On May 5, 2004, Mets catcher Mike Piazza hit home run number 352 as a catcher, breaking the all-time record held by Carlton Fisk.

The blast went 405 feet to right-center field at Shea Stadium. Piazza hit the historic home run in the first inning off Jerome Williams of the San Francisco Giants. The Mets would go on to win the game by an 8-2 score. You can see the record-setter in the video below.

The Norristown, PA native would end his career with 427 home runs over 16 seasons with the Dodgers, Marlins, Mets, Padres, and Athletics; 220 of his round-trippers came in a Mets uniform.

Of Piazza’s 427 career home runs, 396 came as a catcher (he played some first base with the Mets, and served as the designated hitter on occasion during his career). Fisk hit 376 total home runs with the Red Sox and White Sox. Johnny Bench is third on the all-time catcher’s home run list with 326 of his 389 four-baggers coming while sporting the “tools of ignorance.”

Piazza had a career slash line of .308/.377/.545, along with a career OPS of .922 and a 143 OPS+. He was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2016, and was inducted representing the Mets.

The Mets acquired Piazza in May of 1998, in a trade with the Marlins that sent Preston Wilson and minor leaguers Ed Yarnall and Geoff Goetz to South Florida. At first, Piazza did not seem comfortable in New York, and there was widespread speculation that he would test free agency after the 1998 season. However after the season, Piazza signed a seven-year deal to remain in Flushing.

Piazza’s best full season in orange and blue came in 2000, when he swatted 38 home runs and drove in 113 runs. That year, he slashed .324/.398/.614 with an OPS+ of 155. His 1999 season was almost as good, as he hit 40 home runs and drove in 124 runs, slashing .303/.361/.575 with a 135 OPS+. An honorable mention goes to his 2001 season, 36 home runs, 94 RBIs, .300/.384/.573 with a 148 OPS+.

In addition to his All-Star selections, Piazza was the 1993 National League Rookie of the Year, and the MVP of the 1996 All-Star game. He led all National League players in oWAR in 1997 with a 9.0 mark.

Piazza’s most memorable moment as a Met came in the first game played in New York after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when he hit a home run against the Braves that gave the Mets an eventual come-from-behind victory. Mike will be in New York on September 11 this year to commemorate for the twentieth anniversary of those events.

The Hall of Fame catcher, whose number 31 was retired by the Mets in 2016, remains active with the Mets in retirement, attending spring training as an instructor. He was set to manage team Italy in the 2020 World Baseball Classic, but the event was canceled because of the pandemic.

Here’s a Metsmerized hat tip to an all-time great Met, Mike Piazza.