mike piazza is in my hall of famer collection

mike piazza, italian-american superstar slugger and the strongest man in socal, is in my hall of famer collection.  here's the 2014 topps five star autograph card that represents him in my collection:

here's the back:

yes, i have piazza as a met in my hall of famer collection. it's appropriate, even though i remember him well as a dodger.

piazza burst on to the scene as a september call-up in 1992, and was 3 for 3 with a walk in his big league debut. his power came to light in the 1993 season when he hit 35 home runs and drove in 112 runs on his way to being a unanimous selection for rookie of the year.

for a little context regarding how large of a deal piazza was in his rookie season of 1993, the los angeles dodgers were coming off of their worst season ever. they were 63-99 which calculated out to their worst winning percentage since 1909. their mandatory all-star representative was mike sharperson. now, i was a fan of mike sharperson, but still.  eric karros won the rookie of the year award, and was the only dodger to reach double digits in home runs (no other dodger had more than six long balls). we the fans needed something more.

piazza began the season with an 11-game hitting streak, and while his average dipped in to the .200s late in april, by the end of the month he was hitting .307 and never fell under .300 again. he finished with 35 home runs, 112 rbi, and a .318 batting average which netted him the aforementioned unanimous rookie of the year award. now, the dodgers were still just a .500 team, but there was quite a bit of excitement in the air nonetheless. jimmy kimmel, who was then a radio guy on kroq in los angeles giving morning sports updates, referred to piazza as "italian-american superstar slugger mike piazza" and jim rome (then a san diego sportsjock on the mighty 690) called him "the strongest man in socal". i enjoyed both nicknames and continue to use them to this day as you can tell by the lead-in to this post.

i didn't get to chavez ravine to see piazza in person until 1994, but i didn't have to wait long to see him produce. in the first inning of a game against pedro martinez and the expos on april 24, piazza hit a two-run homer. it was awesome. i saw him go deep again the following season, this time in san diego. it was september 30, and the dodgers were one win away from clinching the division. piazza hit a homer in the top of the 8th inning to pad the lead, and a short while later they were celebrating on the field. that's the only time i've seen them clinch anything in person and it was a great feeling. not game 1 of the 1988 world series great, but still great.

i saw piazza in person a few more times over the years, including a game in wrigley early on in 1998 that turned out to be the last time i saw him in dodger blue. contract demands and incompetence in the new dodger front office led to him being traded to the marlins and shortly thereafter, the mets, not too long after that game. i was confused and disappointed.  still, i managed to fly back to california and get to dodger stadium on august 28 that season to see piazza return to his old stomping grounds. i stood and applauded when piazza came to bat in the first inning and again in the 6th after he hit a solo home run off of carlos perez. of course, the dodgers were still winning at that point 4-1. by the time the 10th inning rolled around, i did not applaud his leadoff single which led to him scoring the go-ahead (and eventual winning) run.

i thought that at the time of his retirement, there was a chance that number 31 would be retired by the dodgers, but that hasn't happened and probably won't. it's too bad, as he remains a fan favorite to this day.

here's my hall of famer collection as its been documented so far:

babe ruth - 2003 topps tribute world series edition world series tribute relic 351/425

honus wagner - 2001 topps tribute relic

nap lajoie - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic

tris speaker - 2011 topps tribute dual relic green parallel 53/75

eddie collins - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic

george sisler - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

dizzy dean - 2001 topps tribute relic

hank greenberg - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

bob feller - 2001 topps archives certified autograph

jackie robinson - 2004 topps clubhouse collection clubhouse relic

ted williams - 1992 upper deck baseball heroes autograph 1067/2000

stan musial - 2002 topps team topps legends autograph

yogi berra - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1640/2000

sandy koufax - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1707/2000

roberto clemente - 2005 donruss greats hall of fame souvenirs relic

warren spahn - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

mickey mantle - 2000 upper deck legends legendary game jerseys relic

willie mays - 1997 topps willie mays reprints certified autograph

al kaline - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

duke snider - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 144/250

bob gibson - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

hank aaron - 2004 topps originals 1979 topps all-time record holders rbi 03/32

frank robinson - 1995 upper deck autograph

don drysdale - 1993 nabisco all-star autographs

harmon killebrew - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures

pee wee reese - 2001 topps tribute relic

lou brock - 2018 topps archives signature series 1989 buyback 53/61

jim hunter - 1998 donruss signature series significant signatures 0736/2000

willie stargell - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures 

jim palmer - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

fergie jenkins - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 154/333

gaylord perry - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph

rollie fingers - 2018 topps archives signature series 1978 topps buyback 1/3

hal newhouser - 1993 front row premium all-time greats autograph

reggie jackson - 2018 topps tier one tier one talent autograph 19/60

steve carlton - 2018 topps five star career year autograph 43/45

mike schmidt - 2002 topps archives autoproof 1980 topps buyback 048/147

phil niekro - 2017 panini donruss recollection collection 1983 donruss buyback autograph 13/33

don sutton - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

carlton fisk - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

tony perez - 2004 fleer national pastime 2002 fleer greats authentic autograph buyback 30/59

dave winfield - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 121/350

ozzie smith - 2019 topps finest finest origins autograph

gary carter - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph collection

eddie murray - 2004 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary sigs 45/50 

dennis eckersley - 2017 topps archives signature series 1984 topps buyback 47/99

paul molitor - 2016 topps museum collection archival autographs 021/125

wade boggs - 2005 upper deck baseball heroes autograph red parallel 30/49

ryne sandberg - 2016 topps five star autographs gold parallel 17/50

bruce sutter - 2003 topps all-time fan favorites certified autograph

tony gwynn - 1997 donruss signature series millennium marks autograph 0702/1000

cal ripken jr - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 32/75

jim rice - 2005 upper deck past time pennants past time signatures

andre dawson - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph

bert blyleven - 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams autograph

ron santo - 2004 topps retired signature autograph

greg maddux - 2018 topps luminaries masters of the mound autograph 13/15

pedro martinez - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 09/60

ken griffey jr - 2003 upper deck game face autograph

mike piazza - 2014 topps five star autograph 35/50

tim raines - 2018 topps tribute tribute autograph green parallel 26/95

alan trammell - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

roy halladay - 2017 topps archives signature series 2004 topps buyback 15/23

pete rose* - 2018 panini flawless legendary signatures 15/25

barry bonds* - 2001 bowman heritage autographs

roger clemens* - 1995 upper deck autograph

 

you can find the full list of hall of famers (and some not - yet) that i aim to include in this collection at my want list site.