Dropped Third Strike

Mike Piazza retires. Piazza’s career spanned 16 seasons, during which time he racked up a career OPS+ of 142, highest among career catchers. He played on 12 All-Star teams, hit 427 homeruns, and slowly went from sporting a neat, thin mustache, to a bold goatee, and finally a full (if scruffy) beard. In many ways, Piazza’s facial hair’s career mirrored that of the man himself. Beginning as small and unassuming, it hardly made an impact. (Piazza in 1992, his debut year, had an OPS+ of 72). It quickly grew mightier and thicker, and made people stand up and notice (1993-1998 OPS+ of: 152, 140, 172, 166, 185, 152), before reaching full thickness and maturity in New York, after making a brief stop off in Florida. (Piazza and his beard were apparently unaware that most people don’t head to Florida until AFTER their New York years). In New York Piazza and his beard had their ups and downs. At times, Mike didn’t seem to know what to do with himself, with the bat or the razor. At others, he and the beard were dominant. Then came the California years, first in San Diego, then in Oakland. Like most people moving to California, Mike grew his hair out and let himself go. (OPS+ of 122 and 96). His beard was not immune to the temptations of the West Coast either. It tried to stay strong in San Diego, but ultimately succumbed to temptation and was lost to unadulterated scruffiness in Oakland. 

So we bid a fond farewell to Mike Piazza. We’ll see you and the beard at your Hall of Fame acceptance speech.