Once Mike Piazza was elected to the Hall of Fame, we all knew it was only a matter of time before he declared he will enter the Hall of Fame as a Met. Yesterday, that moment finally arrived:
I have to admit the moment was a little emotional. It brought back all the great Piazza moments for me. From the homerun to cap off that huge comeback against the Braves in 2000 to the post 9/11 homerun to his return to Shea with the Padres, I remembered it all.
I remembered how the Mets went from an average team to a World Series contender overnight. Piazza’s arrival allowed me to go to a Mets postseason game with my Dad and brother. We got to go two years in a row (only time that has happened in Mers history). I got to see the Mets in the World Series. These events were all made possible by Mike Piazza coming to the Mets and re-signing with the Mets.
Now, I get to say that I saw the career of a Mets player who is in the Hall of Fame. I’m incredibly grateful Mike Piazza was a Met. I’m incredibly grateful he will always be a Met. Its amazing how this week has given me the opportunity to re-live all of these great moments. I look forward to re-loving them again this summer. I cannot wait to go to Cooperstown with my Dad, brother, and son to see his plaque in the Hall of Fame.
I’m sure I will get a little emotional again. I suspect you will too.
Congratulations again to Mets catcher Mike Piazza.
After this week’s events, there is no other place I could go. If you don’t get 100% on this I will be astounded. Name the players who have entered the Hall of Fame as a Met:
After he was banished from baseball for violating its golden rule, it appeared there would be no more moments of glory for Pete Rose. When you gamble in baseball, you always lose. You’re always out. No more managing the Reds. Certainly, no Hall of Fame.
Then Bud Selig relented, if only slightly. As part of the turn of the century, Major League Baseball wanted the fans to vote on the All Century Team. Even though Rose’s name would never be permitted on a Hall of Fame ballot, Major League Baseball was going to allow its fans to decide if the Hit King should be a part of the All Century Team. The fans selected Rose, and Selig invited Rose to take part in the honoring ceremony during the 1999 World Series.
At the time, we believed this would be the last time Pete Rose would ever step foot on a major league ball field. When the members of the All Century team were introduced, Rose received the biggest ovation. It was a big night for him. On that night, it was also a big night for Jim Gray to get an interview with Rose:
Jim Gray stood there and asked every question each and every person was hoping Rose would answer. On the one hand, he was forceful in trying to get answers to his questions. On the other, he was seemingly doing his job. He would be universally derided. A new rule was set forth. There should be no tough questions when a former player is celebrating an achievement. That was until yesterday.
Finally, after years of waiting, Mike Piazza was elected to the Hall of Fame. He then did the rounds to answer questions on what it meant to him to be a Hall of Famer. It was a victory tour of sorts for Piazza. Then came the question that you’re no longer supposed to ask on these occasions (as transcribed by Adam Rubin and published on ESPN):
Are you bothered when people make accusations against you alleging steroid use and just cite acne on the back?
Someone broke the rule and went there. Piazza was gracious answering the question saying he “really want[ed] to celebrate his career” and accusations like that are out if his control.
In the past, this issue has rankled him. He once asked Peter Gammons, “what does acne have to do with steroids?” He had steadfastly denied the steroids rumors. Rumors that have been propagated by the Murray Chasses and Jon Heymans of the world without any proof. Despite the rumors and innuendo, Piazza rose above it all and became a Hall of Famer. He deserved his moment in the sun. However, someone had to go and ask him a steroids question. At one time, it might’ve been a fair question. After 1999, such questions were supposed to be out of bounds. It wasn’t yesterday.
If someone like Pete Rose, who agreed to his own banishment under the cloud of his betting on baseball, can’t be asked hard questions, no one should. This goes double for Mike Piazza, who has never been implicated in any report, test, or investigation. Hopefully, one day these questions will end, and we can just focus on Piazza’s career. Unfortunately, that day is not today. At least for today, no question is out of bounds no matter the setting.
It makes me wonder. Is Piazza owed an apology for the question, or is Jim Gray owed an apology for the criticism he received?
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published at metsmerizedonline.com
I remember going to the last ever game at Shea with mixed emotions. One the one hand, I had a tremendous sense of melancholy over the closing of a Stadium I had been going to since I was three years old. I was also excited because the Mets needed to win to either go play a play-in game or go to the postseason (let’s never talk about the game again).
I went to Shea Stadium with the intention of just soaking everything in. I wanted to keep my eyes pealed for anything I would want to have in the future. One thing I really wanted was The Last Game at Shea t-shirt. It was hard to get one for a few reasons. First, I’m a large man requiring an XXL shirt. If you recall, Shea Stadium would usually carry the XXL stuff at different locations, but not all concessions. Second, as this was the last game of the season and the final game at Shea Stadium, the Mets were selling everything at a pretty steep discount. The concessions were mobbed.
Keep in mind, I’m the type of guy who gets to Mets games as the gates open. On that day, so did everyone else. Each and every concession was a madhouse. My first two stops didn’t have them. I then went to the one that I knew was the best stocked. I fought my way to the front. Note, the old style concessions had no lines. You had to find your way up front, get the person’s attention, and get what you could before it was sold out. I got to the front. I got the salesperson’s attention. I overheard the other salesperson say, “I only got three XXL shirts left!”
I was relieved. I was going to get one of them. Then my Dad stepped in, and asked, “How many Bobbleheads do you have left?” The dutiful salesperson went back and counted. I don’t remember the number, but she told us how many were left. My Dad started to do the math in his head as to what it’ll cost and who would get one of those Bobbleheads. At that point, a large man stepped next to me talking about the shirts.
I yelled at the salesperson, “We’ll take them all as long as you can get me an XXL Final Game shirt!” I got the last XXL t-shirt . . . and about 15 Bobbleheads. Guess what my Dad got me as a good gift for Christmas? One of the 15 Bobbleheads (he took a few off my hands).
Here’s the funny thing. After that game, my most treasured souvenir from the Last Game at Shea wasn’t the t-shirt; it was the Bobblehead. That Bobblehead has come to symbolize not just that game, but all the games I attended at Shea with my Dad and brother. It’s also funny that there were enough left over that I could give one to my son when he was born.
So with that, I hope you have a Happy National Bobblehead Day.
With the 2016 Hall of Fame class being announced yesterday, it’s hard to believe the Mets will have two Hall of Famers. Understandably and rightfully so, 2016 will be the year for the Mets to honor Mike Piazza. However, it’s high time the Mets also honor Tom Seaver.
Depending on your age, you identify the Mets with a particular player. Some will pick Piazza. Younger fans will pick David Wright. Many will pick any one of the players from the 1986 Mets. Part of this is a recency bias. Another part of this is the failure of the Mets organization to forever hold out Tom Seaver, The Franchise, as the Mets singular franchise player.
Go to other big league stadiums, particularly the new ones. The Yankees have Monument Park. In Monument Park, the Yankees have paid special tribute to five Yankees including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The Giants have a statue of Willie Mays. The Phillies have one for Mike Schmidt. The list goes on and on. The Mets? They only have a special honor for Jackie Robinson.
Walk around Citi Field. There’s no special designation for Seaver. Yes, his number is retired. His retired number also hangs on the same wall as Jackie Robinson. There needs to be a Tom Seaver statue. The main reason is all Mets fans need to know who he was. For some reason, Seaver isn’t spoken about in the historical context as he should. Part of the reason could be the team he represents.
This isn’t an issue of the Mets finances. I’m not mocking the Mets here for not having enough money to purchase a statue. The Mets had the money to build Citi Field. It’s an issue or priorities. They never prioritized honoring Seaver. I still don’t understand why.
Every Mets fan needs to see Seaver on their way into Citi Field. Kids should be asking their parents and grandparents about Seaver. They should hear stories like I did from my father. Stories about how he was nicknamed The Franchise because he turned the Mets around. They need to hear about “The Imperfect Game.” They need to hear stories about the Miracle Mets. They should hear about how Seaver used his legs so much while he was pitching he got dirt on his knee.
There’s no better place to tell these stories than at the ballpark. It’s where my father told me about them. I hope one day he’ll get to tell my son those stories too. I’d love for my son to see the statute and ask, “Who’s Tom Seaver?” I’ll just then sit back as my Dad tells him the same stories he told me.
This is what we’re missing with the Seaver statue. We’re missing the history not only of the Mets, but also baseball. Sure, I look forward to my Dad telling my son about how he grew up a Brooklyn Dodger fan, and Jackie Robinson was his favorite player because he ran pigeon-toed just like my Dad did. It’ll be awesome, but it’s also a problem. My son will ask the Jackie Robinson but not the Tom Seaver question on his way into the ballpark.
The Mets have been around for 54 years and have developed their own rich history. It’s time to properly honor it with a Seaver statute. Then maybe one day we can have a Piazza statute when I can regale my son and hopefully grandson in the future with stories like the trade bringing him to the Mets, him being the greatest hitting catcher ever, and the post 9/11 homerun. Sure, I’ll relate those stories anyway because they’re great stories. However, I want my son to ask me about them. A statue honoring the Mets Hall of Famers would go a long way in that regard.
It’s time to honor Tom Seaver. It’s time to build him his statue. It’s not just for him, but for all Mets fans. The ones that saw him play and the ones not yet born. The a Mets need to honor their history now and set it in bronze.
There are moments in your life when you will always remember where you were. On July 11, 2000, I was working as a waiter at Ruby Tuesday taking the order from a table of Mets fans when this happened:
I just remembered screaming “Oh my God!” Initially, the father thought there was an issue with the Sonora Chicken Pasta. I then pointed to the TV, and we all watched the replay. That moment hung in the air until the 2000 World Series when Piazza would face Roger Clemens again. It was at that time, Clemens lost any benefit of the doubt:
For that one, I was sitting in my dorm room surrounded by my friends who were Yankee fans. Of course, they were defending Clemens. I’m sure they felt the same way when Clemens beaned Derek Jeter.
In any event, Clemens had a reputation as a head hunter. He presumably hit Piazza because he couldn’t get him out. Piazza hit .364/.440/.995 against Clemens with four homers and 10 RBI in 22 at bats. The only thing Clemens could do against Piazza was throw at him. Clemens was allowed to get away with it because no umpire would throw him out if a game for throwing at Piazza. He never received a call from the league to let him know he was being suspended. He also didn’t get a call yesterday. Mike Piazza did:
Piazza gets the call. #HOF2016 pic.twitter.com/WoJqylLgDi
— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) January 7, 2016
Piazza got the call that he’s a Hall of Famer. Clemens learned he was once again being called out by another player for using steroids:
.@rogerclemens gets 45.2% of votes for HOF,up from 37.5last year.The 7time CyYoung winner issued following statement pic.twitter.com/qclbFxRcYW
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) January 7, 2016
For better or worse, Piazza will always be tied together with Clemens due to Clemens’ actions. However, now when the story gets told it’ll be how a man kept out of the Hall of Fame due to steroids use went after a Hall of Famer he couldn’t get out. Despite everything that transpired between the two, Piazza is a Hall of Famer, and Roger Clemens isn’t.
Piazza got the last laugh.
It’s long overdue, but the day has finally arrived. Mike Piazza was finally elected to the Hall of Fame. He is the second Met elected to the Hall of Fame.
The day the Mets obtained Piazza was one of the most important days in the franchise’s history. He transformed the franchise. The Mets went from also rans to contenders. He formed a unique bond with Mets fans. He was an important figure in Mets history.
More importantly, he was an important figure in baseball history. He is the greatest hitting catcher to ever play the game. He has the most home runs, slugging percentage, and OPS+. He will be the first player elected to the Hall of Fame who was the last player selected in a draft. By extension, he is the lowest draft pick in the Hall of Fame. He is proof to everyone that with hard work, determination, and belief in yourself anything is possible. That includes making yourself a good defensive catcher. Yes, Piazza was good defensively.
There are many incredible memories we all have of Piazza. Dodgers fans and Mets fans alike. However, his signature moment was the post-9/11 homerun:
It was an important moment for New York. It was an important moment in baseball history. It’s important that he go into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Today, that moment became reality. Mike Piazza is a Hall of Famer. I hope to be there for your ceremony in July. As you always rise to the occasion, your speech should be one for the ages.
Congratulations Mike Piazza.
Seeing how there were weird and unnecessary discussion regarding the hat which Mike Piazza will select for his Hall of Fame plaque, let’s just end the next discussion before it starts. The Mets will retire Piazza’s # 31.
The Mets had him close out Shea with Tom Seaver. He opened Citi Field again with Seaver recreating the moment at Shea Stadium. He was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame. He threw out the first pitch in the first World Series game at Citi Field. He’s obviously respected by the entire Mets organization. Once Piazza is elected to the Hall of Fame, he should get his number retired by the Mets. It’s the next step in a logical process.
I don’t understand why anyone would question if Piazza’s number will be retired after he’s elected to the Hall of Fame. You can ask why it wasn’t retired sooner, but to question if it’ll be retired at all makes no sense. If you want to have a debate at all, question how that number will appear on that wall.
Will they go with the black uniforms most synonymous with those Mets teams? Will they go with the non-pinstriped jersey? If they go with the pinstriped jersey to keep it homogenous, will they include the drop shadow on the jersey number? This is the real question; not whether or not Piazza’s number will be retired.
Piazza’s number will be retired.
With one bold move, the Mets completely transformed their team with the acquistion of Mike Piazza. While he was not immediately adored (he was replacing the injured fan favorite Todd Hundley), he became a beloved Met.
To understand the Piazza adoration, you first have to understand what was happening. Honestly, I think things were worse in 1998 than they were now. The Mets were in year 10 of a rebuild from the glorious 80’s teams. That involved every player Mets fans loved leaving the team. The first step in the rebuild was The Worst Team Money Could Buy. This started some depressing baseball.
After that was the Vince Coleman firecracker incident. There was also the Bret Saberhagen bleach incident. The fans took everything out on Bobby Bonilla, who would wear earplugs to drown out the booing. It’s hard to see a team lose without trying. It’s worse to see a team try and be incompetent in doing so.This all set the Mets back years. Throw in the 1994 season ending strike, and you had the nadir of Mets baseball in my lifetime.
Nope, it wasn’t quite the nadir yet. The rebuild for the 90’s Mets was based on the same theory as the current Mets. It was based upon pitching. The problem is it didn’t work in the 90’s. The Mets entrusted Generation K to Dallas Green. All of the arms burned out. They were all injured under his watch. The Mets switched to Steve Phillips and Bobby Valentine, and things started getting better. It’s hard to imagine it, but 88 wins felt like the Mets had actually won something.
Part of the reason is the Mets acquired Mike Piazza. He came to the Mets in 1998 and he hit .348/.417/.607 with 23 homers and 76 RBI in 109 games. He did what Mets fans thought Yoenis Cespedes did in 2015. He carried the team for almost a whole season. He transformed the team. The Mets had no choice but to bring him back.
In 1999, he became the second Met to hit 40 home runs in a season. He led the team to the playoffs (even if they needed a play-in game to get there). He hit a homerun in the 1999 NLCS that I seriously thought was going to help propel the Mets to win Game 6 and complete the then impossible:
In 2000, he again led the Mets to the postseason. For much of that year, he was considered an MVP candidate. Unfortunately, the Mets lost as Piazza’s ball didn’t carry far enough. It was a shame because Piazza was the reason Mets fans had pride. He was the reason the Mets fans believed they could win it all. He was the reason the Mets could step toe to toe with the Yankees.
They did. There were some epic games between the two teams back when the Subway Series mattered. Everyone remembers the Matt Franco single, but they forget the two Piazza bombs in that game:
Did you see where that ball went? How epic was that bat flip? He was a dangerous and feared hitter. It’s why Roger Clemens went after him not once but twice. But getting back to the home runs, it was one of several huge home runs he hit for the Mets. Do you remember the homerun he hit against the Braves capping off a huge comeback:
I remember being there that night. It was insane. That homerun sums up his tenure with the Mets perfectly. Even against teams like the seemingly unbeatable Braves and Yankees, the Mets always had a chance no matter how bleak the odds were. Seeing those highlights made me a little emotional. That reminds me of this moment:
To me, that’s still the greatest homerun ever hit. If you didn’t forever love and respect Piazza before that night, you did now. It’s part of the reason why after he left Mets fans still cheered him. I know I returned in 2006 for his first game back. It was important for me to cheer the man that meant so much to Mets fans:
I remember the constant standing ovations and cheering his name. I just wish I was there for the next night when he got a curtain call:
Seriously, how many visiting players get a curtain call? This moment shows how much Piazza means to Mets fans. We loved him. It seems he loved us back. He came back to close out Shea and open up Citi Field. He is now the guy who throws out the first pitch at World Series games.
Whether it’s today or in the future, Mike Piazza will be a Hall of Famer. He deserves it. Mets fans deserve it. It’s important to a of us. We want to see him recognized for all he did for the Mets and all Mets fans. My favorite Mets teams were the ones with Mike Piazza. He’s my favorite Met. He’s my favorite player.
It’s important to me and all Mets fans he gets elected to the Hall of Fame.
There’s been a big going around my house of late, so I thought my fever was causing me to have hallucinations when I read Paul DePodesta was leaving the Mets for the Cleveland Browns. Before I started heading to the ER, I looked to verify it, and luckily, I found this:
I have learned Paul DePodesta leaving #Mets to run the NFL Cleveland Browns as executive VP, answerable only to team owner/pres.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) January 5, 2016
It was true, and it was an inspired hire by the Cleveland Browns. Within the baseball industry, DePodesta is a well regarded within the baseball industry. He went to Harvard, where he played both baseball and football. Despite his reputation, he cut his teeth being a scout. He would later incorporate analytical and statistical information into his scouting reports. Across the board, he’s seen as intelligent and as a hard worker. I don’t care what industry you’re in; these skills will always translate.
First, let’s address what he’s leaving behind. DePodesta was the Mets viewed by some as the successor to Sandy Alderson as the next Mets GM. While we don’t know what specifically he did during his tenure, we do know the Mets credit him with reorganizing the entire scouting department:
https://mobile.twitter.com/adamrubinespn/status/684423205981925377
As for which moves he had a direct impact on, we only have speculation. He was rumored to be a voice in support of the Mets hiring Terry Collins back in 2011. It is believed he was a proponent of keeping Lucas Duda and trading Ike Davis. He was supposedly heavily involved in the R.A. Dickey trade. As the Mets VP of Player Development and Amateur Scouting, he oversaw the draft that brought in Michael Conforto. Overall, he’s depicted as Sandy Alderson’s right hand man. As such, his fingerprints are all over the Mets.
Now, DePodesta is leaving all that to become the Browns Chief Strategy Officer. What most know about DePodesta is he worked with Billy Beane to help revolutionize baseball. I don’t think that is overstating the case when you see all teams heavily investing in analytics. Most people know this story from a little book and movie Paul DePodesta was featured.
One important note here is I implore you to read the book Moneyball for yourself. Despite what you’ve heard or seen in the movies, the book and/or the concept of Moneyball is not about OBP or advanced statistics like WAR. No, it’s about being able to locate market inefficiencies to maximize the proverbial bang for your buck.
Essentially, the concept is we can’t afford the best of the best, so what do we do to outsmart the other teams. Moneyball isn’t about saying a player like Mike Trout is the best player in the game because he does xyz. No, it’s about saying look, where our budget is, we can’t afford Mike Trout, so we need to exploit market inefficiencies to build the best team possible for the least amount of money possible. It just so happens that in the late 90’s that it was OBP. Such a fundamental misunderstanding has already lead to opinions like this:
Now we know what #Browns Haslam meant by the HC and GM will have to collaborate: it's analytics or bust. Come to interview w/ your abacus
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) January 5, 2016
I’d chalk this up to a football person making a mistake about a baseball person, but really, I see enough of the misunderstanding from supposed baseball people to know it’s a universal problem.
I think this was a terrific hire by the Browns. Football is a salary cap league. Each and every year, you’re looking at your roster. You’re crunching numbers. You’re pulling in scouting reports. You’re really just trying to figure out how you’re going to field a team within the confines of the salary cap. There is no better person for that job than Paul DePodesta.
It’s what he did in Oakland. He’s done it in New York. He knows how to find the market inefficiencies to build a complete roster. From what we’ve seen, he likes to utilize younger cheaper players at pricier positions and move them before they have outlived their value. It’s no surprise the A’s and the Mets were built upon terrific young staffs. He saved money there, and then he looked to find the players who were under market value to fill in a roster in a shoestring budget. Ultimately, isn’t that what you need your front office to do in the NFL? DePodesta’s track record matches up well with that skill set making him a good hire.
With that said, I’m not so sure this was the right move for DePodesta. First, despite the fact he has some football experience, he will always be looked at as a baseball guy. More so than anyone else his moves will be scrutinized more than anyone. The success and failure of each Browns season will be attributed to him despite the fact that he’s not the GM. He’s going to be held to a different standard.
Speaking of which, he’s going to be held to a higher standard. I don’t believe it’s hyperbole to say people are expecting a revolution. He revolutionized how front offices operate. He showed that by being ahead of the curve, any team can win. People will be expecting DePodesta to do the same with the Browns. People may not accept incremental improvements. They may not be willing to wait the five years Mets fans had to wait to see a winner.
That’s going to be difficult. One of the reasons the Browns are having problems is the division they play. The Steelers and Ravens have been traditionally run very well with very good football people. Since Marvin Lewis came aboard, the Bengals went from laughingstocks to perennnial playoff team. That is it right there in a nutshell. The best thing you can do is go get the right people and let them do their thing. Give them time to build a winner.
I’m not sure DePodesta will revolutionize the NFL. However, I believe he will do everything he can to build the Browns into a winner. He just needs to be given sufficient time to get the job done. He did it Oakland. He did it in New York. It can happen in Cleveland.
Good luck to you Paul DePodesta.