Remembering Mets History (1999) Mike Piazza's Big 1999 Mets Wild Card Season

1999 Mets Wild Card Season: Piazza began the season with another Opening Day double in the Mets 6-2 loss in Florida to the Marlins. The next day he hit his first HR of the year, driving in two runs in the Mets 12-3 win. 

On April 9th he had a big day in Montreal, with three hits a three run HR & five RBIs helping beat the Expos 10-3. But in the 9th inning of that game, he sprained his knee sliding into third base. He was sidelined with the injury through the April 25th.

On April 25th, in his return he had an RBI single in the Mets 8-4 loss to the Cubs. 

Walk Off HR: On April 28th, the Mets went into the 8th inning with a 2-1 lead over the Padres. But Armando Benitez, allowed two walks, along with RBI doubles to Tony Gwynn & Phil Nevin putting the Mets behind 3-2. In the bottom of the 9th John Olerud singled then Piazza hit a walk off two run HR San Diego, off relief ace Trevor Hoffman, giving New York the 4-3 win.

From May 3rd to May 9th, he had a seven-game hit streak, with a three-hit day in the May 9th loss in Arizona. Piazza drove in a run & had RBIs in four straight games on the road trip.

HRs In Four Straight Games: From May 17th to May 21st Piazza homered in four straight games, tying a Mets record done six times before in franchise history. The first three were in a three-game set with the Brewers at Shea where he drove in five runs. In the series he raised his season average over .300 & he never fell below that mark again all season. 

24 Game Hit Streak & Tying Mets Hitting Streak Record: On May 25th, Piazza started a 24-game hit streak, where he would collect 36 hits batting .353 with 10 doubles, 8 HRs 18 RBIs & a 1.060 OPS. He would have 11 multi-hit games during the streak. In the latter end of the Piazza 24 game hit streak the Mets won 12 of 14 games. The 24-game hit streak was a career high for Piazza & tied a Mets franchise record set by Hubie Brooks in 1984.

Since 1900 only six catchers have had hitting streaks of 24 or more games.

On May 25th he hit a HR & collected a double off the Pirates Kris Benson, having a three RBI night.  

Subway Series & Another HR off Clemens: Piazza collected hits in the first two games of the subway series in the Bronx, both which the Mets lost. 

In the June 6th Sunday Night Baseball Game, he hit a two run HR off Roger Clemens in the 3rd inning in the Mets 7-2 win. Piazza also doubled off Clemens to start the Mets four-run 2nd inning. In that game the Mets rocked Clemens for seven runs on eight hits in 2.2 innings of work. 

On June 7th, the Blue Jays came to Shea, Piazza hit his 11th HR of the year, coming off Roy Halladay, in an 8-2 win.

On June 11th at Shea, he hit his 12th HR of the season, driving in both the Mets runs in the 3-2 loss to the Red Sox. He also collected three walks in the game.

From June 18th through June 22nd, he homered in three of four games, to get to 15 HRs on the season, as he drove in five runs in those games.

On July 4th, the rival Braves were in town & jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the 1st, Piazza tied the game with a two-run single off John Smoltz. The Mets went on to an exciting 7-6 win, highlighted by Edgardo Alfonzo's 8th inning three run HR.

NL Player of the Week: From July 5th to July 11th Piazza hit .478 with 3 HRs 10 RBIs winning

him the Player of the Week Award. 

It was the seventh time he won that award & his first time winning it in a Mets uniform. From July 8th to July 10th, he homered in three straight games collecting eight RBIs.

On July 8th, Piazza hit his 17th HR off the year, coming against the Expos at Shea, it was the first of a three-game stretch where he homered. 

More Subway Series HRs: On Friday July 9th at Shea, in front of a sell out at Shea, Piazza once again homered off Roger Clemens. This time a 6th inning, three-run shot into deep left center field breaking a 3-3 tie. The Mets won the game behind Al Leiter 5-2. 

Piazza vs Clemens: In 1999 Piazza faced Roger Clemens twice, in 3-5 with two HRs, a double & five RBIs.

Multi- RBI Game: The next day, Piazza, hit a 7th inning three run HR off Ramiro Mendoza putting the Mets ahead 7-6. Earlier in the game he had a 1st inning RBI double. It was his first of three multi-four RBI games on the season. The Mets won it in walk off fashion when Matt Franco singled home Rickey Henderson with the winning run. 

In that regular season subway-series he had seven hits with two HRs & seven RBIs. 

1999 All Star Game: At the break, Piazza had 19 HRs with 57 RBIs batting .317. He made his second All Star start representing the Mets at the Mid-Summer Classic at Fenway Park. It was his seventh straight All-Star appearance in his career. In his two at bats, he struck out & then singled off David Cone in the AL's 4-1 win.

In the second half of the season, he would hit 21 HRs with 67 RBIs & bat .289.

On July 30th, Piazza hit a two run HR & a sac fly RBI off the Cubs & future Met, Steve Trachsel, in the Mets 10-9 win at Wrigley Field.

In August the Mets began the month with a road series sweep in Milwaukee where Piazza drove in runs in all three games. The Mets took over first place building a two-game lead. 

On August 2nd, he hit HR his 22nd HR off the season, coming off Hideo Nomo. Robin Ventura & Darryl Hamilton also went deep in the 7-2 win.

Four RBI Game: The next night, Piazza hit his 23rd HR of the year, a three-run shot off (future Met) David Weathers. Piazza also had a ground ball out that brought in a run, as he collected four runs in that game. It was his third game of the season, where he drove in four or more runs, as he totaled eight RBIs with four hits in the series. 

RBI's In Ten Straight Games: From August 13th to August 22nd, Piazza had an incredible stretch of driving in runs in ten straight games, setting a franchise record. In 1994 Bobby Bonilla had driven in runs in nine straight games. 

HRs in Four Straight Games: From August 13th to August 16th, Piazza hit HRs in four straight games, for the second time on the season, tying the club record now done seven times before. On a three-game trip in San Francisco, he homered off Russ Ortiz in the first game, which the Mets lost. 

Four Hit Game: On August 14th, in a 6-1 Mets win Piazza collected four hits, his first of three four hit games on the season. In the Mets five run 4th inning, he hit his 25th HR of the season, a two-run shot off Kirk Reuter. Mike also collected three singles on the night.

The next afternoon, he hit one of three Mets HRs, a two-run shot off Alan Embre in the 7th inning of the 12-5 Mets win 

On Monday night, the Mets went to San Diego, where Piazza hit led off the 2nd inning with a HR off the Padres Sterling Hitchcock, his fourth HR over the last four games. In the 8th inning with the Mets down by a run, he grounded into a double play but Edgardo Alfonzo came home to tie the game. He would homer in the top of the 10th leading to the Mets win.

HRs in Seven of Eight Games: In the next game, he didn't HR but still drove in a run. Then from August 18th to August 22nd, he homered in three more straight games. 

On August 18th in the final games of the San Diego series, Mike hit a solo HR off Stan Spencer, then added a two-run single in the 4th inning of the Mets 9-1. Robin Ventura also hit his 28th HR that night & reached the 100 RBI mark. Piazza continued his RBI streak at six games. 

On August 21st, with the Mets hosting the Cardinals, Pizza hit a three run HR off Kent Merker in the bottom of the 1st inning, his 29th HR of the season. After a rain out on Saturday, the Mets played a twin bill on Sunday. 

On August 22nd, in a doubleheader split with St. Louis, Piazza hit his 30th HR of the season. It was his fifth straight 30 plus HR season & sixth overall. His HR followed a John Olerud grand slam in the in the 8-7 exciting Mets win. Also in that game Cardinal slugger Mark McGwire hit two HRs as he reached 51 on the season.

In the night cap Piazza came to bat in the 9th inning delivering a two-run pinch hit single, but the Mets came up short 7-5. In that ten-game stretch he had 19 hits, with 7 HRs & 20 RBIs, getting his batting average to .325.

In the month of August, he hit 11 HRs & drove in 32 runs with eight multi-hit games. The Mets were in second place 3.5 games behind the plate but led the Reds in the Wild Card race by four games.

During the September pennant race, Piazza would have back-to-back HR games three times. 

Four Hit Game: On September 1st, Mike had his second four hit game of the season. He hit a pair of doubles in the 9-5 win at Houston.

On September 8th, Piazza hit a t6th inning, three-run HR off San Francisco's Miguel Del Toro in a 7-5 win over the Giants at Shea. 

The next day the Mets flew to Los Angeles & Piazza hit his 34th HR of the season, a two run HR in the 6th inning, off Kevin Brown. He & another former Dodger, Orel Hershiser led the Mets to the 3-1 win. 

Four Hit Game: On September 11th, Piazza had his third four hit game of the year, including a two run HR off the Dodgers' Ismael Valdez. It was his 35th HR of the year as reached 110 RBIs.

In the series finale, he drove in two more runs in the Mets 10-3 win, as they took three of four in L.A with Piazza collecting six hits, two HRs & six RBIs. On September 19th, he hit his
 36th HR in a win over Philadelphia, as the Mets led the wild card race by four games. 

But the as Mets went to Atlanta for a big series with the Braves they were swept & went on a seven-game losing streak. They fell eight games behind the first place Braves & 2.5 games behind the Reds in the wild card race.

Mets Single Season RBI Record: On September 23rd, Piazza hit a solo HR off the Braves Greg Maddox for his 38th HR of the season. With that HR he set a Mets single season RBI mark with 118 on the season.

Howard Johnson (1991) & Bernard Gilkey (1996) had both driven in 117 runs.

As the September came to an end the Mets were one game behind the Reds in the wild card race with three games left to play in a series at Shea with the Pirates. 

On October 1st, Piazza hit a 6th inning HR off the Pirates Jason Schmidt giving the Mets a 2-0 lead. The Pirates tied the game in the 8th but Robin Ventura won the game with a walk off single in the 11th inning. 

First Catcher to have Two 40 HR Seasons: On October 2nd, Piazza hit an 8th inning two run HR off the Pirates Mike Williams in a Rick Reed 7-0 shut out.

It was Piazza's 40th HR of the season, as he became the first catcher in MLB history to hit 40 or more HRs in a season twice. Roy Campanella (1953) & Todd Hundley (1996) were the only other catchers to hit 40 HRs in a season.

Mets Clinch a Wild Card Tie: On October 3rd, the last game of the scheduled regular season, Piazza came to bat with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th inning. Pirates' pitcher Brad Clontz came in to face Piazza & threw a wild pitch scoring Melvin Mora with the game's winning run. 

The Mets win forced a game #163, as they tied with the Reds for the wild card spot. The Mets lost a coin toss & the tie breaker game was played in Cincinnati.

Tie Breaker Game: In the one game playoff against the Cincinnati Reds to determine the wild card winner Pizza walked three times, once intentionally. Al Leiter shut out the Reds 5-0, as Edgardo Alfonzo led the offense with a two run HR & three RBI's. 

For the 1999 season, Mike Piazza in the opinion of Mets fans, was the NL MVP. 

Piazza led the Mets with 40 HRs (7th in the NL) which was the third highest mark ever for a catcher in a single season. 

He set a Mets all-time single season record with 124 RBIs (seventh most in the league). 

Piazza hit .303 with 162 hits 25 doubles 100 runs scored a .361 on base % a .936 OPS. He drew 51 walks with 11 intentional walks (8th in the NL). 

Mets Record 27 Double Plays Hit Into: The slow-footed Piazza, hit into a league leading 27 double plays for the season, also setting a Mets club record. 

Behind the plate he allowed a league leading 115 stolen bases throwing out just 24% of would-be base stealers. 

He also made 11 errors (2nd in the NL) but led all catchers with 953 put outs.  That season he finished Third in the MVP Award voting but won his seventh Silver Slugger Award at catcher.

Post Season 1999 NLDS: In the NLDS victory the Arizona Diamondbacks, Piazza would play in the first two games then get sidelined for last two games with an injury. 

In the Mets Game #1 win in Arizona, Piazza had a 1st inning single going 1-5. The offense was led by Edgardo Alfonzo's two HRs including a 9th inning grand slam.

In the Game #2 loss, he went 1-4 with an 8th inning single. Piazza had swelling in his injured thumb after getting a cortisone shot & would have to sit out the remainder or the series.

Overall, he batted .222 in the series as the Mets advanced to the NLCS.

1999 NLCS: In the NLCS loss to the Atlanta Braves Piazza returned to action & was hitless in the first two games.

In Game #3 at Shea Stadium, his 1st inning error on a double steal, allowed Gerald Williams to score the only run of the game in the Mets 1-0 loss. Al Leiter & Tom Glavine battled it out for seven innings before giving way to the bullpens. 

Piazza collected two of the Mets seven hits. The Mets were down 3-0 in the series. 

In Game #4 at Shea, the Mets won the game 3-2 with Piazza going 0-3.

In Game #5 at Shea Stadium, Piazza caught 13 innings behind the plate of the classic 14 inning Mets exciting victory.

In the top of the 12th with the score tied, Chipper Jones doubled to right field, Keith Lockhart rounded third trying to score. Melvin Mora threw home to Piazza, he blocked the plate held his ground, caught the ball & tagged out Lockhart who ran into a brick wall of Mike Piazza. Lockhart was out & the game went on.

In the bottom of the 14th, the Mets won the game on Robin Ventura's Walk off grand slam HR. 

In Game #6 the Mets entered the 7th inning down 7-3. Rickey Henderson & John Olerud drove in runs to get it 7-5. Piazza then hit a two run HR off John Smoltz, to tie up the game. He had earlier had an RBI sac fly as well. 

In the 10th inning the Mets took the lead on Todd Pratt's sac fly, but Armando Benitez blew it when pinch hitter Ozzie Guillen singled to score Andruw Jones to tie it again. The Mets eventually lost it in the 11th inning when Kenny Rodgers walked Andruw Jones with the bases loaded. 

Overall, In the '99 NLCS Piazza hit .167 with just four hits, with a HR & four RBIs, striking out six times. Overall, he was 6-33 in the 1999 post season.

Heavy Metal Trivia: Piazza is an avid fan of Heavy Metal music. His entrance song coming up to the plate was Iron Maiden's- The Prisoner from The Number of the Beat Album.  

Piazza is good friend & godfather to guitarist Zakk Wylde's son, Hendrix. Zakk a New Jersey native, was a long-time guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne & fronted his own band Black Lable Society.

On the radio, Piazza often cohosted Eddie Trunk's That Metal Show in New York. 

Mike Piazza also plays the drums.