John Franco stacked medical supplies and Joe McEwing drove a forklift. They worked side-by-side with other New York Mets wearing “FDNY” and “NYPD” caps in the parking lot at Shea Stadium, a staging area for the relief effort at ground zero.

Yet even now, a year after visiting hospitals, comforting families and tirelessly trying to help ease the city’s pain, the teammates find themselves on different sides of a most difficult issue should games be played on Sept. 11?

“Personally, I think we shouldn’t play. I think we should pay tribute to the victims,” Franco said.

“Yes,” McEwing countered. “Baseball, being our pastime, it’s something that should be done to take our minds off the day.”

The games will go on, with all teams in action Wednesday on the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

Ultimately, commissioner Bud Selig had to make the call. Most major leaguers agreed with the decision.

“I think it’s important to play, for the same reason the president said it was important to try to get things back to normal,” Selig said. “It’s a sensitive question, and I can see both sides. It’s very personal. There’s no right or wrong.”

There will be 16 games Wednesday, including a day-night doubleheader between the Mets and Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. At every ballpark, there will be tributes to the victims and those who tried to rescue them.

Games will pause at 9:11 p.m. local time for a moment of silence, to be followed by a video presentation honoring those who died. A design with the words “We Shall Not Forget” will be placed on the field, outfield walls and bases.