Ya Gotta Believe
A place for New York Mets fans made by a New York Mets fan. If you love baseball, you will love this blog.
4.26.2006
Agent 41: Piazza Becomes a Member of the 400 Club
Mike Piazza, the greatest position player the Mets have ever had, recently hit his 400th home run as a member of the San Diego Padres. He becomes the 41rst player in Major League history to join the 400 home runs club. Piazza passed Andres Galarraga and is seven home runs behind Duke Snider.
Not bad for the 1,390th pick in the 1988 draft.
While this is a great day for Piazza and all Mets fans, there is a sense of sadness too. When we first got him in 1998, I thought for sure he would finish his career in New York and retire as the greatest Mets hitter of all-time. The last two seasons, however, made it a sad reality that he was not part of the Mets future.
He has given me some of my fondest memories as a Mets fan. From his Game 6 home run against the Braves in the 1999 NLCS to carrying a lackluster offense to the World Series in 2000, he was a big game player who never folded under pressure.
Not to mention he hit the greatest home run I have ever seen when he hit a game-winner against the Braves in the first major sporting even in NYC after the 9/11 attacks.
I could not be happier for a classier guy. Although he was never a overt vocal leader, he always carried himself with dignity. Between the rumors of his sexual orientation and Clemens' being a moron, Piazza never stooped to the level of his detractors.
When we played the Padres recently, Piazza his a moon shot of Pedro Martinez for about 423 ft. Although it was against us, I could not help but cheer for a guy who brought the Mets to a new level of competition.
congratulation Mike! Keep on murdering the ball (unless you're at Shea).
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