ESPN.com: Mike Piazza Career Notes

Mike Piazza
#31 | Catcher | New York Mets | Roster

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Career Notes

1996
Leading NL vote-getter for the Mid-summer classic ... Voted the All-Star game's MVP going 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs including a second inning HR off Charles Nagy ... Finished second in National League MVP voting behind Ken Caminit (Piazza has finished in the top 10 in MVP voting in each of his first four seasons) ... Became first player to hit 20 or more home runs in each of his first four seasons ... Hit three home runs a knocked in six runs in five at-bats on June 29 at Colorado ... Had a career-high 19-game hitting streak (Aug. 22 - Sept. 12) hitting .418 with three home runs ... Selected to the Associated Press All-Star team for the fourth consecutive year ... Earned a second consecutive Silver Slugger award ... Joined Gary Sheffield, Mo Vaughn and Elex Rodriguez as recipients of the Ted Williams' Greatest Hitters award.

1995
Was placed on the disabled list from May 11 to June 4 with a torn ligament in his left thumb ... Was named to his third consecutive All-Star team ... He and Hideo Nomo were the starting battery and Mike was 1-for-4 with the game-tying home run ... Had a team-high 49 multi-hit games and added 24 multi-RBI performances ... Had a career-high 16-game hitting streak July 29-August 16 and was 28-for-66 (.424) with 11 runs, two doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI ... Became the first Dodger in franchise history to collect 20 or more home runs in his first three seasons ... Was named National League Player of the Week May 2-7 for the fifth time in his career ... Was named National Player of the Week August 21-27 for the sixth time in his career ... Received Player of the Month recognition for August, batting an even .400 (46-for-115) with seven doubles, nine home runs and 25 RBI in 28 games.

1994
Suffered no let-down following Rookie of the Year campaign in 1993 ... Led the team in batting, homers, and RBI ... Hit first career grand slam June 6, off Florida's Mark Gardner ... Hit homers in four straight games from June 25-28 ... Became only the second player in Dodger history to hit 20 homers in first two seasons ... Was named National League co-Player of the Month after hitting .386 with six homers and 24 RBI during May ... First L.A. All-Star starter since 1990 ... Second straight All-Star appearance ... Hit .418 with a runner on third ... Homered against every NL team except Chicago and Pittsburgh.

1993
Became the ninth unanimous Rookie of the Year selection in major league history after a great first season ... Finished with a .318 average, 35 home runs and 112 RBI, all of which rank him among the leaders in the Los Angeles single-season record books ... His RBI total established a Dodger rookie record and represented the third-highest total ever posted by an NL rookie ... His home run total set a new Los Angeles single-season record (not to mention a rookie record) and ranked sixth in the NL in `93 ... Shattered the Brooklyn/ L.A. franchise rookie record for home runs, which had been 25, by Del Bissonette in 1928 ... Set a new major league record for most home runs by a rookie catcher ... Tied for third in the NL in slugging percentage (.561), was fourth in RBI, tied for fourth in total bases (307) and seventh in batting average ... Represented the Dodgers at the All-Star Game, becoming the first L.A. rookie to be selected to the team since Steve Sax in 1982 ... Threw out seven consecutive runners attempting to steal April 13-18 ... Nailed 58 of 166 would-be base thieves on the year (35 percent, third-best in the NL) ... Led all major league catchers with the 58 throw-outs, setting a franchise record in that category ... Went 4-for-4 against Pittsburgh Aug. 24 ... Named Southern California Male Athlete of the Year by the Amateur Athletic Foundation ... Named Dodger MVP ... Named Rookie of the Year by Baseball America and The Sporting News, was selected Major League All-Star catcher by AP and UPI, and won the Silver Slugger Award.

1992
Began the season at the AA level (with San Antonio) and finished it in the majors ... Made his major league debut as L.A.'s starting catcher Sept. 1 at Chicago and went 3-for-3, including his first big league hit, a double off Mike Harkey ... First major league home run was a three-run shot off Steve Reed of San Francisco Sept. 12.


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