They remember the roar: Inside George W. Bush's iconic World Series pitch after 9/11

Todd Greene looked out at the Yankee Stadium bullpen and realized nobody was coming in. Jorge Posada, who was supposed to catch the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3 of the 2001 World Series, was stuck out there. But Roger Clemens was starting that night, and Clemens always took forever to get loose.

So when Greene glanced up from the Yankees dugout on Oct. 30, 2001 and the president of the United States was heading to dugout steps, he knew he had to act. Greene grabbed his glove and ran out into one of the most emotional, iconic moments in modern baseball.

Nearly 25 years later, the clip still runs every September. George W. Bush in an FDNY pullover, seven weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks that had rocked the nation. The president walked all the way to the real mound, 60 feet, 6 inches, and – wearing a Kevlar vest under his clothing – threw a strike to the Yankees backup catcher.

What nobody has ever been able to put on film is what it felt like standing in the middle of it all. Ask those on the field about that night with the president and not one of them starts with the pitch. They start with the noise. Seven of them talked about that night for this story, and among them, they had the best seats in the building: the catcher who wasn’t supposed to be there, two umpires, the Secret Service agent who dressed as an umpire, the Arizona Diamondbacks infielder and the broadcaster who witnessed the second plane strike the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

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President Bush’s unforgettable mound moment after 9/11 attacks

President George W. Bush throws out the first pitch in the third game of the 2001 World Series at Yankee Stadium on October. 30, 2001. The clip runs every September. George W. Bush in an FDNY pullover, seven weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks that had rocked the nation. The president walked all the way to the real mound, 60-feet, 6-inches, and, wearing a Kevlar vest under his clothing, threw a strike to the Yankees backup catcher.

(TODD PLITT, USA TODAY)

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President Bush’s unforgettable mound moment after 9/11 attacks

(TODD PLITT, USA TODAY)

Baseball fans line up at the security check-point outside Yankee Stadium before the start of game three of the World Series in New York on Oct. 30, 2001. High security measures are in place for the game, which will be attended by President George W. Bush.

(DON EMMERT, AFP via Getty Images)

30 Oct 2001: President George W. Bush takes the mound to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before game 3 of the World Series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in New York, New York on Oct. 30, 2001. The Yankees defeated the Diamondbacks 2-1.

(Jed Jacobsohn, Getty Images)

President George W. Bush gives the thumbs up before delivering the ceremonial first pitch at the third game of the World Series in New York on Oct. 30, 2001.

(Win McNamee, REUTERS)

President George W. Bush throws out the first pitch in the third game of the 2001 World Series at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 30, 2001. Bush wore a bullet proof vest under his FDNY pullover.

(H. DARR BEISER, USA TODAY)

President George W. Bush rears back to throw out the first pitch in the third game of the 2001 World Series at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 30, 2001.

(ROBERT DEUTSCH, USA TODAY)

President George W. Bush is congratulated by catcher Todd Greene #43 of the New York Yankees after throwing out the first pitch. Yankees catcher Jorge Posada, was supposed to catch the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3 of the 2001 World Series, but was stuck in the bullpen warming up Roger Clemens. Greene grabbed his glove and ran out into one of the most emotional, iconic moments in modern baseball.

(Jed Jacobsohn, Getty Images)

President George W. Bush talks with New York Yankees manager Joe Torre and Arizona Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly before the start of Game 3. Twenty-five years later, the clip runs every September. George W. Bush in an FDNY pullover, seven weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks that had rocked the nation. The president walked all the way to the real mound, 60-feet, 6-inches, and Ð wearing a Kevlar vest under his clothing Ð threw a strike to the Yankees backup catcher.

(Peter Morgan, REUTERS)

President George Bush waves to the crowd before game 3 of the World Series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in New York, New York.

(Doug Pensinger, Getty Images)

After 9/11, baseball paused and then returned with new meaning

Seven weeks before, at 8:46 a.m. Sept. 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaida hijackers seized four commercial airliners. Two were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan. A third struck the Pentagon. The fourth crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers fought back. Both towers collapsed. The attacks killed 2,977 people, including 343 New York City firefighters.

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig called off the games that day and baseball did not resume until Sept. 17. The regular season was pushed back a week.

When baseball returned, it was changed. Teams wore the American flag on their sleeves. The Mets took the field in NYPD and FDNY caps instead of their own. And in the seventh inning, in every park in the country “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” was replaced. At Selig’s request, every club in the league played “God Bless America,” instead.

Four days later, New York hosted its first game. Diana Ross sang “God Bless America” at Shea Stadium. Mike Piazza choked up through the pregame ceremony, then hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to beat the Atlanta Braves in front of 41,235 people.

Then the World Series came to the Bronx.

A city that was already emotionally exhausted

Suzyn Waldman was on the Triborough Bridge when the second plane hit the World Trade Center. She spent the next seven weeks watching the Yankees be the center of a ceremony in every city they went to. At the first game back at Yankee Stadium after the attacks, she remembered the fans leaving things on seats of people who were killed.

Beers on one seat, flowers on another. Cookies on a seat right beneath her broadcast booth.

By the time the World Series got back to New York, she said, everybody was emptied out.

Then they were told the president was coming.

WFAN’s Yankees reporter at the time got to the stadium early that day and saw men bolting shut the office doors that looked out on to the field. Waldman was in the dugout when Bush arrived and had to have a Secret Service agent escort her back to her booth. The attorney general had warned the nation just the day before that more attacks were likely within the week.

“I was terrified for him going out there,” Waldman said.

The Diamondbacks arrived in a city they couldn’t believe. Pitcher Brian Anderson spent the day before Game 3 at Ground Zero and described it like “the mouth of a volcano. There were still different colors of smoke coming up from the ground, orange, green, yellow.”

Then they pulled up to a building they didn’t recognize. This was before metal detectors at ballparks were a fact of American life.

“It was an amazing night, an intimidating night a little bit,” said Craig Counsell, who led off for Arizona in Game 3. “The military presence, police presence, snipers, it felt like is this what has to be here to play a baseball game?”