It’s been a devastating season for New York baseball. For two of baseball’s premier franchises in the sport’s biggest and most storied city, the expectation is a championship, especially with the money being spent to get there. Yet, the Yankees and Mets make up the saddest use of salary cap and luxury tax in the history of Major League Baseball. The Yankees, a team composed of underperforming superstars and injured has-beens, are on a losing streak that could find them out of the postseason faster than they could have ever imagined. The Mets, who spent the first half of the season in first place in the National League East, have skidded so badly that they’ve dropped all the way to third place in their division. 

However, last weekend, these teams put their woes aside to commemorate and memorialize the attacks on New York and America on Sept.11, 2001.

While the events of that day changed our world forever, New York proved its resilience, its compassion and its ability to rebuild while still remembering. On Saturday night at Citi Field, New York baseball memorialized those lost, paid tribute to the city that didn’t stop and recognized the heroes that helped rescue and rebuild New York City. The people who lost their lives simply because they went to work that day. The firemen and police officers who put their lives on the line trying to save others, many of whom sacrificed themselves for the city. Mets and Yankees fans stood united for a minute, forgot about their rivalry and disastrous teams, and silently honored those who passed on that day. The teams played the game in hats sporting the logos from the New York Police Department (NYPD) and New York Fire Department (NYFD). 

After the heartfelt, moving ceremony, the stadium re-focused on a pair of fading contenders trying to muster a needed win. Saturday night’s subway series game was a back-and-forth taut, a game that provided plenty of drama and resulted in an 8-7 Yankees win. Aaron Judge, second in line for AL MVP behind wunderkind Shohei Ohtani, led the Yankees with two homers on the night. 

This evening was about more than baseball, as New Yorkers know that the world has changed in unimaginable ways over the past 20 years. Yet baseball has remained a constant reminder of a simpler, freer past. And while New York baseball fans are divided in their allegiance to their teams, this evening once again proved that New Yorkers’ allegiance to their city unites them above all. 

The past 20 years has been a time of recovery, resilience, and rebuilding for New York City. Both the Yankees and Mets should consider following in the footsteps of their city, recovering and rebuilding after disappointing seasons.