gold star for USAHOF

22. Mike Piazza

22. Mike Piazza
  1. General
  2. Awards
  3. Career Stats
  • Born: September 4, 1968 in Norristown, PA USA
  • Weight: 200 lbs.
  • Height: 6'3"
  • Bats: R
  • Throws: R
  • Debut: September 01, 1992
  • Final Game: September 30, 2007
  • Rookie of the Year - 1993
  • Silver Slugger - 1993
  • TSN All-Star - 1993
  • Silver Slugger - 1994
  • TSN All-Star - 1994
  • Silver Slugger - 1995
  • TSN All-Star - 1995
  • All-Star Game MVP - 1996
  • Silver Slugger - 1996
  • TSN All-Star - 1996
  • Silver Slugger - 1997
  • TSN All-Star - 1997
  • Silver Slugger - 1998
  • TSN All-Star - 1998
  • Silver Slugger - 1999
  • TSN All-Star - 1999
  • Silver Slugger - 2000
  • TSN All-Star - 2000
  • Silver Slugger - 2001
  • TSN All-Star - 2001
  • Silver Slugger - 2002
  • TSN All-Star - 2002
  • MVP - 1993
  • MVP - 1994
  • MVP - 1995
  • MVP - 1996
  • MVP - 1997
  • MVP - 1998
  • MVP - 1999
  • MVP - 2000
  • MVP - 2001
  • Rookie of the Year - 1993
 
ABRHHRRBISBAVG
1382220964254854267034 0.308
 

You could easily state that Mike Piazza is a Met.  That is the team he entered the Baseball Hall of Fame as, but for our money, his best statistical accomplishments were in Los Angeles.  

The story of Piazza is well known, with him only being drafted at all (62nd Round, 1,390th Overall) as a favor to his father, who was friends with Tommy Lasorda.  Piazza played at First Base but moved to Catcher to hope for an easier path.  Not only did that work out, but he is also considered one of the best-hitting Catchers in Baseball history.

Piazza blossomed in the minors and was a late-season call-up in 1992.  He was named the Dodgers' starting Catcher in 1993, and he won the Rookie of the Year, batting .318 with 35 Home Runs and 112 RBI.  A Silver Slugger and All-Star that year, Piazza continued to earn those accolades annually until 2002, though he left the team well before that streak ended.  His best seasons were in 1996 and 1997, with back-to-back second-place MVP finishes, with his latter year being special (40 HR, 124 RBI, .362).  

As great as Piazza was, the Dodgers looked to rebuild, and they traded Piazza in May of 1998 to the Marlins, who, a week later, dealt him to New York, where he led the Mets to a Pennant win in 2000.  With Los Angeles, Piazza had an OPS of .966 (higher than his Mets one of .915), and his bWAR of 32.0 was significantly greater than what he did in New York (24.6). 

Piazza was chosen for Cooperstown in 2016, his fourth year on the 

The Bullet Points

  • Position: Catcher
  • Acquired: Selected in the 62nd Round of the Amateur Draft 6/1/88.
  • Departed:

    Traded to the Florida Marlins with Todd Zeile for Manuel Barrios, Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich, Charles Johnson, and Gary Sheffield 5/14/98.

  • Games Played: 726
  • Major Accolades and Awards:

    561 Runs Scored
    896 Hits
    115 Doubles
    3 Triples
    177 Home Runs
    563 RBI
    10 Stolen Bases
    .331/.394/.572 Slash Line
    32.0 bWAR

    6 Playoff Games
    2 Runs Scored
    6 Hits
    1 Double
    0 Triples
    1 Home Run
    3 RBI
    0 Stolen Bases
    .250/.269/.417 Slash Line

  • Other Points of Note:

    All-Star (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 & 1998*)
    Rookie of the Year (1993)
    Silver Slugger (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 & 1998*)
    All-Star Game MVP (1996)
    Highest Offensive bWAR (1997)
    Highest OPS+ (1995 & 1997)
    Most Putouts by a Catcher (1995, 1996 & 1997)
    Most Assists by a Catcher (1993 & 1998*)
    Most Runners Caught Stealing (1993)
    Highest Range Factor per Game by a Catcher (1997)

    *Piazza was traded to the Marlins during the season

Comments powered by CComment