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Mike Piazza

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Mike Piazza
File:Piazzaspring.jpg
Free Agent – No. --
Designated hitter
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
debut
September 1, 1992, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Career statistics
(through August 22, 2007)
HR423
RBI1319
Teams

Michael Joseph Piazza (born September 4, 1968 in Norristown, Pennsylvania) is an American Major League Baseball player who is currently a free agent. He began his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers and played for the Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Diego Padres and then joined the Oakland Athletics. He is a 12-time All-Star. Piazza is often regarded as the best-hitting catcher of all time[citation needed], and holds the career record for home runs hit by a catcher. He had at least one RBI (run batted in) in 15 consecutive games for the New York Mets in 2000, the second longest RBI streak ever (Ray Grimes of the 1922 Chicago Cubs had 17 in 1922).

Childhood

Mike grew up in Norristown, Pennsylvania with his parents, Vince and Veronica, and his brothers Vince Jr., Danny, Tony and Tommy. When Piazza was 12, he received personal instruction from the late Hall of Famer Ted Williams in his backyard batting cage.

Vince Piazza was a childhood friend of former Dodgers manager, Tommy Lasorda. When the Dodgers came to Philadelphia, Mike had the opportunity to spend time in the Dodger clubhouse and dugout.

Major League career

Piazza was the last player the Dodgers drafted in the 1988 draft. He was their selection in the 62nd round. It is believed that the pick was partly a favor on the part of Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who is godfather to one of Piazza's brothers[citation needed] and, like Piazza, grew up in Norristown. Piazza swore he'd learn to catch if he was drafted.[citation needed] Piazza's Major League debut came with the Dodgers in 1992, when he appeared in 28 games. He then won the National League MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1993.

Piazza's best season was 1997, a year when he finished second in MVP voting. He hit .362, with 40 home runs and 124 runs batted in, an on base percentage of .431 and a slugging percentage of .638.

He played six full seasons for the Dodgers until he was traded to the Florida Marlins on May 15, 1998. Piazza and Todd Zeile went to the Marlins in return for Gary Sheffield, Charles Johnson, Bobby Bonilla, Manuel Barrios, and Jim Eisenreich. The trade, precipitated by a contract dispute, is regarded by many as one of the worst moves in Dodgers history. One week later, on May 22, Piazza was traded from the Marlins to the New York Mets for Preston Wilson, Ed Yarnall, and Geoff Goetz.

Piazza helped the Mets to two consecutive playoff appearances for the only time in Mets history in 1999 and 2000. The latter of the two resulted in a National League Pennant and World Series appearance, where the Mets lost in five games to a Yankee team winning their fourth World Series in five years. Of note, all five games were decided by two runs or less, something that had not occurred in a World Series in almost 70 years. He became known as The Monster after coach John Stearns was caught on tape during the 2000 NLCS after a Piazza hit saying "The Monster is out of the Cage!"

Piazza was involved in a bizarre incident in Game 2 of the 2000 World Series. In the first inning, Piazza was facing Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens and broke his bat fouling off a pitch. The barrel of his bat flew towards Clemens's feet at the pitcher's mound. Clemens picked up the broken barrel and heaved it in the direction of Piazza running up the first base line sparking both benches to clear, but with no ejections. The reason this incident sparked this reaction was because earlier in the season, during Interleague play when the Mets played the Yankees, Mike Piazza was drilled in the head by a Roger Clemens pitch. Mike Piazza suffered a concussion and was forced to miss the 2000 MLB All-Star Game as a result. Piazza would later catch for Roger Clemens in the 2004 All-Star Game. Clemens gave up 6 runs in the 1st inning, and rumours later spread about Piazza telling American League batters what pitch Clemens was throwing.

One of the most emotional moments of Piazza's career came when he belted a dramatic two-run home run in the eighth inning against Steve Karsay on September 21, 2001 in New York City to lift the Mets to a 3-2 triumph over the Braves. The game was the first regular season professional sporting event held in New York City after the September 11, 2001 attacks and has since been hailed as the defining moment in Piazza's career and one of the single greatest moments in New York sports history.

To ease the stress on his deteriorating knees, Piazza began to split his time between catching and playing first base during the 2004 season, an experiment which was abandoned before the end of the season because of Piazza's defensive deficiencies. Although recognized as a great hitter, Piazza has also caught two no hitters thrown by Ramón Martínez and Hideo Nomo. Nomo's was particularly impressive because it happened at Coors Field. In his 14-year career (through 2006), Piazza's career batting average is .309 with 419 home runs, 1,288 RBI, and 308 doubles in 1,702 games.

On May 5, 2004, Piazza surpassed Carlton Fisk for most home runs by a catcher with his 352nd as a catcher.

On October 2, 2005, Piazza filed for free agency, effectively ending his career with the Mets. He signed with the San Diego Padres on January 29, 2006 and was their starting catcher and clean-up hitter. Piazza experienced somewhat of a rejuvenation in 2006, batting .283 with 22 homers and helping the Padres to a division title. On July 21, 2006, Mike Piazza collected his 2,000th career hit in the major leagues.

On August 8, 2006, Piazza played his first game at Shea Stadium since leaving the Mets. During the three-game series, Piazza drew frequent, repeated standing ovations indicative of the high level of regard New York's fans still hold for him. It was on par with that of Tom Seaver in 1978. Even more telling was an event on August 9 during that series in which he drew a rare curtain call in an opposing park following a home run off Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez.

On June 23, 2007, he received a standing ovation when he brought out the lineup card for the Oakland A's at Shea Stadium. He was unable to play in the series because he was on the disabled list.

On July 25, 2007, in the top of the ninth inning in a game between the Angels and the A's at Angel Stadium, a fan threw a water bottle that hit Piazza, who had homered earlier in the game. Piazza then pointed his bat in the stands at the fan he believed threw the water bottle to get the attention of security. The fan, who was identified as Ronald Flores from La Puente, California, was arrested by the ballpark security. Piazza is pressing charges against Flores. [1]

He represented Italy in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

Only 5 other players have ever had over 400 home runs with over a .300 life time average while never striking out more than 100 times in a season.

Salary

Piazza batting against the Milwaukee Brewers

During the 2005 season, Piazza was the ninth highest paid MLB player at $16,071,429. On January 29, 2006, Mike Piazza accepted a one-year deal with the San Diego Padres worth up to $2 million. On December 6, 2006, Piazza signed a 1-year, $8.5 million deal with the Oakland Athletics. He replaced Frank Thomas as the A's designated hitter.

Personal life

On January 29, 2005, he married Playboy Playmate Alicia Rickter at St. Jude's Catholic Church in Miami, Florida, before 120 guests, including Brande Roderick, Lisa Dergan, Anjelica Bridges, Al Leiter and Detroit Tigers catcher Ivan Rodriguez.

On February 5, 2007, Piazza's wife gave birth to the couple's first child, a daughter. Nicoletta Veronica Piazza was born at 4:07 a.m. in New York City. She weighed 5 lbs., 8 oz. and measured 19 inches long. [1]

Piazza is Catholic and is featured in the Catholic film series Champions of Faith.

Career highlights and milestones

  • In 1993, his 35 home runs set the record for most home runs by a rookie catcher, surpassing Detroit's Matt Nokes with 32 in 1987. Plus, it is the most home runs by any Dodger rookie.
  • His .362 average in 1997 was the highest ever by a catcher (110 games) in the National League, tying the Major League record Bill Dickey who also batted .362 for the New York Yankees in 1936.
  • He won the Ted Williams Award, presented by CNN/SI and Total Baseball in 1997.
  • His 201 hits in 1997 were the most in major league history by a player used as a catcher in 130 or more games
  • On Sept. 21, 1997 Mike Piazza became just the third player and the only Dodger ever to hit a ball out of Dodger Stadium with a blast over the left-field pavilion.
  • Hit his 200th home run on September 16, 1998, at Houston. The home run, a three-run shot with two outs in the ninth inning against Billy Wagner, gave the Mets a 3-2 lead in a game they would win, 4-3, in 11 innings.
  • His 72 RBI prior to the All-Star Break in 2000 were, at the time, the most in club history. Dave Kingman had 69 in 1976.
  • He finished second in the NL Most Valuable Player voting behind San Diego's Ken Caminiti after batting .336 with 36 home runs, 105 RBI, 87 runs and 16 doubles in 148 games in 1996. (Caminiti later admitted to taking steroids during his MVP Award-winning season.)
  • He led the All-Star voting in 1996, 1997, and 2000.
  • He hit more than 30 home runs in eight consecutive seasons (1995-2002). He has nine career 30-homer seasons.
  • He hit .300 in nine consecutive seasons, dating from 1993 to 2001.
  • He hit a double off of the San Francisco Giants' Matt Cain for his 2,000th career hit on July 21, 2006.
  • Hit three home runs against the Colorado Rockies on June 29, 1996 [2].

Hall of Fame Cap Debate

Although still an active player, Piazza's potential induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame has already served as a lingering debate between fans in Los Angeles and New York, each of whom believe that Piazza should rightfully adorn the cap of their hometown team on his eventual plaque. Both sides have viable arguments. Piazza began his career in Los Angeles and put up his greatest statistical seasons in a Dodger uniform, which included winning the 1993 Rookie of the Year Award and garnering MVP honors at the 1996 All-Star game. Piazza also was well-loved by the Dodgers fan base, and few will dare to question the impact that his presence had on shaping the face of the Dodgers team. However, Piazza played more games overall with the Mets, and is likely best remembered for his time in New York (which included numerous postseason heroics, his confrontations with Roger Clemens, the unforgettable post-9/11 home run, breaking the record for home runs by a catcher, and his emotional farewell and return appearances at Shea Stadium). Moreover, Piazza recorded more at bats, hits, runs scored, home runs, and RBI in a Mets uniform than with any other team. Although the decision currently rests with Cooperstown, Hall officials will likely leave the decision to Piazza since either a Dodgers or Mets cap would be an appropriate representation of his career. While he has yet to formally commit in either direction, Piazza has strongly hinted on several occasions that he would prefer to wear a Mets cap on his plaque, going as far as saying that would likely be the "most appropriate" outcome following his return to New York as a member of the San Diego Padres during the 2006 season.

Legacy

Piazza was mentioned in pop culture several times. During the 1994 baseball strike he and Joe Morgan appeared on Married... with Children. He also did cameos in espisodes of Baywatch, Celebrity Jeopardy! and the The Apprentice.

In 1998, Mike Piazza's Strike Zone was released for the Nintendo 64, system.

In 2006, DHL started a campaign for Hometown Heroes, in which 5 of the greatest players in all 30 teams history were up for the award. Piazza was nominated for the Mets hero along with John Franco, Tug McGraw, Tom Seaver, and Keith Hernandez. The spot was eventually won by Seaver.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2949665
  2. ^ "June, 1996". Retrieved 2007-06-24.
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