Mike Piazza

Mike Piazza in episode 3 of The Apprentice 2, promoting Crest toothpaste in NYC, with competitor Elizabeth.

Michael Joseph Piazza (born September 4, 1968 in Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA) is a U.S. Major League Baseball player. He is generally recognized as the top-hitting catcher of all time. He is a ten time All-Star. On May 5, 2004, Piazza surpassed Carlton Fisk for most home runs by a catcher with the 352nd of his career.

Piazza was the very last player drafted (in the 62nd round) of the 1988 draft. It is believed that the pick was partly a favor on the part of Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who is godfather to one of Piazza's brothers and, like Piazza, grew up in Norristown. Piazza swore he'd learn to catch if he was drafted. Piazza's major league debut came with the Dodgers in 1992, when he appeared in 21 games. He then won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1993.

Piazza's best season was arguably 1997, a year when he finished second in MVP voting. He hit .362, with 40 home runs and 124 runs batted in, an on base percentage of .431 and a slugging percentage of .638.

He played for the Dodgers until a trade to the Florida Marlins in the middle of the 1998 season. Piazza and Todd Zeile went to the Marlins, in return for Gary Sheffield, Charles Johnson, Bobby Bonilla and Jim Eisenreich. The Marlins then sent Piazza one week later to the New York Mets for Preston Wilson, Ed Yarnall, and Geoff Goetz.

Piazza helped the Mets to two consecutive playoff appearances, the second resulting in a five-game World Series loss to the crosstown New York Yankees in 2000.

To ease the stress on his deteriorating knees, Piazza began to split his time between catching and playing first base during the 2004 season. Although recognized as a great hitter, Mike Piazza is often viewed as a defensive liability no matter what position he's playing, and it's believed that if he doesn't retire after his Mets contract expires, he would be a good fit for an American League team, arguing that a full-time role as a designated hitter could extend an almost-certain Hall-of-Fame career without stressing his body and give the team more power.

In a 14-year career, Piazza has batted .312 with 392 home runs, 1,216 RBI, and 308 doubles in 1,687 games.

Salary

During the 2005 season, Mike Piazza is the 9th highest paid MLB player at $16,071,429.

Trivia

  • Piazza appeared on the September 23, 2004 episode of the NBC television program The Apprentice. He was paid $20,000 for a half-hour of work pitching a vanilla-mint flavored Crest toothpaste.
  • On January 29, 2005, at an evening wedding at St. Jude's Catholic Church in Miami with 120 guests that included former Mets pitcher Al Leiter and Detroit Tigers catcher Ivan Rodriguez, Piazza married his girlfriend of two years, Alicia Rickter, a Playboy model formerly of the TV show Baywatch.
  • Mike was the subject --and source--of a hoax involving the movie Teen Wolf starring Michael J. Fox. Mike alleged in an interview with New York Sports Express that he had played the boyfriend of the beautiful blonde (whom Fox eventually sleeps with). It worked so well that it even fooled the Internet Movie Database who listed him as playing the part of Mick McAlister (in fact, played by Mark Arnold). IMDb went so far as to display a picture of Piazza.

This page about Mike Piazza includes information from a Wikipedia article.
Additional articles about Mike Piazza
News stories about Mike Piazza
External links for Mike Piazza
Videos for Mike Piazza
Wikis about Mike Piazza
Discussion Groups about Mike Piazza
Blogs about Mike Piazza
Images of Mike Piazza

During the 2005 season, Mike Piazza is the 9th highest paid MLB player at $16,071,429. In a 14-year career, Piazza has batted .312 with 392 home runs, 1,216 RBI, and 308 doubles in 1,687 games. Although recognized as a great hitter, Mike Piazza is often viewed as a defensive liability no matter what position he's playing, and it's believed that if he doesn't retire after his Mets contract expires, he would be a good fit for an American League team, arguing that a full-time role as a designated hitter could extend an almost-certain Hall-of-Fame career without stressing his body and give the team more power. To ease the stress on his deteriorating knees, Piazza began to split his time between catching and playing first base during the 2004 season.

Piazza helped the Mets to two consecutive playoff appearances, the second resulting in a five-game World Series loss to the crosstown New York Yankees in 2000. The Marlins then sent Piazza one week later to the New York Mets for Preston Wilson, Ed Yarnall, and Geoff Goetz. Piazza and Todd Zeile went to the Marlins, in return for Gary Sheffield, Charles Johnson, Bobby Bonilla and Jim Eisenreich. He played for the Dodgers until a trade to the Florida Marlins in the middle of the 1998 season.

He hit .362, with 40 home runs and 124 runs batted in, an on base percentage of .431 and a slugging percentage of .638. Piazza's best season was arguably 1997, a year when he finished second in MVP voting. He then won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1993. Piazza's major league debut came with the Dodgers in 1992, when he appeared in 21 games.

Piazza swore he'd learn to catch if he was drafted. It is believed that the pick was partly a favor on the part of Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who is godfather to one of Piazza's brothers and, like Piazza, grew up in Norristown. Piazza was the very last player drafted (in the 62nd round) of the 1988 draft. On May 5, 2004, Piazza surpassed Carlton Fisk for most home runs by a catcher with the 352nd of his career.

He is a ten time All-Star. He is generally recognized as the top-hitting catcher of all time. Major League Baseball player. Michael Joseph Piazza (born September 4, 1968 in Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA) is a U.S.

IMDb went so far as to display a picture of Piazza. It worked so well that it even fooled the Internet Movie Database who listed him as playing the part of Mick McAlister (in fact, played by Mark Arnold). Mike alleged in an interview with New York Sports Express that he had played the boyfriend of the beautiful blonde (whom Fox eventually sleeps with). Fox.

Mike was the subject --and source--of a hoax involving the movie Teen Wolf starring Michael J. Jude's Catholic Church in Miami with 120 guests that included former Mets pitcher Al Leiter and Detroit Tigers catcher Ivan Rodriguez, Piazza married his girlfriend of two years, Alicia Rickter, a Playboy model formerly of the TV show Baywatch. On January 29, 2005, at an evening wedding at St. He was paid $20,000 for a half-hour of work pitching a vanilla-mint flavored Crest toothpaste.

Piazza appeared on the September 23, 2004 episode of the NBC television program The Apprentice.