John Franco was never prouder to wear a Mets uniform than in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The franchise’s all-time saves leader yesterday recalled the manner in which the Mets came together in the days following the destruction at the World Trade Center and played a small part in the healing of a community. It culminated with Mike Piazza’s home run to beat the Braves on Sept. 21, 2001 — the first sporting event in New York after the attacks.
The team announced yesterday that Franco will throw out the ceremonial first pitch to Piazza on Sept. 11 at Citi Field as part of a pregame ceremony to remember 9/11. Former Mets manager Bobby Valentine will also be in attendance.
“When a bunch of us went down to Ground Zero, you remember just the looks on the rescue workers’ faces and how tired and how hard they were working,” Franco said. “We just came down there to say thank you. I think every one of my teammates would have loved to get in there and pulled some type of bricks and stones and steel out.”
Valentine said he’s still proud of the “amazing” group in the clubhouse that wanted to help in any possible way.
“During that time they were ready to give,” Valentine said. “They were ready to share so much of their wherewithal, time, money and energy that I was flabbergasted.”
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Miguel Batista will make his Mets debut in tonight’s series finale. The 40-year-old righty last pitched in the major leagues on April 22, when he received a no-decision for the Cardinals against the Reds. Though Batista likely doesn’t figure into the Mets’ future plans, manager Terry Collins said he was deemed the best fit for the rotation given some of the innings total amassed by the pitchers at Triple-A Buffalo.
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Collins ruled out the possibility of experimenting with Jason Bay in center field this season as an audition for 2012. If the Mets decide to dump Angel Pagan after this season, Bay would be an option for center field, but that hardly would be the organization’s top choice.
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Rosters can expand to 40 players beginning today, but Collins expects to add only a few players. Among the possibilities are pitchers Pat Misch, Chris Schwinden and Josh Stinson, who would be added to the bullpen.