Piazza -- True Blue Met

[Guest Kong76]

Slow sports morning/early afternoon ... they just showed a blurb on
the sports news of Piazza declaring he wants to go to the HOF as a
Met! I don't know why, but I've always just assumed he'd be wearing
a big fat LA on his plaque but maybe I was wrong -- not that it's up
to him these days.

[ashie62]

I always thought of Piazza as a Met. We shall see how MLB feels

[Frayed Knot]

The decision isn't left entirely up to him although the HoF committee (not MLB) will shirley consider his opinion.
And, in this case, I don't know why they wouldn't honor it. After all, he did spend more time with the Mets than with the Dodgers: 8 seasons to 7; 3,941 PAs to 3,017; 1,028 Hits to 896; 220 HRs to 177; etc.

[Guest Edgy DC]

But he probably fired more HoF-quality bullets as a Dodger.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Plus, his one World Series appearance came as a Met.

[Elster88]

I wonder how much the love-fest from his last game as a Met and first game as an opponent had an effect on this. It probably feels good to have 55,000 give you a standing ovation that lasts minutes and is an expression of appreciation as opposed to a reaction to a play.

From what I've heard there's a general apathy in LA for their teams. ABNS can you confirm that or is it just a sterotype?

[Valadius]

Always assumed he'd go in as a Met. He played more games here.

[G-Fafif]

I just assume he'll go in as a god.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

They picked him and traded him.

We loved him.

[bmfc1]

He also said it here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/sports/baseball/09piazza.html?ref=baseball

Tom Verducci said "Dodgers." Wrong.

[G-Fafif]

bmfc1 wrote: He also said it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/sports/baseball/09piazza.html?ref=baseball Tom Verducci said "Dodgers." Wrong.

That's a good article where Piazza is concerned (thanks for the link), but I take issue with the author saying Bay has been "showered with boos" at Citi Field. I've witnessed a little impatience at times in the eight games I've attended this season, but not a shower of negative reaction. It's been barely a drizzle.

[metirish]

Not surprised Piazza would say that, everything about his seems sincere and he has in the past expressed how grateful he was to have played for the Mets.

[DocTee]

Put him in as a Marlin.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Elster88 wrote: From what I've heard there's a general apathy in LA for their teams. ABNS can you confirm that or is it just a sterotype?

My opinion's evolved some on this, but I think it's mostly stereotype. People love their sports and their teams here, just it happens at a different volume than NY and the media coverage is nowhere near as intense.

[metirish]

Bill Simmons had an article recently on the crowd that populates Laker games during the playoffs and how his feeling about LA crowds and sports has changed in the years he has lived there.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100505&sportCat=nba

[A Boy Named Seo]

That was alright. I thought Simmons was switching allegiances there for a second.

I didn't finish the whole thing, but the scene vs. sport thing is an important distinction to make with the LA crowd. I think that happens in any city in the pricey seats, especially during the playoffs, but LA is stupid about it, and the Lakers are the kings of that particular brand of stupid. Jose Lunchbucket, in the 300-level at Stapes or in the OF bleachers at Dodger Stadium, very passionately loves his Dodgers or Lakers, but no one pays any mind to him at all cause he's not banging Lindsay Lohan (anymore).

[G-Fafif]

It probably won't come up as a practical concern unless the Veterans Committee does the right thing someday, but Keith would go in as a Met, apparently.

�I loved winning in St. Louis, but winning here was special because the Mets were down for so long. After so many years of bad play, it really captured the town. I couldn�t buy anything for weeks. One night at Canastel�s, dinner for a party of ten, they sent over Cristal for everybody. Everyone remembers me as a Met. Even in St. Louis.�

[MFS62]

In the past, I've posted here about putting the team logos on a player's cap as a hologram, so, depending on the angle from which it is viewed, all team logos will be visible. When this came up about Mike, I emailed that suggestion to the Hall. Here is the response I received yesterday:

Thank you very much for your note and suggestion. As players from the free agency era enter the Hall of Fame, we will consider many possibilities for their cap logo on their plaque. As with all plaques at the Baseball Hall of Fame, all the teams the player played for are listed. Thank you for your interest in the Baseball Hall of Fame! We hope to see you soon in Cooperstown! Sincerely, Craig Muder Director of Communications National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

Later

[metirish]

They were nice to you at least.