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In his new book, “Long Shot,” Mike Piazza blamed Vin Scully for causing the fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers to boo him in his final weeks with the team until he was traded to the Florida Marlins in May 1998.
It is these boos, which later rained down upon Piazza when he played for the New York Mets, that have caused him to avoid Dodger Stadium since his retirement five years ago. Last season he even refused the Dodgers’ offer of ultimate respect when he declined to return for what would have been his own bobblehead night.
Piazza blames Scully for stirring the fans’ ire in a 1998 interview in which the legendary announcer challenges the slugger for giving the Dodgers an ultimatum on stalled contract talks. Piazza had criticized the Dodgers in an opening-day story in The Times, even implying that the contract impasse would affect his play. He is now accusing Scully of turning his words against him.
“The way the whole contract drama looked to them — many of whom were taking their view from Scully — was that, by setting a deadline and insisting on so much money, I was demonstrating a conspicuous lack of loyalty to the ballclub,” Piazza wrote of the fans, later adding, “Vin Scully was crushing me.”
When contacted by The Times’ Bill Shaikin about the charges, Scully was clearly wounded, saying, “I have no idea where he is coming from. I really have no idea. I can’t imagine saying something about a player and his contract. I just don’t do that.”
The folks at KTLA unearthed a video of that Scully interview from 1998 and, indeed, he crushed nobody. He simply asked Piazza about the ultimatum and gave him a chance to clear the air.
Fifteen years later, Piazza has misguidedly polluted it again. In an attempt to sell a book that he surely hopes will edge him closer to the Hall of Fame — he fell short this winter in his first year of eligibility amid rumors of steroid use — he has pushed himself further from his Dodgers home.
“I’m very disappointed in that, I’m sorry he would even do that,” Tom Lasorda said Thursday. ”I don’t know what he was thinking.”
Piazza would never exist today had it not been for Lasorda. The baseball catcher was taken in the 62nd round of the 1988 baseball draft, and today, there are no 62 rounds in the draft. He was given a private tryout by Lasorda, who was a family friend, at a locked Dodger Stadium.
There are few managers remaining with the longevity and power to make such arrangements.
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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."
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