Their city was the victim of a kamikaze blitzkrieg. Their ballpark had become a staging area for the FDNY. Some still had friends or acquaintances among the missing.
And yet, the diabolical nature of this tragedy may not have been tangible to Mets players like Mark Johnson, who were out of town on what should have been a 10-game road trip. Only in the final moments of an eight-hour bus ride from Pittsburgh to New York did Johnson grasp the devastation of the World Trade Center.
“It’s unbelievable – at Newark you could see the smoke still coming up from the city,” Johnson said. “We were kind of separated from it because we were out of the city.
“And to be able to see it in person really hit home.”
At 1:40 a.m. yesterday morning, two Coach USA buses and two equipment-carrying trucks pulled into the Shea Stadium players parking lot. Even though the Mets had to take a mode of transportation usually reserved for minor leaguers, they were finally home.
“It’s great to be back in New York,” manager Bobby Valentine said. “Everybody’s ready to do whatever we have to do.”
A stone’s throw away, the LaGuardia Airport exit was cordoned off with orange cones. Behind the cones, a truck was parked sideways to block access.
While on the highway, the Mets had plenty of time to talk and think about this unprecedented tragedy. Although not in New York, they were still thickly involved.
Tuesday afternoon, the team moved from its downtown Pittsburgh hotel because of security concerns. It was next to a federal building.
Then the three-game series with the Pirates was scratched. This bus trip was just another unfortunate concession to terrorism. The players took it in stride.
“We realize the situation, how bad it was back here,” Johnson said. “To be on a bus for eight hours, I don’t think it’s a big deal at all.”
Commissioner Bud Selig was still weighing the timetable to resume games as of yesterday morning, but Major League Baseball will play the entire 162-game schedule.
“We’re ready to do whatever is necessary,” Valentine said.
The Mets are in third place in the NL East, 71-73 and eight games behind Atlanta. Before lower Manhattan became a living hell, the team was focused on pulling off an improbable run at the playoffs.
“As baseball players, you get a lot of accolades, but it makes you realize who the real heroes are in this world,” said Johnson, the Mets first baseman/outfielder. “Our hearts go out to those people, the cops and firefighters. It’s just a terrible tragedy.”
Johnson hadn’t seen his wife and children since the Mets left town Sept. 2. As Tuesday’s horror unfolded, he and his teammates contacted immediate family to make sure they were safe. Lucky enough that was the case. But in Johnson’s case, he knew of two acquaintances who were unaccounted for.
“So it’s tough,” he said. “It’s terrible.”