Mets to retire Mike Piazza’s No. 31 on July 30

The New York Mets announced Monday that longtime catcher Mike Piazza will have his No. 31 jersey retired by the franchise on July 30. The team will have his pre-game on-field retirement ceremony at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 30. The event will highlight an entire weekend devoted to Piazza at Citi Field: On Friday, the Mets will give away a replica Piazza jersey to all fans in attendance, and on Sunday, the first 15,000 fans will go home with a Piazza bobble-head. NY has also retired the numbers 14 and 37 in honor of their managers Gil Hodges as Casey Stengel, respectively – even though Stengel had a 175-404 record with the then-expansion Mets across four seasons (1962-1965).

Piazza is due to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 24.

“We are truly thrilled to honor Mike by retiring his number during a weekend-long celebration recognizing his incredible career”, Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said.

Following his induction into the Hall of Fame, Mike Piazza will have his number retired by the New York Mets at the end of July.

Piazza’s estrangement from the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he began his career and established himself as the game’s greatest offensive catcher, does not appear to be softening. He wasted little time making a tremendous impact, leading the Mets to a World Series appearance in 2000, where they lost to the New York Yankees.

Piazza was a 12 time All-star, and he won 10 Silver Sluggers awards.