God of Thunder

New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza has always been a powerful hitter,

be it at the plate or on the drums.

Interview by Jon Cooper / photos by Howard Outten // as seen in ChinMusic! #5

There is no cooler baseball player in all of New York than Mike Piazza. While the Mets may be second-banana, the 32-year-old slugger is first-class all the way. He’s the most handsome and most handsomely paid Met, having signed a seven-year, $91 million deal two years ago and, until December 2001, had been dating the Playboy Playmate of the Millennium, Darlene Bernaola. Now, he’s the most eligible bachelor in the city that never sleeps. Oh yeah, and he’s a sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Piazza grew up in Norristown, Pa., and when he was 12, received a private lesson in his backyard batting cage from the great Ted Williams. The godson of Tom Lasorda, Mike was chosen by the Los Angeles Dodgers – as a favor to his father – as the 61^st selection in the 62^nd-round of the 1988 June Free Agent Draft, the 1,390^th player chosen out of a total of 1,433.

He burned up the minor leagues and got his first taste of Major League experience with the Dodgers in 1992, as a September call-up. Earlier that season he’d set an Albuquerque (AAA) team record with a 25-game hitting streak.

Piazza showed he was ready for the Majors the next season, batting .318, with 35 homers and 112 RBI. He earned his first All-Star berth and was voted unanimous Rookie of the Year – the ninth such person ever to do so – and the 13^th Dodger to win Rookie of the Year honors.

Piazza has been an All-Star every year since (he did not play last season due to the lasting effects of a concussion following a beaning by Roger Clemens), and was named MVP of the 1996 All-Star Game in Philadelphia, when he went 2-for-3 with a home run.

In May of 1998, Piazza was traded to the Florida Marlins and a week later, was acquired by the Mets.

An eight-time Louisville Silver Slugger Award winner (given annually to the player in each league with the highest average at his position), Piazza ranks amongst the top offensive catchers ever to play the game and has been durable, playing almost 140 games a year.

He may be a gentle giant (6-3, 215) but don’t let the nice-guy image fool you. Piazza’s one tough hombre.

Piazza has owned proclaimed tough-guy Roger Clemens (7 hits in 12 at-bats, for a .583 average, including a double, three homers and nine RBI), frustrating the pitcher to the point that he felt the only way he could get him out was to bean him (Clemens claimed it was unintentional – Piazza felt otherwise.).

Clemens tried to mess with the Mets’ catcher again during last year’s World Series, firing Piazza’s broken bat at him as he innocently jogged down the first base line. When he realized he’d pushed Piazza too far, the Yankee tough-guy desperately sought cover behind the first-base umpire.

Piazza’s quiet personality belies his love of loud music and the enjoyment he gets from playing the drums. He’s played in some pretty impressive company, too, having jammed in the past with Anthrax and Motorhead.

CHINMUSIC caught up with Piazza before an afternoon game at Shea Stadium with the Cincinnati Reds. He flawlessly fielded inquiries about everything, from his day with Teddy Ballgame to his night with Lemmy.

ChinMusic!: How long have you played drums? Have you ever played in a band?

PIAZZA: I just started playing for fun. I guess I’ve been playing since high school. My family bought me a kit for my birthday or Christmas one year. I just started having fun playing along with songs. I got lessons from a couple of drummers, Greg Bissonette is a good friend of mine, John Tempesta, who plays with Rob Zombie is a really good friend of mine. So we just hang out every now and then and have fun with it. As far as a band, I’ve screwed around, not really drumming, just anything. I mean, I’m kind of lacking in fundamentals and rudiments and stuff, but I like to play along with songs. I’ve done some stuff just for fun.

CM: What are your five favorite CDs of all time?

PIAZZA: I don’t really have a specific favorite. I’ll listen to old Van Halen, old Sabbath, older music like Rainbow or UFO and then I’ll listen to some ‘80s rock, anything from Ratt to Slayer to Iron Maiden, AC/DC, obviously.

CM: What’s in your CD Player right now?

PIAZZA: I was just listening to the Police and Fight, Rob Halford’s band before the Resurrection album and Guns and Roses.

CM: Who was cooler to play with: Mark McGwire or Lemmy?

PIAZZA: Obviously baseball for me is what I love to do but is my selected job, so I have a lot more fun playing music.

CM: What was it like to play with Motorhead?

PIAZZA: It was pretty cool actually. I don’t remember much of the night, but it was a good time.

CM: Who’s your favorite drummer?

PIAZZA: I’m a big fan of Mikkey Dee, the drummer of Motorhead. He played with King Diamond and he’s really outstanding. He’s a kind of melodic metal type of drummer. He’s played with Motorhead for a while. He played with Don Dokken on a solo album, so he’s done a lot of really cool things.

CM: What do you think when you hear Ozzy Osbourne and Iggy Pop played at the ballpark?

PIAZZA: I think it’s a great thing. It’s nice, especially here at Shea they specifically ask us what music we want to hear them play. So it kind of expresses the individual musical taste of the player, which I think is great.

CM: You were a 62^nd-round pick. Ever think, "He who laughs last…?"

PIAZZA: I never looked at it that way. I never really played to prove anybody wrong. I played because I love the game. I have fun playing and I have fun competing. I look at things very philosophically, so I don’t…I just have fun. I’ve been very blessed. I mean I’ve worked very hard, but I just want to keep going and doing the best I can.

CM: Do you remember your private lesson from Ted Williams?

PIAZZA: Yeah, back when I was like, 16. He was in the area and it was great because my father was a good friend of a scout who knew Ted very well. So he stopped by my house to give me some pointers and obviously it proved to be very inspirational.

CM: Do you go to live music shows on the road? What’s your favorite live-music venue?

PIAZZA: I go anywhere really. We travel so much. I basically go anywhere to listen to music. It doesn’t matter. We saw AC/DC last month at the Orlando Arena. That was a good show and a lot of fun.

CM: Do you miss KROQ and good radio? Is there good radio in New York?

PIAZZA: I listen to Eddie Trunk on Saturday nights, "Saturday Night Rocks." He plays anything that you want to hear from any era, ‘70s, ‘80s, harder rock of that persuasion. It’s a good show.

Cooperstown Bound

Mike Piazza may be the most productive catcher ever. Here’s how he stacks up against other Hall of Fame catchers after eight full Major League seasons.