Mike Piazza
In his "New Historical Baseball Abstract," author Bill James wrote "it is now clear that Mike Piazza is the greatest hitting catcher in history." Piazza's amazing offensive production, including nine seasons of 30 or more homers, earned that lofty praise. Defying the odds, Piazza was a low draft choice who made his way through the Dodger organization to become a 12-time All-Star. In spite of his mediocre defensive skills behind the plate, he's destined to rank among the top five catchers of all-time.
| Career Batting Stats |
| G |
AB |
H |
R |
HR |
RBI |
SB |
AVG |
SLG |
OBP |
OPS |
OPS+ |
| 1912 |
6911 |
2127 |
1048 |
427 |
1335 |
17 |
.308 |
.545 |
.377 |
.922 |
123.5 |
|
Quotes From Mike Piazza
"When you're 25, you can eat hamburgers and pizza and drink beer and stay out all night and come out the next day and drink a couple cups of coffee and just play. If I did that today, my heart would stop and I'd need a stretcher and an IV. I started kind of noticing that in my early 30's, and now that I'm in my mid-to-late 30's, it's even that much more." � in 2005
Where does Mike Piazza rank among baseball greats?
Mike Piazza ranks #7 among the Top 50 all-time at C. Rankings ⇒
Best Season: 1997
Piazza enjoyed one of the greatest seasons ever by a backstop. He slugged 40 homers, drove in 124 runs, collected 201 hits, and hit .362 - an incredible figure for playing half his games in Dodger Stadium.
Factoids
Mike Piazza was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 62nd round of the 1988 draft, as a favor to his godfather, manager Tommy Lasorda. In all, 1,390 players were chosen before Piazza, who went on to become an All-Star catcher.
In his first at-bat as a Padre, on Opening Day in 2006, April 3, Mike Piazza belted a home run.
Born
Michael Joseph Piazza was born on September 4, 1968, in Norristown, PA.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
College: Miami-Dade CC
Major League Debut
9 1,
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1992
Jeff Kent
Mike Piazza
Bret Boone
Eric Young
Tim Salmon
Pedro Martinez
J.T. Snow
Javy Lopez
Dan Wilson
Similar Players
Offensively, Piazza is the most unique catcher in baseball history.
Post-Season Appearances
1995 National League Divisional Series
1996 National League Divisional Series
1999 National League Championship Series
1999 National League Divisional Series
2000 National League Championship Series
2000 National League Divisional Series
2000 World Series
Awards and Honors
1993 NL Rookie of the Year
1996 ML AS MVP
Milestones
On July 21, 2006, Piazza doubled for his 2,000th career hit.
Notes
In 10 games at Angel Stadium in 2007, his first season with Oakland, Piazza batted .512 (22-for-43) with five doubles, four homers, 10 RBI, and a .907 slugging percentage.
Hitting Streaks
24 games (1999)
21 games (2000)
19 games (1996)
Transactions
June 1, 1988: Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 62nd round of the 1988 amateur draft.
May 14, 1998: Traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers with Todd Zeile to the Florida Marlins for Manuel Barrios, Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich, Charles Johnson, and Gary Sheffield.
May 22, 1998: Traded by the Florida Marlins to the New York Mets for Preston Wilson, Ed Yarnall, and Geoff Goetz (minors).
Prior to the 2006 season: Signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres.
All-Star Selections
1993 NL
1994 NL
1995 NL
1996 NL
1997 NL
1998 NL
1999 NL
2000 NL
2001 NL
2002 NL
2004 NL
2005 NL
Replaced
Mike Scioscia
Replaced By
The Dodgers replaced him with Charles Johnson, who was involved in the trade that sent him to the Marlins... The Marlins replaced him with Gregg Zaun... The Mets replaced him with Paul Lo Duca in 2006.
Best Strength as a Player
Hitting for power.
Largest Weakness as a Player
Throwing arm and defense behind the plate.
Learn More about Mike Piazza
Search Amazon.com for Books about Mike Piazza ⇒
Search for Mike Piazza at Google ⇒
View a map of his hometown at Mapquest ⇒