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Mike Piazza, a Hero at Home Plate
In 1988, Mike Piazza was a 62nd-round draft choice — the 1,390th player to be selected that year. Twenty-eight years later, the former Met was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Along the road, he became a well-loved power-hitting catcher remembered as much for his leadership as for the records he set. Piazza hit 427 home runs in his career, including 220 in a Mets uniform. None was more powerful than the two-run homer he hit in the 8th inning on Sept. 21, 2001, during the first baseball game played in New York City following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Piazza’s durability and resilience gave Mets fans (and Americans) something to cheer about in a dark moment.