Mike Piazza: The 1999 Mets Wild Card Season
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Multi- Five RBI Game: On April 9th, in 10-3 win at Montreal, Mike drove in a season high five runs, collecting three hits & hitting a three run HR off Mike Thurman. In the top of the 5th , he collected a two-run single as well.
In the top of the 9th inning, he sprained his knee sliding into third base. He was sidelined with the injury through the April 25th.
On April 25th, in his return he had an RBI single in the Mets 8-4 loss to the Cubs.
From May 3rd to May 9th, he had a seven-game hit streak, with another three-hit day in the May 9th loss in Arizona. Piazza drove in a run & had RBIs in four straight games on the road trip.
HRs In Four Straight Games: From May 17th to May 21st Piazza homered in four straight games, tying a Mets record done six times before in franchise history. The first three came during a three-game set with the Brewers at Shea where he drove in five runs.
The Mets lost the first two games in which he had hit solo HRs, in the series finale he helped with a two-run shot off Steve Falteisek in a 10-6 win. In the series he raised his season average over .300 & he never fell below that mark again all season.
He would have 11 multi-hit games during the streak. In the latter end of the Piazza 24 game hit streak the Mets won 12 of 14 games. The 24-game hit streak was a career high for Piazza & tied a Mets franchise record set by Hubie Brooks in 1984.
Since 1900 only six catchers have had hitting streaks of 24 or more games.
Subway Series & Another HR off Clemens: Piazza collected hits in the first two games of the subway series in the Bronx, both which the Mets lost.
In the June 6th Sunday Night Baseball Game, he hit a two run HR off Roger Clemens in the 3rd inning in the Mets 7-2 win. Piazza also doubled off Clemens to start the Mets four-run 2nd inning. In that game the Mets rocked Clemens for seven runs on eight hits in 2.2 innings of work.
On June 7th, the Blue Jays came to Shea, Piazza hit his 11th HR of the year, coming off Roy Halladay, in an 8-2 win.
On June 11th at Shea, he hit his 12th HR of the season, driving in both the Mets runs in the 3-2 loss to the Red Sox. He also collected three walks in the game.
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On July 4th, the rival Braves were in town & jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the 1st, Piazza tied the game with a two-run single off John Smoltz. The Mets went on to an exciting 7-6 win, highlighted by Edgardo Alfonzo's 8th inning three run HR.
NL Player of the Week: From July 5th to July 11th Piazza hit .478 with 3 HRs 10 RBIs winning
him the Player of the Week Award. It was the seventh time he won that award & his first time winning it in a Mets uniform. From July 8th to July 10th, he homered in three straight games collecting eight RBIs.
On July 8th, Piazza hit his 17th HR off the year, coming against the Expos at Shea, it was the first of a three-game stretch where he homered.
Piazza vs Clemens: In 1999 Piazza faced Roger Clemens twice, in 3-5 with two HRs, a double & five RBIs.
Multi- RBI Game: The next day, Piazza, hit a 7th inning three run HR off Ramiro Mendoza putting the Mets ahead 7-6. Earlier in the game he had a 1st inning RBI double. It was his first of three multi-four RBI games on the season. The Mets won it in walk off fashion when Matt Franco singled home Rickey Henderson with the winning run.
1999 All Star Game: At the break, Piazza had 19 HRs with 57 RBIs batting .317. He made his second All Star start representing the Mets at the Mid-Summer Classic at Fenway Park. It was his seventh straight All-Star appearance in his career. In his two at bats, he struck out & then singled off David Cone in the AL's 4-1 win.
In the second half of the season, he would hit 21 HRs with 67 RBIs & bat .289.
On July 30th, Piazza hit a two run HR & a sac fly RBI off the Cubs & future Met, Steve Trachsel, in the Mets 10-9 win at Wrigley Field.
In August the Mets began the month with a road series sweep in Milwaukee where Piazza drove in runs in all three games. The Mets took over first place building a two-game lead.
Four RBI Game: The next night, Piazza hit his 23rd HR of the year, a three-run shot off (future Met) David Weathers. Piazza also had a ground ball out that brought in a run, as he collected four runs in that game. It was his third game of the season, where he drove in four or more runs, as he totaled eight RBIs with four hits in the series.
On August 11th at Shea, Piazza collected three hits & drove in three runs, with a pair of RBI singles, along with hitting his 20th double of the season in a 12-5 win over the Padres.
RBI's In Ten Straight Games: From August 13th to August 22nd, Piazza had an incredible stretch of driving in runs in ten straight games, setting a franchise record previously held by Bobby Bonilla (1994) where he had driven in runs in nine straight games.
HRs in Four Straight Games: From August 13th to August 16th, Piazza also hit HRs in four straight games, for the second time on the season, tying the club record done seven times before. On August 13th, in a loss in the first of a three-game trip in San Francisco, Piazza hit his 24th HR of the season, coming off Russ Ortiz. Mike collected three hits for his second straight multi-three hit game raising his average to .314.
Four Hit Game: On Saturday August 14th, Mike Piazza would have a multi-four-hit game, giving him ten hits in his last three games. In the top of the 4th inning with John Olerud on base, he hit his 25th HR of the season, a two-run shot off Kirk Reuter. Mike also collected three singles on the night.
The Mets put up five runs in the inning as they went on to a 6-1 win.
Mike Piazza collected two more hits. In the top of the 7th inning facing Alan Embree, Piazza blasted his 26th HR of the year, which was his third HR in as many games.
Piazza had now raised his Batting average to .322. He collected 86 RBIs on the year & had driven in runs in four straight games.
On Monday August 16th, the Mets journeyed south down the Pacific Coast to San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium for a series with Bruce Bochy's third place Padres.
In the top of the 2nd, Piazza continued his HR streak, hitting a solo HR off Sterling Hitchcock, for his fourth consecutive HR game. It was his 27th HR of the season, a solo shot tying Robin Ventura for the team lead.
In the 7th, Edgardo Alfonzo & John Olerud both singled. Mike Piazza came up grounding into a double play, but Alfonzo scored on the play, tying up the game.
The game went to extra innings. In the top of the 10th, Edgardo Alfonzo was the games hero, hitting his 18th HR of the year, a solo shot coming off Will Cunnane.
Mike Piazza had a great four game stretch that week, collecting ten hits, four HRs, seven RBIs & scored five runs. He was now batting .321 with 27 HRs & 88 RBIs.
On August 18th, in a 9-1 victory, at San Diego Mets team's HR leaders Mike Piazza & Robin Ventura both hit HRs in the game both reaching 28 on the season. In the top of the 3rd, Piazza hit a solo HR off Stan Spencer. In the 4th inning, Mike drove a two-run single to left off Carlos Almanzar giving him another muti-three RBI game.
Piazza started a new HR streak where he would hit one HR in three straight games, his RBI streak was intact at six.
Piazza Trivia: The three run HR was his 29th on the season & gave him 94 RBIs. He also homered in back-to-back games for the 11th time & hit HRs in six out of the last seven games.
The Mets won it 7-4, with Pat Mahomes (3.1 scoreless relief innings) earning the victory to get to 7-0 on the year.
On Sunday August 22nd in the first game of a double header, the two teams combined for six HRs with St. Louis' Mark McGwire hitting two for his 50th & 51st HRs of the season.
The Cards took a 6-1 lead into the 8th inning. In the bottom of the 8th, Jon Olerud hit a grand slam HR & Mike Piazza followed going back-to-back with a solo shot, his 30th HR of the season tying up the game at six. He reached 95 RBIs as well.
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seven out of his last eight games. The 30th HR also marker his fifth straight 30 plus HR season in his career.
In the bottom of the 9th, after Armando Benitez blew another save Edgardo Alfonso collected a walk off single to win the game.
In the Mets 7-5 loss in the night cap, Piazza was 1-2. In the top of the 9th, with two men on Piazza collected a two-run single off Manny Abar.
Mets Consecutive Game RBI Record: The RBIs set a new franchise record of ten straight games with at least one RBI. Piazza would break his own record the next season, in 2000 as he would drive in runs in 15 straight games. In 2022 Francisco Lindor would tie the ten games streak.
Piazza Trivia: From August 11th to August 22nd, Piazza hit .528 with a 1.700 OPS. He collected 19 hits with seven HRs & 20 RBIs.
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During the September pennant race, Piazza would have back-to-back HR games three times.
Four Hit Game: On September 1st, in a 9-5 win at Houston Mike had his second four hit game of the season. He hit a pair of doubles off Cliff Holt for his 24th two baggers of the season. He collected two singles & also drew a walk reaching base safely five times in the game.
On September 8th at Shea Stadium, Piazza hit a 6th inning, three-run HR off San Francisco's Miguel Del Toro in a 7-5 win over the Giants.
The next day the Mets flew to Los Angeles for a three-game series. In the top of the 6th, Piazza hit his 34th HR of the season, a two run HR off Kevin Brown.
That night Piazza & another former Dodger great, Orel Hershiser led the Mets to a 3-1 win.
In the bottom of the 9th, after Armando Benitez blew another save Edgardo Alfonso collected a walk off single to win the game.
In the Mets 7-5 loss in the night cap, Piazza was 1-2. In the top of the 9th, with two men on Piazza collected a two-run single off Manny Abar.
Mets Consecutive Game RBI Record: The RBIs set a new franchise record of ten straight games with at least one RBI. Piazza would break his own record the next season, in 2000 as he would drive in runs in 15 straight games. In 2022 Francisco Lindor would tie the ten games streak.
Piazza Trivia: From August 11th to August 22nd, Piazza hit .528 with a 1.700 OPS. He collected 19 hits with seven HRs & 20 RBIs.
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Four Hit Game: On September 1st, in a 9-5 win at Houston Mike had his second four hit game of the season. He hit a pair of doubles off Cliff Holt for his 24th two baggers of the season. He collected two singles & also drew a walk reaching base safely five times in the game.
On September 8th at Shea Stadium, Piazza hit a 6th inning, three-run HR off San Francisco's Miguel Del Toro in a 7-5 win over the Giants.
The next day the Mets flew to Los Angeles for a three-game series. In the top of the 6th, Piazza hit his 34th HR of the season, a two run HR off Kevin Brown.
That night Piazza & another former Dodger great, Orel Hershiser led the Mets to a 3-1 win.
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In the series finale, he drove in two more runs in the Mets 10-3 win, as they took three of four in L.A with Piazza collecting six hits, two HRs & six RBIs.
On September 19th, he hit his
36th HR in a win over Philadelphia, as the Mets took a four-game lead in the wild card race.
36th HR in a win over Philadelphia, as the Mets took a four-game lead in the wild card race.
The Mets moved on to Atlanta for a big series with the Braves, but they were swept, going on a seven-game losing streak. In that time, they fell eight games behind the first place Braves & 2.5 games behind the Cincinnati Reds in the wild card race.
Mets Single Season RBI Record: On September 23rd, Piazza hit a solo HR off the Braves Greg Maddox for his 38th HR of the season. With that HR he set a Mets single season RBI mark with 118 on the season.
Howard Johnson (1991) & Bernard Gilkey (1996) had both driven in 117 runs.
As the September came to an end the Mets were one game behind the Reds in the wild card race with three games left to play in a series at Shea with the Pirates.
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First Catcher to have Two 40 HR Seasons: On October 2nd, Piazza hit an 8th inning two run HR off the Pirates Mike Williams in a Rick Reed 7-0 shut out.
It was Piazza's 40th HR of the season, as he became the first catcher in MLB history to hit 40 or more HRs in a season twice. Roy Campanella (1953) & Todd Hundley (1996) were the only other catchers to hit 40 HRs in a season.
Pirates' pitcher Brad Clontz came in to face Piazza & threw a wild pitch scoring Melvin Mora with the game's winning run.
The Mets win forced a game #163, as they tied with the Reds for the wild card spot. The Mets lost a coin toss & the tie breaker game was played in Cincinnati.
For the 1999 season, Mike Piazza in the opinion of Mets fans, was the NL MVP.
Piazza led the Mets with 40 HRs (7th in the NL) which was the third highest mark ever for a catcher in a single season.
Piazza hit .303 with 162 hits 25 doubles 100 runs scored a .361 on base % a .936 OPS. He drew 51 walks with 11 intentional walks (8th in the NL).
Mets Record 27 Double Plays Hit Into: The slow-footed Piazza, hit into a league leading 27 double plays for the season, also setting a Mets club record.
Behind the plate he allowed a league leading 115 stolen bases throwing out just 24% of would-be base stealers.
He also made 11 errors (2nd in the NL) but led all catchers with 953 put outs. That season he finished Third in the MVP Award voting but won his seventh Silver Slugger Award at catcher.
Post Season 1999 NLDS: In the NLDS victory the Arizona Diamondbacks, Piazza would play in the first two games then get sidelined for last two games with an injury.
In the Mets Game #1 win in Arizona, Piazza had a 1st inning single going 1-5. The offense was led by Edgardo Alfonzo's two HRs including a 9th inning grand slam.
In the Game #2 loss, he went 1-4 with an 8th inning single. Piazza had swelling in his injured thumb after getting a cortisone shot & would have to sit out the remainder or the series.
Overall, he batted .222 in the series as the Mets advanced to the NLCS.
In Game #3 at Shea Stadium, his 1st inning error on a double steal, allowed Gerald Williams to score the only run of the game in the Mets 1-0 loss. Al Leiter & Tom Glavine battled it out for seven innings before giving way to the bullpens.
Piazza collected two of the Mets seven hits. The Mets were down 3-0 in the series.
In Game #4 at Shea, the Mets won the game 3-2 with Piazza going 0-3.
In Game #5 at Shea Stadium, Piazza caught 13 innings behind the plate of the classic 14 inning Mets exciting victory.
In the top of the 12th with the score tied, Chipper Jones doubled to right field, Keith Lockhart rounded third trying to score. Melvin Mora threw home to Piazza, he blocked the plate held his ground, caught the ball & tagged out Lockhart who ran into a brick wall of Mike Piazza. Lockhart was out & the game went on.
In Game #6 the Mets entered the 7th inning down 7-3. Rickey Henderson & John Olerud drove in runs to get it 7-5. Piazza then hit a two run HR off John Smoltz, to tie up the game. He had earlier had an RBI sac fly as well.
In the 10th inning the Mets took the lead on Todd Pratt's sac fly, but Armando Benitez blew it when pinch hitter Ozzie Guillen singled to score Andruw Jones to tie it again. The Mets eventually lost it in the 11th inning when Kenny Rodgers walked Andruw Jones with the bases loaded.
Overall, In the '99 NLCS Piazza hit .167 with just four hits, with a HR & four RBIs, striking out six times. Overall, he was 6-33 in the 1999 post season.
Piazza is good friend & godfather to guitarist Zakk Wylde's son, Hendrix. Zakk a New Jersey native, was a long-time guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne & fronted his own band Black Lable Society.
On the radio, Piazza often cohosted Eddie Trunk's That Metal Show in New York.
Mike Piazza also plays the drums.
