July 23, 2025 • 29 mins
Drafted in the 62nd round in 1988, Mike Piazza defied all odds to carve out a 16-year Hall of Fame career. In this episode (which originally aired in 2022, now re-released, remastered with new audio) Piazza shares stories of playing at Dodger Stadium, Shea, and Yankee Stadium, torching the Phillies, passing Johnny Bench, and the day the greatest hitter of all time showed up at his house for breakfast—and batting practice.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Mike Piazza (00:00):
Hi, I'm Mike Koser, and this is Lost Ball parks.
Over the past few months, we'vewelcomed a lot of new listeners
to the podcast.
And if that's you, uh first ofall, welcome.
Really glad that you're here.
You may have missed some of ourmost popular episodes with Hall
of Famers and some of theclassic stories that they've
shared.
So here's the plan.
New episodes will keep comingout on the first Wednesday of
(00:21):
every month.
And then in the middle of eachmonth, you'll hear an encore
episode, one of our all-timefavorites, that's been
remastered with some additionalpieces of historic audio so you
can catch up.
This episode originally airedJanuary 19th, 2022, from season
one, episode three.
Here's my conversation withHall of Famer Mike Piazza.
(00:41):
Mike Piazza.
(01:29):
Yes, sir.
How's it going?
Mike Koser (01:31):
It's good.
Listen, I really appreciate youtaking time to do this today.
Yeah.
Okay, so you grew up inPhiladelphia, and your family
had season tickets for thePhillies at the vet.
And your dad and Tommy Lasordawere lifelong friends.
So anytime the Dodgers wouldcome to town, you got to be the
Dodgers bat boy.
Is it true that at 14, duringone of those times that they
were in town and you were takingsome BP, you hit one out?
Mike Piazza (01:54):
Yeah, well, I think might have been around 13.
I think you're correct.
There was a rain delay.
Manny Mota was a coach, andManny Mota threw really great BP
right over the top.
And the guys were kind of donehitting, and he said, Michael,
jump in there and get some cutsin the cage.
I just jumped in the cage andjust started hitting rockets.
I mean, the story of myselfbeing a low-round draft pick,
(02:16):
obviously, is very welldocumented.
But I tell people all the time,as I wasn't like this nobody,
you know, coming out of nowherewho had never played the game
before.
I mean, I was an all-state highschool player in Pennsylvania
two years and a ticket to Miami.
Yeah, when exactly and had ascholarship at the University of
Miami in my freshman year,which then I wasn't playing much
and went to Miami Dade.
But to get back to that moment,I mean, I'm crushing the ball
(02:38):
in the cage.
And then Tommy told the storywhen he was walking down there
and he just said, in hiscolorful language, you know, who
the hell is that hitting?
Because all the guys were kindof done hitting.
And my dad's like, that'sMichael hitting.
And he came and was watchingme.
He was completely blown away,mouth on the floor, stunned.
First time he ever saw me hit,and he couldn't believe it.
(02:58):
And then the next year, I thinkI was 14, I went out on the
cage and I was hitting actuallyone time Alejandro Peña.
Yeah, he was a good pitcher.
And Tommy's like, Mike, get ahelmet, grab the bat.
And he was throwing live BPearly at the vet with the cage
and all, live BP, fastballs andsliders.
I get in there againstAlejandro Peña at 14 years old,
(03:19):
and I'm hitting line drives offthe, you know, off the wall off
them.
And uh Tommy, again, you know,they were absolutely stunned.
I mean, they couldn't believeit.
Mike Koser (03:28):
All right, so fast forward a little bit to high
school.
Ted Williams ends up at yourhouse watching you take batting
practice.
Mike Piazza (03:36):
You know, my dad, with his relationship with
Tommy, he was very close withthe scouts in the area.
And there was a local scout,his name was Ed Liberatore, and
he was an old-time scout, usedto be with the Dodgers, then
went to the Baltimore Orioles,and he knew Joe DiMaggio, he
knew Ted Williams, he knew DickAllen, all these guys from
Philly who were who were reallygood players.
(03:57):
And he was a scout.
I mean, he would go to the gameand he would write reports, or
if there was a good kid playingin the in the area, he would go
check them, you know, for theteam and write reports.
So he was very well connected,but he was very close with Ted
and Joe DiMaggio.
And um, Ted Williams was at theGeorge Washington Inn in King
of Prussia PA, uh, doing anautograph show, like a like a
(04:18):
card show.
Eddie was there and my dad wasthere because my dad was a big
Ted Williams fan.
And Eddie goes, you know,Teddy, uh, he goes, Vince's kid,
you know, he's a reallygood-looking high school player.
He's a good looking hitter.
And Teddy's like, well, wheredoes he live?
He's like, I don't know, like10 10 minutes from here, like
Valley Forge, Phoenixville area.
And he's like, Let's go see himhit.
Uh, because he told him, hetold him that I had a cage in my
(04:39):
backyard and an automaticmachine.
And Sunday morning, like beforehe went to the show, he came
out.
My mom gave him breakfast.
And uh, I'm going out in thecage hitting, and he came out
and watched me hit.
Tommy Lasorda (04:52):
And he told him that he was a better hitter at
this age than Ted Williams wasat his age.
Now, nobody knew about that,that Ted Williams had spoken
those words.
Mike Piazza (05:04):
He said, There's absolutely no doubt you're gonna
hit in the major leagues.
That's what he said that day.
Ted Williams (05:08):
Damn, this kid looks good.
He really looks good.
Thank you.
I'm not kidding you.
You look great, buddy.
You do
Mike Piazza (05:13):
crazy.
Mike Koser (05:14):
When you step into the cage, are you nervous?
Are you shaking?
Mike Piazza (05:17):
Oh, without a doubt.
Mike Koser (05:18):
He's the greatest hitter of all time watching
watching you hit.
Mike Piazza (05:21):
It's true.
And I remember he asked me, Doyou have my book?
And I said I memorized it.
So I knew his book, and Istill, when I teach hitting
today, that's one of the mainthings I stress is his book, get
a good pitch to hit, have aquick bat, and proper thinking,
are the three Ted Williams rulesto hitting.
Ted Williams (05:41):
I want you to talk and stride, don't sway, talk
and stride.
Stay back, like you did there.
Stay back.
That's right.
Now going from there.
Don't go out to get the ball,get everything back here.
So you can play from hererather than going out to get,
right?
Mike Piazza (05:56):
I knew of Ted Williams.
I knew the legend, I knew hisincredible ability as a hitter,
and that was something thatinspired me and helped me become
a good hitter as well.
Mike Koser (06:04):
Hey, by the way, that turning point event in your
life doesn't happen withoutyour dad.
It was your dad who set up yourvery first makeshift batting
cage in the basement where youwere hitting balls into a
mattress.
That eventually uh grew into agiant structure that he built in
the backyard.
A zoning inspector stopped byand said, Hey, what the heck is
this?
And I love your dad's response.
" it's my son's ticket to thebig leagues".
Mike Piazza (06:27):
Yeah.
I'll even tell you anotherfunny story.
I was just home recentlyvisiting my family, and I saw
this kid, uh, he's older now.
When I was maybe 11, 12, 13, hewas probably 14, 15, 16.
And he used to walk by my cageevery day with his friends, and
they would go down.
There was a reservoir, used tobe a reservoir down the street
(06:48):
from our house, maybe like ahalf mile away.
And they used to go down thereand do what teenage kids do, you
know, and things like that.
And he would walk by my cage atnight, and I was hitting, and
he would say, He thinks he'sgonna be a big baseball star.
And I'll never forget that.
And I saw him today.
(07:08):
His name is Lane Huey.
He used to say he lived up thestreet from us, and he would
walk home at night and he goes,Oh, are you gonna be a big
baseball star, Mikey?
I see him today, and he goes, Iremember that like it was
yesterday.
So yeah, I mean, call the ironythere.
It's it's kind of crazy.
And it was obviously, eventhough he wasn't being malicious
or venomous, he was just kindof making fun of me, is like
(07:30):
kids do, and it wasinspirational to me.
I I remember those things, andhe does as well.
So that that's another funnystory about those days.
Mike Koser (07:38):
Yeah, and how good, by the way, does it feel to
yeah, you get drafted in the62nd round, and you think about
all those teams and all thoseplayers that that passed on you
or that went before you.
And then not only do you makeit to the big leagues, but of
course you become a legendaryHall of Famer, 16 years, career
.308 hitter, 12-time All-Star,NL rookie of the year, 10 times
silver slugger, 427 careerhome runs.
(07:58):
So, how great is that?
Mike Piazza (08:00):
Yeah, and it's funny because the year I was
drafted, I had actually goneback and played in a in a
semi-pro league in Pennsylvaniacalled the Perkyoman Valley
Twilight League, which was anadult league.
And it was not a bad league.
I mean, it was collegiateplayers and older guys that
still wanted to play baseball,not softball, and some younger
(08:21):
guys.
And there were some guys thatplayed minor league ball that
were pretty good, that justwanted to get out and play a
couple of nights a week.
It was very competitive.
So when I had gone back after Iwas drafted in junior college,
I was playing in a few gamesthere just to stay sharp before
that I was uh signed by theDodgers.
And the Phillies came andlooked at me and they didn't
like me.
I mean, they just they justweren't interested.
(08:42):
And then when I was in A-balland the Dodgers were gonna
release me after I had mytroubles in the minor leagues
there, uh, I called Lee Elia.
I found out what hotel theywere staying at, uh, the
Clearwater Phillies in VeroBeach.
And I got Lee Elia his room atlike around noon, like
lunchtime.
And I talked to him.
I said, Lee, I I think theDodgers are gonna release me.
Would you be interested insigning me?
(09:03):
I'd love to be a Philly.
I grew up in uh Philadelphia,and and he said, Mike, I'm
sorry, I think Del Unser was theMinor League director at the
time.
And he says, I think we'reactually gonna be contracting a
little bit next year, releasingsome guys.
We're just we're just notinterested.
And so every time when I playedthe Phillies, oh my gosh, I
mean and I killed him.
I mean, every time I went inthere, I mean, I'd go into the
(09:26):
vet sometimes and have some ofmy best games.
Bob Costas (09:29):
Goodbye, absolutely crushed.
Well, Ted, if you're watching,whatever you told 12-year-old
Mike Piazza, he listened verycarefully.
Mike Piazza (09:45):
I just remember that conversation, and I'm sure
the Phillies at one time when uhif Lee Elia was still there, it
was not, he probably wasn't themost popular guy in the office
meetings after that.
Right?
Because you could have been hadfor a song at that point.
I could have been had fornothing.
I mean, yeah, I as I said, Imean, they just literally would
have just had to bring me tospring training and give me a
(10:06):
shot.
Mike Koser (10:07):
Well, this speaks to the fact that at the beginning
of your career, I mean, it wasnot just a bed of roses.
I mean, you had to really workto get to where you wanted to
go.
In fact, at one point, whileyou're playing minor league
baseball, you briefly stoppedplaying.
Mike Piazza (10:19):
When I had gone through those issues, and some
of them were political.
I mean, because as much aspeople love Tommy and he was a
gregarious figure, he was a veryjovial figure, people knew him.
There was some people thatobviously were not happy, and
and it was political.
I mean, some of the minorleague guys were jealous, and
Tommy was very opinionated.
And if he didn't like a player,he would say, This guy can't
(10:41):
play.
And if the player was developedby a coach or a coach liked him
in the minor leagues, it itcreated friction.
So I was playing with some ofthese coaches that didn't like
Tommy, or at least I don't saydidn't like him, but were very
much politically opposed to him.
So when I was not havingsuccess or I was struggling, I
mean, FP Santangelo, who's abroadcaster now for the
(11:03):
nationals, or at least he wasrecently, uh, he told me a
story.
We would play the West PalmBeach Expos, and Felipe Alou was
the manager.
And I was sitting, I mean, Iwasn't even playing.
And Felipe Alou would look atthe lineup when the Vero Beach
Dodgers were playing the WestPalm Beach Expos in their posted
lineup.
And FP told me the story thathe looks down and he says, I
(11:23):
can't believe that Piazza kid'snot hitting that M Fer can hit.
Mike Koser (11:28):
Yeah, I mean, it's crazy.
Like, why would they not haveyou in the lineup?
Mike Piazza (11:31):
It was just funny.
I mean, you know, I waslaughing.
It just it was what it was, butyes, uh, getting back to the
original uh story, um, theDodgers were gonna release me,
and I called the Phillies, andand fortunately Reggie Smith
intervened on my behalf andreally pardon the pun went to
bat for me.
And the next year the Dodgersdecided to give me 250 at bats,
(11:54):
and I went to Bakersfield andhit 29 home runs.
Mike Koser (11:57):
And so, how sweet is it at 92 when you finally do
get the call to the big leagues?
And you're playing your firstgame at
Mike Piazza (12:03):
uh Wrigley Field was my first big league game,
and I had never been there, Ihad never been to Chicago.
It was my first time I gotcalled up to the major leagues,
and lo and behold, we're playingat Wrigley Field.
I remember coming out at thegame, it just freaked me out.
It was I had never seenanything like it, you know, the
organ going and the fans, andthe it was the daytime,
obviously.
And I started and I went threefor three.
(12:24):
Uh, I remember Mike Harkey wasthe first pitcher that I faced,
and he was a big right-hander, Ithink out of Fullerton.
And the first at bat, I said tomyself, I'm gonna take a strike
because I want to enjoy thisbat.
I don't want to like swing atthe first pitch and make it out.
So I took the first pitch and Iended up walking my first major
league at bat, which is kind ofappropriate.
And then the next at bat, hethrew me a fastball right down
(12:45):
the middle, and I jumped on it.
Announcer (12:47):
There's a drive to right center field by Piazza,
his first major league hit.
He'll go into second and he'llstop right there.
So Piazza will want thebaseball, the godson of Tommy
Lasorda, as he doubles in hissecond major league at bat.
Mike Piazza (13:02):
After my third hit that day, Mark Grace was on
first base and he said, Son,it's not that easy.
Mike Koser (13:10):
Oh Grace was great.
Mike Piazza (13:12):
I know, and then actually the next game in
Pittsburgh, I started, and myfirst at bat there, I got a base
hit off Randy Tomlin.
So my first four at bats in thebig leagues, I was four for
four.
Mike Koser (13:22):
And you're like, what took you so long to call me
up?
Mike Piazza (13:25):
Yeah, and one of the biggest things that I had uh
experiences I went to Mexico uhafter my year in Bakersfield,
and uh Raul Cano, who was thegeneral manager of Mexicali, uh,
they had signed a workingagreement with the Dodgers, and
he came up to scout a couple ofplayers at Bakersfield, drove up
from Mexicali.
He said to them, I want Piazza.
(13:46):
And they go, Well, you know,you can't have them, you got to
take the he goes, No, I wantPiazza.
And then finally he came to me.
He's like, Do you want to playfor the Aguilas of Mexicali?
And I said, Yeah, sure.
And Burt Hooton was the hit uhthe pitching coach that year.
And I went down there and I hit16 home runs and ended up
facing pitchers that had bigleague experience, like Vince
Palacios and guys that, youknow, Mexican guys that have
(14:07):
gone down there and played inthe winner league to make some
extra money.
Because, you know, I tellpeople it's a whole different
world.
I mean, players in the bigleagues even would go down and
play winter ball to make alittle bit of money because
some, you know, rookie salaryback then was 100 grand when I
was a rookie.
And before me, it was like40,000, 50,000, 60,000 bucks.
So, of course, it's nothing tosneeze at, but it compared to
(14:30):
what guys are making today intheir early years, it wasn't a
lot.
So, guys would go down thereand play winter ball.
So, it wasn't unheard of to seemajor league players that were
playing winter ball.
So, it gave me a lot ofconfidence that I knew I could
hit in the big leagues afterkind of like my double-A year.
Mike Koser (14:46):
And hit you did.
You finish your career with 427home runs.
And in your Hall of Famespeech, you mentioned that there
was one that meant more thanany other.
Mike Piazza (14:56):
Many of you give me praise for the two-run home run
on the first game back onSeptember 21st to push us ahead
of the rival Braves.
But the true praise belongs topolice, firefighters, first
responders who knew that theywere gonna die, but went forward
anyway.
Mike Koser (15:10):
It's the first game that the Mets are back in New
York at Chase Stadium after theattacks on 9-11, September 21st,
2001.
Announcer (15:18):
Tonight we come together for the first regular
season professional sportingevent in New York City since
Tuesday, September 11th.
We return to our nationalpastime, in part to show that
America can and will go on.
Mike Koser (15:32):
What do you remember about that day?
Mike Piazza (15:34):
I do remember that week vividly as far as the
emotions and the sadness and theanger and all the emotions that
you go through an unspeakabletragedy like that.
And then having all theemotions of not knowing whether
or not we should be playing, notknowing what was the right time
to come back.
And when we did, it was like wegot to go out full bore.
(15:55):
We have to just jump in thewater.
And fortunately, it was theright time.
And fortunately, I had greatteammates around me and my faith
in God.
And I was able to pray and calmmyself down and put myself in a
state of concentration.
And when I was in the rightplace at the right time, it's
indescribable.
I mean, again, I just thank Godfor giving me the strength and
(16:17):
the courage and and theconcentration to to execute in
that situation.
And fortunately, it's atremendous honor that people
still remember that home run,and that home run's been very,
very much celebrated, eventoday.
Mike Koser (16:30):
I still get goosebumps, Mike, when I watch
this point of the game.
Mets are at the plate, bottomof the eighth inning, trailing
the Braves two to one.
Desi Relaford is at first base,and you are at the plate, about
to make history.
Announcer (16:42):
And it's hit deep to left center....
Mike Piazza (16:53):
Truthfully, it wasn't one of my prolific
swings, and I'm not saying it isin a negative way because I
remember that at bat becauseSteve Karsay was pitching, and
he he threw pretty hard.
I mean, he had a good arm andhe had a good curveball.
After he threw the first pitch,I took a strike too, and I was
like, damn, I think that mightbe the best pitch I get.
Uh so I was thinking maybe hecould waste one or maybe throw
(17:15):
one in off the plate.
So I was, I wasn't quite sure.
The fortunate thing in mycareer is that always had good
hand-eye coordination and andarm strength.
So um, if I got my armsextended and I had a good base
under me, I could drive theball.
So the ball was uh he was goingaway, it came back over the
plate, and I just just put thebarrel on it.
Announcer (17:36):
Take a look at this.
Mike Piazza (17:48):
And yeah, I was able to extend the bat and drive
the baseball uh to center,which uh was one of the things I
always prided myself in doingis hitting the ball from foul
pole to foul pole.
So it felt great.
It really still still feelsgood today.
Announcer (18:05):
They wanted to shout and scream all night.
And boy, did they get anopportunity from Mike Piazza.
Mike Koser (18:13):
Again, you talk about trying to find the
strength to just play the game,and you hit that ball in such a
critical moment of the game.
Mike Piazza (18:20):
I'll tell you, it's one of those things to where
you just thank God for everybodyin your life that has trained
you and helped train you becauseit really comes down to that
and preparation, and that breedsconfidence.
Even though that momenttranscended the game a little
bit, it still went back toeverything I had worked on my
(18:41):
whole life and trusted myselfand believed in myself.
I mean, I could feel the energywhen you're in the right place
at the right time, andespecially as a player, and you
feel everyone pulling for you,you do feel it.
I was blessed in my career tohit many big home runs.
And I always loved thosemoments too, because I trained
myself when I was coming to theballpark that day.
(19:02):
I knew there was a better thanaverage chance that I would come
up to the plate when the gamewas on the line late in the
inning.
So people say, Well, why didyou always, you know, you had a
knack for coming through in theclass?
I said, because I had alreadyvisualized it and I already
walked myself through that manytimes before that moment
presented itself.
Mike Koser (19:20):
In May of 2004, you had another big career moment
hitting home run number 352,breaking the record for most
home runs by a catcherpreviously held by Carlton Fisk.
Did he reach out to you?
Mike Piazza (19:31):
Yeah, actually, I think he sent me a telegram or a
letter or just congratulatedme.
And I was never a huge CarltonFisk fan because I grew up
obviously in a National Leaguetown, and I'd never seen him
play.
I was more of a Johnny Bench,Bob Boone, uh, you know, Steve
Yeager, Ted Simmons.
I watched those catchers and Inever saw Carlton Fisk play.
(19:53):
So when I was coming close tohis record, I really, of course,
we from film watching the thehome run against the Reds in the
World Series.
Announcer (20:02):
The 1-0 delivery to Fisk.
He swings long drive, leftfield.
If it stays fair, it's gone.
Home run, the Red Sox wins.
Mike Piazza (20:10):
But I didn't really understand and appreciate
really what a great catcher hewas, to be honest with you.
But when he did call me, I thenbecame specially connected to
him in that way and then startedtaking an active interest in
his career and what a greatplayer he was.
And of course, he hadlongevity.
He played a lot longer than mebecause he played for Chicago
(20:31):
and played more games, butultimately that didn't diminish
his defensive ability.
And he was a very gooddefensive catcher as well.
And I used to like the way, youknow, he caught Tiant and all
those guys from the Red Sox inthe 70s as well, which is pretty
cool.
Mike Koser (20:44):
A month later, after you broke the record, June
18th, 2004, some of the greatestcatchers in baseball history
gathered together to honor you,honor you at Shea.
Announcer (20:53):
A former 62nd round draft pick stood alone atop an
elite list of catchers as thehome run champ.
Mike Piazza's 352nd home runmade history.
Mike Koser (21:06):
Literally catching royalty.
Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk,Yogi Berra, Gary Carter, Pudge
Rodriguez.
You probably had to pinchyourself that night.
Mike Piazza (21:14):
Yeah, that was pretty cool because the Tigers
were in town, and I think LanceParrish.
Uh, but yeah, that was prettycrazy.
Yogi, obviously, God rest hissoul, was there.
And that ceremony, personallyat the time, I was always been a
more of a quiet guy.
I wasn't, at least I thought ofmyself as a it wasn't so much
as a self-promoter.
(21:34):
So when that day was drawingnear, I was getting nervous too
because I was like, oh my gosh,how's this gonna look?
And I don't want to seem like Iwas being self agrandizing.
But when the ceremony didhappen and and a lot of the
pictures were were taken, it waspretty amazing.
It was pretty awesome to havethat collection of catchers
there.
And actually, a year, maybe ayear and a half before, I passed
Johnny Bench for the NationalLeague record.
(21:56):
I think it was like 327 or 326.
So when I passed him, heactually came out uh and had a
ceremony the year before, whichwas pretty cool on its own
right.
He came out and gave me an olduh Cincinnati jersey of his, and
it was a nice pregame ceremony.
So yeah, I was blessed to havesome really cool catching
moments, catchers moments, andwe kind of made the the catchers
(22:18):
club, I guess like thequarterback's club, you know,
like a little fraternity.
Yeah, and that's the guy yougrew up watching, Johnny Bench.
Yeah, you know, yeah, I was abig fan of Johnny Bench.
And I grew up in Philly, so Iwould watch Bob Boone and Tim
McCarver and Bo Diaz, you know,a little later, and guys like
that.
And when I signed with theDodgers, too, I I knew like a
premonition that eventually Iwould end up behind the plate.
(22:39):
So yeah, I was watching Johnny.
I mean, Johnny, how can you notlove Johnny Bench?
I mean, he kind of transcendedthe position.
He was one of those freakathlete guys who just could do
everything.
I mean, throw rockets and andhad great hands and was graceful
back there and caught with onehand.
He was the guy that pioneered,took away the pancake mitt, you
(23:00):
know.
Because when I was with theDodgers, I my one of my coaches
was Johnny Roseboro.
He used to come out and havethat pancake mitt, you know,
like the old days, you know, thewire mask and all these dudes
that played in the 50s and the60s, like Hegan and and
obviously Campy and all thegreat players from the Yankees,
the catchers from the Yankeeswho had that pancake mitt.
So Johnny revolutionized theposition.
Mike Koser (23:22):
Yeah, I mean, think about it.
Imagine catching someone likeWalter Johnson or Bob Feller
with one of those pancake mitts.
Mike Piazza (23:29):
Yeah, I could you know, you know, the thing about
those mitts as well is uh JohnnyRoseboro, God rest his soul,
his right fingers look likesomeone took like a hammer, put
on the table, and just bangedhis fingers with a hammer
because if he pointed and hesaid, Go that way, you'd have to
double check the the directionbecause his his hand would be
one way and his finger would begoing another way.
(23:50):
So, yeah, that pancake mittreally screwed up a lot of
catchers' fingers, man.
It uh it wasn't good.
And Johnny was the first guy toget the glove company to go,
hey, you know, make it like afirst baseman's minute.
Mike Koser (24:01):
Hey, a couple ballpark notes before we wrap
up.
Um Shea Stadium gets demolishedin in 2008, 2009.
When it comes down, how muchnostalgia do you feel toward
that old ballpark?
Obviously, you had some greatmoments there.
Mike Piazza (24:13):
The one of the things about Shea Stadium was we
definitely had a distinct homefield advantage there.
It wasn't a fun place to play.
And truth be told, it wasn't itwasn't a pleasant experience
from the locker room standpoint.
I mean, it was a let it was alittle aged down there.
And my first year I had signedthe toilets had backed up in in
(24:33):
the clubhouse.
And I remember navigating overtoilet water, which leave it up
to your imagination on that one.
Uh, trying to get to my lockerso I could get dressed for the
opening game in '99.
And I'm like going, wait aminute.
I went from Dodger Stadium inCalifornia to toilet water here.
And hitting wise, look, it wastough to hit there in April and
early May when the weather wasbad.
(24:54):
It was tough.
But it made me tougher.
I think you have to becomementally tough for there to
play.
It's not a great hitter's park.
Down the lines, yeah.
I mean, it and day games, itwould carry better.
But I don't think you'd everfind a hitter in history to say,
hey, I loved hitting at SheaStadium.
It was not a hitter's park, butI do remember it being a
distinct home field advantagebecause the other teams did not
(25:15):
like playing there as well.
Mike Koser (25:17):
Okay, old Yankee Stadium, first time there.
And obviously this ispost-renovation, but still, I
mean, this is the same areawhere legends roam, Babe Ruth
and DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle.
What was that like the firsttime you played there?
Mike Piazza (25:28):
Old Yankee Stadium, loved it.
It had a unique sort of creston the field.
I guess the way the field wasbuilt for drainage.
I saw the ball extremely wellthere.
I loved it when Bob Sheppardannounced my name.
"Welcome to Yankee Stadium."And 40,000 people booed or 50 we
played there.
I loved it.
There's nothing better thanbeing booed like that, you know.
(25:50):
And then you have Bob Sheppard,you know, with the with the
voice Univers uh ColumbiaUniversity linguistics
professor, like Mike Piazza,number 31.
It was just cool.
I loved it.
And and I saw the ball reallywell there.
And of course, I mean, if youdon't get up, I mean, even
though the Yankees played theYankees propaganda before the
game, you know, like Pride ofthe Yankees and playing all the
(26:13):
Lou Gehrig's and Mr.
October films, the intimidatethe the team uh before the
opposing team before the game.
I don't know how you couldn'tget fired up to play Yankee
Stadium.
I loved it.
And of course, when we playedthem in the inner in the
interleague series before,obviously um the World Series
was amazing because then theythey the interleague baseball
games are really exciting.
Mike Koser (26:33):
Yeah, and of course, nobody's gonna forget game two
of the 2000 World Series.
Roger Clemens is on the mound,you're at the plate, you swing
at a pitch, it shatters yourbat, the barrel of the bat goes
flying towards the pitcher'smound.
Roger Clemens picks up the batand throws it at you as you run
down the line.
Joe Buck (26:52):
The barrel of the bat comes back at Roger Clemens and
he fires the bat back towardPiazza, who is going down the
first baseline.
Mike Koser (27:02):
I watched that the other day, and I still cannot,
for the life of me, figure outwhat he was doing.
And I you talk about this inyour book too, uh detailing that
whole story, but that was acrazy surreal moment.
I remember watching it on TVthinking, what is he doing?
Mike Piazza (27:15):
Yeah, and it's just one of those moments, even
though I had a storybook career,I did have a few bizarre
moments in my career as well.
I think also part of it wasleading up to that moment.
There was so much hype frommedia.
I mean, it was almost like youcould cut the tension with a
knife before that series.
So I think looking back at it,you just see the result.
(27:36):
I mean, I think Roger at thepoint, and again, I can't speak
for him, and I don't really knowwhat he was thinking.
I'm sure a lot of people don't,but one of the things I
remember was just so muchattention and tension in that
moment that I think once thatmoment happened organically, he
he just kind of exploded.
Joe Buck (27:54):
That is all Roger Clemens there.
A moment started by, created byClemens.
In my view, right now, RogerClemens is dead wrong.
You can't take up the betterpart of the bat, the fat part of
the bat, and fire it into foulterritory near Piazza.
Mike Piazza (28:10):
I don't know.
I think he just kind of kind ofhad a lost it moment, at least
just from my perception.
It was nuts.
You know, it's one of thosethings that maybe at the end of
the day, even though it issomething that I don't consider
one of the highlights of mycareer, it is definitely makes
it more interesting, that's forsure.
Mike Koser (28:25):
Hey, Mike, listen, man, I so appreciate the time.
For those who kind of want allthese details and and really get
into the story, I highlyrecommend uh Mike's book Long
Shot, which is available onAmazon.com.
It is such a fascinating read.
Mike Piazza (28:38):
So I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I mean, I appreciate that.
I worked hard on it and Ididn't leave a lot of stuff out.
It's a little salty for youngkids, so have the parents uh I
wanted to be very authentic.
So if parents are listening andthey want to buy it for their
kids, I would kind of proofreadit first because it is very
real.
It's a great read.
Hey, thank you, Mike, so much.
Mike Koser (28:56):
I appreciate it, man.
I hope you have a uh a greatnight.
Mike Piazza (28:59):
Enjoy what you do, man.
So hopefully we'll talk againsoon.
Hi, I'm Mike Koser, and this is Lost Ball parks.
Over the past few months, we'vewelcomed a lot of new listeners
to the podcast.
And if that's you, uh first ofall, welcome.
Really glad that you're here.
You may have missed some of ourmost popular episodes with Hall
of Famers and some of theclassic stories that they've
shared.
So here's the plan.
New episodes will keep comingout on the first Wednesday of
(00:21):
every month.
And then in the middle of eachmonth, you'll hear an encore
episode, one of our all-timefavorites, that's been
remastered with some additionalpieces of historic audio so you
can catch up.
This episode originally airedJanuary 19th, 2022, from season
one, episode three.
Here's my conversation withHall of Famer Mike Piazza.
(00:41):
Mike Piazza.
(01:29):
Yes, sir.
How's it going?
Mike Koser (01:31):
It's good.
Listen, I really appreciate youtaking time to do this today.
Yeah.
Okay, so you grew up inPhiladelphia, and your family
had season tickets for thePhillies at the vet.
And your dad and Tommy Lasordawere lifelong friends.
So anytime the Dodgers wouldcome to town, you got to be the
Dodgers bat boy.
Is it true that at 14, duringone of those times that they
were in town and you were takingsome BP, you hit one out?
Mike Piazza (01:54):
Yeah, well, I think might have been around 13.
I think you're correct.
There was a rain delay.
Manny Mota was a coach, andManny Mota threw really great BP
right over the top.
And the guys were kind of donehitting, and he said, Michael,
jump in there and get some cutsin the cage.
I just jumped in the cage andjust started hitting rockets.
I mean, the story of myselfbeing a low-round draft pick,
(02:16):
obviously, is very welldocumented.
But I tell people all the time,as I wasn't like this nobody,
you know, coming out of nowherewho had never played the game
before.
I mean, I was an all-state highschool player in Pennsylvania
two years and a ticket to Miami.
Yeah, when exactly and had ascholarship at the University of
Miami in my freshman year,which then I wasn't playing much
and went to Miami Dade.
But to get back to that moment,I mean, I'm crushing the ball
(02:38):
in the cage.
And then Tommy told the storywhen he was walking down there
and he just said, in hiscolorful language, you know, who
the hell is that hitting?
Because all the guys were kindof done hitting.
And my dad's like, that'sMichael hitting.
And he came and was watchingme.
He was completely blown away,mouth on the floor, stunned.
First time he ever saw me hit,and he couldn't believe it.
(02:58):
And then the next year, I thinkI was 14, I went out on the
cage and I was hitting actuallyone time Alejandro Peña.
Yeah, he was a good pitcher.
And Tommy's like, Mike, get ahelmet, grab the bat.
And he was throwing live BPearly at the vet with the cage
and all, live BP, fastballs andsliders.
I get in there againstAlejandro Peña at 14 years old,
(03:19):
and I'm hitting line drives offthe, you know, off the wall off
them.
And uh Tommy, again, you know,they were absolutely stunned.
I mean, they couldn't believeit.
Mike Koser (03:28):
All right, so fast forward a little bit to high
school.
Ted Williams ends up at yourhouse watching you take batting
practice.
Mike Piazza (03:36):
You know, my dad, with his relationship with
Tommy, he was very close withthe scouts in the area.
And there was a local scout,his name was Ed Liberatore, and
he was an old-time scout, usedto be with the Dodgers, then
went to the Baltimore Orioles,and he knew Joe DiMaggio, he
knew Ted Williams, he knew DickAllen, all these guys from
Philly who were who were reallygood players.
(03:57):
And he was a scout.
I mean, he would go to the gameand he would write reports, or
if there was a good kid playingin the in the area, he would go
check them, you know, for theteam and write reports.
So he was very well connected,but he was very close with Ted
and Joe DiMaggio.
And um, Ted Williams was at theGeorge Washington Inn in King
of Prussia PA, uh, doing anautograph show, like a like a
(04:18):
card show.
Eddie was there and my dad wasthere because my dad was a big
Ted Williams fan.
And Eddie goes, you know,Teddy, uh, he goes, Vince's kid,
you know, he's a reallygood-looking high school player.
He's a good looking hitter.
And Teddy's like, well, wheredoes he live?
He's like, I don't know, like10 10 minutes from here, like
Valley Forge, Phoenixville area.
And he's like, Let's go see himhit.
Uh, because he told him, hetold him that I had a cage in my
(04:39):
backyard and an automaticmachine.
And Sunday morning, like beforehe went to the show, he came
out.
My mom gave him breakfast.
And uh, I'm going out in thecage hitting, and he came out
and watched me hit.
Tommy Lasorda (04:52):
And he told him that he was a better hitter at
this age than Ted Williams wasat his age.
Now, nobody knew about that,that Ted Williams had spoken
those words.
Mike Piazza (05:04):
He said, There's absolutely no doubt you're gonna
hit in the major leagues.
That's what he said that day.
Ted Williams (05:08):
Damn, this kid looks good.
He really looks good.
Thank you.
I'm not kidding you.
You look great, buddy.
You do
Mike Piazza (05:13):
crazy.
Mike Koser (05:14):
When you step into the cage, are you nervous?
Are you shaking?
Mike Piazza (05:17):
Oh, without a doubt.
Mike Koser (05:18):
He's the greatest hitter of all time watching
watching you hit.
Mike Piazza (05:21):
It's true.
And I remember he asked me, Doyou have my book?
And I said I memorized it.
So I knew his book, and Istill, when I teach hitting
today, that's one of the mainthings I stress is his book, get
a good pitch to hit, have aquick bat, and proper thinking,
are the three Ted Williams rulesto hitting.
Ted Williams (05:41):
I want you to talk and stride, don't sway, talk
and stride.
Stay back, like you did there.
Stay back.
That's right.
Now going from there.
Don't go out to get the ball,get everything back here.
So you can play from hererather than going out to get,
right?
Mike Piazza (05:56):
I knew of Ted Williams.
I knew the legend, I knew hisincredible ability as a hitter,
and that was something thatinspired me and helped me become
a good hitter as well.
Mike Koser (06:04):
Hey, by the way, that turning point event in your
life doesn't happen withoutyour dad.
It was your dad who set up yourvery first makeshift batting
cage in the basement where youwere hitting balls into a
mattress.
That eventually uh grew into agiant structure that he built in
the backyard.
A zoning inspector stopped byand said, Hey, what the heck is
this?
And I love your dad's response.
" it's my son's ticket to thebig leagues".
Mike Piazza (06:27):
Yeah.
I'll even tell you anotherfunny story.
I was just home recentlyvisiting my family, and I saw
this kid, uh, he's older now.
When I was maybe 11, 12, 13, hewas probably 14, 15, 16.
And he used to walk by my cageevery day with his friends, and
they would go down.
There was a reservoir, used tobe a reservoir down the street
(06:48):
from our house, maybe like ahalf mile away.
And they used to go down thereand do what teenage kids do, you
know, and things like that.
And he would walk by my cage atnight, and I was hitting, and
he would say, He thinks he'sgonna be a big baseball star.
And I'll never forget that.
And I saw him today.
(07:08):
His name is Lane Huey.
He used to say he lived up thestreet from us, and he would
walk home at night and he goes,Oh, are you gonna be a big
baseball star, Mikey?
I see him today, and he goes, Iremember that like it was
yesterday.
So yeah, I mean, call the ironythere.
It's it's kind of crazy.
And it was obviously, eventhough he wasn't being malicious
or venomous, he was just kindof making fun of me, is like
(07:30):
kids do, and it wasinspirational to me.
I I remember those things, andhe does as well.
So that that's another funnystory about those days.
Mike Koser (07:38):
Yeah, and how good, by the way, does it feel to
yeah, you get drafted in the62nd round, and you think about
all those teams and all thoseplayers that that passed on you
or that went before you.
And then not only do you makeit to the big leagues, but of
course you become a legendaryHall of Famer, 16 years, career
.308 hitter, 12-time All-Star,NL rookie of the year, 10 times
silver slugger, 427 careerhome runs.
(07:58):
So, how great is that?
Mike Piazza (08:00):
Yeah, and it's funny because the year I was
drafted, I had actually goneback and played in a in a
semi-pro league in Pennsylvaniacalled the Perkyoman Valley
Twilight League, which was anadult league.
And it was not a bad league.
I mean, it was collegiateplayers and older guys that
still wanted to play baseball,not softball, and some younger
(08:21):
guys.
And there were some guys thatplayed minor league ball that
were pretty good, that justwanted to get out and play a
couple of nights a week.
It was very competitive.
So when I had gone back after Iwas drafted in junior college,
I was playing in a few gamesthere just to stay sharp before
that I was uh signed by theDodgers.
And the Phillies came andlooked at me and they didn't
like me.
I mean, they just they justweren't interested.
(08:42):
And then when I was in A-balland the Dodgers were gonna
release me after I had mytroubles in the minor leagues
there, uh, I called Lee Elia.
I found out what hotel theywere staying at, uh, the
Clearwater Phillies in VeroBeach.
And I got Lee Elia his room atlike around noon, like
lunchtime.
And I talked to him.
I said, Lee, I I think theDodgers are gonna release me.
Would you be interested insigning me?
(09:03):
I'd love to be a Philly.
I grew up in uh Philadelphia,and and he said, Mike, I'm
sorry, I think Del Unser was theMinor League director at the
time.
And he says, I think we'reactually gonna be contracting a
little bit next year, releasingsome guys.
We're just we're just notinterested.
And so every time when I playedthe Phillies, oh my gosh, I
mean and I killed him.
I mean, every time I went inthere, I mean, I'd go into the
(09:26):
vet sometimes and have some ofmy best games.
Bob Costas (09:29):
Goodbye, absolutely crushed.
Well, Ted, if you're watching,whatever you told 12-year-old
Mike Piazza, he listened verycarefully.
Mike Piazza (09:45):
I just remember that conversation, and I'm sure
the Phillies at one time when uhif Lee Elia was still there, it
was not, he probably wasn't themost popular guy in the office
meetings after that.
Right?
Because you could have been hadfor a song at that point.
I could have been had fornothing.
I mean, yeah, I as I said, Imean, they just literally would
have just had to bring me tospring training and give me a
(10:06):
shot.
Mike Koser (10:07):
Well, this speaks to the fact that at the beginning
of your career, I mean, it wasnot just a bed of roses.
I mean, you had to really workto get to where you wanted to
go.
In fact, at one point, whileyou're playing minor league
baseball, you briefly stoppedplaying.
Mike Piazza (10:19):
When I had gone through those issues, and some
of them were political.
I mean, because as much aspeople love Tommy and he was a
gregarious figure, he was a veryjovial figure, people knew him.
There was some people thatobviously were not happy, and
and it was political.
I mean, some of the minorleague guys were jealous, and
Tommy was very opinionated.
And if he didn't like a player,he would say, This guy can't
(10:41):
play.
And if the player was developedby a coach or a coach liked him
in the minor leagues, it itcreated friction.
So I was playing with some ofthese coaches that didn't like
Tommy, or at least I don't saydidn't like him, but were very
much politically opposed to him.
So when I was not havingsuccess or I was struggling, I
mean, FP Santangelo, who's abroadcaster now for the
(11:03):
nationals, or at least he wasrecently, uh, he told me a
story.
We would play the West PalmBeach Expos, and Felipe Alou was
the manager.
And I was sitting, I mean, Iwasn't even playing.
And Felipe Alou would look atthe lineup when the Vero Beach
Dodgers were playing the WestPalm Beach Expos in their posted
lineup.
And FP told me the story thathe looks down and he says, I
(11:23):
can't believe that Piazza kid'snot hitting that M Fer can hit.
Mike Koser (11:28):
Yeah, I mean, it's crazy.
Like, why would they not haveyou in the lineup?
Mike Piazza (11:31):
It was just funny.
I mean, you know, I waslaughing.
It just it was what it was, butyes, uh, getting back to the
original uh story, um, theDodgers were gonna release me,
and I called the Phillies, andand fortunately Reggie Smith
intervened on my behalf andreally pardon the pun went to
bat for me.
And the next year the Dodgersdecided to give me 250 at bats,
(11:54):
and I went to Bakersfield andhit 29 home runs.
Mike Koser (11:57):
And so, how sweet is it at 92 when you finally do
get the call to the big leagues?
And you're playing your firstgame at
Mike Piazza (12:03):
uh Wrigley Field was my first big league game,
and I had never been there, Ihad never been to Chicago.
It was my first time I gotcalled up to the major leagues,
and lo and behold, we're playingat Wrigley Field.
I remember coming out at thegame, it just freaked me out.
It was I had never seenanything like it, you know, the
organ going and the fans, andthe it was the daytime,
obviously.
And I started and I went threefor three.
(12:24):
Uh, I remember Mike Harkey wasthe first pitcher that I faced,
and he was a big right-hander, Ithink out of Fullerton.
And the first at bat, I said tomyself, I'm gonna take a strike
because I want to enjoy thisbat.
I don't want to like swing atthe first pitch and make it out.
So I took the first pitch and Iended up walking my first major
league at bat, which is kind ofappropriate.
And then the next at bat, hethrew me a fastball right down
(12:45):
the middle, and I jumped on it.
Announcer (12:47):
There's a drive to right center field by Piazza,
his first major league hit.
He'll go into second and he'llstop right there.
So Piazza will want thebaseball, the godson of Tommy
Lasorda, as he doubles in hissecond major league at bat.
Mike Piazza (13:02):
After my third hit that day, Mark Grace was on
first base and he said, Son,it's not that easy.
Mike Koser (13:10):
Oh Grace was great.
Mike Piazza (13:12):
I know, and then actually the next game in
Pittsburgh, I started, and myfirst at bat there, I got a base
hit off Randy Tomlin.
So my first four at bats in thebig leagues, I was four for
four.
Mike Koser (13:22):
And you're like, what took you so long to call me
up?
Mike Piazza (13:25):
Yeah, and one of the biggest things that I had uh
experiences I went to Mexico uhafter my year in Bakersfield,
and uh Raul Cano, who was thegeneral manager of Mexicali, uh,
they had signed a workingagreement with the Dodgers, and
he came up to scout a couple ofplayers at Bakersfield, drove up
from Mexicali.
He said to them, I want Piazza.
(13:46):
And they go, Well, you know,you can't have them, you got to
take the he goes, No, I wantPiazza.
And then finally he came to me.
He's like, Do you want to playfor the Aguilas of Mexicali?
And I said, Yeah, sure.
And Burt Hooton was the hit uhthe pitching coach that year.
And I went down there and I hit16 home runs and ended up
facing pitchers that had bigleague experience, like Vince
Palacios and guys that, youknow, Mexican guys that have
(14:07):
gone down there and played inthe winner league to make some
extra money.
Because, you know, I tellpeople it's a whole different
world.
I mean, players in the bigleagues even would go down and
play winter ball to make alittle bit of money because
some, you know, rookie salaryback then was 100 grand when I
was a rookie.
And before me, it was like40,000, 50,000, 60,000 bucks.
So, of course, it's nothing tosneeze at, but it compared to
(14:30):
what guys are making today intheir early years, it wasn't a
lot.
So, guys would go down thereand play winter ball.
So, it wasn't unheard of to seemajor league players that were
playing winter ball.
So, it gave me a lot ofconfidence that I knew I could
hit in the big leagues afterkind of like my double-A year.
Mike Koser (14:46):
And hit you did.
You finish your career with 427home runs.
And in your Hall of Famespeech, you mentioned that there
was one that meant more thanany other.
Mike Piazza (14:56):
Many of you give me praise for the two-run home run
on the first game back onSeptember 21st to push us ahead
of the rival Braves.
But the true praise belongs topolice, firefighters, first
responders who knew that theywere gonna die, but went forward
anyway.
Mike Koser (15:10):
It's the first game that the Mets are back in New
York at Chase Stadium after theattacks on 9-11, September 21st,
2001.
Announcer (15:18):
Tonight we come together for the first regular
season professional sportingevent in New York City since
Tuesday, September 11th.
We return to our nationalpastime, in part to show that
America can and will go on.
Mike Koser (15:32):
What do you remember about that day?
Mike Piazza (15:34):
I do remember that week vividly as far as the
emotions and the sadness and theanger and all the emotions that
you go through an unspeakabletragedy like that.
And then having all theemotions of not knowing whether
or not we should be playing, notknowing what was the right time
to come back.
And when we did, it was like wegot to go out full bore.
(15:55):
We have to just jump in thewater.
And fortunately, it was theright time.
And fortunately, I had greatteammates around me and my faith
in God.
And I was able to pray and calmmyself down and put myself in a
state of concentration.
And when I was in the rightplace at the right time, it's
indescribable.
I mean, again, I just thank Godfor giving me the strength and
(16:17):
the courage and and theconcentration to to execute in
that situation.
And fortunately, it's atremendous honor that people
still remember that home run,and that home run's been very,
very much celebrated, eventoday.
Mike Koser (16:30):
I still get goosebumps, Mike, when I watch
this point of the game.
Mets are at the plate, bottomof the eighth inning, trailing
the Braves two to one.
Desi Relaford is at first base,and you are at the plate, about
to make history.
Announcer (16:42):
And it's hit deep to left center....
Mike Piazza (16:53):
Truthfully, it wasn't one of my prolific
swings, and I'm not saying it isin a negative way because I
remember that at bat becauseSteve Karsay was pitching, and
he he threw pretty hard.
I mean, he had a good arm andhe had a good curveball.
After he threw the first pitch,I took a strike too, and I was
like, damn, I think that mightbe the best pitch I get.
Uh so I was thinking maybe hecould waste one or maybe throw
(17:15):
one in off the plate.
So I was, I wasn't quite sure.
The fortunate thing in mycareer is that always had good
hand-eye coordination and andarm strength.
So um, if I got my armsextended and I had a good base
under me, I could drive theball.
So the ball was uh he was goingaway, it came back over the
plate, and I just just put thebarrel on it.
Announcer (17:36):
Take a look at this.
Mike Piazza (17:48):
And yeah, I was able to extend the bat and drive
the baseball uh to center,which uh was one of the things I
always prided myself in doingis hitting the ball from foul
pole to foul pole.
So it felt great.
It really still still feelsgood today.
Announcer (18:05):
They wanted to shout and scream all night.
And boy, did they get anopportunity from Mike Piazza.
Mike Koser (18:13):
Again, you talk about trying to find the
strength to just play the game,and you hit that ball in such a
critical moment of the game.
Mike Piazza (18:20):
I'll tell you, it's one of those things to where
you just thank God for everybodyin your life that has trained
you and helped train you becauseit really comes down to that
and preparation, and that breedsconfidence.
Even though that momenttranscended the game a little
bit, it still went back toeverything I had worked on my
(18:41):
whole life and trusted myselfand believed in myself.
I mean, I could feel the energywhen you're in the right place
at the right time, andespecially as a player, and you
feel everyone pulling for you,you do feel it.
I was blessed in my career tohit many big home runs.
And I always loved thosemoments too, because I trained
myself when I was coming to theballpark that day.
(19:02):
I knew there was a better thanaverage chance that I would come
up to the plate when the gamewas on the line late in the
inning.
So people say, Well, why didyou always, you know, you had a
knack for coming through in theclass?
I said, because I had alreadyvisualized it and I already
walked myself through that manytimes before that moment
presented itself.
Mike Koser (19:20):
In May of 2004, you had another big career moment
hitting home run number 352,breaking the record for most
home runs by a catcherpreviously held by Carlton Fisk.
Did he reach out to you?
Mike Piazza (19:31):
Yeah, actually, I think he sent me a telegram or a
letter or just congratulatedme.
And I was never a huge CarltonFisk fan because I grew up
obviously in a National Leaguetown, and I'd never seen him
play.
I was more of a Johnny Bench,Bob Boone, uh, you know, Steve
Yeager, Ted Simmons.
I watched those catchers and Inever saw Carlton Fisk play.
(19:53):
So when I was coming close tohis record, I really, of course,
we from film watching the thehome run against the Reds in the
World Series.
Announcer (20:02):
The 1-0 delivery to Fisk.
He swings long drive, leftfield.
If it stays fair, it's gone.
Home run, the Red Sox wins.
Mike Piazza (20:10):
But I didn't really understand and appreciate
really what a great catcher hewas, to be honest with you.
But when he did call me, I thenbecame specially connected to
him in that way and then startedtaking an active interest in
his career and what a greatplayer he was.
And of course, he hadlongevity.
He played a lot longer than mebecause he played for Chicago
(20:31):
and played more games, butultimately that didn't diminish
his defensive ability.
And he was a very gooddefensive catcher as well.
And I used to like the way, youknow, he caught Tiant and all
those guys from the Red Sox inthe 70s as well, which is pretty
cool.
Mike Koser (20:44):
A month later, after you broke the record, June
18th, 2004, some of the greatestcatchers in baseball history
gathered together to honor you,honor you at Shea.
Announcer (20:53):
A former 62nd round draft pick stood alone atop an
elite list of catchers as thehome run champ.
Mike Piazza's 352nd home runmade history.
Mike Koser (21:06):
Literally catching royalty.
Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk,Yogi Berra, Gary Carter, Pudge
Rodriguez.
You probably had to pinchyourself that night.
Mike Piazza (21:14):
Yeah, that was pretty cool because the Tigers
were in town, and I think LanceParrish.
Uh, but yeah, that was prettycrazy.
Yogi, obviously, God rest hissoul, was there.
And that ceremony, personallyat the time, I was always been a
more of a quiet guy.
I wasn't, at least I thought ofmyself as a it wasn't so much
as a self-promoter.
(21:34):
So when that day was drawingnear, I was getting nervous too
because I was like, oh my gosh,how's this gonna look?
And I don't want to seem like Iwas being self agrandizing.
But when the ceremony didhappen and and a lot of the
pictures were were taken, it waspretty amazing.
It was pretty awesome to havethat collection of catchers
there.
And actually, a year, maybe ayear and a half before, I passed
Johnny Bench for the NationalLeague record.
(21:56):
I think it was like 327 or 326.
So when I passed him, heactually came out uh and had a
ceremony the year before, whichwas pretty cool on its own
right.
He came out and gave me an olduh Cincinnati jersey of his, and
it was a nice pregame ceremony.
So yeah, I was blessed to havesome really cool catching
moments, catchers moments, andwe kind of made the the catchers
(22:18):
club, I guess like thequarterback's club, you know,
like a little fraternity.
Yeah, and that's the guy yougrew up watching, Johnny Bench.
Yeah, you know, yeah, I was abig fan of Johnny Bench.
And I grew up in Philly, so Iwould watch Bob Boone and Tim
McCarver and Bo Diaz, you know,a little later, and guys like
that.
And when I signed with theDodgers, too, I I knew like a
premonition that eventually Iwould end up behind the plate.
(22:39):
So yeah, I was watching Johnny.
I mean, Johnny, how can you notlove Johnny Bench?
I mean, he kind of transcendedthe position.
He was one of those freakathlete guys who just could do
everything.
I mean, throw rockets and andhad great hands and was graceful
back there and caught with onehand.
He was the guy that pioneered,took away the pancake mitt, you
(23:00):
know.
Because when I was with theDodgers, I my one of my coaches
was Johnny Roseboro.
He used to come out and havethat pancake mitt, you know,
like the old days, you know, thewire mask and all these dudes
that played in the 50s and the60s, like Hegan and and
obviously Campy and all thegreat players from the Yankees,
the catchers from the Yankeeswho had that pancake mitt.
So Johnny revolutionized theposition.
Mike Koser (23:22):
Yeah, I mean, think about it.
Imagine catching someone likeWalter Johnson or Bob Feller
with one of those pancake mitts.
Mike Piazza (23:29):
Yeah, I could you know, you know, the thing about
those mitts as well is uh JohnnyRoseboro, God rest his soul,
his right fingers look likesomeone took like a hammer, put
on the table, and just bangedhis fingers with a hammer
because if he pointed and hesaid, Go that way, you'd have to
double check the the directionbecause his his hand would be
one way and his finger would begoing another way.
(23:50):
So, yeah, that pancake mittreally screwed up a lot of
catchers' fingers, man.
It uh it wasn't good.
And Johnny was the first guy toget the glove company to go,
hey, you know, make it like afirst baseman's minute.
Mike Koser (24:01):
Hey, a couple ballpark notes before we wrap
up.
Um Shea Stadium gets demolishedin in 2008, 2009.
When it comes down, how muchnostalgia do you feel toward
that old ballpark?
Obviously, you had some greatmoments there.
Mike Piazza (24:13):
The one of the things about Shea Stadium was we
definitely had a distinct homefield advantage there.
It wasn't a fun place to play.
And truth be told, it wasn't itwasn't a pleasant experience
from the locker room standpoint.
I mean, it was a let it was alittle aged down there.
And my first year I had signedthe toilets had backed up in in
(24:33):
the clubhouse.
And I remember navigating overtoilet water, which leave it up
to your imagination on that one.
Uh, trying to get to my lockerso I could get dressed for the
opening game in '99.
And I'm like going, wait aminute.
I went from Dodger Stadium inCalifornia to toilet water here.
And hitting wise, look, it wastough to hit there in April and
early May when the weather wasbad.
(24:54):
It was tough.
But it made me tougher.
I think you have to becomementally tough for there to
play.
It's not a great hitter's park.
Down the lines, yeah.
I mean, it and day games, itwould carry better.
But I don't think you'd everfind a hitter in history to say,
hey, I loved hitting at SheaStadium.
It was not a hitter's park, butI do remember it being a
distinct home field advantagebecause the other teams did not
(25:15):
like playing there as well.
Mike Koser (25:17):
Okay, old Yankee Stadium, first time there.
And obviously this ispost-renovation, but still, I
mean, this is the same areawhere legends roam, Babe Ruth
and DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle.
What was that like the firsttime you played there?
Mike Piazza (25:28):
Old Yankee Stadium, loved it.
It had a unique sort of creston the field.
I guess the way the field wasbuilt for drainage.
I saw the ball extremely wellthere.
I loved it when Bob Sheppardannounced my name.
"Welcome to Yankee Stadium."And 40,000 people booed or 50 we
played there.
I loved it.
There's nothing better thanbeing booed like that, you know.
(25:50):
And then you have Bob Sheppard,you know, with the with the
voice Univers uh ColumbiaUniversity linguistics
professor, like Mike Piazza,number 31.
It was just cool.
I loved it.
And and I saw the ball reallywell there.
And of course, I mean, if youdon't get up, I mean, even
though the Yankees played theYankees propaganda before the
game, you know, like Pride ofthe Yankees and playing all the
(26:13):
Lou Gehrig's and Mr.
October films, the intimidatethe the team uh before the
opposing team before the game.
I don't know how you couldn'tget fired up to play Yankee
Stadium.
I loved it.
And of course, when we playedthem in the inner in the
interleague series before,obviously um the World Series
was amazing because then theythey the interleague baseball
games are really exciting.
Mike Koser (26:33):
Yeah, and of course, nobody's gonna forget game two
of the 2000 World Series.
Roger Clemens is on the mound,you're at the plate, you swing
at a pitch, it shatters yourbat, the barrel of the bat goes
flying towards the pitcher'smound.
Roger Clemens picks up the batand throws it at you as you run
down the line.
Joe Buck (26:52):
The barrel of the bat comes back at Roger Clemens and
he fires the bat back towardPiazza, who is going down the
first baseline.
Mike Koser (27:02):
I watched that the other day, and I still cannot,
for the life of me, figure outwhat he was doing.
And I you talk about this inyour book too, uh detailing that
whole story, but that was acrazy surreal moment.
I remember watching it on TVthinking, what is he doing?
Mike Piazza (27:15):
Yeah, and it's just one of those moments, even
though I had a storybook career,I did have a few bizarre
moments in my career as well.
I think also part of it wasleading up to that moment.
There was so much hype frommedia.
I mean, it was almost like youcould cut the tension with a
knife before that series.
So I think looking back at it,you just see the result.
(27:36):
I mean, I think Roger at thepoint, and again, I can't speak
for him, and I don't really knowwhat he was thinking.
I'm sure a lot of people don't,but one of the things I
remember was just so muchattention and tension in that
moment that I think once thatmoment happened organically, he
he just kind of exploded.
Joe Buck (27:54):
That is all Roger Clemens there.
A moment started by, created byClemens.
In my view, right now, RogerClemens is dead wrong.
You can't take up the betterpart of the bat, the fat part of
the bat, and fire it into foulterritory near Piazza.
Mike Piazza (28:10):
I don't know.
I think he just kind of kind ofhad a lost it moment, at least
just from my perception.
It was nuts.
You know, it's one of thosethings that maybe at the end of
the day, even though it issomething that I don't consider
one of the highlights of mycareer, it is definitely makes
it more interesting, that's forsure.
Mike Koser (28:25):
Hey, Mike, listen, man, I so appreciate the time.
For those who kind of want allthese details and and really get
into the story, I highlyrecommend uh Mike's book Long
Shot, which is available onAmazon.com.
It is such a fascinating read.
Mike Piazza (28:38):
So I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I mean, I appreciate that.
I worked hard on it and Ididn't leave a lot of stuff out.
It's a little salty for youngkids, so have the parents uh I
wanted to be very authentic.
So if parents are listening andthey want to buy it for their
kids, I would kind of proofreadit first because it is very
real.
It's a great read.
Hey, thank you, Mike, so much.
Mike Koser (28:56):
I appreciate it, man.
I hope you have a uh a greatnight.
Mike Piazza (28:59):
Enjoy what you do, man.
So hopefully we'll talk againsoon.
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.