Joe Torre of all people could be one of the people behind the ruling.
Torre was the manager of the Yankees in 2001, and he of all people should know how much the Yankees and Mets meant to their shell-shocked city after the attacks. The ban on the Mets caps comes off as a sign of disrespect to the city.
This wasn't the Kansas City Royals asking to wear special caps; it was the Mets, a team that plays just a bourough over from where the attacks took place, a team that was involved in helping load trucks of supplies bound for ground zero.
Even the NFL, which has earned the nickname ""No Fun League"" for its low tolerance of player antics and strict wardrobe rules, allowed its players to don special American flag gloves and cleats in honor of 9/11.
It comes off as heartless to make the Mets stick to the same uniform policy as every other team on a day that means so much to their fans and their city. I'm willing to bet that if the MLB was able to slap a $36.99 price tag on the hats before the game and put them on sale at every team pro shop and souvenir stand it could find, the Mets would have been proudly sporting the hats on Monday.
Mets starting pitcher R.A. Dickey summed it up nicely on Twitter following the game.
""It's so much bigger than hats,"" he tweeted.
That is what the MLB failed to realize in this situation. The hats were a way for the Mets to stand up and support not only their city but their country as well on a day where we should all take pause to remember the sacrifice of the first responders.
Do you feel the MLB was justified in their decision? E-mail Ryan at rmevans2@dailycardinal.com.
