Mike Piazza: The Later Mets Years (2001 - 2005)

After the Pennant: Following the Mets NL pennant season, the Mets regrouped but did not make any big off-season additions, except pitcher Kevin Appier. As a result, the team did not improve & fell short of making the post season.

Piazza started 2001 off with an Opening Day two run HR off Tom Glavine, in his first at bat of the season in  a 6-4 Mets win in Atlanta. 

A few days later in the April 9th, home opener at Shea Stadium, where the Mets raised the NL Pennant flag, Piazza hit two HRs & drove in five runs in the Mets 7-5 win over the Braves. 

In the first week of the season, he hit four HRs with ten RBIs. On April 26th in Milwaukee, he had another multi-HR night, although the Mets took a 12-8 loss. On April 28th, he hit a two run HR helping the Mets in a 6-5 win at St. Louis. In the first two games of a three-game set with the Astros, Piazza hit HRs & drove in five runs as the Mets took both games. 

During the month of May his average fell off to .262. At the end of the month he HRs in three straight games, the first in a 5-4 win over the Marlins, then one each of the first two games with the Phillies at Shea. Going into the start of June he hit two more HRs, giving him five HRs over a seven-game span. He now had 15 on the season. 

More Subway Series Heroics: On June 17th, in the Sunday Night baseball subway series match up at Shea Stadium, the Mets were down 7-2 in the 8th inning. They sent nine men to the plate & scored six runs, highlighted by Piazza's two run blast off Carlos Almanzar. The Mets salvaged one game in the series with an 8-7 win.

 

In July he hit safely in 14 of 16 games getting his average back over .290. He hit another HR in the first game of the July subway series, then drove in the games first run, with a base hit off Mariano Rivera in the top of the 10th inning. The Mets scored three times for the 3-0 win. Kevin Appier had shut out the AL New York team for eight innings.

2001 All Star Game: Piazza made his fourth straight start as a New York Mets in the All-Star Game held at Safe Co. Field. He went 0-2 in the AL's 4-1 win.

He then drove in runs in all three games of a series with the Blue Jays at Shea Stadium. On July 17th his 2nd inning RBI single off Chris Carpenter was the only run of the game in an Al Leiter (seven inning) shut out.

On July 27th he hit two HRs against the Phillies Wayne Gomes at Shea Stadium, driving in three of the Mets six runs, giving him 25 HRs on the season. 

Walk Off HR: Two nights later on July 29th, he had three hits & three RBIs in a 6-5 win over the
Phillies. In the bottom of the 9th, he hit a walk off HR off Philadelphia’s Rheal Cormier. He surpassed 60 RBIs getting to 63 on the season.

On August 10th Piazza hit a three run HR in St. Louis off Woody Williams in the 1st inning. In the 7th, with the Mets behind 5-5 He later doubled driving in the tying run collecting four RBI's on the day, although the Mets went on to lose it in extra innings. 

In Los Angeles on August 18th, Piazza doubled with the bases loaded driving in two runs as Edgardo Alfonso was thrown out at home plate. The Mets hung on to a 5-4 win. The next day Piazza hit two HRs (one off Chan Ho Park & one-off Giovani Carra) & had another four RBI Day leading New York to a 6-5 win. It was the third time that season he had driven in four runs or more in a game.

On August 31st in Colorado, Piazza hit his 30th HR of the season, it was the eighth time in his career he reached that milestone. On August 31st he was batting .289 with 30 HRs & The Mets were struggling eight games behind the first place Braves & seven behind the Phillies. Even the wild card seemed out of reach. No one expected what was going to happen to New York City in the month of September.

911: In September New York, America & baseball were all shocked by the tragic attacks on the World Trade Center. The 911 attacks were one of the worst tragedies this country ever had to face, as thousands of Americans lost their lives on that historic day. 

Baseball play was halted for seven days, as the country tried to regroup. Mike Piazza like many other of the Mets players helped in the relief efforts as Shea Stadium was used as a supply stop for the rescue & emergency workers.

Baseball resumed on September 17th in Pittsburgh as the Mets took on the Pirates. That night
Piazza quietly went 0-3 but walked in the Mets 4-1 win. From there he got hot, he hit HRs in three straight games, including one of his most memorable on September 21st. 

The 911 Game: 41,235 fans came out to Shea Stadium for the first game played back in New York City after the 911 tragedies. It was a very emotional night at Shea Stadium, as baseball returned & the city tried to move forward. Many of the NYFD, NYPD & Port Authority workers were invited as were families of the victims. Those who perished & or injured were honored as there was special performances by Diana Ross, Michael Anthony & Liza Minelli. It was an emotional night in New York City. 

The Mets took on their rival Atlanta Braves & even these two teams let their game down embracing each other & showing their support.

As for the game itself, the score was tied going into the top of the 8th inning. With two outs John Franco allowed a walk to Julio Franco & a single to Chipper Jones. Armando Benitez was brought in but allowed a double to Brian Jordan, as the Braves took a 2-1 lead.

In the bottom of the 8th inning the fans were a bit down, Matt Lawton grounded out for the first out. But then Edgardo Alfonzo walked & Desi Relaford came in to pinch run. Mike Piazza then came to bat against Queens born pitcher, Steve Karsay. 

Piazza connected with a tremendous HR, a two-run blast putting the Mets ahead in what turned out to be the winning run. It was one of the most important HRs of his career, mainly in terms of what it meant to the moment of that evening at that tragic time in American / New York history.

The Shea Stadium Crowd went crazy, erupting to an emotional frenzy. 

The fans, the families of the victims, the city workers & officials including the mayor, all jumped for joy embracing each other in the first happy moment in a long time. 

 It has become one of Piazza's defining moments in his time in New York as he lifted the city and baseball to the next level. It was symbolic to everyone to try to begin to put 911 behind us all.

Quotes: In the DVD “Shea Goodbye” Braves nemesis Chipper Jones said it was the only time he didn’t mind losing a game, seeing what it meant to the city and the country.

The win put the Mets just 4.5 games behind the Braves in third place, as the reigning NL Champions were back in the race. Unfortunately, the Mets fell out of the race in the coming weeks & finished up 82-80 in third place six games back of Atlanta.

For 2001 Piazza hit .300 with 36 HRs, 151 hits, 29 doubles 94 RBIs, 81 runs scored 29 doubles & a .384 on base %. He drew 19 intentional walks (6th in the league). 

He caught 131 games behind the plate (3rd in the NL) allowing 114 stolen bases throwing out just 22%. He posted a .991 fielding % with 919 put outs (3rd in the NL).

2002: There was some early excitement at Shea Stadium as in the off season the Mets got Roberto Alomar, Mo Vaughn & Jeromy Burnitz as additions to the team. Unfortunately, none those moves worked out & the Mets fell to ahorrible fifth-place finish. It would also be Bobby Valentines last year as the team's manager.

Piazza had a good start to the year batting .306 at the end of April with seven HRs. 

On April 15th he hit two HRs against the Atlanta Braves helping the team to a 7-6 win. 

Six RBI Day: On April 30th in a game at Arizona, Piazza hit a 1st inning three run HR off Rick Helling. In the 2nd, he came back to hit a two run HR off Helling. He later grounded out scoring another runner to give him six RBIs on the day.

On May 10th, he had a four RBI day against the Rockies, including a two run HR.

Grand Slam HR: On May 17th he hit a grand slam HR off Jason Boyd, at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, as the Mets went on to a 13-4 win. It was his second four RBI game of that week. 

On May 29th his 7th inning HR was the game winning run in a 4-3 victory over the Phillies at Shea Stadium. 

During interleague play in June Piazza hit HRs in Cleveland & Chicago.

More Subway Series Heroics: On June 15, 2002, in another regular season Subway Series game, drama was at its highest level, when Roger Clemens made a media hyped-up return to Shea Stadium. It meant Clemens would have to come to bat with their being no designated hitter rule in the NL ballpark.

All everyone in New York talked about all week was the matchup. The Mets fans (including centerfieldmaz) were there at Shea giving hell to Clemens & his team mates all game long. In the 3rd inning, Mets pitcher Sean Estes was on the mound as Clemens came to bat. 

With everyone holding their breath, the moment didn't live up to the hype, as Estes threw a pitch behind Clemens' head but not close to hitting him. It seemed people wanted to see Clemens have to hit the dirt in revenge, although it did not happen. The situation ended there & the moment was gone. Clemens struck out looking. 

But Piazza was a Clemens & AL New York killer if there ever was one. In the 6th inning he gave the Shea Mets fans a huge thrill by hitting yet another HR off Clemens. This time a solo shot putting the Mets up 4-0 on their way to an 8-0 win. 

That day even Mets pitcher Sean Estes hit a HR in the 5th inning off Clemens. It was a great day for Mets fans.

As the series shifted across town later in the month, Piazza hit another HR on June 29th in the Mets 11-2 win.

On July 3rd at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia Piazza hit two three run HRs, driving in six of the Mets eight runs in their 8-7 win. He matched his season high six RBI game.

In the first two weeks of July, in a ten-game stretch He drove in 18 runs with 14 hits. In the month of July, he drove in 24 runs with seven HRs. 

On July 19th & 20th he hit HRs in back-to-back games at Cincinnati.

In September he hit HRs in back-to-back games twice in the first ten days of the month. In the month Piazza hit safely in eighteen of twenty-two games.

On September 9th he hit a grand slam HR against the Phils in a 6-4 Mets win. On September 14th he hit two HRs against the Expos to reach the 30 HR mark for the ninth & final time in his career. In four full seasons with the Mets he had hit 30 or more HRs each time.

He closed out the year with a two run HR against the Braves in a 6-1 Mets win. 

Piazza was steady with his usual numbers in 2001 but for the first time in his career, his batting average dropped under .300 as he hit .280.

He still led the team in HRs (33) RBIs (98) & a .359 on base %. He hit 23 doubles with 57 walks 69 runs scored & 134 hits. He caught 121 games behind the plate with a .986 fielding %, throwing out just 18% of base runners trying to steal.

Tour of Europe -Rome: In the off season he represented MLB
in a three-week tour of Europe, visiting London, Berlin & Rome. Piazza being a strong Catholic had an audience with the Pope. He promoted the Italian baseball Olympic team & held clinics for kids as well.

2003: Injuries & age started to catch up to Piazza by 2003, mainly due to all the years of taking a beating behind the plate. He would only play in 68 games in the disappointing season, hitting 11 HRs with 13 doubles 34 RBIs a .377 on base % while batting .286. 2003 was the first time in his seven years as a Met that he did not make the All-Star team.

In 64 games behind the plate, he posted a .982 fielding % throwing out 28% of runners trying to steal. 

Experiment at First Base: It was during this year that the Mets wanted to try using Piazza at first base to ease the stress on his knees. It was a highly publicized experiment placing him at first base & something that never worked out.

In April he hit HRs in back to back games at Pittsburgh. One of his biggest highlights of the year was hitting a walk off HR on May 10th against Jaret Wright & the San Diego Padres. 

On May 13th, he hit two HRs at Colorado then another the next night as well. On May 16th he went down with injury that kept him out of the line up until August 13th. 

But in heroic fashion, in his August 13th return, he hit a two run HR in the 3rd inning off the Giants Jerome Williams. He then had two RBI singles, giving him a season high 5 RBI night in a 9-2 Mets win. On August 26th he hit a three-run 1st inning HR in Atlanta off Shane Reynolds, leading New York to a 6-5 win. He would hit another the next night, his 11th of the year, which turned out to be his last of the season.

Bob Murphy Night: On September 25th he made his debut at first base on the same night Bob Murphy did his final Mets broadcast. Piazza had two hits in the Mets 3-1 loss, as Bob Murphy was honored & said goodbye after 41 years at the Mets broadcast mic.

The Mets finished fifth in the East with a 66-95 record.

2004: On May 5, 2004, Piazza hit a dramatic walk off HR Jim Brower of the San Francisco Giants. Not only did the Mets win the game, but the HR surpassed Carlton Fisk for most home runs all time by a catcher #352.

The Mets honored Piazza on June 18, 2004, with “Mike Piazza Night” in an interleague game
against the Detroit Tigers. 

centerfieldmaz was lucky to attend the game and see some of the all-time great catchers who came out to honor Piazza. 

Guests included Yogi Berra, Tommy Lasorda, Carlton Fisk, Johnny Bench; Gary Carter, Lance Parrish & Ivan Pudge Rodriguez. That night in front of 37,000 fans Piazza came to bat to a standing ovation & singled in his first at bat with one of his two hits. The Mets won the game on Mike Cameron's walk off HR.

On an early June home stand against the Florida Marlins, Piazza had a two HR night on June 5th & then came back the next day to hit another HR driving in four runs in the Mets 5-2 victory. Piazza kept his average up over .300 into mid July where he slumped & battled injuries. 

2004 All Star Game: In the 2004 All Star Game held in Houston; Piazza was the starting catcher once again representing the Mets for the sixth time.

His nemesis Roger Clemens now a Houston Astro & was the staring NL& Piazza played nice in the national spotlight. But Clemens would get rocked & give up six runs in the 1st inning, including HRs to Manny Ramirez & Alfonso Soriano. Rumors later spread that Piazza told the American League batters what pitches Clemens was throwing. Piazza went 0-2 at the plate in the AL's 9-4 win.

In August Piazza missed a lot of action due to an injury. In September he only hit two HRs and did have a four-game stretch where he drove in at least one run. 

He finished the year with 20 HRs 21 doubles 54 RBIs 81 hits 68 walks a .362 on base % while batting .266. Piazza caught 50 games behind the plate & played in 68 games at first base. He made eight errors at first posting a .985 fielding % helping complete 44 double plays.

Marriage: In the 2004-2005 off season Piazza married Playboy Playmate Alicia Rickter in Miami Florida. Guests included John Franco, Al Leiter, Eric Karros, Ivan Rodriguez & Eddie Trunk.

2005: Piazza played his last season in New York in 2005; it was a new era as Willie Randolph took over as a manager. In the off season the Mets added Pedro Martinez & Carlos Beltran. The Mets improved & would finish third but win 83 games & finish with a winning record for the first time in three years since 2001.

Piazza was back as the team’s main catcher, seeing action in 101 games behind the plate. 

On Opening Day, he hit a double in the 7-6 Mets loss. On April 8th he hit his first HR of the season, coming in a loss at Atlanta. On April 15th, Aaron Heilman had a rare day where he threw a complete game shutout against the Florida Marlins. Piazza had two hits & drove in three of the Mets four runs in the 4-0 win.

The next day his 8th inning ground rule double put the Mets ahead 3-2. But Bradon Looper blew the save & got bailed out on Ramon Castro's walk off hit.

On April 24th he had another three RBI Day, this in a 11-4 loss to the Nationals. On May 5th Piazza hit a three run HR off Tim Worrell in a 7-5 win over the Phillies at Shea. The next day in Milwaukee he hit a pair of HRs with three RBIs in a 7-4 win. On May 9th he hit his 6th HR of the year & had a four RBI day in a 7-4 win at Wrigley Field.

On June 1st, his 8th inning double off Lance Cormier brought in Cliff Floyd in what turned out to be the game winning run over the Diamondbacks. On June 16th he homered in a 6-1 win against the A's in Oakland. That month he also hit HRs in two games against the Phillies.

2005 All Star Game: Pizza made his sixth & final Mets All Star appearance in the 2005 All Star Game held at Comercia Park in Detroit. He went 0-2 in the A.L.'s 7-4 win.

In July he had three games where he hit HRs & drove in three runs each time, just like the young Piazza had so often done. On July 14th his three run, 8th inning HR off Blaine Boyer was the game winning run breaking a 3-3 tie over the Braves. 

The HR was his tenth of the year. On July 20th he hit a two-run shot off the Padres' Woody Williams & had an RBI double in the 7-3 Mets win at Shea. 

On July 24th, Kris Benson shut out the Dodgers for eight innings, Piazza drove in three in the 6-0 Mets win, highlighted by a two run HR off Brad Penny.

On August 2nd he walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th inning getting credit with
a game winning RBI. The next day at Shea Piazza hit a HR against the Milwaukee Brewers. It took him three weeks to drive in another run, that day he had three RBIs in a 6-1 win at Miami.

 The following day he hit another HR gathering up three hits while driving in five runs on the day. On August 16th he suffered an injury which would shut him down for the next month. 

In September he had his last multiple Mets HR game, it came in the first game of a double header with the Washington Nationals in D.C. That night he homered in the second inning & then again in the fourth inning, as he drove in three runs. 

In the first game of a double header on September 29th he & David Wright hit back-to-back HRs in an 11-0 win over the Colorado Rockies. It would be the last HR Piazza would hit in a Mets uniform. 

On the last day of the season, he received an emotional send off from the Shea Faithful shedding a tear as he waved to the standing ovation.

Overall, in 2005, he played in 113 games hitting 19 HRs with 100 hits 23 doubles 62 RBIs batting .251 posting a .326 on base %.

Behind the plate he posted a .997 fielding % (4th in the NL) making only two errors all year. On
the downside he only threw out 14% of would-be base stealers.

In the off season he was let go to free agency & the Mike Piazza Mets era had ended. He would sign on with the San Diego Padres.

Mets Career: In his eight-year Mets career, Piazza played 972 games (12th on the Mets all time list) with 1028 hits (8th on the Mets all-time list) 193 doubles (8th on the Mets all-time list) 2 triples 220 HRs (3rd on the Mets all-time list) 655 RBIs (3rd on the Mets all-time list) 532 runs scored (10th on the Mets all-time list) 22 sac flies, a .373 on base % & a .915 OPS.

Defensively He is second to Jerry Grote in games caught behind the plate with 826.

Honors: Piazza was at the closing ceremonies of Shea Stadium in 2009. He & Tom Seaver were the last two Mets to walk off the field & say goodbye to Shea. The two returned to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Citi Field in 2009.

Piazza threw out the first pitch in Game #3 of the 2015 World Series, the first World Series game held at Citi Field.

Hall Of Fame: Mike Piazza was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 2013. His uniform #31 was retired by the Mets in 2016.

In 2016 he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown.

He is also a member of the Italian American Hallof Fame in Chicago.

Family: Mike & his wife Alicia have three children, two girls & a boy.