ON HIS WRITING STYLE
I wanted to write more about Piazza anyway as
a blogger/author because when we started the
blog, it was in 2005, and Piazza’s last year as a Met
and at that point, he did pretty much everything
we remember him for except say goodbye. Writing
about him in the 2005 Mets as an active player, even
then my tendency was to put him on his pedestal
and talk about a guy who was a part of history
already. Every now and then we mentioned he was
in same lineup as Beltran, Delgado, Reyes, Wright
-- part of an era you don’t associate with him. When
Beltran had the press conference in 2005, he said
the New Mets. They were considered a low form of
life; why would a good player ever want to come
here? So that got me curious. The way eras change.
Piazza is such a central figure to Mets history,
I wanted to write about him. I think a lot of these
books are written by authors who are detached
from the story. I wanted to write about what it was
essentially to sit in Shea Stadium and jump up
and down on behalf of Mike Piazza and get across
what it was like to live in that era before the Mets
had Piazza and what it was like to have Piazza as
a happening. What was it like to say goodbye to
Piazza and grasp what it was like to have him as
a legendary figure and follow him, and one of my
favorite parts of the book is the latter part.
He was always a cordial and self-aware player,
but he wasn’t the most aware guy. There was
always someone else who was the team leader,
and then you watch him from the day he leaves to
every time he’s come back, whether as an opposing
player or to accept an award, and he gets deeper
into being ‘one of us.’ He always says, you’re like
my family. That’s an amazing thing for a player to
say who doesn’t have to do that. He can just tip his
cap and accept his award.
Piazza as a player who is that warm and fuzzy
is what caused that outpouring of affection and
concern, why he wasn’t in the Hall of Fame. Now
that he is, this book follows how we consecrate
those things and takes it up through Cooperstown
and I think we’re better for having two Mets , not
just one, in the Hall of Fame.
Photos courtesy of MLB.com
ON DARK DAYS IN
MET LAND AND
EXPECTATIONS
That is a big part of the story. When they got
him, it was the second coming. One of the things
I did in the book is paint a picture of what it was
like for the Mets and fans during the early and
mid-’90s when there was no Mike Piazza, what
a desolate experience it was. The year Piazza
comes up with the Dodgers to stay in 1993, not
only is he Rookie of the Year, he’s setting all kinds
of records, helping the Dodgers knock the Giants
out of the pennant race. At the same time, you’ve
got the Mets arguably having the worst year in
their history. They lost 103 games and were an
embarrassment in every sense of the word. Guys
were getting arrested. It looked bad and felt
worse.
Then there’s this big long period in mid ‘90s
where they get good before Piazza shows up. All
of which is to say the Mets were ready for him. The
franchise and fanbase were ready for a guy like
this. When we do get him, it’s a celebration and he
hits well the first couple of weeks, and they go on
a winning streak. And then it’s as if the adrenaline
wore off and he’s sort of struggling along with
the team. They can’t catch the Braves, and the
Yankees are overshadowing them. In the middle
of this, fans thought of Piazza as the reincarnation
of Ted Williams and when he proves to be human
and hits into double plays, he hears it from the
fans.
I don’t think it was a universal reaction, but
people got impatient and that’s why it was no slam
dunk he would stay in New York because he was a
free agent. He could’ve said, New York has a bunch
of jerks, I could go somewhere else, get paid a lot
and be appreciated more. He didn’t shop around.
He said he liked New York, they came up shy of the
playoffs, and he said if he going to be booed, he
wants to be booed by the best, which is a great
quote. It sets the tone because there would be ups
and downs. He was a catcher who played almost
six full seasons where he got some wear and tear.
He had a few years akin to what he had put up
in Los Angeles but he does sort of come down to
earth and he does have an injury and has to drop
in the batting order and it’s tough to watch. That’s
what made his last year as a Met so fascinating
because the sheen, the aura had worn off but that
half season he was kind of a folk hero again, even
though he wasn’t the guy that could hit home runs
as frequently.
I wanted to
write about
what it was
essentially to sit
in Shea Stadium
and jump up
and down on
behalf of Mike
Piazza and get
across what
it was like to
live in that era
before the Mets
had Piazza and
what it was like
to have Piazza
as a happening.
QNS.COM
32 SUMMER 2017