Player Appearance: Mike Piazza

Former Dodger Mike Piazza's new book, "Long Shot" hit bookstores and Amazon nationwide today, but New Yorkers got a chance to pick it up one day early. As a matter of fact, Mr. Piazza was on hand at the Barnes & Noble in Manhattan Monday signing copies of his memoir. Hundreds of fans lined up in crappy NY weather to meet the catching great. One of those in line was my younger sister Karen, who was nice enough to pick up a signed copy for me.  

When she arrived at B&N, her and another lady were told no more books were available. Luckily that women raised hell and they let her and my sister buy a book, making them the very last two in line. Like most book signings, no outside items were allowed and there was no personalizing or pictures with Mike.

The line outside of Barnes& Noble

I wanted to say thanks Karen for picking this up for me. I really appreciate it. Even though I didn't get to meet one of my favorite Dodgers of all-time, I'm still happy to add this to the autograph collection. 

Making Trades On Facebook

I've made a few trades on Facebook over the last month. Two of those trades were with FB friend Ryan. He offered up a boatload of Dodger cards that interested me, so we got a couple of deals done. Here's everything I picked up in the two trades:

2012 Topps Golden Moments Andre Ethier auto

2008 UD SPx Andre Ethier jersey /99

2012 Topps Golden Moments Chad Billingsley auto

2001 Upper Deck SP Gary Sheffield jersey

2010 Bowman Platinum Josh Lindblom auto

2011 GQ Matt Kemp jersey

2010 UD Matt Kemp jersey

2002 Donruss Mike Piazza jersey /50

2011 Bowman Sterling Nathan Eovaldi auto

2011 Bowman Sterling Zach Lee auto

2005 Upper Deck  Pedro Guerrero auto

Facebook has become a great place to meet great traders from all across the country. Not only have I picked up cards, but autographs and bobbleheads as well. Thanks again for the trade Ryan! I hope we can do this again.

Bobblehead Of The Day: Mike Piazza Headliner

While technically not a bobblehead, this Mike Piazza figure is about the same size and is built similarly to one. Produced by Corinthians, Headliners XL's figures featured some of the biggest stars in baseball. This Mike Piazza was produced in 1998, along with eleven other players. There is one other Dodger on that list, Hideo Nomo. Here is the complete 1998 Headliners Roster:


1. Barry Bond               7. Andres Galarraga
2. Ken Griffey Jr.          8. Derek Jeter
3. Chipper Jones          9. Dave Justice
4. Mark McGwire         10. Hideo Nomo
5. Mike Piazza             11. Cal Ripken Jr.
6. Alex Rodriguez        12. Frank Thomas


All the figures were limited to a run of 20,000 units and come with  a certificate of authenticity which is attached to the back of the box.


Here's Piazza:

Even though the head doesn't bobble, I still love this thing. From the mullet to the mustache, this looks so much like Mike Piazza. Another feature I like is the removable hat. 


Mike Piazza was my favorite Dodger in the 90's and like many other Dodger fans, I was very sad the day he was traded. I always hoped the Dodgers would giveaway a bobblehead of him. They haven't announced one yet, but I have a feeling he'll finally get one in 2012. For now, this is the closest thing I've got to a Mike Piazza bobble.