#TBT: Piazza celebrates milestone home run

On July 24, Mike Piazza will be inducted into the Hall of Fame along with Ken Griffey Jr.

As he traveled the road to Cooperstown, Piazza reached numerous milestones, and one of the biggest came 12 years ago today. On May 5, 2004, at Shea Stadium, Piazza hit his 352nd career home run as a catcher, passing Carlton Fisk for first on the all-time list.

The Mets were hosting the Giants, and Piazza was in a power slump. After hitting three homers in the first two games of the season, he had managed only one more, tying Fisk on April 27 at Dodger Stadium off former teammate Hideo Nomo. Six more homerless games had gone by since then, but on this night, Piazza wasted no time.

With two outs and nobody on base in the first inning, San Francisco right-hander Jerome Williams put a 3-1 offering over the outside corner. Piazza, always a tremendous opposite-field power hitter, went with the pitch and crushed it off the scoreboard in right-center. He rounded the bases as the theme from “The Natural” played, and Shea Stadium’s home run apple rose. After reaching the dugout, Piazza came back out for a curtain call.

“I’m obviously very proud,” Piazza said after the game. “I’m a little relieved, too. Now I can turn a page. A lot’s been …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com