On Sept. 21, 2001, the New York Mets played their first game in New York City following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The team wore special hats to honor the brave men and women who sacrificed their lives to save others and who were working tirelessly to find more survivors. These hats contained logos for rescue organizations such as the NYPD, FDNY and the Port Authority of New York, among others.

The Mets won the game on what is considered to be Mike Piazza’s “greatest” home run in the eighth inning and helped propel the nation back to a sense of normalcy.

Now, 18 years later, the MLB refuses to let the Mets wear those memorable hats to honor the men and women who gave and continue to give their lives for others and for their country. It is a shame that the MLB won’t let the Mets and the Yankees represent the first responders in this format because of the league’s red tape.

While the league did have the teams wear caps with special patches for the anniversary, it still isn’t enough.

The attacks on 9/11 are still relevant today. First responders continue to suffer the consequences of their brave deeds, yet the league continues to deny the Mets and the Yankees the opportunity to honor those who gave it all they had.

This isn’t an issue of there being a specific uniform rule. The Houston Astros were allowed to wear their special Apollo 11 hats to honor the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, but the New York teams, for some reason, have been unable to wear those specific 9/11 hats.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred should be ashamed. People are still suffering and families are still mourning the loss of their loved ones 18 years ago.

In 2011, Joe Torre, the chief baseball officer said, ”We just felt all the major leagues are honoring the same way with the American flag on the uniform and the cap. This is a unanimity thing.”

What Torre, who was the Yankees’ manager on the day of the attacks, seems to forget is that the attacks were mainly centered in New York City.

Yes, we’ve tried to move on. Yes, we built a new tower where the old ones stood. However, the fact of the matter is that the motto of 9/11 is “we will never forget.” Well, the MLB is forgetting. It is forgetting that they were a major part in helping this nation recover from the worst attack on American soil since World War II.

So it is time that the MLB puts an end to this. Let the New York teams wear their historic first responder hats. Show the world that your league will never forget the men and women who sacrificed everything to help others. It is the least that the league can do.

Pete Alonso of the Mets brought the team specialized 9/11 cleats to wear for the 18th anniversary of the attacks. The Mets wore the cleats, won the game 9-0 and had 11 hits — a Hollywood ending if there ever was one.

Instead of us talking about the fact that Alonso brought the team special cleats for the day of remembrance, or the facts that the Mets scoreboard read 9 11 0, we are talking about whether the league will fine the Mets for wearing those cleats.

The thought that the Mets could be fined is absurd. It isn’t like the Mets would be wearing something as a sponsorship to make money themselves, they would be doing it as a way to honor those who gave and continue to suffer.

So maybe next season, the MLB will make the right choice and will let the Mets and Yankees wear their historic 9/11 first responder hats.

The league has its own problems. This shouldn’t be one of them. This should be an easy decision for Manfred. Let the Mets and Yankees wear those hats.