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Mike Piazza, Hall of ‘Framer’
- Updated: July 23, 2016
9:20 AM ET
You probably know about Mike Piazza’s biggest home runs: the two for the Los Angeles Dodgers that knocked the San Francisco Giants out of the division title race on the final day in 1993; the three-run homer to cap a New York Mets rally from seven runs down against the Atlanta Braves in June 2000; and, of course, the home run for New York City, which beat the Braves on Sept. 21, 2001, the first game in New York after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
But what was the soon-to-be Hall of Fame catcher’s best moment behind the plate?
The answer to the question is “strike three called!” — a moment that illustrates Piazza’s excellence in another area, pitch framing.
Piazza’s pitch-framing masterpiece came in Game 2 of the 2000 NLDS between the Mets and Giants. The Giants had taken Game 1 at home and rallied from 4-1 down to tie Game 2 on Armando Benitez. The Mets took a one-run lead into the bottom of the 10th, but the Giants threatened. They had the tying run on first with two outs and the winning run at the plate in the form of Barry Bonds, who squared off against Mets reliever John Franco.
John Franco famously struck out Barry Bonds to end Game 2 of the 2000 NLDS, but the Mets reliever knew who deserved the credit. John G. Mabanglo/AFP/Getty Images
Franco fell behind 3-1, then threw a fastball a little bit off the outside corner at the knees. Piazza caught it cleanly, moved it up a little bit and got a strike call as Bonds’ head recoiled and the home crowd moaned.
On 3-2, Franco came inside and Bonds took a big cut, fouling it back. So Franco went with a changeup on his next effort, and the pitch was clearly inside. Bonds was ready to toss his bat and walk to first, only to be stunned when umpire Gary Cederstrom called it a game-ending third strike. Piazza had caught the pitch and brought it over, making it look, from the umpire’s view, as if it had nipped the inside corner.
Bonds mumbled something at Cederstrom as the Mets came out of the dugout and ran to Franco. But Franco knew who was most responsible for the strikeout. He gave Piazza a fist-bump before punching him with his left hand, square in the chest …
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