I thought it was interesting when he grabbed that pitcher by the throat. Might that have been an example of ‘roid rage?

From the PR announcing the book:

“Piazza’s … time with the Dodgers and Mets was marked by enormous popularity with fans and national controversies –- notably the 2000 World Series incident when Roger Clemens threw a shattered bat at Piazza, and the press conference he held to deny rumors that he was gay.

“Piazza will discuss those episodes in detail. …”

He is a great in the sense he’ll go into the HoF with an NYM hat, how he grew up in PA, lived in LA and NYC and how his dad supported him.

This is no different from John Amaechi’s Man in the Middle, say for the gay thing.

And let’s be honest, Piazza will be remembered for this career, which is what a lot of sports fans care about.

Great career, boring read.

OR

Talent doesn’t always transfer to the printed page.

And one more thought. Let’s be clear that unless Piazza (or anybody) has a secret literary talent, he WILL have a ghost writer.

Though I have a definate problem with anybody calling Mike Piazza “one of the greats of all time,”(for, as we know, he couldn’t throw a runner out at second to save his life…hitter, possibly) he definately had a prolific career that could land him in Cooperstown. Is this not known to the ‘writer?’

My watch doesnt set by gay sportswriters, and I appreciate the work you do at OutSports, but Im thinking that the informed part of writing should trump the gay part of writing, because they are not hired to be ‘gaywriters,’ are they…

“Save for the “I’m not gay” press conference, when has Piazza said or done anything remotely interesting?”

I don’t know, maybe being one of the greatest catchers in baseball history? MAYBE that’s pretty interesting. He’ll probably be in the Hall Of Fame someday, I mean I could see how some people MIGHT find that interesting and want to read about it.

I imagine there are countless reasons, most having to do with baseball and baseball fans and few having to do with a player’s sex life. Like anyone else, celebrity or citizen, Piazza has a right to write a book, as well as the right to privacy.

To baseball fans and fans of this particular player, an autobiography might seem very interesting, like other jock bios. And gay or not gay, a young gay athlete might benefit from reading about this athlete’s experience being called gay.

Let’s not bash people for living their lives, playing pro sports and wanting to write about it. That’s just not cool, to Mike Piazza or any other athlete. It also demeans the best intentions of this great and necessary site.