The only thing more unique than Mike Piazza‘s journey to the Mets was the way in which he arrived in professional baseball.
He was chosen in the 62nd round of the 1988 draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers as a favor by manager Tommy Lasorda to his friend and Mike’s dad, Vince.
All Piazza did in his first five seasons was bat .337 and average 33 homers and 105 RBIs—remarkable for any hitter and extraordinary for a catcher. But he and the Dodgers couldn’t agree on a contract extension. L.A. sent Piazza to Florida in a mega-deal. But with the Marlins in the midst of a fire sale, his stay in Miami wasn’t permanent.
The New York public and media saw an irresistible opportunity for the team to get a transformative figure. Management waffled at first, but eight days after he landed to South Beach, the Marlins got Preston Wilson, Ed Yarnall and Geoff Goetz. In return, Queens got its star—causing tremendous buzz, even by New York standards.
The premiere of Piazza came on a Saturday afternoon at Shea Stadium. Before several standing ovations, he went 1-for-4 with an RBI double in the fifth as part of a 4-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Piazza came to bat in the first inning with a runner on and hit a routine grounder to shortstop. Nonetheless, Piazza ran full-bore down the baseline and nearly beat the throw. He struck out looking in the third, but more than made up for it two innings later facing Jeff Juden with Matt Franco on first and New York up 1-0.
Piazza went the opposite way with a hit that bounded to the wall in right-center. Franco raced all the way around to score on the double and Piazza advanced to third on the throw home.
In addition to that highlight, he also called an outstanding performance by Al Leiter. The left-hander, who also came to the Mets from the Marlins a few months before, tossed a four-hit shutout on 128 pitches.
Overcoming absurd expectations and unnecessary boos from Mets fans, Piazza put together a terrific four months in a Mets uniform. He finished the 1998 season batting .348 with a 167 OPS+.
New York narrowly missed the postseason, but would make it the following two years.
From ’98 through 2005, on his way to becoming the most prolific home run-hitting catcher in baseball history, Piazza compiled 220 as a Met while driving in 655 runs. He still holds the highest slugging percentage in team history, ranks second in OPS, and third in homers. He led the Mets to consecutive postseason appearances, a World Series, made six All-Star appearances, and delivered an unforgettable home run in the first game in New York City following September 11, 2001.
