Now that it's the day after Mike Piazza's Hall of Fame Induction I thought I would share a pic of Mike Piazza's true rookie card. Featured is a 1989 Salem Dodgers Piazza card from my collection. This is his first professional Baseball card.
As you surely know, Piazza was drafted by the Dodgers in 1988, and played his first season of professional ball with the short-season low Class-A Salem Dodgers in 1989. That year he slashed .268/.318/.444/.762 and hit just eight home runs. So, he was still far from being the power hitting catcher we all know today. In fact, would be a couple years before his power-stroke came shining through.
BTW, his only teammate with the Salem Dodgers to also make the "Bigs" was fellow catcher Hector Ortiz. He eventually caught a few games for the Royals and Rangers in the early 00's. Also, hiding somewhere in my collection is the complete team set, but I cannot recall where I put it. As soon as I find it I'll put up scans of the entire set. Although Piazza is the biggest name in the card set, it also includes former Major Leaguer Burt Hooton as a coach and former 1988 Dodgers first round pick Bill Bene.
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