That's it...Mike Piazza retired today.
I've been a Mike Piazza fan ever since he broke into the Majors winning the NL Rookie of the Year award in '93. I was an even bigger fan when he was the '96 All-Star MVP. And I was kinda hoping he'd kick Roger Clemens' ass in the 2000 World Series when the Rocket tossed the butt-end of Piazza's bat at him. Unfortunately, nothing really happened in that Game 2. Same went for Mike and the Mets' hopes for a World Series title.
Although he never won the big prize, he certainly racked up his fair share of accolades.
How does this sound? The best slugging catcher in baseball history.
Pretty good ring to it. That's because it's the truth. In fact, he made me want to be a catcher growing up. Unfortunately, I couldn't hit like he could. My game was more defensive—like Charles Johnson—who Piazza was traded for in a blockbuster deal with Florida in '98.
He's leaving the game after 19 seasons in the Bigs. A 12-time All-Star, 10-time Silver Slugger, knocked out 427 career dingers, 1335 RBI's and held a .308 average with the L.A. Dodgers, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, and Oakland A's.
Any way you look at it, he was damn good.
Gonna miss ya, Mike!
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