Piazza retires with no regrets
Mike Piazza is retiring from baseball following a 16-season career in which he became one of the top-hitting catchers in history.
“I felt it was time to start a new chapter in my life,” he said. “It has been an amazing journey … So today, I walk away with no regrets.
Taken by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 62nd round of the 1988 amateur draft, Piazza became a 12-time All-Star, making the N.L. team 10 consecutive times starting in 1993.
Piazza finished with a .308 career average, 427 home runs and 1,335 RBIs for the Dodgers (1992-98), Florida (1998), Mets (1998-05), San Diego (2006) and Oakland (2007).
Piazza’s 396 homers are the most as a catcher. Carlton Fisk is second with 351, followed by Johnny Bench (327) and Yogi Berra (306).
Replay issue heats up
A lot of players and fans want baseball to take a closer look at instant replay after umpires botched a pair of home-run rulings on national TV.
Last November, general managers voted 25-5 to try replay on boundary calls – whether possible homers are fair or foul, if balls actually clear fences, whether there’s fan interference.
The recommendation went to commissioner Bud Selig, but had no binding effect or time frame. Nor did it include an idea on how to use it.
Arizona lefty to return
Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Doug Davis, who has been recovering from thyroid cancer surgery, will return to the rotation Friday at Atlanta.
Davis’ cancerous thyroid gland was removed April 10. He made two starts before undergoing surgery April 10. He is 1-1 with a 3.72 ERA.
Clearing the bases
John Smoltz declared he will give no more updates on his ailing right shoulder until he’s back on the mound for Atlanta. … Reigning N.L. Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy was placed on the 15-day disabled list by San Diego with a strained right elbow. … Pedro Martinez will rejoin the New York Mets for a bullpen session today as he looks forward to returning from an ailing hamstring. … Minnesota second baseman Matt Tolbert will have surgery Thursday to repair an injured ligament on his left thumb. … Herbert H. Hash, the oldest living former Boston Red Sox pitcher, died in Culpeper, Va. at 97.