Extra Innings from 9/11: 20 Years Later takes a look at baseball’s role in the power of healing in the aftermath of the terrorist attack.

It’s fitting that the documentary starts out with Joe Torre and Bobby Valentine–former managers of the New York Yankees and Mets, respectively–visiting the 9/11 Memorial. The moment is hard-hitting and as emotional as it feels. Be forewarned though that it is not just select Yankees and Mets sharing their first-hand accounts but families who lost loved ones, not just of what happened on 9/11 but the weeks that followed.

The New York Mets were in Pittsburgh to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. They found out about the attacks while at the hotel. Valentine’s immediate thought was that “we have to get out of dodge.” The club would then take two buses on an eight-hour trip back to New York. Not a word was said on the bus after getting back to the city.

Torre and Bernie Williams reflect back on what actions they took as part of the Yankees organization. “I don’t know what to say but you look like you need a hug,” Williams recalls telling a woman at a vigil.

The New York Mets did their part by using their parking lot as a staging area. A number of tractor trailers were full of items that were being taken to the rescue workers at Ground Zero. It had the biggest impact on Mets pitcher John Franco. He especially wanted to do his part in the volunteer efforts. Franco is more than happy to help out if there’s an opportunity to do so.

Baseball finally resumed on September 17, 2001. It’s emotional watching clips of the Mets in their first game back. Fans gave them a standing ovation and rightfully so. Baseball wouldn’t allow them to wear the hats but Valentine kept his NYPD cap on. Mets players wore NYPD, FDNY, and other rescue caps during introductions.

Tom Verducci, ever the journalist, has the right words: “There was a feeling now of gathering together as a community. That’s what baseball does. We can sit shoulder to shoulder and argue about the umpire missing a call or not. All those familiar elements, I think, were comforting at a time when we needed comfort.”

The Yankees were visiting the Chicago White Sox on their return to play on September 18, 2001. Torre told his team that the NY on their caps represented more than the Yankees but the city of New York. People who usually rooted against the Yankees were embracing them at this time. It just felt like the right thing to do.

Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay didn’t have the same enthusiasm in the first games back. He had fan mail calling out the somber tone on the broadcast. Fans wanted the feeling of normalcy again.

When the Mets finally returned to Shea Stadium, it meant that their parking lot could no longer be a staging area. They were the first New York baseball club to play at home in the aftermath of 9/11. Make no mistake that emotions were running high. Just looking at the clips leads to chills all over my body. They were taking on the Atlanta Braves in a series that pitcher Tom Glavine wrote about in his memoir, Inside Pitch. Mike Piazza was a fan favorite in the return–the Hall of Fame catcher hit a 2-run homer to give the Mets a 3-2 lead and win the game. Piazza hung around afterwards in the dugout, meeting with families of 9/11 victims.

“I don’t feel like a hero,” Piazza recalls. “I feel honored that people put that home run and put that moment in such a high regard. We were glad that we gave the people something to feel good about.”

And then we get into the postseason, where the Yankees were the single New York Club advancing. Valentine was proud of the character that his team displayed in the days and weeks that followed the attack. As for the Yankees they were close to elimination after dropping their first two games to Oakland in the ALDS. A play by Derek Jeter turned the whole series around and moved the momentum in favor of the Yankees.

Brielle Saracini shares a story about Jeter inviting her to meet him at Yankee Stadium. It’s the sort of thing that makes you want to cry just watching it. What Jeter did shows how baseball players know when to rise to the occasion.

Adrenaline and excitement got the Yankees into the World Series, where they took on eventual champion Arizona Diamondbacks. Even though the results were not what the Yankees and their fans wanted, baseball did its part as the national pastime. That’s what happens when a team takes on a Diamondbacks pitching staff that includes both Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling.

Former president George W. Bush went to Yankee Stadium to throw out the first pitch before Game 3, wearing a bulletproof vest underneath his FDNY jacket. Jeter got into a conversation, asking Bush if he would throw from the rubber or the bottom of the mound. As Bush recalls, Jeter told him, “Don’t bounce it, they’ll boo you.” The umpires asked the president to sign a few baseballs. Now I’m not a fan of Bush’s term in office but watching the pitch again just brings back the emotional nostalgia from 2001. It was something that New York needed at the time. As for Game 4, Jeter earned the “Mr. November” nickname for hitting a walk-off home run. The series ultimately went to a Game 7, with the Diamondbacks winning 3-2 on a walk-off hit and interrupting what would have been the perfectly written script.

Extra Innings from 9/11: 20 Years Later ensures that nobody will forget the role that baseball played in the healing process after the attack on America. This is the human spirit at work. It’s been 23 years now and I still get emotional watching footage from 2001, including the video of St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck reading his poem on September 17 at Busch Stadum. Nothing will ever remove the pain or bring back the loved ones but for a few weeks there, baseball served its part as a distraction. NEVER FORGET.

DIRECTORS: Ross Greenburg and Joe Lavine
SCREENWRITER: Ousie Shapiro
FEATURING: Joe Torre, Bobby Valentine, Bernie Williams, Mike Piazza, John Franco, Al Leiter, Michael Kay, Tom Verducci, Derek Jeter, George W. Bush, Ari Fleischer, Ray Sturm, Brielle Saracini, Michael Quinn, Carol Gies, Sean McGuire, Caren Barbara, Joe Quinn, Michael Quinn, Matt Conroy, David Spaminato

HBO Max premiered Extra Innings from 9/11: 20 Years Later on September 11, 2021. Grade: 4/5

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