Mike Piazza

In part three of this 13-part series of the greatest Mets of all time, we move on to position players, beginning with catchers.

Although they have always been overshadowed by the Bronx Bombers, the Mets have possessed their fair share of baseball's greatest, especially in recent time. The Mets offense struggled during most of the 1960s until it all of a sudden became clutch in 1969 when they won their first World Series. The offense was better, but still inconsistent during the 1970s. When the Mets won, they were hitting, but during the latter years in which they were a losing team, the hitting was not the same. In the 1980s, the Mets were consistently hitting well, probably their best offensive decade.

Throughout their history, the Mets have always been reluctant in retiring numbers that its franchise's greatest players have worn. The current front office's perception of retiring numbers is most likely more exclusive than what fans would like to see. To date, only four numbers have been retired in Mets history. The first was #37 for the legendary Casey Stengel, the Mets' first manager. His teams were not good, but Casey and his sayings all stood out during those years and it was only appropriate for him to be recognized.

With the Major League Baseball Hot Stove season almost at its boiling point, many fans across Dodgertown can't help but recollect the most notable trades in the history of the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise.

Since officially moving to Los Angeles in 1958, many player trades occurred that were instrumental in winning nine National League pennants and five World Series championships. However, along with the deals that were beneficial came the deals that were dreadful, and people wonder what may have transpired if a number of these trades could have been undone.

Nine years ago, the entire world changed as 19 terrorists boarded four commercial jets and committed one of the works acts of violence in the world's history.

On tragic day, those terrorists flew two planes into the Twin Tower in New York City, another plane into the Pentagon and the final plane in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania that was believed to be targeted at hitting the Capitol Building in Washington DC.

September 11, 2001 started off as any other regular day. I was in eighth grade at the time, school had just started a few days before, and I basically didn't have a care in the world.

However, the events of that day struck fear into the nation, to the point where we still feel the effects today.

With the passing of Bobby Thompson this week, it brings up memories of his infamous "Shot Heard Round The World" with the New York Giants.  New York is a baseball-rich city that has had its share of memorable home runs in crucial situations that have left an indelible mark on the fans,

Here is a list of the top five most memorable home runs hit in New York baseball history.

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Everyone talks about the top 10 and first round picks, but what have been the best hidden gems in the Major League Baseball Draft’s last 45 years or so?

From Albert Pujols (13th Round) to Mike Piazza (62nd Round) to Andy Pettitte (22nd Round), many superstars have been discovered well after being part of hundreds—if not thousands—of other players.

So, who’s in my personal top 10 list of under-the-radar, hidden gems in the past 45 years of MLB Drafts?

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We are only a few weeks until it is the end of this decade, I was thinking and I decided that I would make the New York Baseball All-Decade Team.

This decade was great for the Yankees in winning two World Series but not great for the Mets in only making the playoffs a couple of times.

In fact, in the first World Series of the decade the two New York teams faced eachother in the Subway Series, The Yankees won the series in five games with Derek Jeter being named the MVP.

In this decade, both New York teams had players that will forever be a part of the franchises' history such as Piazza, Jet

I recently had the great pleasure of interviewing former MLB catcher Rob Bowen, a 28- year-old former member of the Athletics, Padres, Cubs and Twins. 

Bowen was a switch hitter and threw right-handed. During his MLB career, he was known for his great fielding abilities. We spoke about his career, baseball free agency, his new company, a possible comeback, and a lot more.

Steven Merriam: Who had the biggest impact in your baseball career?