PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — New York Mets legend Mike Piazza was honored Thursday at a special ceremony at Clover Park, the spring training home of the Mets in St. Lucie County.
Team and county officials announced that the address of the ballpark is being changed to 31 Piazza Drive.
"I've had many great memories here of preparing for seasons, great seasons," said Piazza. "It's a beautiful city, very beautiful people, they were always so kind and generous."
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Piazza, a catcher who spent 16 seasons in the majors, including eight with the New York Mets, nailed 427 career home runs, 1,335 RBIs, and had a .308 career batting average.
The Pennsylvania native was a 12-time Major League Baseball All-Star. He was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 2013, and his #31 was retired by the organization in 2016.
Piazza choked back tears during Thursday's ceremony.
"Thank you very much, I'm very honored, and I look forward to seeing you guys in a few weeks when spring training starts," said Piazza.
The Mets recently announced that First Data Field, which is also the home of the minor league St. Lucie Mets, has been renamed Clover Park.
Clover Park will host 16 spring training games this year, starting on Feb. 22 when the Mets face the Miami Marlins at 1:10 p.m.
To see the Mets' spring training schedule and to buy tickets, click here.
New York Mets will honor Mike Piazza today by renaming street after him at the team’s spring home in Port St Lucie. pic.twitter.com/6ZywIvALpY
— Matt Sczesny WPTV (@WPTVMatt) January 16, 2020