Mets great Mike Piazza knows a thing or two about early season struggles and not immediately living up to fans’ expectations.
Despite starting his Mets tenure with a nine-game hitting streak (13 games total counting his brief stint with the Marlins), Piazza struggled hitting in the clutch with runners in scoring position and was booed at Shea Stadium during an August 1998 series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Sounds kind of familiar…
As expected, Yankees fans booed Juan Soto last weekend during his first Subway Series as a Met. The outfielder was expecting it and even tipped his hat to the fans. He’s gotten out to a slow start with his new team, hitting just .247 with nine homers as of Wednesday, but Piazza is confident he will turn it around.
“It was a character builder, for sure,” Piazza told the New York Post’s Joel Sherman. “It made me better.”
“I think what he’s going through is a rite of passage,” Piazza added.
When Piazza was booed, it served as a motivator for the slugging catcher. He hit a home run in Game 2 of the doubleheader against St. Louis to lead a comeback win and received a curtain call. He even said at the time, “You have to block everything out. I try to. And I think I do a pretty good job.” Piazza went on to have a number of clutch hits the rest of the season and throughout his Mets career, becoming one of the most loved players in team history.
“One of the best stories in sports is the comeback story,” Piazza told the Post.
He believes Soto can start writing that story this season.
Piazza noted that teammates John Franco, Al Leiter, and Brian McRae helped him block out the distractions and focus on just playing baseball. He believes that Francisco Lindor, who went through a rough stretch early on in New York, can help Soto flip his season. SNY MLB Insider Andy Martino recently wrote how veteran Starling Marte is also helping Soto acclimate to his new team.
Piazza went on to acknowledge the high expectations for Soto, saying “his spotlight is really bright now,” and thinks Soto can change the narrative if he simply plays “the game hard.”
“Obviously, the expectations are high for him, and coming from the Yankees makes it all the bigger story, I get it,” Piazza told the Post. “But this is just part of playing in New York. You have to get through it. You have to rely on your teammates to have your back. Body language is important. They are watching everything you are doing. Frustration is part of the game. I lived it. He didn’t forget how to hit the baseball. The game is tough and his spotlight is really bright now.
“My advice to him would be just relax, make it a team thing, not about you. I just followed the advice that Roy Campanella told me when I was a rookie — just play the game hard, let everything else take care of itself.”