The Los Angeles Dodgers said “congratulations” to former star Mike Piazza on being elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Wednesday, but there was one little problem: Piazza doesn’t want anything to do with his old team.
Prior to his election, Piazza made it clear he wanted to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player for the New York Mets — a team he played for after leaving the Dodgers. And he wants to be wearing the Mets uniform in his Cooperstown exhibit.
“If the Hall came to me and said, ‘We want you to go in as a Dodger,’ I’d say, ‘Well, then I’ll go in as nothing,”‘ Piazza wrote according to the Los Angeles Times. “I just wouldn’t feel comfortable with LA stamped on my head for all of eternity.”
Nevertheless, in a Dodgers.com posting Wednesday after the election, the team wrote: “Congratulations, Mike Piazza on your induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.” The posting also cited his accomplishments as a Dodger. “In seven years with the Dodgers from 1992-98, Piazza batted .331 with 177 home runs and 563 RBI in 726 games.”
There was no mention of his accomplishments at the Mets.
The Times recalled Piazza’s bitterness when he was traded in a dispute over salary and Piazza’s belief the Dodgers owners at the time tried to turn fans against him, characterizing him as too greedy.
Also elected to the Hall of Fame was Ken Griffy Jr. who had 630 home runs in his Major League career.
Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will be July 24 in Cooperstown, New York.
— Wire reports