There was no question this would be an electrifying night when it started with rock guitarist Zakk Wylde playing a hard-rocking, yet melodious version of the national anthem. While some of the 36,878 fans in the crowd booed the unorthodox interpretation of the song, one man wore the smile of a kid seeing his first candy bar.
If only the fans knew it was Mike Piazza who invited Wylde to come play at Shea, they might have understood more. Besides, for a team making a late charge for the NL wild card, there couldn’t be a more appropriate guy playing kicking off the game.
Piazza is an enormous heavy metal fan who plays drums and guitar, and he could barely contain himself listening to the wailing guitarist who played with Ozzy Osbourne and the Allman Brothers, to name a few. While many covered their ears, Piazza stood at the top of the dugout with his helmet over his heart and a huge smile on his face.
“A lot of people freaked,” he said. “But I thought it was a killer. It was unique and provocative.”
The unique catcher responded to the musical interlude with his 40th home run, a rocket off reliever Mike Williams in the eighjth inning. It was his 40th home run of the season and 124th RBI, each of which tied his career highs from 1997. According to Stats, Inc, all of Piazza’s his 40 dingers have come as a catcher, so he is now one home run away from tying Todd Hundley’s record of 41 home runs by a backstop.