Say Good Bye.........

Yesterday we said good bye to one of the greatest right handed hitters. He played for the Dodgers, the Marlins, the Mets, the Padres and the A's. He was drafted in the 62th round as a favor to Tommy Lasorda. Can you imagine that? He may have been the greatest hitting catcher in baseball history, a first ballot Hall of Famer. 2127 hits, 427 home runs, 1335 rbi's, .308 career hitter. He was a great. He hit one of the most important (in my mind) home runs in New York history: The 9/11 ball. He had some great home runs. I remember the one when the Mets were down to the dreaded Braves, 7-0, and in the 7th the Mets dropped 8 and the go ahead homer was hit by number 31. When the Mets acquired him, it was unreal. I couldn't believe that they had just pulled this off. It was tremendous. He was a great already, and he soon became the toast of the Mets fan town. He was awesome. Every child wanted to be him. Can I have 31? My baby brother (shouldn't call him a baby he is 20yrs young) had everything that he was on. He was even a Yankee fan, imagine that? He transcended a lot in New York. He was the cover boy on the back page. We were spoiled, we appreciated him, but we also booed. He was the Mets' Jeter. God, how will he be missed. The Great Mike Piazza. The Italian Hammer. The career home run hitter by catchers. He beat out Johny Bench. I know, I know, he couldn't throw a guy out carrying a fridge on his back. But hey, he could call a heck of a game and I believe hit a bit. So now it's time to say good bye to a great number 31, the great Mike Piazza.