Sept. 11 doc on MLB Network tells story of 'When America Took the Field'

NEW YORK -- On Sept. 11, 2001, Chief Terri Tobin of the New York Police Department spent over an hour evacuating survivors from Ground Zero before the South Tower fell. The injuries she sustained in the collapse put her in the hospital.

Ten days later, Tobin, a Mets fan born and raised in Queens, watched from her hospital bed as the Mets finally returned to the field at Shea Stadium. She was still watching a few hours later, when Mike Piazza hit the home run that helped heal a city.

Twenty-five years later, at Citi Field on Thursday night, Tobin met Piazza for the first time.

“We have those memories seared into our brains,” Tobin said, seated alongside Piazza and other members of the 2001 Mets. “But I will say, the glimmer of hope really came when Mike hit that home run.”​

As baseball returned in the aftermath of the attacks, Piazza’s home run may have provided its signature moment. And it’s just one of many storylines that unfolds in “When America Took the Field,” a new documentary produced by MLB Network that premiered at Citi Field on Thursday night. The film chronicles the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, and how Major League Baseball stepped forward to help heal the nation. Todd Zeile, 2001 Mets first baseman, executive produced the film alongside Mark Leinweaver and Chris Wax.

The documentary will air on MLB Network and stream on MLB.TV and MLB+ at the following times:

Friday, Sept. 11 at 10 p.m. ET
Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. ET
Sunday, Sept. 13 at 8 p.m. ET

Beginning on Monday, Sept. 14, it will be available on demand for all MLB.TV and MLB+ subscribers.

“When America Took the Field” features interviews with figures from across the baseball landscape. There are players including Ken Griffey Jr., Bernie Williams, Chipper Jones, Roger Clemens, Craig Biggio and others; managers Bobby Valentine and Joe Torre; former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig; and broadcasters Bob Costas, Joe Buck and Tom Verducci. The film also features extensive excerpts from a conversation between Zeile, Piazza, Al Leiter and John Franco.

David Wright, who attended the premiere, was only 18 on Sept. 11, and had just finished his first Minor League season; he wasn’t a New Yorker yet. But after the attacks, something changed.

“Putting that Minor League jersey on from then on, it felt different,” he said. “Even though I had very little experience in New York, putting New York across my chest just meant more.”

“When America Took the Field” tells the baseball stories – notably, Piazza’s home run and the Yankees’ run to the World Series, including a memorable interview with Ray Sturm, the Secret Service agent who, during the World Series, went undercover as an umpire. But it also follows ordinary people who suffered unimaginable losses on Sept. 11, and who looked to baseball for help.

There’s the Marino family, for instance. Kenny Marino was a member of Rescue 1, a specialized unit of the New York Fire Department, and he was one of the 343 firefighters who never made it home on Sept. 11. In the aftermath, Kenny’s wife Katrina sought solace from an unexpected source: Kenny’s favorite player, Ken Griffey Jr.

Then there’s Brielle Saracini, whose father Victor was the captain of United Airlines Flight 175, which struck the South Tower. In the days after her father’s death, Brielle wrote a letter to her favorite player, Derek Jeter. The documentary features a photo taken two weeks later, of joy flooding Brielle’s face when she realized that Jeter had responded.

On the Mets’ side, there’s the Quackenbush family. Chris Quackenbush worked on the 104th floor of the South Tower, and had gone into the office early on Sept. 11. He was a Mets fanatic. Ten days after the attacks, his son C.J. was in the stands when the Mets returned to Shea and Piazza went deep.

“Part of what we wanted to do in this film is beyond just the baseball stories, we wanted to find some family stories that we could tell,” said director Andrew Brenner. “We really wanted to tell the story that baseball played in helping people heal a little bit.”

Every year on Sept. 11, Zeile attends a ceremony held at one of New York City's 200-plus firehouses. He wants to remember the 343 firefighters who lost their lives –- and he wants to make sure everyone else remembers them too.

“That is the simple mission that we have,” he said. “To make sure that nobody ever forgets.”