Mike Piazza Pens New Book

Simon & Schuster.

Originally published February 13, 2013 at Fansided Radio:

Mike Piazza has penned a new book, Long Shot, which is now available in stores and electronic devices everywhere. Lonnie Wheeler is the co-author.

The release of Long Shot comes just over a month since it was announced that nobody would be elected by the writers into the Hall of Fame this summer. Piazza has been making the media rounds, appearing on MLB Tonight and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Tuesday evening.

Last night, while on MLB Tonight, Piazza talked about steroids. He did so in the book as well on pages 203-204. On page 203, Piazza does admit to buying andro at a GNC as it was part of Monster Paks. He describes a confrontation with Daily News beat writer Rafael Hermosa but outside of that, I’m not reading anything else where the former catcher admits to using.

Mike Piazza was drafted in the 62nd round of the Major League Baseball Draft in 1988. Outside of his immediate family, there’s not really many people that expected him to make it as a professional baseball player. His career is an example of hard work paying off in the long run. As a result, on September 1, 1992, Mike Pizza made his major league debut in a game against the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field. Piazza did not score during the game but he had a nice start to his career, going 3 for 3 with a walk.

With 396 home runs, Mike Piazza holds the record for a catcher. Yes, he hit 427 home runs in his career but he played a handful of games in 2004 at first base.

What is astonishing about Piazza is that he is just one of ten guys in major league history to have a career lifetime average over .300, more than 400 home runs, and have less than 100 strikeouts each season.

Long Shot is the story of a ballplayer that made it, when many people didn’t think he had a chance.