Javy Lopez set up on the outside corner of the plate, the first-base side, and Steve Karsay fired the 0-1 fastball that drifted a few fateful inches to the right. Mike Piazza had taken the first pitch he saw from Karsay in the bottom of the eighth inning. He had no intention of taking the second.
It was late Friday night, Sept. 21, 2001, and Shea Stadium had already established itself as the scene of a community revival. People say that sports cannot heal or unite in a time of tragedy, that they can only serve as a temporary sanctuary from the grief and pain.