Mike Piazza, New York Mets Player

Mike Piazza is a former catcher for the New York Mets baseball team and is renowned as one of the greates hitting catchers ever to play baseball. Piazza retired after the 2007 season and now lives in Miami, Florida, along with his wife and family. Piazza has attributed some of his hitting abilities to the tutelage of Hall of Famer Ted Williams, one of the game's legendary hitters, who gave him personal help when Piazza was only 12 years old. This was done in Williams’ backyard batting cage.

While active in Major League Baseball, between the 1992 and 2007 seasons, Piazza played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Florida Marlins, the New York Mets, the San Diego Padres, and the Oakland Athletics. His longest tenure with one team was with the Mets, where he played from 1998 to 2005. Piazza's career began with the Dodgers and from his rookie season onward he was known as one of the most feared hitters in all of baseball.

Piazza a serviceable catcher but he made his name on the strength of his hitting. In his career, Piazza belted 427 homers and batted in 1,335 runs. He was honored in September of 2008 by the New York Mets during a closing ceremony for Shea Stadium. It was here that he received the venerable stadium's final pitch, which was thrown by Tom Seaver, a Hall of Fame pitcher for the Mets. These two players are often regarded as the greatest hitter and pitcher in the history of the Mets franchise.


Piazza experienced numerous milestones and highlights in his storied career, and is generally considered the greatest hitting catcher in the history of baseball. His .362 batting average during the 1997 season is the highest ever recorded by a catcher. In September 1998 Piazza blasted a 480 foot home run against the Houston Astros that is the longest home run ever hit in Astrodome history.