About Mike Piazza
Michael Joseph Piazza is an American former professional baseball catcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1992 to 2007, and is a member of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. He intended to serve as the manager of the Italian national baseball team in 2020 and 2021 championships, though was unable to do so because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Piazza finally got his chance to manage team Italy at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Piazza played most notably for the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers, while also having brief stints with the Florida Marlins, San Diego Padres, and Oakland Athletics. A 12-time All-Star and 10-time Silver Slugger Award winner at catcher, he produced strong offensive numbers at his position; in his career, he recorded 427 home runs—a record 396 of which were hit as catcher—along with a.308 batting average and 1,335 runs batted in (RBI). When the Dodgers—managed by Vince's childhood friend Tommy Lasorda, the godfather of Mike Piazza's youngest brother, Tommy—visited Philadelphia, Piazza visited the Dodger clubhouse and served as a bat boy in the dugout. Initially a first baseman, Piazza converted to catcher in the minor leagues at Lasorda's suggestion to improve his chances of being promoted. Piazza played first base at Miami-Dade in 1988. He made his major league debut in 1992 and the following year was named the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year and was an All-Star for the first of 10 consecutive seasons.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.