How did you celebrate Mike Piazza Day? New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg claimed that Sunday was a day dedicated to Mike Piazza and named that day Mike Piazza Day. The forty-five-year-old has recently received the honor of being the 27th inductee into the New York Mets’ Hall of Fame.

A whopping 220 of his 427 homers spanned throughout his career where achieved as a Met. Though he has accomplished more through the sport than most could dream of, Mike Piazza spoke about his accomplishments as resulting from active participation in a process.

“The Hall of Fame, I truly feel I got a lot of support. It’s a process. I’m very proud of my career. Obviously I put my body of work up against anybody, I’ve said before. But, you know what? I truly feel that the process is a beautiful thing as well. It is what it is. I mean, looking back, Yogi [Berra] had three ballots. And Joe DiMaggio three ballots. When you retire, you get retrospective. You think of things in the bigger picture. And so if I’m so blessed and honored to get to that point someday, I will enjoy it and be proud and wear the honor that is so important. Up until that point, I can only do like an artist — here’s my work, my canvas — and it’s out of my hands. The process, it’s cool and amazing and very interesting and historic. I know throughout history there is always going to be debate. That’s the best thing about baseball. That’s the best thing about sports,” Mike Piazza said.

Mike Piazza ended his speech by discussing fate, where he said that he felt that his participation within the sport was part of his purpose and calling. “If you look at the big picture of life, you realize that sometimes there’s just a destiny in things. And I truly feel it was my plan to be here, in one way, shape or form. It may not have been the most beautiful journey at the time, but it was meant to be,” Mike said.

[Image Via Wikimedia Commons]