Miami Marlins Always Allergic To Their All-Star Catchers

It’s Not Cheating If He Had An At Bat: Mike Piazza To The Mets

That’s right Generation Z- once upon a time, Mike Piazza played for the Miami Marlins.

Mike Piazza was essentially the entire return for that aforementioned package of 1997 Marlins, a legitimate superstar fresh off of five straight All-Star caliber seasons. Technically, Todd Zeile was part of the return as well, and even more technically still, Zeile was also a catcher. But considering the facts that he only caught two games since 1990 and is probably the most inconsequential player in MLB history to hit at least 253 HRs, let’s stick to the Hall of Famer.

Only three catchers in the history of baseball notched more All-Star nods than Piazza. Which is pretty impressive considering he wasn’t even drafted as one. He preferred first base in his college days, which he just happened to spend in sunny South Florida. Piazza started out at the same University of Miami that would go on to produce first round talent Charles Johnson, playing for a program that had just won the College World Series. But playing time was an issue, so Piazza transferred to Miami-Dade.

There he received more playing time, good enough to warrant getting drafted by a big league club. In the sixty-second round. 

So, if nothing else, it’s a long and distinguished list of baseball experts that decided they could do without the services of Michael Joseph Piazza.

To be fair, the Miami Marlins never had any intention of keeping Piazza. He’s unique from all the other All-Star catchers on this list in that regard. He never wore a Marlins uniform in an All-Star Game, and was never part of any short term vision of success the franchise had. Piazza was a year from free agency, and then Marlins GM Dave Dombrowski was shrewd enough to pounce on LA’s unwillingness to pay their star what he wanted. Prize in hand, the next step was finding the right boatload of cheap prospects.

Find it he did. The signature name coming back, with the most immediate benefit? That would be Preston Wilson. Never an All-Star with Miami, Wilson still became a near immediate fixture in the heart of the Marlins batting order, hitting at least 23 HRs in four straight seasons. Three of those years were 20/20 campaigns. Basically, Wilson was a poorer defensive version of what Lewis Brinson was projected to become.

None of the other names in that trade did anything noteworthy in a Miami Marlins uniform.

Unfortunately for Marlins fans, Wilson and the rest of the boatload was offered by the New York Mets. The result was eight years of having to face a Hall of Fame bound player in his prime. Piazza made seven All-Star games in that span. Seven.

And it is this trade of an elite catcher that could easily become the closest comparison for the Realmuto trade with Philadelphia. The parallels are already there. Realmuto was not drafted as a catcher either. He came up as a shortstop, before being convinced to give catching a whirl. Currently two years younger than Piazza was when Miami landed him, the best is clearly yet to come.

One silver lining though, before moving on to the next ex-Miami Marlins backstop. Two years ago, I made the case the Piazza trade actually won the Marlins the 2003 World Series. I stand by that statement. Additionally, Piazza excelled against the Braves, Nationals, and Phillies during his Mets career. He was merely good against Miami. Check the splits; it really is a comforting gap given the state of things.

Anyway, by the time Piazza was dealt, Marlins fans were long numb to the pain. Piazza or no Piazza, the Marlins were going to spend 1998 having the worst season by a defending champion ever. Time to fast forward to some more competitive days, and the next catcher to go.