Barry Bonds holds all-time home run records in Major League Baseball.

Sadaharu Oh, pictured here in 2006, holds the officially verified all-time world home-run record.

In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process. In modern baseball, the feat is typically achieved by hitting the ball over the outfield fence between the foul poles (or making contact with either foul pole) without first touching the ground,^[1] resulting in an automatic home run. There is also the "inside-the-park" home run, increasingly rare in modern baseball, where the batter reaches home safely while the baseball is in play on the field. When a home run is scored, the batter is also credited with a hit and a run scored, and an RBI for each runner that scores, including himself. Likewise, the pitcher is recorded as having given up a hit, a run for each runner that scores including the batter, and an earned run each for the batter and for all baserunners who did not initially reach base on error, except that the runs scored by any runners who reached base while facing an earlier pitcher are charged to that pitcher.

Home runs are among the most popular aspects of baseball and, as a result, prolific home run hitters are usually the most popular among fans and consequently the highest paid by teams — hence the old saying, variously attributed to slugger Ralph Kiner, or to a teammate talking about Kiner, "Home run hitters drive Cadillacs, and singles hitters drive Fords."^[2]

Types of home runs[link]

Out of the park[link]

The most common type of home run involves hitting the ball over the outfield fence, or above a line on the outfield fence specifically designed to indicate a home run, in flight, in fair territory, without it being caught or deflected back by an outfielder into the playing field. This is sometimes called a home run "out of the ballpark", although that term is frequently used to indicate a blow that completely clears any outfield seating, as a home run is usually automatically assumed to have left the field of play unless otherwise indicated. A batted ball that hits the ground (in fair territory) and bounces out of play is not a home run, but a ground rule double.

A batted ball is also considered a home run if the ball touches any of the following while in flight, regardless of whether the ball subsequently rebounds back onto the playing field:

• Foul pole or attached screen
• Glove, hat, or any equipment or apparel deliberately thrown by a fielder, in an attempt to stop or deflect a fair ball that, in the umpires' judgment, would have otherwise been a home run.^[3]
• Any fixed object where a particular ballpark's ground rules specifically state that a batted ball striking that object is a home run. This usually applies to objects such as ladders, scoreboard supports, etc. which are beyond the outfield fence in fair territory, but are located such that it is difficult for an umpire to quickly judge their position in relation to the field from several hundred feet away.

If the ball hits the foul pole, the ball is fair and a home run is awarded to the batter.

A famous example of the above happened on May 26, 1993, in a game between the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers, when Cleveland's Carlos Martínez hit a fly ball that Texas outfielder José Canseco lost sight of as he was crossing the warning track. The ball hit Canseco in the head and bounced over the wall for a home run.^[4]

A home run accomplished in any of the above manners is an automatic home run. The ball is considered dead, and the batter and any preceding runners cannot be put out at any time while running the bases. However, if one or more runners fail to touch a base or one runner passes another before reaching home plate, that runner or runners can be called out on appeal, though in the case of not touching a base a runner can go back and touch it if doing so won't cause them to be passed by another preceding runner and they have not yet touched the next base (or home plate in the case of missing third base). This stipulation is in Approved Ruling (2) of Rule 7.10(b).^[3]

Inside-the-park home run[link]

An inside-the-park home run occurs when a batter hits the ball into play and is able to circle the bases before the fielders can put him out. Unlike with an outside-the-park home run, the batter-runner and all preceding runners are liable to be put out by the defensive team at any time while running the bases. This can only happen if the ball does not leave the ballfield

In the early days of baseball, outfields were relatively much more spacious, reducing the likelihood of an over-the-fence home run, while increasing the likelihood of an inside-the-park home run, as a ball getting past an outfielder had more distance that it could roll before a fielder could track it down.

With outfields much less spacious and more uniformly designed than in the game's early days, inside-the-park home runs are now a rarity. They are usually the result of a ball being hit by a very fast runner, coupled with an outfielder either misjudging the flight of the ball (e.g., diving and missing) or the ball taking an unexpected bounce. Either way, this sends the ball into open space in the outfield and thereby allows the batter-runner to circle the bases before the defensive team can put him out. The speed of the runner is crucial as even triples are relatively rare in most modern ballparks.

If any defensive play on an inside-the-park home run is labeled an error by the official scorer, a home run is not scored; instead, it is scored as a single, double, etc., and the batter-runner and any applicable preceding runners are said to have taken all additional bases on error. All runs scored on such a play, however, still count.

An example of an unexpected bounce occurred during the 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at AT&T Park in San Francisco on July 10, 2007. Ichiro Suzuki of the American League team hit a fly ball off the right-center field wall, which caromed in the opposite direction from where National League right fielder Ken Griffey, Jr. was expecting it to go. By the time the ball was relayed, Ichiro had already crossed the plate standing up. This was the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star Game history, and led to Suzuki being named the game's most valuable player.

Specific situation home runs[link]

These types of home runs are characterized by the specific game situation in which they occur, and can theoretically occur on either an outside-the-park or inside-the-park home run.

Grand slam[link]

Home runs are often characterized by the number of runners on base at the time, if any. A home run hit with the bases empty is seldom called a "one-run homer", but rather a "solo" homer. With one or two runners on base, the home runs are usually called "two-run homers" or "three-run homers". The term "four-run homer" is seldom used. Instead, it is nearly always called a "grand slam".

A grand slam occurs when the bases are "loaded" (that is, there are base runners standing at first, second, and third base) and the batter hits a home run. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term originated in the card game of contract bridge. An inside-the-park grand slam is a grand slam without the ball leaving the field, and it is very rare, due to the relative rarity of loading the bases along with the significant rarity (nowadays) of inside-the-park home runs.

On July 25, 1956 Roberto Clemente became the only MLB player to have ever scored a walk-off inside-the-park grand slam in a 9–8 Pittsburgh Pirates win over the Chicago Cubs, at Forbes Field.

On April 23, 1999, Fernando Tatís made history by hitting two grand slams in a single inning, both against Chan Ho Park of the Los Angeles Dodgers. With this feat, Tatís also set a Major-League record with eight RBI in a single inning.

On July 29, 2003 against the Texas Rangers, Bill Mueller became the only player in major league history to hit two grand slams in a single game from opposite sides of the plate. In fact, he hit three home runs in that game, and his two grand slams were in consecutive at-bats.

On August 25, 2011 the New York Yankees became the first team to hit three grand slams in a single game vs the Oakland A's. The Yankees eventually went on to win the game 22-9, after trailing 1-7.

Walk-off home run[link]

A walk-off home run is a home run hit by the home team in the bottom of the ninth inning, any extra inning, or other scheduled final inning, which gives the home team the lead and thereby ends the game. The term is attributed to Hall of Fame relief pitcher Dennis Eckersley,^[5] so named because after the run is scored, the players can "walk off" the field.

Two World Series have ended via the "walk-off" home run. The first was the 1960 World Series when Bill Mazeroski of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit a 9th inning solo home run in the 7th game of the series off New York Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry to give the Pirates the World Championship. The second time was the 1993 World Series when Joe Carter of the Toronto Blue Jays hit a 9th inning 3-run home run off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Mitch Williams in Game 6 of the series, to help the Toronto Blue Jays capture their second World Series Championship in a row.

Such a home run can also be called a "sudden death" or "sudden victory" home run. That usage has lessened as "walk-off home run" has gained favor. Along with Mazeroski's 1960 shot, the most famous walk-off or sudden-death homer would probably be the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" hit by Bobby Thomson to win the 1951 National League pennant for the New York Giants.

A walk-off home run over the fence is an exception to baseball's one run rule. Normally if the home team is tied or behind in the ninth or extra innings the game ends as soon as the home team scores enough runs to achieve a lead. If the home team has two outs in the inning, the game will officially end either the moment the batter successfully reaches 1st base or the moment the runner touches home plate - whichever happens last. However, this is superseded by the "ground rule", which provides automatic doubles (when a ball-in-play hits the ground first then leaves the playing field) and homeruns (when a ball-in-play leaves the playing field without ever touching the ground). In the latter case, all base runners including the batter are allowed to cross the plate.

Lead-off home run[link]

A lead-off home run is a home run hit by the first batter of a team, the leadoff hitter of the first inning of the game. In MLB, Rickey Henderson holds the record with 81 leadoff home runs. Craig Biggio holds the National League record with 53. Although third all-time in the National League, Alfonso Soriano is second all-time in the Major Leagues, and first among active players.

Back-to-back[link]

When two consecutive batters each hit a home run, this is described as back-to-back home runs. It is still considered back-to-back even if both batters hit their home runs off different pitchers. A third batter hitting a home run is commonly referred to as back-to-back-to-back, the most recent occurrence was on May 26th, 2012, when Nelson Cruz, Yorvit Torrealba and Mitch Moreland of the Texas Rangers hit back-to-back-to-back home runs off Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Henderson Alvarez in the bottom of the sixth inning. On May 10, 2012, Ryan Flaherty, J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis of the Baltimore Orioles hit three in a row against Colby Lewis of the Texas Rangers in the bottom of the first inning. On April 15, 2006, in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Oakland Athletics were trailing the Texas Rangers 4-2 when Eric Chavez, Milton Bradley, and Frank Thomas hit back-to-back-to-back home runs off of Texas Rangers' pitcher Vicente Padilla on three consecutive pitches. Oakland went on to win the game 5-4.

Four home runs in a row by consecutive batters has only occurred seven times in the history of Major League Baseball. Following convention, this is called back-to-back-to-back-to-back. The most recent occurrence was on August 11, 2010, when the Arizona Diamondbacks hit four in a row against the Milwaukee Brewers in Miller Park as Adam LaRoche, Miguel Montero, Mark Reynolds and Stephen Drew homered off pitcher Dave Bush. Bush became the third pitcher to surrender back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs, following Paul Foytack on July 31, 1963 and Chase Wright on April 22, 2007.

On April 22, 2007 the Boston Red Sox were trailing the New York Yankees 3–0 when Manny Ramirez, J. D. Drew, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek hit back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs to put them up 4–3. They eventually went on to win the game 7–6 after a three-run home run by Mike Lowell in the bottom of the 7th inning. On September 18, 2006 trailing 9–5 to the San Diego Padres in the 9th inning, Jeff Kent, J. D. Drew, Russell Martin, and Marlon Anderson of the Los Angeles Dodgers hit back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs to tie the game. After giving up a run in the top of the 10th, the Dodgers won the game in the bottom of the 10th, on a walk-off two run home run by Nomar Garciaparra. J. D. Drew has been part of two different sets of back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs. In both occurrences, his homer was the second of the four.

On September 30, 1997, in the sixth inning of Game One of the American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians, Tim Raines, Derek Jeter and Paul O'Neill hit back-to-back-to-back home runs for the Yankees. Raines' home run tied the game. New York went on to win 8–6. This was the first occurrence of three home runs in a row ever in postseason play. The Boston Red Sox repeated the feat in Game Four of the 2007 American League Championship Series, also against the Indians.

Simple back-to-back home runs are a relatively frequent occurrence. If a pitcher gives up a homer, he might have his concentration broken and might alter his normal approach in an attempt to "make up for it" by striking out the next batter with some fastballs. Sometimes the next batter will be expecting that and will capitalize on it. A notable back-to-back home run of that type in World Series play involved "Babe Ruth's called shot" in 1932, which was accompanied by various Ruthian theatrics, yet the pitcher, Charlie Root, was allowed to stay in the game. He delivered just one more pitch, which Lou Gehrig drilled out of the park for a back-to-back shot, after which Root was removed from the game.

In Game 3 of the 1976 NLCS, George Foster and Johnny Bench hit back-to-back homers in the last of the ninth off Ron Reed to tie the game. The Series-winning run was scored later in the inning.

Another notable pair of back-to-back home runs occurred on September 14, 1990, when Ken Griffey, Sr. and Ken Griffey, Jr. hit back-to-back home runs, off Kirk McCaskill, the only father-and-son duo to do so in Major League history.

On May 2, 2002, Bret Boone and Mike Cameron of the Seattle Mariners hit back-to-back home runs off of starter Jon Rauch in the first inning of a game against the Chicago White Sox. The Mariners batted around in the inning, and Boone and Cameron came up to bat against reliever Jim Parque with two outs, again hitting back-to-back home runs and becoming the only pair of teammates to hit back-to-back home runs twice in the same inning.^[6]

Likewise, individuals hitting home runs in consecutive at-bats is not unusual, but three or more is rare. The record for consecutive home runs by a batter under any circumstances is 4. Of the sixteen players (through 2012) who have hit 4 in one game, six have hit them consecutively. Twenty-eight other batters have hit four consecutive across two games.

Bases on balls do not count as at-bats, and Ted Williams holds the record for consecutive home runs across the most games, 4 in four games played, during September 17–22, 1957, for the Red Sox.^[7] Williams hit a pinch-hit homer on the 17th; walked as a pinch-hitter on the 18th; there was no game on the 19th; hit another pinch-homer on the 20th; homered and then was lifted for a pinch-runner after at least one walk, on the 21st; and homered after at least one walk on the 22nd. All in all, he had 4 walks interspersed among his 4 homers.

In World Series play, Reggie Jackson hit a record three in one Series game, the final game (Game 6) in 1977. But those three were a part of a much more impressive feat. He walked on four pitches in the second inning of game 6. Then he hit his three home runs on the first pitch of his next three at bats. He had also hit one in his last at bat of the previous game, giving him four home runs on four consecutive swings. (His home run in game 5 was also hit on the first pitch, although this did not add to any significant streak.) The four in a row set the record for consecutive homers across two Series games.

In Game 3 of the World Series in 2011, Albert Pujols hit three home runs to tie the record with Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson. The St. Louis Cardinals went on to win the World Series in Game 7 at Busch Stadium.

Nomar Garciaparra holds the record for consecutive home runs in the shortest time in terms of innings: 3 homers in 2 innings, on July 23, 2002, for the Boston Red Sox.

Home run cycle[link]

An offshoot of hitting for the cycle, a "home run cycle" is where a player hits a solo, 2-run, 3-run, and grand slam home run all in one game. This is an extremely rare feat, as it requires the batter to not only hit four home runs in a game (which itself has only occurred 16 times in the Major Leagues^[8]), but also to hit those home runs with the specific number of runners already on base. Although it is a rare accomplishment, it is largely dependent on circumstances outside the player's control, such as his preceding teammates' ability to get on base, as well as the order in which he comes to bat in any particular inning.

Another variant of the home run cycle would be the "natural home run cycle", which would require a batter to hit a solo, 2-run, 3-run, and grand slam home run in that order.

Though multiple home run cycles have been recorded in collegiate baseball,^[9][10] the only home run cycle in a professional baseball game belongs to Tyrone Horne, who stroked four long balls for the minor league, Double-A Arkansas Travelers in a game against the San Antonio Missions on July 27, 1998.^[11]

On May 20, 1998, the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians performed a feat possibly never before duplicated in professional baseball. In the fifth inning of a game against the Pawtucket Red Sox, Indianapolis players hit for a "Homer Cycle". Pete Rose, Jr. opened the inning with a solo home run, Jason Williams connected for a 3–run shot, Glenn Murray slugged a grand slam, and Guillermo Garcia finished the scoring with a 2–run blast. The Indians won the game 11–4.^[12]

A major league player has come close to hitting for the home run cycle many times. On April 2, 1997, Tino Martinez, first baseman of the New York Yankees, was a grand slam away from accomplishing this feat in a 16–2 victory over his former team, the Seattle Mariners. He hit a 3-run home run in the 1st inning, a 2-run home run in the 3rd and a solo shot in the 5th; all off starting pitcher Scott Sanders. He would get four more plate appearances that night, three of which came with the bases loaded. He grounded out with the bases loaded in the 6th and singled with a man on in the 8th. In the 9th inning, he would come to bat twice with the bases loaded where he first walked and later struck out to end the inning.^[13] On April 26, 2005 Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees hit 3 home runs off Los Angeles Angels pitcher Bartolo Colón.^[14] Rodriguez hit a 3-run home run, 2-run home run, and a grand slam in the first, third, and fourth innings, respectively. He later, in the bottom of the eighth inning, just missed a solo home run, lining out to Jeff DaVanon in deep center field.^[15] On May 16, 2008 Jayson Werth of the Philadelphia Phillies hit 3 home runs off Toronto Blue Jays pitchers David Purcey and Jesse Litsch. Werth hit a 3-run home run, a grand slam, and a solo home run in the second, third, and fifth innings, respectively.^[16] On June 26, 2009, Andre Ethier of Los Angeles Dodgers also came close to hitting for the home run cycle when he hit a three-run home run off Jason Vargas in the second, a two-run home run off Roy Corcoran in the sixth, and a solo home run off Miguel Batista in the eighth inning in a Dodger home game against Seattle Mariners.^[17] On July 7, 2009, Chicago White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko came within a three-run home run of hitting the home run cycle. He hit a solo home run in the second inning off Cleveland Indians pitcher Jeremy Sowers, a grand slam in the sixth inning off reliever Chris Perez, and a two-run home run in the seventh inning off reliever Winston Abreu.^[18]

On August 1, 2009, Andrew McCutchen, center fielder of the Pittsburgh Pirates, hit a solo home run in the first inning, a two run home run in the fourth inning, and a three run home run in the sixth inning of a game against the Washington Nationals in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He had one final at bat in the game. Had he hit a grand slam in his final at bat, McCutchen would have been the only major league player in history to hit for the natural home run cycle  — a solo home run first, a two run home run second, a three run home run third and a grand slam fourth.

On September 17, 2010, Shin-Soo Choo, right fielder for the Cleveland Indians, hit three home runs in an away game against the Kansas City Royals. Choo hit a 2-run homer 420 ft to right in the top of the 4th inning. In Choo's next at bat, in the top of the 6th, he hit a towering grand slam to deep center. In the top of the 8th Choo hit a 405 ft solo homer over the right field wall. In the top of the 9th, the Indians had two men on at 1st and 2nd with Choo waiting on deck, when Asdrubal Cabrera grounded out to first to end the inning. With the Indians leading 11–4, the Royals went out 1–2–3 to end the game.^[19]

Graph depicting the yearly number of home runs per MLB game (blue line)

History of the home run[link]

In the early days of the game, when the ball was less lively and the ballparks generally had very large outfields, most home runs were of the inside-the-park variety. The first home run ever hit in the National League was by Ross Barnes of the Chicago White Stockings (now known as the Chicago Cubs), in 1876. The home "run" was literally descriptive. Home runs over the fence were rare, and only in ballparks where a fence was fairly close. Hitters were discouraged from trying to hit home runs, with the conventional wisdom being that if they tried to do so they would simply fly out. This was a serious concern in the 19th century, because in baseball's early days a ball caught after one bounce was still an out. The emphasis was on place-hitting and what is now called "manufacturing runs" or "small ball".

The home run's place in baseball changed dramatically when the live-ball era began after World War I. First, the materials and manufacturing processes improved significantly, making the ball somewhat more lively. Batters such as Babe Ruth and Rogers Hornsby took full advantage of rules changes that were instituted during the 1920s, particularly prohibition of the spitball, and the requirement that balls be replaced when worn or dirty. Along with the baseball being easier to see and capable of being hit farther, as the game's popularity boomed more outfield seating was built, shrinking the size of the outfield and increasing the chances of a long fly ball resulting in a home run. The teams with the sluggers, typified by the New York Yankees, became the championship teams, and other teams had to change their focus from the "inside game" to the "power game" in order to keep up.

Prior to 1931, a ball that bounced over an outfield fence during a major league game was considered a home run. The rule was changed to require the ball to clear the fence on the fly, and balls that reached the seats on a bounce became ground rule doubles in most parks. A carryover of the old rule is that if a player deflects a ball over the outfield fence without it touching the ground, it is a home run.

Polo Grounds left field foul line with guide rope, as seen from upper deck

Also, until approximately that time, the ball had to not only go over the fence in fair territory, but to land in the bleachers in fair territory or to still be visibly fair when disappearing behind a wall. The rule stipulated "fair when last seen" by the umpires. Photos from that era in ballparks, such as the Polo Grounds and Yankee Stadium, show ropes strung from the foul poles to the back of the bleachers, or a second "foul pole" at the back of the bleachers, in a straight line with the foul line, as a visual aid for the umpire. Ballparks still use a visual aid much like the ropes; a net or screen attached to the foul poles on the fair side has replaced ropes. As with American football, where a touchdown once required a literal "touch down" of the ball in the end zone but now only requires the "breaking of the [vertical] plane" of the goal line, in baseball the ball need only "break the plane" of the fence in fair territory (unless the ball is caught by a player who is in play, in which case the batter is called out).

Babe Ruth's 60th home run in 1927 was somewhat controversial, because it landed barely in fair territory in the stands down the right field line. Ruth lost a number of home runs in his career due to the when-last-seen rule. Bill Jenkinson, in The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs, estimates that Ruth lost at least 50 and as many as 78 in his career due to this rule.

Further, the rules once stipulated that an over-the-fence home run in a sudden-victory situation would only count for as many bases as was necessary to "force" the winning run home. For example, if a team trailed by two runs with the bases loaded, and the batter hit a fair ball over the fence, it only counted as a triple, because the runner immediately ahead of him had technically already scored the game-winning run. That rule was changed in the 1920s as home runs became increasingly frequent and popular. Babe Ruth's career total of 714 would have been one higher had that rule not been in effect in the early part of his career.

Major League Baseball keeps running totals of all-time home runs by team, including teams no longer active (prior to 1900) as well as by individual players. Gary Sheffield hit the 250,000th home run in MLB history with a grand slam on September 8, 2008.^[20] Sheffield had hit MLB's 249,999th home run against Gonzalez in his previous at-bat.

The all-time, verified professional baseball record for home runs for one player, excluding the U. S. Negro Leagues during the era of segregation, is held by Sadaharu Oh. Oh spent his entire career playing for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, later managing the Giants, the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks and the 2006 World Baseball Classic Japanese team. Oh holds the all-time home run world record, having hit 868 home runs in his career.

In Major League Baseball, the record is 762, held by Barry Bonds, who broke Hank Aaron's record on August 7, 2007, when he hit his 756th home run at AT&T Park off pitcher Mike Bacsik. Only seven other major league players have hit as many as 600: Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Willie Mays (660), Ken Griffey, Jr. (630), Sammy Sosa (609), as well as active players Jim Thome (604) and Alex Rodriguez (631). The single season record is 73, set by Barry Bonds in 2001.

Negro League slugger Josh Gibson's Baseball Hall of Fame plaque says he hit "almost 800" home runs in his career. The Guinness Book of World Records lists Gibson's lifetime home run total at 800. Gibson's true total is not known, in part due to inconsistent record keeping in the Negro Leagues. The 1993 edition of the MacMillan Baseball Encyclopedia attempted to compile a set of Negro League records, and subsequent work has expanded on that effort. Those records demonstrate that Gibson and Ruth were of comparable power. The 1993 book had Gibson hitting 146 home runs in the 501 "official" Negro League games they were able to account for in his 17-year career, about 1 homer every 3.4 games. Babe Ruth, in 22 seasons (several of them in the dead-ball era), hit 714 in 2503 games, or 1 homer every 3.5 games. The large gap in the numbers for Gibson reflect the fact that Negro League clubs played relatively far fewer league games and many more "barnstorming" or exhibition games during the course of a season, than did the major league clubs of that era.

Other legendary home run hitters include Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle (who on September 10, 1960, mythically hit "the longest home run ever" at an estimated distance of 643 feet (196 m), although this was measured after the ball stopped rolling^[21]), Reggie Jackson, Harmon Killebrew, Ernie Banks, Mike Schmidt, Dave Kingman, Sammy Sosa (who hit 60 or more home runs in a season 3 times), Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey, Jr. and Eddie Mathews. The longest verifiable home run distance is about 575 feet (175 m), by Babe Ruth, to straightaway center field at Tiger Stadium (then called Navin Field and prior to the double-deck), which landed nearly across the intersection of Trumbull and Cherry.

The location of where Hank Aaron's record 755th home run landed has been monumented in Milwaukee.^[22] The hallowed spot sits outside Miller Park, where the Milwaukee Brewers currently play. Similarly, the point where Aaron's 715th homer landed, upon breaking Ruth's career record in 1974, is marked in the Turner Field parking lot.

Home run slang[link]

Slang terms for home runs include: blast, bomb, circuit clout, "dialing 9 for long distance", dinger, ding-dong, dong, donger, four-bagger, four-base knock, goner, gonzo, gopher ball, homer, jack, long ball, moonshot, quadruple, round-tripper, shot, slam, swat, tape-measure shot, tater, wallop, and yahtzee. The act of hitting a home run can be called going deep or going yard or going home; additionally, with men on base, it can be called clearing the table. Home runs hit to the highest-level stands are upper-deckers. A comparatively long home run can be described as Ruthian, named after Babe Ruth's legendary drives. Babe Ruth himself was often referred to as "The Sultan of Swat", a nickname earned due to the number of home runs which he hit. The act of attempting to hit a home run, whether successful or not, can also be termed swinging for the fences or going downtown. A game with many home runs in it can be referred to as a slugfest or home run derby. A grand slam is often referred to as a grand salami. If more than one grand slam occurs, a game may be referred to as a salamifest. With the increase of Latin American players a home run is also being called the whole enchilada, or as Kenny Mayne described it, jonrón, the Spanish pronunciation of the word home run.

Instant replay[link]

Replays "to get the call right" have been used extremely sporadically in the past, but the use of instant replay to determine "boundary calls" – home runs and foul balls – was not officially allowed until 2008.

In a game on May 31, 1999, involving the St. Louis Cardinals and Florida Marlins, a hit by Cliff Floyd of the Marlins was initially ruled a double, then a home run, then was changed back to a double when umpire Frank Pulli decided to review video of the play. The Marlins protested that video replay was not allowed, but while the National League office agreed that replay was not to be used in future games, it declined the protest on the grounds it was a judgment call, and the play stood.^[23][24]

In November 2007, the general managers of Major League Baseball voted in favor of implementing instant replay reviews on boundary home run calls.^[25] The proposal limited the use of instant replay to determining whether a boundary/home run call is:

• A fair (home run) or foul ball
• A live ball (ball hit fence and rebounded onto the field), ground rule double (ball hit fence before leaving the field), or home run (ball hit some object beyond the fence while in flight)
• Spectator interference or home run (spectator touched ball after it broke the plane of the fence).

On August 28, 2008, instant replay review became available in MLB for reviewing calls in accordance with the above proposal. It was first utilized on September 3, 2008 in a game between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.^[26] Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees hit what appeared to be a home run, but the ball hit a catwalk behind the foul pole. It was at first called a home run, until Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon argued the call, and the umpires decided to review the play. After 2 minutes and 15 seconds, the umpires came back and ruled it a home run.

About two weeks later, on September 19, also at Tropicana Field, a boundary call was overturned for the first time. In this case, Carlos Peña of the Rays was given a ground rule double in a game against the Minnesota Twins after an umpire believed a fan reached into the field of play to catch a fly ball in right field. The umpires reviewed the play, determined the fan did not reach over the fence, and reversed the call, awarding Peña a home run.

Aside from the two aforementioned reviews at Tampa Bay, replay was used four more times in the 2008 MLB regular season: twice at Houston, once at Seattle, and once at San Francisco. The San Francisco incident is perhaps the most unusual. Bengie Molina, the Giants' catcher, hit what was first called a single. Molina then was replaced in the game by Emmanuel Burriss, a pinch-runner, before the umpires re-evaluated the call and ruled it a home run. In this instance though, Molina was not allowed to return to the game to complete the run, as he had already been replaced. Molina was credited with the home run, and two RBIs, but not for the run scored which went to Burriss instead.

On October 31, 2009, in the fourth inning of Game 3 of the World Series, Alex Rodriguez hit a long fly ball that appeared to hit a camera protruding over the wall and into the field of play in deep left field. The ball ricocheted off the camera and re-entered the field, initially ruled a double. However, after the umpires consulted with each other after watching the instant replay, the hit was ruled a home run, marking the first time an instant replay home run was hit in a playoff game.^[27]

See also[link]

Baseball portal

• List of Major League Baseball home run champions (by year)
• Major League Baseball single-season home run record
• Home Run Derby
• Babe Ruth Home Run Award

Career achievement list[link]

• List of lifetime home run leaders through history
• 500 home run club
• List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters
• List of Major League Baseball players with 20 doubles, 20 triples, and 20 home runs in the same season
• List of Major League Baseball players with 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs, and 20 stolen bases in the same season
• List of Major League Baseball hitters with four home runs in one game

• All-Time leaders in home runs for a pitcher
• List of Major League Baseball players with a home run in their first major league at bat
• List of Major League Baseball players with a home run in their final major league at bat

References[link]

Notes

External links[link]

• MLB's Home Run Leaders – batting statistics for over 16,000 players

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)

A ranch style single family home

Plans for a human home, by catalog

Many wetlands are home to birds such as these Northern Shoveler ducks.

A home is a place of residence or refuge.^[1] When it refers to a building, it is usually a place in which an individual or a family can live and store personal property. Most modern-day households contain sanitary facilities and a means of preparing food. Animals have their own homes as well, either living in the wild or shared with humans in a domesticated environment. "Home" is also used to refer to the geographical area (whether it be a suburb, town, city or country) in which a person grew up or feels they belong, or it can refer to the native habitat of a wild animal. Sometimes, as an alternative to the definition of "home" as a physical locale ("Home is where you hang your hat"), home may be perceived to have no physical location, instead, home may relate instead to a mental or emotional state of refuge or comfort. Popular sayings along these lines are "Home is where the heart is" or "You can never go home again".

There are cultures in which member lack a permanent home, such as nomadic peoples.

Terminology[link]

A houseboat on Lake Union in Seattle, Washington

Makeshift homes in Los Angeles

The word "home" can be used for various types of residential community institutions in which people can live, such as nursing, retirement homes for seniors, prisons for criminals, treatment facilities, etc., and foster homes. A home is generally a place that is close to the heart of the owner, and can become a prized possession.

In computer terminology, a 'home' may refer to a starting view that branches off into other tasks, e.g. a homepage or a desktop. In a full screen editor, home is often used to mean the top-leftmost character cell, or the leftmost cell on a line in a line editor. These are the initial ones used by left-to-right languages. A standard 101-key PC keyboard contains a Home key. Many home pages on the with introductory information, recent news or events, and links to subpages. "Home" may also refer to a home directory which contains the personal files of a given user of the computer system.

Psychological impact[link]

Since it can be said that humans are generally creatures of habit, the state of a person's home has been known to physiologically influence their behavior, emotions, and overall mental health.^{[citation needed]} The loss of a home (due to whatever reason, be it through accident or natural disaster, repossession, or in the case of children simply the decision to move on the part of the parents) can be a valid cause of relocation.

Some people may become homesick when they leave their home over an extended period of time. Sometimes homesickness can cause a person to feel actual symptoms of illness.

It has been argued that psychologically "The strongest sense of home commonly coincides geographically with a dwelling. Usually the sense of home attenuates as one moves away from that point, but it does not do so in a fixed or regular way."^[2] Furthermore, places like homes can trigger self-reflection, thoughts about who someone is or used to be or who they might become. These types of reflections also occur in places where there is a collective historical identity, such as Gettysburg or Ground Zero.^[3]

Gallery[link]

• 

  Two-story house with balconies, Texas (Harry Walker, photographer, 1900-1949)

See also[link]

References[link]

Look up home in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Home

Look up run in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Run(s) or RUN may refer to:

Geography and topography[link]

• Run (waterfalls), the horizontal distance a waterfall flows
• Stream or run, a flowing body of water
• Run (island), one of the Banda Islands
• Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant

Computers[link]

• Execution (computing), to begin operation of a computer program
  • Run command, a command used to execute a program in Microsoft Windows
• RUN (magazine), a computer magazine of the 1980s
• A sequence of something repeated, in computer coding

Sports and games[link]

• Run (American football), an offensive action in American football
• Run (baseball), the unit of scoring in baseball
• Run (cricket), the unit of scoring in cricket
• Run, the unit of scoring in softball
• A variety of events in track and field athletics
• Run (cards), a series of playing cards with consecutive values
• Piste or ski run, a marked trail down a mountain for winter sports
• Run, in sailing, to sail downwind

Film and television[link]

• Run (1991 film), a U.S. action thriller
• Run (1994 film), a Hong Kong film featuring Leon Lai
• Run (2002 film), a Tamil film directed by N. Linguswamy
• Run (2004 film), a Hindi remake of the Tamil film
• Run (2013 film), an upcoming film featuring William Moseley
• "Run!", an episode of the U.S. TV series Heroes
• "Run", an episode of the U.S. TV series Smallville
• "Run", an episode of the U.S. TV series Without a Trace

Novels[link]

• Run (novel), a novel by Ann Patchett
• The Run, a novel by Stuart Woods
• Run, a novel by Eric Walters
• Run, a novel in the Fearless series by Francine Pascal

Music[link]

Albums[link]

• Run (album), by B'z
• Run, by Nine Mile, or the title song

Songs[link]

• "Run" (Amy Macdonald song)
• "Run" (Cog song)
• "Run" (George Strait song)
• "Run" (Lighthouse Family song)
• "Run" (Red Flag song)
• "Run" (Snow Patrol song), also covered by Leona Lewis
• "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)", a song by Gnarls Barkley
• "Run", by Air from Talkie Walkie
• "Run", by Broadcast 2000
• "Run", by Cappadonna from The Pillage
• "Run", by Collective Soul from Dosage
• "Run", by Disturbed from Indestructible
• "Run", by Epik High from Epilogue
• "Run", by Ghostface Killah from The Pretty Toney Album
• "Run", by Grinspoon from Six to Midnight
• "Run", by The Knux from Eraser
• "Run", by Kutless from Kutless
• "Run", by New Order from Technique
• "Run", by Pink Floyd from The Dark Side of the Moon
• "Run", by Rex Goudie
• "Run", by Sandie Shaw
• "Run", by Shihad, under the name Pacifier, from Pacifier
• "Run", by Shinhwa from Volume 9
• "Run", by Supergrass from Life on Other Planets
• "Run", by Tony Jay (as Shere Khan) from the video game The Jungle Book Groove Party
• "Run", by Vampire Weekend from Contra

Other[link]

• Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, from the hip-hop group Run–D.M.C.
• Run (music), a musicology term for a short rapid series of notes

Other meanings[link]

• Running, moving swiftly on foot
• Bank run, a mass withdrawal by many people of money from a bank
• Radboud University Nijmegen
• RUN, the IATA code for Roland Garros Airport, in Saint-Denis, Réunion
• RUN, the ICAO code for ACT Airlines
• run, the ISO 639-2 and ISO 639-3 code for the Rundi (Kirundi) language
• the runs, a colon disorder formally known as diarrhea

See also[link]

• Run Run Run (disambiguation)
• Need for Speed: The Run
• Running (disambiguation)
• All pages beginning with "Run"

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Carnaby Street sign

Sir Misha Black OBE KBE (16 October 1910 – 11 October 1977) was an Azerbaijan-born British architect and designer. In 1933 he founded with associates in London the organisation which became the Artists’ International Association. From 1959 to 1975 he was a professor of industrial design at the Royal College of Art in London, England. During his tenure at the Royal College of Art, he became President of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid) from 1959-1961. He was also a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers, and winner of the Minerva Medal, the Society's highest award. He was knighted in 1972.^[1] Between 1974 and 1976 Black was President of the Design and Industries Association.^[2] He was responsible for designing Westminster's iconic street name signs. He also designed the famous black/brown/orange/yellow moquette originally used by London Transport and also the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive in the late 1970s onwards.

Earlier association with railway design was the external styling of British Railways Southern Region British Rail Class 71 electric locomotives of 1958 and Western Region British Rail Class 52 diesel locomotives of 1961. On 27 July 2003 at Salisbury station, preserved Class 52 D1015 normally named "Western Champion" was unveiled carrying temporary "Sir Misha Black" nameplates.^[3]

He played an active part in UNESCO. His brother was the philosopher Max Black.

Works[link]

• Exhibition Design (1950)

Books[link]

• The Black Papers on Design

Other[link]

• In 1943, with Milner Gray, Sir Misha Black founded Design Research Unit - a London based Architectural, Graphic Design and Interior Design Company.

External links[link]

• picture of his design for London Transport
• Selected Writings

References[link]

• Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed.

This article about a United Kingdom architect or firm of architects is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Mike Piazza
Piazza with the Mets at Shea Stadium, May 30, 1999
Catcher
Born: (1968-09-04) September 4, 1968 (age 43) Norristown, Pennsylvania
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 1, 1992 for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Last MLB appearance
September 30, 2007 for the Oakland Athletics
Career statistics
Batting average	.308
Home runs	427
Runs batted in	1,335
Teams
Los Angeles Dodgers (1992–1998) Florida Marlins (1998) New York Mets (1998–2005) San Diego Padres (2006) Oakland Athletics (2007)
Career highlights and awards
12× All-Star (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005) 10× Silver Slugger Award winner (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002) 1993 NL Rookie of the Year 1996 MLB All-Star Game MVP

Michael Joseph Piazza ( /piːˈɑːtsə/ or /piːˈɑːzə/);^[which?] born September 4, 1968) is an American former Major League Baseball catcher. He played in his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Diego Padres and the Oakland Athletics.

A 12-time All-Star, Piazza is often regarded as one of the best-hitting catchers of all time and holds the record for home runs hit by a catcher with 396, with a career total of 427. He had at least one RBI in 15 consecutive games for the New York Mets in 2000, the second-longest RBI streak ever (Ray Grimes of the Chicago Cubs had 17 consecutive games in 1922).

Childhood[link]

Piazza was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, the second-oldest son of Vince and Veronica, with brothers Vince Jr., Danny, Derek, Tony, and Tommy. Vince Piazza earned a fortune of more than $100 million in used cars and real estate, and attempted several times to purchase a Major League Baseball franchise.^[1] When the Dodgers—managed by Vince Piazza's childhood friend Tommy Lasorda, Tony Piazza's godfather—visited Philadelphia, Piazza visited the Dodger clubhouse and served as a batboy in the dugout.^[2]

Vince Piazza's own hopes of playing baseball had ended at the age of 16 when he left school to support his family. He saw that Mike Piazza had potential in the sport, and began encouraging his son to build his arm strength at the age of five.^[1] When he was 12, Piazza received personal instruction in his backyard batting cage from Ted Williams.^[3] The Hall of Famer praised his talent, advised him not to let anyone change his swing, and autographed Piazza's copy of Williams' The Science of Hitting.^[2] Vince Piazza threw hundreds of pitches nightly to his son,^[1] who shared his father's focus on baseball, clearing snow if necessary to practice his hitting and, after reaching the major leagues, practicing on Christmas Eve.^[2] He attended Phoenixville Area High School and graduated in 1986.

Major league career[link]

Los Angeles Dodgers[link]

After his father asked Lasorda to select Piazza as a favor,^[4] the Miami-Dade Community College student was drafted by the Dodgers in the 62nd round of the 1988 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft as the 1,390th player picked overall in the draft.^[5][2] Lasorda asked Piazza to give up his first base position and learn how to catch in order to improve his chances of reaching the major leagues, and helped him attend a special training camp for catchers in the Dominican Republic.^[2] Although critics saw him as unfairly privileged due to his relationship with Lasorda, Piazza became an excellent hitter, especially for a catcher.^[4] His major league debut came with the Dodgers on September 1, 1992 against the Chicago Cubs. He drew a walk in his first at-bat and then doubled to deep center field in his second at-bat, against Mike Harkey of the Cubs.^[6] He hit his first home run on September 12, 1992 against Buddy Black of the San Francisco Giants. ^[7] He only appeared in 21 games that season, hitting .232.

In 1993, he won the National League MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1993 after appearing in 149 games, hitting .318, slugging 35 home runs and driving in 112 RBI. He was also selected to the 1993 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, his first of 10 consecutive (and 12 total) All-Star appearances.

In 1996, Piazza hit .336 with 36 home runs and 105 RBIs, finishing second in MVP voting, behind Ken Caminiti.

Piazza's best season with the Dodgers was 1997, when he hit .362, with 40 home runs, 124 runs batted in, an on base percentage of .431 and a slugging percentage of .638. He finished second in voting MVP for the second consecutive season.

Florida Marlins[link]

He played six seasons for the Dodgers until he was traded to the Florida Marlins on May 15, 1998. Piazza and Todd Zeile went to the Marlins in return for Gary Sheffield, Charles Johnson, Bobby Bonilla, Manuel Barrios, and Jim Eisenreich.^[8] He only appeared in 5 games with the Marlins, where he hit .278.

New York Mets[link]

Piazza batting against the Milwaukee Brewers.

One week later, on May 22, Piazza was traded from the Marlins to the New York Mets for Preston Wilson, Ed Yarnall, and Geoff Goetz. Despite stellar numbers from Piazza, the Mets missed the 1998 postseason by one game. Piazza helped the Mets to two consecutive playoff appearances for the only time in Mets history in 1999 and 2000. The latter of the two resulted in a National League pennant and World Series appearance, where the Mets lost in five games to a Yankees team winning their fourth World Series in five years. Of note, all five games were decided by two runs or fewer, something that had not occurred in a World Series in almost 70 years. He became known as The Monster after coach John Stearns was caught on tape during the 2000 National League Championship Series after a Piazza hit saying "The Monster is out of the Cage." ^[8][9]

Piazza was involved in a bizarre incident in Game 2 of the 2000 World Series. In the first inning, Piazza was facing Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens and broke his bat fouling off a pitch. The barrel of his bat rolled toward the pitcher's mound. Clemens picked up the broken barrel and threw it at Piazza as he ran up the first base line. This sparked both benches to clear, but with no ejections. The reason this incident sparked this reaction was because earlier in the season, during interleague play when the Mets played the Yankees, Piazza was drilled in the head, to the horror of fans, by a Roger Clemens fastball. Piazza suffered a concussion and was forced to miss the 2000 MLB All-Star Game as a result. Clemens was widely criticized for the play.

On September 21, 2001, ten days after the terrorist attacks of September 11 the Mets faced their rivals the Atlanta Braves in the first professional sporting event hosted in New York City since the tragedy. After an emotional pre-game ceremony, Piazza hit a two-run home run off Braves reliever Steve Karsay that put the Mets ahead 3–2, securing a victory.^[10]

Piazza would later catch for Roger Clemens when both were on the National League team in the 2004 All-Star Game. Clemens gave up six runs in the first inning.^[11]

To ease the stress on his deteriorating knees, Piazza began to split his time between catching and playing first base during the 2004 season, an experiment which was abandoned before the end of the season because of Piazza's defensive deficiencies.^{[citation needed]} Although recognized as a great hitter, Piazza has had some notable defensive accomplishments. Among them, Piazza caught two no-hitters thrown by Ramón Martínez and Hideo Nomo while playing with the Dodgers. Nomo's was particularly impressive because it happened at Coors Field, notorious at the time for being a hitter-friendly ballpark. Additionally, Piazza's .997 Fielding Percentage was tops among National League catchers in 2000.^[12]

On May 5, 2004, Piazza surpassed Carlton Fisk for most home runs by a catcher with his 352nd as a catcher.

On October 2, 2005, Piazza played his final game in a Mets uniform, as it was well-reported that the All-Star catcher and the team would part ways following the season as Piazza's seven-year Mets contract expired. During the game against the Colorado Rockies, Mets manager Willie Randolph replaced Piazza after the eighth inning, at which point the Shea Stadium crowd of 47,718 serenaded him with a standing ovation, at which point Piazza humbly bowed to the stands and blew kisses to the adoring fans. The game was delayed for eight minutes while fans shouted and clapped rhythmically, with the ballpark's video screen displaying memories of Piazza's 972-game Mets career over nearly eight years in New York, as players from both the Mets and Rockies stood at the steps of their dugouts and clapped in appreciation of Piazza's legendary Mets tenure.

San Diego Padres[link]

Following the 2005 season, Piazza filed for free agency and he signed a one year contract with the San Diego Padres on January 29, 2006. Serving as the Padres' starting catcher and clean-up hitter, Piazza experienced somewhat of a rejuvenation in 2006, batting .283 with 22 homers and helping the Padres to a division title. On July 21, 2006, Mike Piazza collected his 2,000th career hit in the major leagues.

On August 8, 2006, Piazza played his first game at Shea Stadium since leaving the Mets. During the three-game series, Piazza drew frequent, repeated standing ovations which were indicative of the high level of regard held by New York's fans. It was on par with that of Tom Seaver on his return to pitch at Shea Stadium in 1977 and 1978. Even more telling was during that series, on August 9, he drew a rare curtain call in the opposing park following a home run off of Mets pitcher Pedro Martínez in the 4th inning. Not done for the day, Piazza went deep off Martinez again in the 6th. And with the Mets ahead 4-2 in the 8th, and two runners aboard, Piazza hit one to the wall in center, nearly bashing his third homer of the day and putting the Padres ahead. The fans, ecstatic that he'd hit two, did not get the chance to react to a third.

Oakland Athletics[link]

Piazza signed as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics on December 8, 2006.

On July 25, 2007, in the top of the ninth inning in a game between the Angels and Athletics at Angel Stadium, a fan threw a water bottle that hit Piazza, who had homered earlier in the game. Piazza then pointed his bat in the stands at the fan he believed threw the water bottle to get the attention of security. The fan, who was identified as Roland Flores from La Puente, California, was arrested by the ballpark security. Piazza pressed charges against Flores.^[13] Flores was sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years of probation on March 27, 2008.

Piazza represented Italy in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

Only nine other players have ever had over 400 home runs with over a .300 lifetime average while never striking out more than 100 times in a season (Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Lou Gehrig, Mel Ott, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Vladimir Guerrero, Albert Pujols and Chipper Jones).

Retirement[link]

After not being signed to any MLB team for the 2008 season, Piazza announced his retirement on May 20, 2008, saying, "After discussing my options with my wife, family and agent, I felt it is time to start a new chapter in my life. It has been an amazing journey."^[14]

Piazza made a return to Shea Stadium during the "Shea Goodbye" closing ceremony on September 28, 2008, where he received the final pitch in the history of the stadium from Hall of Famer Tom Seaver. Piazza and Seaver were also afforded the immense honor of officially "closing" Shea when they walked off together into the center field exit and closed the door on the park after waving goodbye to the capacity crowd. On April 13, 2009 Piazza received the first pitch in Citi Field history from Seaver before the Mets opening game against the San Diego Padres.

Mets teammate Tom Glavine called Piazza a "first-ballot Hall of Famer, certainly the best hitting catcher of our era and arguably the best hitting catcher of all time".^[4] On May 8, 2010 while receiving an award Piazza said to reporters that if he got into the Hall of Fame he would like to be inducted as a Met, for whom he played seven-plus seasons.^[15]

Piazza managed the USA team in the 2011 futures game wearing a Mets cap to the event.

Salary[link]

During the 2005 season, Piazza was the ninth highest paid MLB player at $16,071,429. On January 29, 2006, Mike Piazza accepted a one-year deal with the San Diego Padres worth up to $2 million. On December 8, 2006, Piazza signed a one-year, $8.5 million deal with the Oakland Athletics. He replaced Frank Thomas as the Athletics' designated hitter.

Personal life[link]

On January 29, 2005, Piazza married Playboy Playmate Alicia Rickter at St. Jude's Catholic Church in Miami, Florida, before 120 guests, including his best friend Eric Karros, Brande Roderick, Lisa Dergan, Anjelica Bridges, Al Leiter, John Franco and Iván Rodríguez.

On February 3, 2007, Piazza's wife gave birth to the couple's first child, a daughter. Nicoletta Veronica Piazza was born at 4:07 a.m. in New York City. She weighed 5 lbs., 8 oz. and measured 19 inches long. The couple's second daughter, Paulina Sophia Piazza was born August 3, 2009 at Mount Sinai Hospital in Miami, Florida.

He is known to be a fan of heavy metal music, and is featured on the CD Stronger Than Death by Black Label Society. He is also godfather to Zakk Wylde's son, Hendrix. He often co-hosts Eddie Trunk's Friday Night Rocks show on Q1043 FM in New York City and was featured as the primary guest on an episode of That Metal Show.

Piazza is a devout Roman Catholic and was featured in Champions of Faith, a DVD documentary exploring the intersection of Catholic religious faith and sports. He also appeared in the followup video Champions of Faith: Bases of Life.

Piazza is also avidly involved in the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in Chicago.

While playing with the Mets, Piazza was a resident of Cresskill, New Jersey.^[16]

Career highlights and milestones[link]

• In 1993, Piazza hit 35 home runs, the most by any rookie catcher since Matt Nokes hit 32 home runs for Detroit in 1987. Additionally, Piazza's 35 home runs is the most home runs by any Dodger rookie.
• He won the 1994 ESPY Award for Breakthrough Athlete
• He was named the All-Star Game's MVP, in 1996, after he went 2-3 with a double, home run and two RBI at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, near his home town of Phoenixville, PA.
• His 40 homers in 1997 and 1999 are the fourth most by a catcher. Todd Hundley is third, with 41 homers in 1996, Javy López is second, with 43 in 2003, and Johnny Bench set the record with 45 in 1970 (Although not all of these 45 home runs were hit while catching.)
• His .362 average in 1997 was the highest ever by a catcher in the National League, tying the Major League record set by Bill Dickey, who also batted .362 for the New York Yankees in 1936. This record was broken by Joe Mauer who hit .365 in 2009.
• He won the Ted Williams Award, presented by CNN/SI and Total Baseball in 1997.
• His 201 hits in 1997 were the most in major league history by a player used as a catcher in 130 or more games
• On September 21, 1997, Mike Piazza became just the third player and the only Dodger ever to hit a ball out of Dodger Stadium with a blast over the left-field pavilion.
• He hit the longest home run in Astrodome history, an estimated 480-foot, two-run blast off José Lima in the first inning of a game on September 14, 1998.
• Led the majors with four grand slams in 1998. His fourth slam and first as a Met came against the Diamondbacks' Andy Benes in the second inning of the August 22 game at Shea Stadium.
• Hit his 200th home run on September 16, 1998, at Houston. The home run, a three-run shot with two outs in the ninth inning against Billy Wagner, gave the Mets a 3-2 lead in a game they would win, 4-3, in 11 innings.
• Tied a Mets club record on July 18, 2000 when he hit his third grand slam of the season. The only other Mets with three grand slams in a year are John Milner in 1976, Robin Ventura in 1999 and Carlos Beltran in 2006.
• His 72 RBI prior to the All-Star Break in 2000 were, at the time, the most in club history. Dave Kingman had 69 in 1976.
• Piazza, Derek Jeter, and Bernie Williams are the only players in major league history to hit a World Series home run in both Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium.
• He won a record 10 consecutive Louisville Silver Slugger Awards.The award is given annually to the best offensive player at each position in each league.
• He joined Cincinnati's Johnny Bench (1968), New York Yankees' Thurman Munson (1970), Atlanta's Earl Williams (1971), Boston's Carlton Fisk (1972), San Diego's Benito Santiago (1987) and Cleveland's Sandy Alomar, Jr. (1990) as the only catchers to be named Rookie of the Year. Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany Soto would also be bestowed with this honor following his stellar 2008 season, along with San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey after the 2010 season.
• He finished second in the NL Most Valuable Player voting behind San Diego's Ken Caminiti after batting .336 with 36 home runs, 105 RBI, 87 runs and 16 doubles in 148 games in 1996. (Caminiti later admitted to taking steroids during his MVP Award-winning season.)
• He led the All-Star voting in 1996, 1997, and 2000.
• He hit more than 30 home runs in eight consecutive seasons (1995–2002). He has nine career 30-homer seasons.
• He hit .300 in nine consecutive seasons, dating from 1993 to 2001.
• Yogi Berra, Carlton Fisk, Gary Carter, and Johnny Bench were on hand at Shea Stadium to honor Piazza on "Mike Piazza Night" on June 18, 2004. Piazza was celebrated for breaking the record for career home runs by a catcher.
• He hit his 400th career home run on April 26, 2006, off the Arizona Diamondbacks' Jose Valverde.
• He hit a double off of the San Francisco Giants' Matt Cain for his 2,000th career hit on July 21, 2006.
• Hit three home runs against the Colorado Rockies on June 29, 1996.^[17]
• Mike currently serves as the hitting coach for the Italian baseball club in the World Baseball Classic and in the 2009 World Cup.^[18]

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Baseball portal

• List of Major League Baseball Home Run Records
• List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters
• List of MLB individual streaks
• List of major league players with 2,000 hits
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mike Piazza

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Mike Piazza at the Internet Movie Database
• Article from New York magazine, October 2000, about Piazza and the Mets
• HardRadio.com interview with Piazza about his passion for Heavy Metal music