Mike Piazza officially retires.

[DirtyKash]

ESPN - Piazza, one of greatest hitting catchers in MLB history, retires - MLB

.308
427 HR (396 HR as catcher)
1335 RBI

[NYgiantsfan5689]

an unbelievable career. good for him to finally call it quits. it's always a tough decision

[browntown653]

Hall of Fame first ballot no doubt. A class act and probably my all-time favorite Met. Even as a Yankee fan I always enjoyed watching him play.

[ljshorty89]

Amazing player, great guy, and it's a little sad to see him go. He was the reason I became a Mets fan. He was one of the best players I've ever gotten the chance to see play, and I wish him only the best in retirement. I wanna be like Mike!

[love_that_reefer]

Too bad he did all those Pert Plus and 1800COLLECT commercials. The sooner he retires, the quicker he gets in the HOF. He had a great career and is the best offensive catcher of all-time.

[brewersfan19]

Good choice and Congrats to Mike Piazza!!

[Bon Bon]

He had such a great career. Congrats on that Mr. Piazza

[HollywoodLeo]

Does Piazza go in the hall as a Met or a Dodger?

[missionhockey21]

Does Piazza go in the hall as a Met or a Dodger?

A Dodger in my books. His most consistently fruitful seasons came while in Dodger blue including the greatest offensive effort by a catcher, his 1997 season of a 1.070 OPS, 40 homers and a .362 batting average. Over half of his career was with the Mets though (plus about 200 games elsewhere), but I think the extra playing time is negated by the fact that the end of that time in New York saw Piazza's decline whereas his time in LA was overall outstanding outside of his rookie callup and the time before his trade from the city of angels.

A great player though, the best hitting catcher ever and we were all lucky enough to watch him. It's a shame he couldn't have had a proper retirement season, to do the retirement tour.

[ljshorty89]

I disagree. I mean, don't get me wrong, he was spectacular for the Dodgers. The thing is, he played more games with the Mets, he had more hits, more HR, more RBI with the Mets. He hit #300, #400, and the Catcher HR record with the Mets. He went to the World Series with the Mets. And he was THE FACE of the Mets for 8 years. I say he goes in with the Orange and Blue on his cap...

[love_that_reefer]

Marlins or Oakland

[HollywoodLeo]

Marlins or Oakland

Padres, FTW

[missionhockey21]

I disagree. I mean, don't get me wrong, he was spectacular for the Dodgers. The thing is, he played more games with the Mets, he had more hits, more HR, more RBI with the Mets. He hit #300, #400, and the Catcher HR record with the Mets. He went to the World Series with the Mets. And he was THE FACE of the Mets for 8 years. I say he goes in with the Orange and Blue on his cap...

#300, #400, and the catcher HR record are all just apart of being at 'the right place at the right time.' And having a richer padded stat total is only fitting when considering how many more games he did play with the Mets. Either way, I think it should be Mike's call as both cities have their reasons to claim Piazza as their own (the reasons you cited for New York, his higher consistence performance in LA as I pointed out). It's pretty borderline and depends on what you value, you as a Mets fan obviously would hold the records being hit as Met and the total production so I totally get that. However, if Piazza did win a WS with either team, I believe THAT would seal the hat he would wear in the hall (but obviously that isn't the case.)

[HollywoodLeo]

Regardless of what he should go in as I believe he will go in with a Mets cap.

But, then again, the Tommy LaSorda factor could sway his decision.

[missionhockey21]

Regardless of what he should go in as I believe he will go in with a Mets cap.

But, then again, the Tommy LaSorda factor could sway his decision.

I do think ultimately, knowing what baseball typically values, he will go in wearing a Mets cap. The overall production numbers will be what will clinch New York.