Some must-click linkage today from Dan Lewis over at Amazin’ Avenue. It’s about how Mike Piazza’s power clearly came late and out of a syringe.
Oh, wait. That’s not right. It’s about how that idea -- which is widely parroted among Piazza’s naysayers and reported in Jeff Pearlman’s book about Rogers Clemens -- is total bunk. Piazza always had power. The fact that he was, quite famously, a 62nd round draft pick instead of a big prospect is not because no one thought he had power, but because he was scouted as a right-handed first baseman who couldn’t field that position too well. As Lewis notes, however, Piazza’s power was noted by the man who scouted him and was manifest even when he was a low-level minor leaguer.
Yes, Piazza was a surprise of sorts. And it’s totally possible that, while we have no evidence of it now, it will one day be revealed that, yes, Piazza took PEDs. But the talking point that has worked strongly against his candidacy -- “that guy had no power and was a low draft pick, so he must have been ‘roiding” is totally bogus.
Great job putting this together, Dan.
Note: if you like Dan’s post, you should totally sign up for his daily newsletter, called “Now I Know.” It’s not about baseball. It’s about everything. Neat and amazing fact, feats and scientific and historical events. I read it every morning and it’s almost always stuff I never, ever would have believed beforehand.
