New York Mets: Finding a New Piazza Key for Future Success

Looking back at the past decade for the New York Mets, the team has consistently been a combination of a few All-Stars and many role players. However, the major difference in their triumphs and failures was a single man, Mike Piazza. The 16-year veteran is baseball's all-time leader in home runs by a catcher and was named an All-Star 12 times.

Sure, Piazza was a one-of-a-kind, cemented Hall of Famer, but the Mets haven't seen a backstop anywhere near his caliber since he left. 

Paul Lo Duca, Brian Schneider, Omir Santos and Josh Thole are all serviceable catchers, but in Major League Baseball, the man behind the dish is often the difference between champions and .500 ballclubs.

The evidence is there. Looking at recent World Series winners, every team has been led by their man in the mask. For the Giants, Buster Posey, despite his young age, carried his team to victory through excellent game-calling and production at the plate. For more seasoned teams such as the Yankees, Red Sox and Cardinals, their veterans were experienced with how to control a pitching staff and capable of leading their team to victory with a timely hit.

Piazza, a superhuman version of today's greats like Posey and Molina, not only led his team in almost every major hitting category, he made a 10-plus game-winner out of five ordinary starting pitchers. The 2000 National League champions had a pitching staff anchored by Al Leiter and Mike Hampton, neither of whom were long-term aces, but teamed with Piazza, saw lowered ERA and improved postseason effectiveness.

Josh Thole, the Mets' current solution to their catching needs, is a far cry from the glory days of the 'Pizza Man.' In 204 career games, Thole only has six home runs, struggles defensively and has not brought the best out of his pitching staff. 

Instead of prioritizing the position, the Mets now view it as a cost-effective, unimportant position that can be filled with a player like Thole who doesn't really hurt the team but does minimal to help them.

From a fan's perspective, it was frustrating to watch the Mets constantly pass on free agents such as Ivan Rodriguez, because although their best years are behind them, they understand how to communicate with pitchers, call games and make up for their loss of talent with their unmatched knowledge of the game. 

Until the Mets realize the immense importance of the catching position, it's hard to believe that there will be many changes with the team's overall record.  As team history shows, most of their best years came with their best catchers, Gary Carter and Mike Piazza.

Until the Mets stop settling for 'fine' behind the plate, don't expect anything better than fine on the field.