It was May 5, 2004, a Wednesday night at Shea Stadium, when Mike Piazza connected off a 3-1 pitch from Jerome Williams and drove it out of the park to right-center – and in so doing, became the all-time major league home run leader for catchers with 352.
The game was mid-week, and the temperature was a fairly chilly 57 degrees with a 10 mph wind blowing, so the announced crowd was rather small with only 19,974 to see the historic shot in person.
The Mets were in fourth place at the time, and in 2003 had finished in fifth place, with a 66-95 record under manager Art Howe. The Giants were in fifth place coming into the game, which certainly did not help draw a larger crowd to the stadium.
Relive the video, which is available on YouTube, here:
As shown in the video, the small partisan crowd rose to their feet in applause and Shea Stadium’s home run apple rose to mark the event.
As Piazza rounded the bases, the Mets had the theme from The Natural play over the loudspeakers to honor the historic occasion. As Piazza approached the dugout, the entire Mets team waited on the top step to congratulate him. Not included in this video is that as the crowd continued to roar their excited approval, Mike Piazza came back out for a curtain call.
After the game, which the Mets won 8-2 thanks to a six-run outburst in the eighth inning, Mike Piazza was quoted by MLB.com after the game as saying, “I’m obviously very proud. I’m a little relieved, too.”
Carlton Fisk, who held the record prior to Piazza, phoned Piazza and congratulated him on breaking the record that he had held since 1993. In a statement he issued later, Fisk said, “When someone broke my home run mark, I was hoping it would be Mike.”
The Mets recognized Piazza’s accomplishment on June 18, 2004 and had prior record holders Fisk, Johnny Bench, and Yogi Berra – in addition to Mets great Gary Carter – in attendance.
Former Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda, who had urged the Dodgers to draft Piazza, and Mike’s dad were also in attendance to see the Mets present Piazza with the home plate that he crossed when he broke the record.
Piazza still holds the record for most home runs by a catcher with 397 and 427 overall in his Hall of Fame career. A majority – 220 homers over eight seasons – came with a Mets uniform on.
Ever humble, Piazza stated to the crowd, “Everyone knows how difficult this is. I’m just proud to be part of this group. I’m so honored that they’ve all come here.”
LGM
