When Mike Piazza hit that historic home run after 9/11, it lifted up a city in tears.
The Mets game jersey Piazza wore that September night is being sold to the highest bidder in an online auction that began Monday, and Piazza is terribly pained by it all.
“I’m very disappointed with the situation regarding my game jersey from September 21st, 2001,’’ Piazza told The Post on Tuesday, his first comments regarding the iconic jersey.
“I’ve expressed my feelings to Jeff [Wilpon] and the Mets. And while it never should have left Citi Field, they have assured me that contact with the seller has been made and they are making a concerted effort to get the jersey back. I’m hopeful that an agreement can be reached and we can give back to the fans and all New Yorkers a piece of that evening that was more than just a game.’’
This is a jersey the Mets never should have sold in the first place. This is a relic, it is not simply a baseball jersey. The Mets sold it three years ago as part of a private sale.
The buyer allowed the Mets to show it on loan in their museum at Citi Field. But now, with Piazza entering the National Baseball Hall of Fame in July, the jersey could become the highest-selling jersey in Mets history — perhaps the highest-selling modern-day jersey of all time — and could wind up anywhere.
For their part, the Mets acknowledged a mistake was made, with a team spokesman offering this statement to The Post on Tuesday:
“We made a mistake in selling the jersey and Jeff called Mike to express our regret in so doing,’’ the statement said. “We have dedicated a section in the Mets Hall of Fame and Museum to celebrate Mike’s achievements and his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and are exploring memorabilia to display in that area.
“We can’t verify the item being auctioned, but can confirm that our memorabilia group sold a jersey that meets this description, which was not authenticated with respect to game use.’’
There was no mention of the Mets trying to buy back the jersey.
Piazza believes this is a jersey that belongs to the people.
Goldin Auctions announced last week the autographed jersey would be sold to the highest bidder. The bidding is currently at $42,000. The auction carries through until a live event April 30. In 2008, a 1970 Nolan Ryan jersey sold for $53,758, the highest price ever for a Mets jersey. Kirk Gibson’s Dodgers jersey from his 1988 World Series home run sold for $303,000.
Ken Goldin, president of Goldin Auctions, said this Piazza jersey may top that record price.
Goldin said he would love to see the buyer give it to the 9/11 Memorial Museum or the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown as a “charitable’’ contribution.
As for the Mets questioning the authenticity, Goldin told The Post in an email the club sold the jersey “to our consignor as the jersey he wore on 9/21/2001. It comes with a letter of authenticity from the NY Mets, it comes with a Photo Matched Letter of Authenticity from MeiGray [a jersey authenticator]. It comes with the display plaque when it hung in the Mets Museum that states, ‘In this jersey Mike Piazza hit the game winning home run on 9/21/2001.’ ”
Goldin, who said he has other documents, added, “I have spoken to the Mets about the jersey. The New York Mets are well aware that lot 23 in Goldin Auctions current auction is the jersey worn by Mike Piazza on 9/21/2001.’’
Piazza did not speak until now because he did not want to take away from the Mets Opening Night on Sunday.
“I want the team to be the star,’’ he said of the 2016 Mets.
Piazza said he appreciated “all the members of the media bringing this to attention as well,’’ mentioning WFAN’s Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton.
In January, after being elected to the Hall of Fame, Piazza spoke of 9/11 and of the emotional, eighth-inning home run that lifted the Mets to a 3-2 victory over the Braves in the first professional game played in New York after the terrorists attacks.
“It’s something that changed all of our lives,’’ he said of that terrible day, in a voice filled with emotion. “At a personal level for me, it really put my life in perspective and focused what the important things in life are, and that’s family and friends and relationships.
“For me to be at the right place and the right time and to come through, I can only think it comes from above and a lot of people put wind under my wings.”
The 41,235 fans at Shea Stadium gave him a standing ovation and chanted “USA! USA!’’ as many waved American flags.
“It’s uncomfortable, at times, when people put me as, for lack of a better word, a hero,’’ Piazza said.
“I am not a hero. The people that went to work that day were heroes. The people who tried to save them were heroes and the families that had to move on without a mother or a father or a sister or brother or an uncle are heroes.”
Piazza never had ownership of the No. 31 jersey with the American flag and 9-11-01 patches.
That jersey represents the human spirit fighting back in the toughest of times. Piazza’s greatest hope is the jersey can be placed in the Hall of Fame so it can be seen by the fans, and also spend time in the 9/11 Memorial Museum.
This is an iconic jersey, right up there with the most important Mets memorabilia of all time. It never should have left Citi Field.
The Mets need to salvage the situation and get the jersey back, not for themselves, but for the people.