Piazza Lacks Punch but Is Still a Big Hit

Over the 112 games and 434 at-bats of his third major-league season, Mike Piazza batted .346, with 32 homers, 17 doubles and 92 runs batted in.

He ranked second to National League batting champion Tony Gwynn with an average equaling the highest in Los Angeles Dodger history, was fifth in homers, fifth in on-base percentage and third in slugging, his .606 percentage the highest in L.A. history.

If another measure of the 27-year-old catcher’s growth as a major league hitter is needed, it is found in what some might construe as a negative.

Piazza does not have an extra base hit through eight games of the 1996 season.

He simply has a .441 average and a league-leading 15 hits, all singles.

“Mike is taking what the pitchers give him,” Dodger batting coach Reggie Smith said Monday. “That approach is what separates him from most young power hitters. There’s no substitute for strength and a good head.”

The Dodgers picked up about 40 degrees as they returned from frigid Wrigley Field, but the offense remained under wraps as they opened their 35th season at Dodger Stadium against Tom Glavine and the Atlanta Braves.

It took a tenacious three-hitter by Hideo Nomo to produce a 1-0 victory in which Piazza had three of the Dodgers’ five singles.

“I guess I’m just a Punch-and-Judy hitter,” Piazza said with a smile. “I guarantee at the end of August I’ll be screaming for these singles. Hey, I’m not complaining.”

Maybe Glavine should. Piazza has a .500 career average against one of baseball’s premier left-handers, with eight hits in 16 at bats.

Taking what Glavine was giving him Monday, Piazza flared a single to right in the first inning, grounded a single to right in the third as the middle hit in the three that produced the game’s only run, and stroked a semi-liner to center for a single in the fifth.

Facing Brad Clontz in the eighth, Piazza ripped a vicious line drive that first baseman Fred McGriff gloved in self defense.

“That’s sort of the way it’s going right now,” Piazza said. “I hit one hard for an out and hit three not so hard and get hits.”

Manager Tom Lasorda smiled when asked if he was thinking of moving his singles-hitting catcher to leadoff.

“No catcher in major league history has hit 91 homers in his first three seasons, and two of those were abbreviated seasons [because of injuries and the strike],” Lasorda said. “How many would he have hit in full seasons?

“When Mike starts to drive the ball, they’re going to come in bunches. I believe he’s the best player in the league.

“I mean, he did a fantastic job working with Nomo today. His pitch selection was outstanding.”

Piazza said he took no credit for Nomo’s performance in a game the frostbitten Dodgers needed as they stumbled out of Chicago with a 2-5 record.

Nevertheless, he did combine with Brett Butler on a pivotal relay play, air-mailing a throw into center field on Marquis Grissom’s one-out steal of second in the third inning. Butler already had the ball when Grissom decided to try for third and was thrown out.

Said Piazza: “That was a big play. I’m not throwing very well right now, but Brett saved me.”

Piazza is doing what he has done for three years, doing what most young hitters take twice that long to learn: keeping his approach simple, using the whole field, taking what the pitchers give him.

“Part of it’s that,” he said, explaining the eight-game power vacuum, “but it’s also early and I’m still trying to get my timing. I don’t feel like my rhythm is there yet. They’re pitching me tough and I have to be patient.

“I mean, if I’m not swinging well for power, I’d be selfish and stupid to go out and swing for power. I still want to try and get on for Eric Karros and Mike Blowers.

“Of course, I don’t really consider myself a power hitter. I think of myself as a good hitter who can hit for power.”

Piazza established that last season, when his run production almost took a back seat to the bid for a batting title.

Batting coach Smith still shakes his head and calls it a remarkable accomplishment for a catcher who hits right-handed.

“Mike hits the ball so hard that he makes holes where there aren’t any,” Smith said.

“In the meantime, he’s building his average up.”

Punch-and-Judy? No way. They’re looking for the return of punch at any time.