Mike Piazza has officially retired from baseball. Number 31 should now do the same at Shea Stadium and Citi Field. No time like the very near future. (Shoot, we’ll even print up new shirts to reflect a righteous reality.)

There were some fine players in Mets uniforms between 1998 and 2005, but did any Met embody his era quite like Mike Piazza stood for his? I shudder to think how those schedules would have unfolded without him.

We knew he could hit. He sure could catch, too. When I think of Mike Piazza, certainly the home runs come to mind, but I also remember the hustle, exemplified by the grab he made at the Cardinal dugout in the 2000 playoffs. I liked, too, the way he chugged down the line on ground balls, [...]