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Michael Joseph Piazza (born September 4 , 1968 in Norristown , Pennsylvania , USA ) is a U.S. Major League Baseball player who currently plays for the San Diego Padres . He is generally recognized as the top-hitting Catcher of all time. He is a twelve time All-Star . On May 5 , 2004 , Piazza surpassed Carlton Fisk for most Home Run s by a catcher with the 352nd of his career. CHILDHOOD Mike grew up for the first few years of his life in a small house in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania . The house was barely big enough to have Mike's entire family inside. His family consisted of his two parents, Vince and Veronica Piazza, and his brothers Vince Jr., Danny, Tony and Tommy. In the backyard was where Mike's earliest Baseball memories took place. There was a large enclosed batting cage made of wood, with a net inside. Vince had bought it with some extra lumber. On one side of the cage was a pitching machine. Mike would load this with some old tattered baseballs, then he would go to the other side and hit them. This was Mike's second home; he spend every bit of his spare time here. Even in the winter, Mike would be in the cage, after shoveling snow out and heating the baseballs on the stove inside of his house, and wear gloves while hitting. Vince Piazza was childhood friends with Dodgers manager, Tommy Lasorda . Whenever the Dodgers were in town and playing the Phillies, Mike would be inside the clubhouse and the dugout, during the game. When Mike was nine years old, he joined his first little league team, the A's. Mike's coach, Abdul Ford-Bey taught him and his teammates the fundamentals of the game. The next year, Mike was on a team called the Cardinals where the coach made him play catcher. Mike did not like catching, ironically. He actually wanted to be a Pitcher . A few years later, when he was thirteen, Mike led his team to the semi-finals in the playoffs, and hit the game winning Home Run . Then Mike had some more luck go his way. One day when he was thirteen, while Mike was busy hitting in his batting cage, his father came in and gave him some good news. He told Mike that whenever the Dodgers were in town, Mike could be the batboy and meet the players. He spent several years at this position, and became friends with some of the players. HIGH SCHOOL Vince Piazza sold and bought land and cars until Mike was 13. He then bought a computer company and became very wealthy as a result of the investment. The Piazza family moved a few miles away, to a huge house on a large piece of land, with a golf couse to one side. A ground level basement held a brand new batting cage for Mike. Using this brand new pitching machine, Mike could practice hitting not only fastballs, but curveballs and even knuckleballs. Mike became interested in Heavy Metal Music , and played Electric Guitar and Drums from time to time. The high school Mike went to had a baseball team called the Phantoms. Their coach, John "Doc" Kennedy knew he would try out for the team, remembering him from Little League . He asked Mike if he would consider playing catcher, as the team needed one. Piazza told the coach that he would prefer playing first base for the time being. Unfortunately for Mike, the varsity team already had a first baseman, so he ended up spending his tenth grade year playing for the junior varsity team. When Mike was a junior he made the varsity team, he finished that year with twelve home runs, breaking a record, and led the whole team in every hitting category. He was voted most valuable player. As a Senior , Mike batted almost .600 for the Phantoms, but the season ended with a loss in the district semifinals. MAJOR LEAGUE CAREER Piazza was the last player the Dodgers drafted of the 1988 draft. He was their selection in the 62nd round, and the 1390th pick overall. It is believed that the pick was partly a favor on the part of Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who is godfather to one of Piazza's brothers and, like Piazza, grew up in Norristown. Piazza swore he'd learn to catch if he was drafted. Piazza's major league debut came with the Dodgers in 1992, when he appeared in 21 games. He then won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1993. Piazza's best season was arguably 1997, a year when he finished second in MVP voting. He hit .362, with 40 home runs and 124 runs batted in, an on base percentage of .431 and a slugging percentage of .638. He played for the Dodgers until he was traded to the Florida Marlins on May 14 , 1998 . Piazza and Todd Zeile went to the Marlins in return for Gary Sheffield , Charles Johnson , Bobby Bonilla , Manuel Barrios , and Jim Eisenreich . One week later, on May 22 , Piazza was traded from the Marlins to the New York Mets for Preston Wilson , Ed Yarnall , and Geoff Goetz . Piazza helped the Mets to two consecutive playoff appearances in 1999 and 2000, the second resulting in a National League Pennant and World Series appearance; with an unfortunate five-game loss to the crosstown New York Yankees . Of note all 5 World Series games were decided by 2 runs or less for the first time in almost 80 years. To ease the stress on his deteriorating knees, Piazza began to split his time between catching and playing first base during the 2004 season, an experiment which was abandoned before the end of the season. Although recognized as a great hitter, Piazza does not get enough credit for his handling of pitchers, having caught two no hitters thrown by Ramón Martínez and Hideo Nomo . In his 14-year career (through 2005), Piazza's career batting average is .311 with 397 Home Runs , 1,223 RBI , and 308 Doubles in 1,702 games. On October 2 , 2005, Piazza filed for Free Agency , effectively ending his career with the Mets. He signed with the San Diego Padres on ( January 29 ), 2006 and is their starting catcher and clean-up hitter. He represented Italy in the 2006 World Baseball Classic . TEAMS
SALARY During the 2005 season, Piazza was the 9th highest paid MLB player at $16,071,429. On January 29, 2006, Mike Piazza accepted a one-year deal with the San Diego Padres worth $2 million dollars. Career Salary 1993 - $126,000 1994 - $600,000 1995 - $900,000 1996 - $2,700,000 1997 - $7,000,000 1998 - $8,000,000 1999 - $7,171,428 2000 - $12,071,429 2001 - $13,571,429 2002 - $10,571,429 2003 - $15,571,429 2004 - $16,071,429 2005 - $16,071,429 PERSONAL LIFE On January 29 , 2005 , he married former '' Playboy '' Playmate Alicia Rickter at St. Jude's Catholic Church in Miami before 120 guests, including Al Leiter and Detroit Tigers ' catcher Ivan Rodriguez . TRIVIA
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