25 Years Later: How Michael Cuddyer Saved a Teammate's Life on 9/11

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of Jody Gomez-USA TODAY Sports

September 11, 2001, produced countless stories of heroism, sacrifice, and miraculous escapes. Twenty-five years later, those stories remain just as powerful. Some involved firefighters, police officers, first responders, airline passengers, and ordinary people who made extraordinary choices. Others were far less obvious, and involved those sliding-doors moments where everything might have been vastly changed by one small thing going differently. One involved a future Minnesota Twins fan favorite, a minor-league playoff series, and a couple of home runs.

Michael Cuddyer wasn’t trying to save a life when he stepped into the batter’s box for the New Britain Rock Cats. He was just trying to help his team win a baseball game. But 25 years later, it’s impossible to look at those home runs without realizing just how much they meant.

A Ticket Home

In 2001, Cuddyer was a 22-year-old prospect in the Twins organization. He had already established himself as one of the better power hitters in the system, launching 30 home runs for New Britain during the regular season.

Brad Thomas was his teammate. The left-handed reliever had reached Double-A alongside Cuddyer, and the two had become close friends and roommates. Thomas was also preparing to make a long trip home to Australia once the season ended. That meant booking a flight. Thomas and his fiancée, Kylie, had tickets on American Airlines Flight 11, scheduled to leave Boston’s Logan Airport on September 11 and eventually take them back to Australia.

There was nothing unusual about that decision. Minor-league players routinely made travel arrangements before their seasons were officially finished, knowing they could be eliminated from the playoffs at any time. When the season was over, players wanted to get home. 

New Britain was facing the Norwich Navigators, the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate, in the Eastern League playoffs. The series was supposed to end on September 10, one way or another. If New Britain lost, Thomas and Kylie would head to Boston. Then, Cuddyer stepped to the plate.

Fate in Cuddyer’s Hands 

New Britain trailed in the opening game of the series when Cuddyer came up in the bottom of the ninth inning. The count reached 3-2, before Cuddyer hit a walk-off home run. The Rock Cats won, and the series continued. For Thomas, it meant the flight home wasn’t necessary yet.

There was still more baseball to play. Cuddyer delivered again in the clinching Game 4, hitting a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning. New Britain won the series and advanced to the Eastern League championship. The team had earned the right to keep playing. Thomas no longer needed those plane tickets. And then September 11 arrived.

“Michael pretty much saved our lives single-handedly by knocking in the winning runs in the last of the playoff games that took us to the next round,” Thomas later said.

The next morning, the players gathered at New Britain Stadium as the reality of what had happened began to sink in. American Airlines Flight 11 had been hijacked after departing Boston. At 8:46 a.m., it crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Everyone aboard the plane died. Thomas was supposed to be on it.

There was no way Cuddyer could have known what his home run would ultimately mean. He wasn’t thinking about flights. He wasn’t thinking about the future. He was trying to win a baseball game. Yet, those two home runs altered the course of Thomas’ life.

“It’s a miracle. Somebody was watching out for me,” Thomas said.

That’s what makes the story so difficult to comprehend 25 years later. The connection between Cuddyer’s bat and Thomas’s survival wasn’t apparent at the time. It only became clear when the events of September 11 were unfolding.

The Biggest Home Run of His Life

Cuddyer would go on to hit 197 home runs in the major leagues. He became a two-time All-Star, won a Silver Slugger Award, and even helped the New York Mets reach the World Series. He hit plenty of important home runs. None carried the consequences of that September night in New Britain.

“You don’t want to say the minor leagues was the biggest home run of my life, but obviously that was the biggest home run I ever hit,” Cuddyer said.

The first walk-off home run of Cuddyer’s minor-league career already meant something to him. But the events that followed gave it an entirely different meaning.

“It was my first walk-off home run in the minor leagues, which was pretty special, then with everything that follows you just realize how special it really was,” Cuddyer said.

The championship series between New Britain and Reading was never played. The teams were eventually declared co-champions. Three days after the attacks, Cuddyer received another life-changing moment when the Twins called him up to the major leagues. His baseball career was beginning just as the country was trying to understand how much its own life had changed.

A Quiet Understanding

The friendship between Cuddyer and Thomas continued long after their days together in New Britain. Thomas eventually reached the majors with the Twins and Tigers.

 “Every time I see Michael, there’s a handshake and a hug,” Thomas said.  

Twenty-five years later, the story still feels almost impossible. A baseball player hit a couple of home runs in a minor-league playoff series. His teammate’s travel plans changed. The next morning, one of the world’s most devastating tragedies unfolded. There are plenty of ways to describe what happened. Coincidence. Fate. A miracle. Thomas has his own description.

“There’s probably not a day that goes by that I don’t think about it and think how lucky I am.”

September 11 was a nightmare—a tragedy that transformed a nation. From it, we shouldn't dare take real joy, but we can find relief, and we can find meaning in the often meaningless. Alongside the stories of unimaginable loss are stories of people who happened to be somewhere else, took a different route, missed a flight, changed a plan, or—as was the case for Thomas—had a teammate hit a baseball over a fence at exactly the right time.

Cuddyer never knew he was saving his friend’s life when he hit those home runs. But 25 years later, he knows those swings meant far more than a baseball game. That’s a legacy that will last much longer than any box score.

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[Coach]

Wow!

[FlyingFinn]

Always love reading this story. We leave this earth in God's timing.

[Bangkok Twins Fan]

Very cool story. I never heard that one before. Good to know that Thomas and Cuddyer have stayed in touch. 

[Blyleven2011]

Cody’s best article to date , and yes that was an awful day …

cuddy and his buddy Thomas / fiance are here to talk about it was a miracle from gods hands …

life is more important than a baseball game , but on 9/11 that was the most important baseball game for Thomas / fiancé  …

cuddy was more of a hero on that day than he ever expected to be …

[tarheeltwinsfan]

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[tarheeltwinsfan]

We have all had near death experiences like this, both known and unknown. Whether it is a missed flight, a 5 second delay while driving, or in my case, a night ambush patrol where I was told to stay behind and my buddy, Michael Rymarczuk went in my place. He was killed that night, July 30, 1968 in the Korean DMZ by North Korean infiltrators. I think about our different fates sometimes. But that stuff, while interesting and sometimes very painful, is part of life. I found that it helped me to find Michael's mother and his daughter 25 years later.

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[tarheeltwinsfan]

2 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

We have all had near death experiences like this, both known and unknown. Whether it is a missed flight, a 5 second delay while driving, or in my case, a night ambush patrol where I was told to stay behind and my buddy, Michael Rymarczuk went in my place. He was killed that night, July 30, 1968 in the Korean DMZ by North Korean infiltrators. I think about our different fates sometimes. But that stuff, while interesting and sometimes very painful, is part of life. I found that it helped me to find Michael's mother and his daughter 25 years later.

81.bd6dd5cf6543d44094a4.js.download

'See "Michael B. Rymarczuk , Philadelphia" on the Find a Grave website. I tried to attach it to this comment, but I am embarassed to say I was not successful. Maybe one of you TD contributors will attach it for me. Thanks.

[AmesJ]

Great article and Cuddy is one of my all-time favorites. Which is why you SHOULD NOT HAVE AI READ THESE! It mispronounced Cuddyer's name throughout the article and the stuttered, glitchy sounding voice was annoying. I was trying to multitask and listen while I went through emails, but UGH. Don't provide the service if you're not doing diligent assessment of what you get!