The Mets are honoring Hall of Fame C Mike Piazza by renaming the address of the Mets Spring Training facility in Port St. Lucie to 31 Piazza Dr. on Thursday.
"I am extremely excited that the Mets Spring Training home address and street name will be renamed in my honor," Piazza said in an official statement. "Port St. Lucie will always hold a special place in my career as the place where I prepared for some of my most memorable seasons, with teammates, staff and of course fans. Florida has been my home for the past thirty years so it's great tribute for my family and for future generations. I am truly touched and blessed."
While accepting the honor, Piazza was emotional as he explained how he would love for his father to see the ceremony, but he couldn't make it. He also learned that St. Lucie was from Sicily, which is where Piazza's family is from as well, so it was a full circle moment.
"We are thrilled to celebrate Mike and his contributions to the organization with this honor," said Mets COO Jeff Wilpon. "Mike is an integral part of our franchise's history and he will forever be enshrined in our home away from home in Port St. Lucie. We would like to thank the City of Port St. Lucie and St. Lucie County for their help in making this happen."
Piazza has been used to ceremonies following his Hall of Fame career. His No. 31 was retired by the Mets in 2016 -- the same year he was inducted in the Hall of Fame.
Playing eight seasons with the Mets following a trade with the Marlins, Piazza owned a .296/.373/.542 slash line with 220 homers and 655 RBI. Over his career, he was a 12-time All-Star while hitting .308 in 1,912 games. His 396 homers as a catcher still remains a big league record to this day.