The Monster is Out of the Game

"I have to say that my time with the Mets wouldn't have been the same without the greatest fans in the world. One of the hardest moments of my career, was walking off the field at Shea Stadium and saying goodbye. My relationship with you made my time in New York the happiest of my career and for that, I will always be grateful" -- Mike Piazza

Well, shit, now doesn't that give you goosebumps?

Mike Piazza has certainly received his fair share of celebration over the years: his first day as a Met emerging from the tunnel at Shea, the day-to-day roars he received at Shea (more about this in a moment), the celebration when he set the all-time record as a catcher, his final game as a Met, his return as a Padre, and even after he went yard against us as a Padre.

And there will certainly be many more opportunities to celebrate The Monster: when he's inducted into the Hall of Fame, when the Mets retire his number (it's outrageous Fernando Tatis is wearing #17 and will be equally outrageous if a washed-up roider is wearing #31 20 years from now).

But on the day he makes official what everybody – himself included – knew was coming, it's important that we celebrate him one more time. Benjamin Disraeli famously said of heroes, "The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example." Yes, let's celebrate the great Mets name of Piazza – as we have in the past and will in the future – but let's also see what we can learn from his example.

My parents dragged me out of the city and up to Cape Cod for Piazza's first game as a Met. So there we were. Saturday, May 23, 1998. My family sitting out by the pool and me sitting in the car with the radio on WFAN (this is a bit of a default arrangement… if Glavine hadn't laid an egg in the first inning of Game 162 last year I probably would have missed my cousin's wedding).

It's really difficult to believe – as we look at our $138 million 2008 Mets with superstars from Santana to Beltran to Wagner to Wright – how awe inspiring it was to be listening to a Mets game and hear that Mike fucking Piazza was playing catcher and batting third for us.

Our opening day catcher that year had been Spring Training Sensation Tim Spehr and he lost his job to Alberto Castillo. Now – somehow – Mike Piazza was a Met. In that moment, sitting in a car listening to Murph and Gary Cohen, being a Mets fan meant something completely different than it had for years before.

And then, Mets fans started to boo him. Pretty remarkable now when you look at the stats. In June 1998, Mets fans booed free agent to be Mike Piazza because he hit .318/.365/.511. Kinda makes you laugh when the Sippy and Scott Neff's of the world accuse Mets fans today of being "irrational dickheads" for booing the 07-08 Mets for their 82-80 record over the last 162 games.

Piazza responded to the irrational fans by one-upping himself. He went out and said, ok, that wasn't good enough for you, how's .326/.421/.576 for July? Still not good enough? How about .347/.414/.663 for August? Think I'm a catcher and too beat up by Sept/Oct to keep hitting? Nah, .378/.457/.720.

It is unbelievable how good Mike Piazza was. At the greatest pinnacle of the love affair between Mike Piazza and New York City, we did not appreciate how good he was.

In the year 2000, Piazza finished third in MVP balloting behind Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds. That's right. He finished behind two players from the same team in a poll of what player is most valuable to his team. If Monster's 2000 season (.324/.398/.614, 38 home runs, 113 RBI) had been played as a first baseman in Coors Field, he would've hit .400 with 70 home runs.

I don't know how much of the credit goes to Piazza vs. Valentine vs. Leiter vs. Ventura for the magic of the success of the 1999-2000 Mets. I do know that I cannot imagine Robin signs with the Mets if Piazza weren't with us and who knows if Leiter would have re-upped.

For all of Piazza's greatness, it is worth remembering that the most critical at-bat of the 1999 season was taken by Shawon Dunston and that our outfield from 1999-2000 consisted of players like Rickey Henderson, Brian McRae, Benny Agbayani, Jay Payton and Derek Bell (RIP). Yet we won 204 games.

So, Monster, for brightening a city for a brief moment after September 11; for tying up Game 6 against the Braves; for blocking the plate as well as any catcher I've ever seen; for always having pitching staff's throw to a lower ERA to you than your backup (can you tell I don't buy the Piazza's a shitty defensive catcher storyline?); for winning the game off Trevor Hoffman; giving us a breath of life against Jeff Nelson; and again against Denny Neagle; for everything else you did as a Met...

Thanks for the memories… and here's hoping somebody on this team finally inherits your example.

- Nails