Editing Mike Piazza (section)

==Legacy==
{{MLBBioRet
|Image  = Mets retired 31.svg
|Name   = Mike Piazza
|Number = 31
|Team   = New York Mets
|Year   = 2016
|}}
[[File:Piazza and Wilson greet the crowd before catching ceremonial pitches, Apr 15 2022 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Piazza greets the crowd at [[Citi Field]] prior to catching a ceremonial pitch alongside [[Mookie Wilson]].]]

In a sixteen-year major league career, Piazza played in 1,912 [[Games played|games]], accumulating 2,127 [[Hit (baseball)|hits]] in 6,911 [[at bats]] for a .308 career batting average along with 427 home runs, 1,335 runs batted in, an [[on-base plus slugging]] percentage of .922 and an [[on-base percentage]] of .377.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/piazzmi01.shtml |title=Mike Piazza statistics |publisher=Baseball-reference.com |access-date=August 7, 2022 |archive-date=April 19, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090419233037/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/piazzmi01.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> Piazza is one of the best-hitting catchers of all time, hitting 427 career home runs, 396 of them while he was playing the catcher position, a Major League Baseball record for career home runs by a catcher.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/all-time-home-run-leaders-at-each-position |title=All Time Home Run Leaders At Each Position |work=mlb.com |accessdate=6 August 2022}}</ref> Only eight other players have ever had over 400 home runs with over a .300 lifetime average while never [[Strikeout|striking out]] more than 100 times in a season ([[Ted Williams]], [[Stan Musial]], [[Lou Gehrig]], [[Mel Ott]], [[Hank Aaron]], [[Babe Ruth]], [[Vladimir Guerrero]] and [[Chipper Jones]]). He is one of only three players in history to win ten [[Silver Slugger Award]]s, along with [[Barry Bonds]] and [[Alex Rodriguez]].

In addition to his hitting, Piazza's defense has undergone a more positive reassessment in light of new defensive metrics. His pitch framing, in particular, ranks seventh-best among all catchers going back to the first data in 1988.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.mlb.com/news/mike-piazza-better-at-defense-than-reputation-c190462110|title = Known for big bat, Piazza was underrated defensively|access-date = Jul 21, 2016|website = MLB.com|archive-date = July 22, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160722151924/http://m.mlb.com/news/article/190462110/mike-piazza-better-at-defense-than-reputation/|url-status = live}}</ref> Another report published in 2008 put him third among all catchers since 1948 in improving the performances of his pitchers.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=5274|title = Schrodinger's Bat|access-date = July 21, 2016|website = Baseball Prospectus| date=July 6, 2006 }}</ref>

Mets teammate [[Tom Glavine]] called Piazza a "first-ballot [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Hall of Famer]], certainly the best hitting catcher of our era and arguably the best hitting catcher of all time".{{r|schwarz20080521}} On May 8, 2010, while receiving an award, Piazza said to reporters that if he got into the Hall of Fame, he would like to be inducted as a Met, for whom he played seven-plus seasons.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/sports/baseball/09piazza.html | title=If the Hall Calls, Piazza Wants to Enter as a Met | work=The New York Times | date=May 7, 2010 | first=Joe | last=Brescia | archive-date=September 9, 2017 | access-date=February 22, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909231006/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/sports/baseball/09piazza.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

Piazza managed the USA team in the 2011 futures game wearing a Mets cap to the event.<ref>''The Rocket That Fell to Earth: Roger Clemens and the Rage for Baseball Immortality'' by Jeff Pearlman. HarperCollins. New York: 2009 pg 240</ref>

On January 9, 2013, Piazza failed to be elected to Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving only 57.8% of the votes and falling short of the 75% qualifying votes. He stated that he would address the [[performance-enhancing drugs]] and [[steroid]] rumors in his book ''Long Shot''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Legendary Met Mike Piazza To Address Steroid, PED Rumors In New Book|date=January 11, 2013|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/01/11/legendary-met-mike-piazza-to-address-steroid-ped-rumors-in-new-book/|publisher=CBS News New York|access-date=January 11, 2013|archive-date=January 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114023240/http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/01/11/legendary-met-mike-piazza-to-address-steroid-ped-rumors-in-new-book/|url-status=live}}</ref> In his second appearance on the ballot, Piazza's percentage numbers did rise (62.2%), but not to the 75% needed to be inducted. Piazza again failed to make the Hall of Fame in 2015, receiving 69.9% of the votes needed (28 votes shy of the mark).<ref>{{cite web|last1=Webner|first1=Richard|title=Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio elected to Hall of Fame|url=http://jacksonville.com/breaking-news/2015-01-06/story/randy-johnson-pedro-martinez-john-smoltz-and-craig-biggio-elected|website=jacksonville.com|publisher=The Florida Times-Union|access-date=January 6, 2015}}</ref> On January 6, 2016, Piazza was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving 83% of the vote.<ref name=HOF />

Piazza was inducted into the [[New York Mets Hall of Fame]] on September 29, 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mike Piazza to be inducted into Mets Hall of Fame on Fan Appreciation Day|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130714&content_id=53730458&vkey=pr_mlb&c_id=mlb|work=MLB.com| date=July 14, 2013 |access-date=July 15, 2013}}</ref> The New York Mets retired his uniform number, 31, in a ceremony on July 30, 2016,<ref>{{cite web |last=Simon |first=Andrew |url=http://m.mets.mlb.com/news/article/162784182/mets-to-retire-mike-piazzas-no-31 |title=Mets to retire Mike Piazza's No. 31 |website=m.mets.mlb.com |date=January 25, 2016 |access-date=July 22, 2017 |archive-date=April 25, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425130505/http://m.mets.mlb.com/news/article/162784182/mets-to-retire-mike-piazzas-no-31 |url-status=dead }}</ref> prior to the Mets' game against the [[Colorado Rockies]] at Citi Field.

A [[Pennon|triangular pennant]] bearing Piazza's surname and uniform number is in the background of character [[Peter Parker (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Peter Parker]]'s bedroom in the 2019 film ''[[Spider-Man: Far From Home]]''. The song '[[Piazza, New York Catcher]]' by Scottish indie pop band [[Belle and Sebastian|Belle & Sebastian]] is about Piazza. Piazza's autobiography, entitled ''Long Shot'', was released in February 2013.<ref>{{cite book|url = http://books.simonandschuster.com/Long-Shot/Mike-Piazza/9781439150238|title = Long Shot|access-date = August 4, 2014|publisher = Simon & Schuster|date = February 18, 2014|isbn = 9781439150238|last1 = Piazza|first1 = Mike|archive-date = August 11, 2014|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140811083547/http://books.simonandschuster.com/Long-Shot/Mike-Piazza/9781439150238|url-status = live}}</ref>