MLB WORLD SERIES: METS v YANKEES

October 22, 2000

Mike Piazza

MIKE PIAZZA: Do I agree? I don't know. I think I was more just sort of confused and shocked as everybody through the whole thing. So I just -- I mean, after that, what could you do? I just concentrated on trying to finish the game.

MIKE PIAZZA: As I said, I don't think it's an attempt. I just was confused. No. 1, I was a little disoriented, because obviously, my bat shattered, and I had really no idea where the ball was. As a matter of fact, even when everybody came out, I talked to the umpire -- one of the umpires, I said, "Where the hell did the ball go?" I really had no clue. So when I started slowly jogging down the line, because, again, I really was just as -- I had no idea where the ball was. Then, again, when he threw the bat, I basically after that just walked out to see what his problem was. I started asking him. He really had no response. So I was taken aback. It was bizarre. It was bizarre.

MIKE PIAZZA: I asked him what his problem was, basically. I mean, I didn't know what the problem was. I didn't know -- I had no clue what -- again, I was trying to figure out if it was intentional or not. I was going to ask him. If it was, then obviously he really had no response. I was kind of -- by the time I kept asking him, obviously, there was intervention by everybody else.

MIKE PIAZZA: No, I didn't. I really didn't. (Laughter.) I don't know. (Laughter.)

MIKE PIAZZA: I think it's irrelevant. It's just so bizarre. I hate this to be an incident that we remember for a game that was such an interesting ball game, that was obviously on our part, our team to come back like that against two quality relievers. I mean that, to me, like I said, after it occurred, the umpire came out, he told me what he said. So what can you do? I mean, it was over as far as I was concerned. We went on with the game.

MIKE PIAZZA: No, I mean, like I said, I was just waiting for a response. I didn't know if he was going to say -- I had no idea. He didn't say anything. So what could I do? I just kept asking him, trying to get him to -- I really didn't understand. I was trying to get him to say it was an accident or whatever. He didn't say anything. So by the time, like I said, I didn't get a response, there were more people out there. So what are you going to do?

MIKE PIAZZA: No, that's the thing. I mean, my head went down. Obviously, the bat was completely sawed off. Believe it or not, I really had absolutely no clue where the ball was. I could count on my hand the number of times that has occurred. I mean, it happened before. I mean, I have very thin-handled bats, and they have a tendency to break in that fashion.

MIKE PIAZZA: I saw the barrel. But like I said, after I saw the bat break, I was trying to pick up the ball. I kind of took my eyes off him, and I was trying to find the ball. I didn't know if it was a ground ball to shortstop or a popup or what. That's the thing that really, for me, confused me and disoriented me more than anything. Then, like I said, when the bat came flying at me, I was just like -- then I went out. I said, "What is your problem?" I kept asking him, "What is your problem?" He didn't say anything. If he would have said something, maybe it would have been a little different. I don't know.

MIKE PIAZZA: Well, I think that's obvious. I mean, I've said before, my teammates have always supported me. If they thought it was intentional, they came out to make sure that I wasn't in a vulnerable situation being among their team. That's usually the protocol when it comes to something like that. But as I said, I really -- if I was kind of waiting for something more -- if he was, like I said, throwing the bat at me intentionally, you're going to keep an aggressive tone or manner or anything like that. So I just -- it was bizarre. I can't really describe it. I've never been -- the bat kind of came back at me that way. I was obviously a little bit angry. But as I said, I went out to talk to him about it. And it seemed like by the time I tried to get -- as I said -- I hate to sound like a broken record, but that's what happened.

MIKE PIAZZA: I'm sorry?

MIKE PIAZZA: Yeah, I guess that's what I said. That's why I walked out in his direction. I really thought, again, I was considering all possibilities at the time. Just more shocked and confused than anything. Like I said, it's not every day that happens. I didn't know what to think. It seemed like when I initially first looked at him, when it came in my direction, I was -- obviously, he was extremely pumped up, and I just went out to ask. That's exactly what happened. I mean, that's it. Everything after that is -- that's what happened step by step.

MIKE PIAZZA: You got me. I mean, it's just one of those things. I think maybe for us, obviously, it was a little too late in the game to come back, and obviously we gave them a few too many insurance runs. It could have been a different story. So it seemed like after that incident, everyone was just, you know, concentrating back on the game. I didn't detect any sort of exterior aggressiveness to try and get him. Obviously, he pitched a good ball game. He made some good pitches when he needed to. He did a good job.

MIKE PIAZZA: You know what? Doesn't really matter. Like I said, I don't know what their -- they thought that it was unintentional; that's the ruling. Doesn't matter what I think.

MIKE PIAZZA: It seemed to me, like I said, he didn't seem like he was any more -- I didn't think he had a problem. That's what I said. You know? I kept trying to talk to him; he wouldn't answer. He wouldn't say anything. I was expecting either, you know, something. So it just kind of, like I said, took me back. I didn't feel any aggressiveness after that. Obviously, it could have been different. But that's what happened, so I just went back, tried to get a hit.