Mike's Hitting Ability
"The priority for me was catching. Hitting for me is just kind of natural -- I just let it flow and not worry about it," -Mike
"This kid is one of the most awesome hitters I've ever seen." -Tom Lasorda
"This kid swings better than me at my age." -Ted Williams on Mike Piazza's swinging ability at age 15.
"...the best right-handed hitter in Baseball." -Mets, GM Steve Phillips.
"I've never seen anybody hit the ball like him, not even Mike Schmidt. Schmidt hit some good ones, but he didn't hit the line drive like this guy. He hits them twelve feet off the ground and they bounce off the wall." -Kevin Gross
"If Mike Piazza was hitting in the American League, all the records would fall." -Unknown
"He's one of the best young hitters I've ever seen." -Bobby Cox
"He has tremendous strength...He's also got a quick bat." -Billy Ashley
"He's a great hitter. Every time he comes to the plate, he looks like he has to hit the ball. Every time." -Carlos Hernandez
"...It seems he can put the ball anywhere he wants." -Unknown
B. Valentine said that Piazza treats every at-bat "like it's the first or last at-bat of his career."
"It's scary watching him, how hard he hits the ball." -Eric Karros
"He's not just young and talented, he's a smart hitter." -Kevin Gross
"That combination of power, average and clutch hitting is something you'll see once in a generation. -Unknown
"The unique thing about Mike Piazza's swing is that he has tremendous strength in his hands and forearms. He is able to generate a tremendous amount of bat speed that he can deliver into the ball. His swing, from a mechanical standpoint, is as close to being classic as you can get." -Reggie Smith, Mike's former batting instructor for the Dodgers.
"Mike uses his legs very well at the plate, but he has tremendous upper-body strength that can deliver the bat into the ball with a great amount of force and speed." -Reggie Smith
"Mike has that kind of discipline at the plate where he hits his pitch." -Reggie Smith
"It's that kind of discipline that allows him to hit for a high average." - Unknown
Pitching to Mike
"He destroys all pitching strategies." -Mike Scioscia
"He turns your mistakes into misery," -John Smoltz
"When he is totally on, there is nobody in the world more intimidating than him. Nothing
gets by him. Nothing. Believe me. I've tried everything to get him out." -John Smoltz.
"Pitchers try to pitch around him, but there's not really any way to do that." -Billy Ashley
"Well, if you work Mike away, he's liable to hit it out. If you go inside, that safety zone is a matter on inches." -Unknown
"..But when Mike is going good, you just hate to pitch to him, because he can take you to all fields. If he's in a zone, he'll hit anything in the strike zone." -Todd Worrell
Mike's Home Runs
"I have never seen anyone like him for hitting home runs to the opposite field. I'd say he doe that 90 percent of the time. He has phenomenal strength. You don't see him hit many balls to left field, but when he does, it's usually one of those 450-foot shots." -Braves Manager, Bobby Cox.
"There aren't too many guys who can take an outside pitch at the belt buckle and smack it out of the stadium to right field." -Piazza's former Dodger teammate, Billy Ashley
"I don't really go up to the plate trying to hit Homeruns, I try to hit the ball hard and keep my approach to hitting simple." - Mike Piazza
"They want him to hit that home run. They like it to be anybody, but they especially like it when he does it. It's good for us. It gets the crowd going." -Robin Ventura on Mike Hitting HR's.
"When you're in the field and you see a ball hit like that, you almost become a fan." -Paul O'Neill said of Piazza's HR's.
Mike's Superior Work Ethic
"He, (Mike Piazza) gives 110 percent every second he is on the field." -Mets Manager Bobby Valentine
"Their is no question that Michael is truly an example of what someone can attain when they put their heart, their drive, their determination into something." -Tommy Lasorda
"I knew I'd have to be out there every day hitting as many balls as I could if I wanted to get to the majors. So that's what I did. I would hit everyday." -Mike Piazza
"Anything that this young man has gotten, he's earned." -Tom Lasorda
"He didn't make it because of me, Vince or anyone else." Mike's a product of his own hard work and determination." -Tom Lasorda
"...applies superior work ethic, intelligence to all faces of the game" -unknown
"Mike didn't have to do half the things he did to get here." -Tom Lasorda
"I like the way he's worked hard, no matter what else was going on." -Carlos Hernandez
"He has forearms like Popeye. That's all because of hard work" - Tommy Lasorda
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