Piazza Retires

As a Mets fan, I thought I'd weight in on Mike Piazza's retirement. Here's how I'll remember him:

• As the best player during the brief, early '00s Mets run. His face defines those few playoff runs more than any other.
• As a guy who hit the ball as hard as anyone I've seen. I'm convinced his .300+ lifetime average is due to his strength, more than anything else. His ground balls bounced quicker, and his line drives moved faster. Thus, more of them made it to the outfield grass. At his peak, that quiet, compact swing, capped off by his trademark gritting of teeth on impact, was awesome to watch.
• As a guy who had to hold a press conference to declare himself, "Not gay." Hilarious!
• As catcher with a terrible arm. But also as an underrated game-manager, and a solid fielder of pop-ups.
• As a Hall of Fame Met. Check out his sweet "I loved the Mets best" retirement statement.