NewsMarlins pause to remember 9/11
Pregame ceremony pays tribute to those who perished
By Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com
09/11/09 8:01 PM ET
MIAMI -- The Marlins joined the rest of Major League Baseball on Friday, when they honored one of the most memorable -- and tragic -- days in American history.The opener of a three-game series against the Nationals at Land Shark Stadium marked the eight-year anniversary of the infamous 9/11 attacks, so three City of Miami police officers threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Billy the Marlin, and both teams, as well as the umpiring crew, donned honorary red caps.
"I think it's great that we continue to commemorate it every year, and I think we should for the rest of baseball, because so many people lost their lives," Marlins catcher John Baker said. "It's important to remember how lucky we are and how great this country is, and the freedoms we have."
On Sept. 11, 2001, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airlines. Two crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., and the fourth -- United Airlines Flight 93 -- was also headed for D.C. but crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania after some of its passengers attempted to retake control of the plane.
No passengers survived either of the flights, and a total of 2,993 people died that day.
On Friday, detectives Reginald Johnson, Hulberto Campo and Elijah Taylor threw out the first pitch, and the Marlins then played a short 9/11 video montage on the JumboTron.
Johnson was also a member of the U.S. Army Reserve and worked to help clean up on Ground Zero, Campo served on the U.S. Navy from 2005-06 and Taylor is an active member of the USAR.
Those three were among the many Americans who were somehow affected by the tragic events of that morning. And no matter how much time passes, most people vividly remember where they were when the news unfolded.
Marlins reliever Burke Badenhop, for example, recalled being just a few weeks into his freshman year at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
"I had an 8:30 class that morning and not another one until, like, 11:30 [a.m.]," recalled Badenhop, whose sister lived about a mile and a half from the Pentagon back then. "I was done at about 9:45, 10 o'clock, and got back to my dorm. And I've got my eight other college-freshman baseball players, and they're kind of mulling around, and my one buddy says, 'You gotta see this.' It was just like, 'Bam!' And we're watching [the Sept. 11 attacks], like, 'You gotta be kidding me.'
"I just remember watching it on the news, literally all day."
Alden Gonzalez is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
