Windows of the World Restaurant in the World Trade Center New York City as it looked well before 911. (photos from Reddit)

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

From My Notebook” September 11, 2001 – An incredible day in America and Baseball

By Amaury Pi-González

This September 11, we remember a unique event in world history; it has been 25 years since it took place, and nobody, especially in the United States, can forget it. Unlike the surprise1941 attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, which was on a U.S.Navy base and precipitated WWII, 9-11 was an attack on civilians thousands of people working in offices, thousands died.

In baseball, the entire schedule of 15 games was postponed following the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C.and Pennsylvania. For most people in the United States, this day is engraved in their memory forever. I was getting ready at home to broadcast the San Francisco Giants baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Pac Bell Park ( today Oracle Park) more on that below.

The suspension was later extended to a six-day shutdown. Many thought there would be more attacks; those were terrifying days for this country and for the whole world, as some commentators even called it the beginning of WW III.

My Personal connection to WTC: The epicenter of the attack was the Wall Street section of New York City. I was honorably discharged from the US Army. and living in New York, working at Scheinman, Hochstin & Trotta, a stock brokerage firm on lower Broadway, doing clerical work for the OTC (Over-the-Counter) stocks department. I was good with numbers.

This was within walking distance of the Twin Towers. I saw the second tower under construction by Cortland Street; it was in 1969, as I remember, about a year before the building was completed. On many occasions, I walked right in front of that under-construction area with my friends from the office, going to lunch in that very busy part of Lower Manhattan.

I remember I used to stop to look through the little windows in the wooden fence, and there was a lot of water at the bottom that they were draining, which was normal since it was so close to the Hudson River. My niece was living in NYC working and going to school. On that morning she saw one of the buildings collapse from her apartment and later she found out some friends of her had perished on that day.

Her parents visited NYC that Thanksgiving and were taken by the amount of memorials, the dust and the damage that existed. A few years before the attack, In 1998 yours truly and Jaime Jarrin were broadcasting the World Series between the Yankees and the Mets for LBC (Latino Broadcast Network/Caracol) after a game Jarrín asked me, (since I used to live in NY and knew the area) if we could go to the restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center, the famous “Windows on the World” but as we arrived at the lobby at street level, they told us it was closed because it was very foggy and there was no visibility; so never experienced Windows on the World, and never will, because those buildings are gone.

Now as I remember that as an irony, “closed because it was very foggy and no visibility”, when the day of the terrorist attack all reports pointed to a clear sunny day in the island of Manhattan. Back to September 11, 2001,at my house in Fremont, California, my wife Gail and I watched in horror on television what happened as the buildings totally collapsed after the planes had flown into the WTC.

Gail was getting ready to leave for work. We watched people jumping to their deaths. I cried and we both couldn’t believe what we were seeing. I am sure you experienced the same effect if you are old enough to remember that event a quarter of a century ago.

For me, born in Cuba and living as a young kid during the Cuban Missile Crisis, at the edge of a nuclear apocalypse, the 911 attacks brought me very bad memories of those years.A nightmare.

2001 was a memorable and unforgettable year. Broadcasting the Giants at a Baseball Park just one year old. The Manager was Dusty Baker, and the team ended with a 90-72 record, good for second place.

Quote: “The New York in your hats represents more than just the Yankees. It represents the city of New York.” Joe Torre, NY Yankees Manager.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.

While in the Bay Area, great food and great prices. 998cuba.com