‘93 Curtain Means Calls for Piazza

He put on his gear, warmed up pitcher Kevin Gross and was about ready to begin catching the ninth inning of Sunday’s game against the San Francisco Giants when Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda sent a message to Mike Piazza.

Come out of the game.

Piazza was surprised, not knowing why until he started to walk back and saw the sellout crowd at Dodger Stadium on its feet, applauding the many accomplishments the rookie catcher has provided this season.

“Then, I knew what Tommy was doing,” said Piazza, who received three curtain calls.

Piazza hit his 34th and 35th home runs Sunday, passing Steve Garvey and Pedro Guerrero who were tied at 33 as the top Los Angeles Dodger home run hitters. It is the most in franchise history since Duke Snider hit 40 in 1957, and tied Piazza for ninth highest in franchise history, dating to 1890.

His 35 home runs put him in second place on the list for home runs in a season by a National League rookie. Wally Berger (Boston, 1930) and Frank Robinson (Cincinnati, 1956) are tied for first with 38.

So for that record and all the others Piazza has set this season, which includes National League as well as major league, rookie as well as veteran player, Lasorda wanted Piazza to take a final bow.

“He earned that,” Lasorda said. “Nobody believed he could catch in the first place, nobody believed he could even play.”

All Piazza, 25, wanted to accomplish this season was to play well enough not to get sent down to triple A. Instead, he finished the season with a team-high batting average of .318, the ninth highest in L.A. history, and 112 runs batted in, the most since Garvey had 113 in 1978.

“At the end of the game, Jody Reed said to me, ‘You’ve got one more out to be a rookie,’ ” Piazza said. “And then he said, ‘But you will always be a rookie to me.’

“The whole year the guys helped a lot, keeping me focused and making me feel like I didn’t have to produce, and that helped me to concentrate on catching,” Piazza said. “I wasn’t swinging for the fences all season. And that’s the way it will be next year.”

Piazza drove in four runs in the Dodgers 12-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants. He says his season hasn’t sunk in yet.

“It’s been a little overwhelming at times, all the attention and all, but I’m happy that I established myself here,” Piazza said as someone approached him to autograph a photograph of him and Barry Bonds.

“That’s cool,” Piazza said of the photograph. “Can I have one of those?”