Mike Piazza facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mike Piazza
Piazza in 2016
Catcher
Born: (1968-09-04) September 4, 1968 (age 56) Norristown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Batted: Right Threw: Right
debut
September 1, 1992, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Last appearance
September 30, 2007, for the Oakland Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average	.308
Hits	2,127
Home runs	427
Runs batted in	1,335
Teams
Los Angeles Dodgers (1992–1998) Florida Marlins (1998) New York Mets (1998–2005) San Diego Padres (2006) Oakland Athletics (2007)
Career highlights and awards
12× All-Star (1993–2002, 2004, 2005) NL Rookie of the Year (1993) 10× Silver Slugger Award (1993–2002) New York Mets No. 31 retired New York Mets Hall of Fame
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	2016
Vote	83.0% (fourth ballot)
Medals Manager for ITA European Championship Bronze 2021 Turin National team

Mike Piazza is a famous American former professional baseball catcher. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1992 to 2007. Mike is a member of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.

He is best known for playing with the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers. He also played for the Florida Marlins, San Diego Padres, and Oakland Athletics. Piazza was chosen for the All-Star team 12 times. He also won the Silver Slugger Award 10 times as a catcher. He hit 427 home runs in his career, with 396 of them hit while playing catcher. This is a record for catchers! He also had a .308 batting average and 1,335 runs batted in (RBI).

Piazza was picked by the Dodgers in the 1988 MLB draft. He was the very last player chosen that year. He started as a first baseman but changed to catcher. This change helped him get to the major leagues faster. He made his MLB debut in 1992. The next year, he was named the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year. He was an All-Star for 10 years in a row after that.

Mike Piazza was known for hitting with great power and a high average. His best year with the Dodgers was in 1997. He hit .362, had 40 home runs, and 124 RBI. In 1998, he was traded to the Marlins and then quickly to the Mets. He helped the Mets reach the 2000 World Series. This was the only World Series he played in. After 2005, he played one season each for the Padres and Athletics before retiring in 2007.

Many people think Piazza is one of the best hitting catchers in baseball history. In 2013, the Mets added him to the New York Mets Hall of Fame. In 2016, Piazza was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Early Life and Baseball Dreams

Mike Piazza was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. He went to Phoenixville Area High School. Mike is the second oldest of five brothers. His father, Vince, was the son of Italian immigrants. Mike's youngest brother, Tommy, had former MLB manager Tommy Lasorda as his godfather.

Mike grew up loving the Philadelphia Phillies and other Philadelphia sports teams. He admired Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt. Mike's father, Vince, had always wanted to play baseball. He encouraged Mike to build his arm strength from age five. When Mike was 16, he even got hitting lessons from the legendary Ted Williams. Williams told him not to let anyone change his swing. Mike's father would throw hundreds of pitches to him every night. Mike was very dedicated to baseball, even practicing on Christmas Eve.

Piazza graduated from high school in 1986. He went to the Miami Hurricanes for his freshman year. He didn't get to play much, so he moved to Miami-Dade Community College. In 1988, he played first base there. He hit .364 with three home runs and 23 RBI in 29 games.

Major League Baseball Career

Mike Piazza's journey to the major leagues was quite unique.

Joining the Los Angeles Dodgers

Mike's father asked his friend, Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, for a favor. Because of this, the Dodgers drafted Piazza in 1988. He was the 1,390th player picked out of 1,395! Lasorda suggested Piazza learn to play catcher. This would give him a better chance to reach the major leagues. Piazza went to a special training camp for catchers in the Dominican Republic. He became an amazing hitter, especially for a catcher.

Piazza made his MLB debut with the Dodgers on September 1, 1992. He got a walk in his first time at bat. Then, he hit a double in his first official at-bat. He hit his first home run on September 12, 1992. He played in only 21 games that season, hitting .232.

In 1993, Piazza won the NL Rookie of the Year Award. He played in 149 games, hitting .318 with 35 home runs and 112 RBI. He was also chosen for the 1993 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. This was the first of his 10 straight All-Star appearances. In 1996, Piazza hit .336 with 36 home runs and 105 RBI. He finished second in the NL MVP voting.

Piazza's best season with the Dodgers was in 1997. He hit .362, with 40 home runs and 124 RBI. He also had a great on-base percentage of .431. He became the first catcher in MLB history to get 200 hits in one season. He finished second in NL MVP voting for the second year in a row.

Moving to the Florida Marlins

After the 1997 season, Piazza wanted a new contract. He was traded by the Dodgers to the Marlins on May 15, 1998. He played in only five games with the Marlins, hitting .278.

Becoming a New York Met

Just a week later, on May 22, the Marlins traded Piazza to the New York Mets. Piazza finished the 1998 season hitting .328 with 32 home runs and 111 RBI. He was the first player in MLB history to hit over 30 home runs while playing for three different teams in one season.

Piazza helped the Mets reach the playoffs in 1999 and 2000. In 1999, he hit 40 home runs and had 124 RBI, matching his career highs. He also set a record for most home runs in a season without hitting more than one in a single game.

Piazza with the Mets in May 1999

In 2000, Piazza led the Mets to the NL pennant and a World Series appearance. This was known as the "Subway Series" against the New York Yankees. During the 2000 National League Championship Series, Mets coach John Stearns called Piazza "The Monster" after a big hit.

Piazza was involved in a memorable moment during the 2000 World Series. Earlier that season, Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens hit Piazza in the head with a fastball. Piazza got a concussion and missed the All-Star Game. In Game 2 of the World Series, Clemens threw a pitch that broke Piazza's bat. The broken bat flew towards Clemens. Clemens caught the bat barrel and threw it across the first base line. Piazza walked towards Clemens, and both teams came onto the field. No one was hurt or ejected.

Piazza in 2004

Piazza's game-winning home run on September 21, 2001, was very special. It was the first professional baseball game in New York after the 9/11 attacks. Many people called it an iconic and healing moment. The jersey he wore that day was bought for $365,000 in 2016. It is displayed at the 9/11 Memorial Museum, Citi Field, and the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

To help his knees, Piazza started playing some first base in 2004. However, he went back to catching full-time. Even though he was known for his hitting, Piazza also had good defensive moments. He caught two no-hitters while with the Dodgers. One was by Hideo Nomo at Coors Field, which is a tough park for pitchers. In 2000, his .997 fielding percentage was the best among NL catchers. On May 5, 2004, Piazza hit his 352nd home run as a catcher. This broke the record held by Carlton Fisk.

Playing for the San Diego Padres

After the 2005 season, Piazza signed a one-year contract with the San Diego Padres in January 2006. He was the Padres' starting catcher and a key hitter. He had a good year, batting .283 with 22 home runs. He helped the Padres win their division. On July 21, 2006, Piazza got his 2,000th career hit.

On August 8, 2006, Piazza played his first game at Shea Stadium since leaving the Mets. New York fans gave him many standing ovations. He even hit two home runs in one game against his former teammate, Pedro Martínez.

Final Season with the Oakland Athletics

Piazza signed with the Oakland Athletics in December 2006. He played only as a designated hitter for the Athletics. On July 25, 2007, during a game, a fan threw a water bottle that hit Piazza. Piazza pointed out the fan to security.

On September 26, 2007, Piazza hit his 427th and final major league home run. It was against rookie pitcher Jon Lester of the Boston Red Sox. After not signing with any team for the 2008 season, Piazza announced his retirement on May 20, 2008. He said it was time for a new chapter in his life.

Retirement and Hall of Fame

Piazza returned to Shea Stadium for the "Shea Goodbye" closing ceremony on September 28, 2008. He caught the very last pitch in the stadium's history from Hall of Famer Tom Seaver. They walked off the field together, closing the door on the park. On April 13, 2009, Piazza caught the first pitch at the new Citi Field from Seaver.

On January 6, 2016, Mike Piazza was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He received 83% of the votes. On September 29, 2013, he was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame. The New York Mets retired his uniform number, 31, in a ceremony on July 30, 2016.

International Baseball and Other Interests

Before the 2006 MLB season, Piazza played for Italy in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He was also the hitting coach for the Italian National Baseball team in the 2009 and 2013 World Baseball Classic. He helped the Italian Baseball Academy win two European Baseball Championships.

In November 2019, Piazza announced he would manage the Italian National Baseball team. He was supposed to manage in the 2020 European Baseball Championship and the 2021 World Baseball Classic. However, he was unable to do so because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2016, Piazza bought a majority share of an Italian soccer team called A.C. Reggiana. The team played for two seasons under his ownership.

Mike Piazza's Legacy

Piazza greets the crowd at Citi Field prior to catching a ceremonial pitch alongside Mookie Wilson.

In his 16-year career, Mike Piazza played in 1,912 games. He had 2,127 hits and a .308 career batting average. He hit 427 home runs and had 1,335 runs batted in. His .922 on-base plus slugging percentage shows how well he hit.

Piazza is known as one of the best hitting catchers ever. He hit 396 home runs while playing catcher, which is an MLB record. Only a few other players in history have hit over 400 home runs with a .300 lifetime average and never struck out more than 100 times in a season. These include legends like Ted Williams and Babe Ruth. Piazza is also one of only three players to win ten Silver Slugger Awards.

His defense has also been recognized more positively over time. His ability to "frame" pitches (making them look like strikes) ranks very high among catchers.

Mets teammate Tom Glavine called Piazza a "first-ballot Hall of Famer." He said Piazza was "certainly the best hitting catcher of our era and arguably the best hitting catcher of all time." On July 30, 2016, the New York Mets retired his uniform number, 31.

Acting and Personal Life

Piazza has appeared in movies and TV shows. He was in the movie Two Weeks Notice. He also appeared as himself in an episode of Married...with Children. In 2013, Piazza performed with the Miami City Ballet. He had a small role as a hit man in their show Slaughter on Tenth Avenue. He wanted to help more sports fans appreciate ballet. In 2023, Piazza was on the reality show Special Forces: World's Toughest Test.

On January 29, 2005, Piazza married actress Alicia Rickter. They have three children together. Piazza is a big fan of heavy metal music. He is even godfather to Zakk Wylde's son, Hendrix. He has also played drums on stage with different bands. Piazza is a devout Roman Catholic. His faith was shown in the documentary Champions of Faith.

See also

In Spanish: Mike Piazza para niños