Mike Piazza

From The Met Wiki

Mike Piazza was a catcher for the Mets from 1998 to 2005. In 972 games played with the team, he batted .296 with 220 homers and 655 runs batted in. Piazza was a five-time National League Silver Slugger Award Winner as a Met.

Piazza came to the Mets in a much-welcomed trade with the Florida Marlins on May 22, 1998. Over the rest of the ’98 season, he batted .348 with a team-leading 23 home runs. Against his previous team on May 27, Mike had three singles and a double in an 8-2 Mets victory at Florida. He singled, doubled and homered in a 3-0 Mets win over the Devil Rays at Shea Stadium on June 8. Piazza hit a pair of home runs in the Mets’ 7-0 triumph over the Phillies on July 18 at Shea. He singled three times, stole a base and scored the winning run in a 6-5 Mets win at Milwaukee on July 23. Mike had a single, double, homer and three RBIs in the Mets’ 8-7 victory at Colorado on August 7. He had three singles, a homer and three runs scored in a 7-4 Mets win in 13 innings at Houston on September 14. Two days later, Piazza hit a three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning of the Mets’ 4-3 triumph over the Astros in 11.

In 1999, Piazza set a new Mets record with 124 runs batted in. He scored 100 runs and led the team with 40 homers for the season. At Shea on April 28, Mike hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to give the Mets a 4-3 victory over the Padres. He had two singles, a homer and three runs scored in an 11-10 Mets win over the Brewers in the first game of a doubleheader on May 20 at Shea. Piazza doubled twice and scored a pair of runs in a 5-2 Mets triumph at Cincinnati on June 16. He had an RBI double and a three-run homer in the Mets’ 9-8 win over the Yankees on July 10 at Shea. At Milwaukee on August 3, Mike hit a three-run homer in a 10-3 Mets victory over the Brewers. He had three singles and a home run in a 6-1 Mets win at San Francisco on August 14. Piazza singled and doubled twice each and scored two runs in the Mets’ 9-5 triumph at Houston on September 1. At Los Angeles ten days later, he had three singles and a two-run homer in a 6-2 Mets win over the Dodgers.

Piazza had team highs with 38 home runs and 113 RBIs in 2000. He batted .324 in the Mets’ pennant-winning season. On April 14, Mike had two singles, a double, two homers and four runs batted in as the Mets chalked up an 8-5 win in 12 innings at Pittsburgh. He hit a grand slam in the Mets’ 5-1 victory over the Marlins at Shea on May 14. Piazza had a grand slam and a pair of singles in the Mets’ 12-2 triumph over the Yankees on June 9. He hit two homers in a 6-4 Mets win at Boston on July 14. Mike had three singles, a double and four RBIs in the Mets’ 10-3 victory at Houston on August 10. He singled and hit his last two homers of the regular season in a 9-6 Mets win at Philadelphia on September 22. Piazza also had a .302 batting average with four home runs and eight RBIs in 14 post season games played.

In 2001, Piazza won the Mets’ team triple crown with 36 home runs, 94 RBIs and a .300 batting average. He also led the team with 151 hits and 81 runs scored during the season. On April 9, Mike drove in five runs with two homers to lead the Mets to a 9-4 win over the Braves at Shea. He had a run-scoring single and a homer in a 10-9 Mets victory at Colorado on May 7. Piazza singled twice, doubled and scored the winning run in the Mets’ 7-6 triumph in 10 innings at Baltimore on June 13. He hit two home runs in a 6-1 Mets win over the Phillies on July 27 at Shea. Two days later, Mike had a single, a double and a game-winning homer in the bottom of the ninth for a 6-5 Mets victory over the Phils. He singled, homered twice and drove in four runs in a 6-5 Mets win at Los Angeles on August 19. Piazza homered to put the Mets ahead to stay in the team’s 7-5 victory at Pittsburgh on September 18. At Shea three days later, he hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to give the Mets an emotional 3-2 triumph over the Braves. Mike also had two singles, a double and a home run in the Mets’ 9-6 win at Atlanta on September 30.

Piazza led the Mets in homers for the fifth straight year with 33 in 2002. He had a team-leading 288 total bases for the season. On April 15, Mike hit a pair of home runs in the Mets’ 7-6 victory over the Braves in 12 innings at Shea. He had two homers and six RBIs in a 10-1 Mets win at Arizona on April 30. Piazza hit a grand slam in the Mets’ 13-4 triumph at San Diego on May 17. He hit a three-run homer in an 8-6 Mets win at Cleveland on June 8. At Philadelphia on July 3, Mike hit three-run homers in two consecutive innings in the Mets’ 8-7 loss to the Phillies. He had a run-scoring single and a two-run triple in a 9-1 Mets win over the Phils on July 11 at Shea. Piazza hit a grand slam to put the Mets ahead to stay in the team’s 6-4 victory at Philadelphia on September 9. He also had an RBI single and a two-run homer in the Mets’ season-closing 6-1 win over the Braves on September 29 at Shea.

Injuries limited Piazza to 68 games played in 2003. He had 67 hits for 113 total bases during the year. At Shea on April 25, Mike had two singles, a double and scored the winning run in the Mets’ 4-3 victory over the Diamondbacks. He hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning to give the Mets a 4-2 win over the Padres on May 10 at Shea. Piazza had a single and a pair of home runs in the Mets’ 9-8 loss at Colorado on May 13. In his first game back from the disabled list on August 13, he had two singles, a homer and five RBIs in the Mets’ 9-2 triumph over the Giants at Shea. Mike hit a two-run homer in an 8-0 Mets win over the Rockies at Shea on August 18. He also batted .375 (12-for-32) during an eight-game hitting streak from September 18 to September 26.

In 2004, Piazza played as both a catcher and a first baseman. He appeared in a total of 129 games during the season. At Atlanta on April 7, Mike had two singles, a double and a pair of home runs in the Mets’ 18-10 loss to the Braves. He homered in the 11th inning to give the Mets a 2-1 win over the Giants on May 6 at Shea. Piazza had a two-run double and a two-run homer in a 5-2 Mets victory over the Marlins at Shea on June 6. He drove in two runs with a single in a 10-1 Mets win at Montreal on July 29. Mike also singled and hit a two-run homer in the Mets’ 9-7 triumph over the Braves in the first game of a doubleheader on September 13 at Shea.

Piazza returned to pure catching in 2005. He had a total of 100 hits in his final season with the Mets. Mike had two doubles and three RBIs in the Mets’ 4-0 win over the Marlins at Shea on April 15. He singled three times and hit a three-run homer in a 7-5 Mets victory over the Phillies on May 5 at Shea. One day later, Piazza drove in three runs with a pair of homers in the Mets’ 7-4 win at Milwaukee. He had three singles and a double in a 10-6 Mets triumph over the Reds at Shea on May 18. Mike hit a game-winning, three-run homer in the eighth inning for his 1000th hit as a Met and a 6-3 victory over the Braves on July 14 at Shea. He drove in the winning run with a bases-loaded walk in the 11th for a 9-8 Mets triumph over the Brewers at Shea on August 2. Piazza homered twice in the Mets’ 6-5 win at Washington on September 25. He also hit his last home run with the team in an 11-0 Mets victory over the Rockies on September 29 at Shea.

Piazza played for the San Diego Padres in 2006. He concluded his career with the Oakland Athletics in 2007.