Happy New Year!
2016 has been kicked off with a bang if you’re a Mets fan. First, word came that there will be a series of celebrations commemorating the thirtieth anniversary of the last Mets World Championship. 30 years is a heckuva long time ago, but it should be fun stuff, even if a lot of those memories will be lost among the younger fans among us.
But today belongs to the bulwark of the next good Mets team. Mike Piazza arrived in Queens mid-way through the 1998 season and it turned out to be a perfect match. Before his arrival, that team was on the verge of a breakthrough, but needed a star – the proverbial “big bat” that would push them over the top. Through May 22, the date of Piazza’s acquisition, Bobby Valentine’s Irregulars were sporting a record of 24-20. While that wasn’t about to set the world on fire, it was enough that fans could see that the light at the end of the tunnel wasn’t an oncoming locomotive. A win over the Brewers on that date left the Mets nine games behind a dominant Atlanta Braves team, 35-13 at that point. The lineup featured the likes of John Olerud, Edgardo Alfonzo, the surprising Brian McRae and the last embers of Carlos Baerga. This was all in support of a decent pitching staff, led by Al Leiter and Rick Reed.
For his part, Piazza seemed to be wandering in the wilderness. He came out of nowhere, tearing the cover off the ball for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1992 through 1997. In his time in LA, he blistered the ball to a .966 OPS with 177 homeruns, five All-star Game appearances and five top-10 finishes in the MVP voting. At the beginning of 1998, though, Piazza began to bicker with the Dodgers’ front office. His free agent year was looming and it became patently evident that his time on the West Coast was almost up. Finally, the Dodgers sent him to the then-Florida Marlins for a passel of players, including Met-connected Bobby Bonilla and Gary Sheffield. With the Marlins in the throes of dismantling their World Championship team of the previous year, it was clear that Piazza wouldn’t be long for Miami, either: he was a Marlin for exactly eight days, enough time to play in five games and hit a triple. Enter the Mets, who sent two young pitchers and Preston Wilson to the Marlins to secure Piazza’s services. Neither side regretted it. Piazza jump-started the offense in a way the Mets hadn’t seen since the heyday of Darryl Strawberry – and wouldn’t really see again until Yoenis Cespedes came aboard this past year.
While the Mets fell short of a Wild Card berth in ’98, Piazza and company made damn sure that they’d reach the post-season in 1999. Piazza, Olerud and Alfonso spearheaded a gutsy lineup that made a mad scramble at the end of the season to nail down the Wild Card. But Piazza was the one that was feared. Opponents knew he could bust up a ballgame anytime, and he did, repeatedly, the following year. Just ask Roger Clemens. Clemens was so afraid of Piazza, he beaned him during the 2000 season and famously tossed a shard of broken bat at him in that year’s World Series. When the Mets faltered the year after that, Piazza managed to make even that doomed campaign memorable, delivering the game winning homerun against the Braves in the first post-9/11 event in New York City. And when the Mets recovered, after four seasons at or below .500, Piazza was still there – in a limited capacity, mind you — as they made a return to contention in 2005, nurturing and mentoring a young David Wright in the process.
When it comes to Mike Piazza, there’s never been a lack of drama. Congratulations on being elected to the Hall of Fame! Tell them to cue up some Jimi Hendrix…
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The memory that sticks with me the most was the winning streak in August of 2000 and always wanting to catch the opening of Mike and the Mad Dog as they played the highlight from the previous night’s Mets game. A die-hard Yankee fan and a Giants fan were pushing the Mets, and I loved it. Yes, they were pushing advertising for their radio, but I still loved it.
The call on the three run homerun off Billy Wagner in Houston to tie it in the top of the ninth would still give me goosebumps. I believe it was after that, that he was given the cover you feature. Loved Mike!
Thank you Mike for everything…
From a very grateful Met fan
Shoot. I came here to complain about Kelly Johnson signing with Braves for $2 million, while the Mets are saddled with Ruben Tejada and no role at nearly $3 million. An obvious, minor deal that needed to be done.
But this isn’t the right day for that, is it?
Oh well, we can always trade for him in July!
Carry on.
Love Mike. My 22-year-old walked around all day yesterday wearing his old Piazza t-shirt, the first Met player he ever loved, and still his all-time favorite. No Met ever hit the ball harder.
Braves have done pretty good with Kelly Johnson. Signed him to an NRI last year, flipped him for two pitchers in late July and get him back on a reasonable deal.
Would love to have seen exit velocities for some of Piazza swings.
Johnson is from Atlanta area and wasn’t happy about leaving. Pretty sure he gave the Braves a deal they couldn’t refuse, if you know what I mean. He’s 36, and will enjoy the perks of MLB and living at home since he probably won’t be playing everyday anyway.
Piazza’s exit velocity should be known to Chipper Jones and the third baseman that played on the outfield grass. Piazza used to love dropping a bunt and stealing a base once in a while to keep them honest, LOL!!!
I have no recollection of Mike ever bunting. It would have annoyed me.
Very happy to see Mike get in. I might even recommence caring about the Hall of Fame.
I just did a quick look at the Baseball-Reference box of Mike’s first game as a Met. It was the only game I ever attended a game on a whim AND dragged my wife along; I believe we had been at some beach earlier.
Anyway, besides the ovations for Mike, I disremembered him hitting a triple (it was a double with Mike taking third on a throw), and remembered Butch Huskey getting thrown out attempting a steal, oy. Al Leiter managed two hits that day; later on the telly he joked, “well, my hits always come in bunches.”
The beginning of a love affair. I have never regretted investing my fannish feelings for Mike.