Biography
Michael Joseph Piazza (born September 4, 1968) is an Italian-American former Major League Baseball catcher. He played in his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Diego Padres and the Oakland Athletics.
A 12-time All-Star, Piazza is often regarded as one of the best-hitting catchers of all time and holds the record for home runs hit by a catcher, with a career total of 427. He had at least one RBI in 15 consecutive games for the New York Mets in 2000, the second-longest RBI streak ever (Ray Grimes of the Chicago Cubs had 17 consecutive games. In 2013, Piazza wrote an autobiography titled "Long Shot".
Piazza was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania and grew up in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. Of Italian and Slovakian ancestry, he is the second-oldest son of Vince and Veronica, with brothers Vince, Jr., Danny, Tony, and Tommy.
Vince Piazza earned a fortune of more than $100 million in used cars and real estate, and attempted several times to purchase a Major League Baseball franchise. When the Dodgers—managed by Vince Piazza's childhood friend Tommy Lasorda, Mike Piazza's godfather—visited Philadelphia, Piazza visited the Dodger clubhouse and served as a bat boy in the dugout.
Vince Piazza's own hopes of playing baseball had ended at the age of 16 when he left school to support his family. He saw that Mike Piazza had potential in the sport, and began encouraging his son to build his arm strength at the age of five. When he was 12, Piazza received personal instruction in his backyard batting cage from Ted Williams. The Hall of Famer praised his talent, advised him not to let anyone change his swing, and autographed Piazza's copy of Williams' The Science of Hitting. Vince Piazza threw hundreds of pitches nightly to his son, who shared his father's focus on baseball, clearing snow if necessary to practice his hitting and, after reaching the major leagues, practicing on Christmas Eve. He attended Phoenixville Area High School and graduated in 1986.