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Long Shot  By  cover art

Long Shot

By: Mike Piazza, Lonnie Wheeler
Narrated by: Holter Graham, Mike Piazza
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Publisher's summary

Mike Piazza’s autobiography - the candid story of the greatest hitting catcher in the history of baseball, from his inauspicious draft selection to his Hall of Fame-worthy achievements, and the unusual controversies that marked his career.

Mike Piazza was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 62nd round of the 1988 baseball draft as a "courtesy pick". The Dodgers never expected him to play for them - or anyone else. Mike had other ideas. Overcoming his detractors, he became the National League Rookie of the Year in 1993, broke the record for season batting average by a catcher, holds the record for career home runs at his position, and was selected as an All Star 12 times.

Mike was groomed for baseball success by his ambitious, self-made father in Pennsylvania, a classic father-son American-dream story. With the Dodgers, Piazza established himself as baseball’s premier offensive catcher; but the team never seemed willing to recognize him as the franchise player he was. He joined the Mets and led them to the memorable 2000 World Series with their cross-town rivals, the Yankees. Mike tells the story behind his dramatic confrontation with Roger Clemens in that series. He addresses the steroid controversy that hovered around him and Major League Baseball during his time and provides valuable perspective on the subject. Mike also addresses the rumors of being gay and describes the thrill of his game-winning home run on September 21, 2001, the first baseball game played in New York after the 9/11 tragedy. Along the way, he tells terrific stories about teammates and rivals that baseball fans will devour.

Long Shot is told with insight, candor, humor, and charm. It’s surprising and inspiring, one of the great sports autobiographies.

©2013 Simon & Schuster (P)2013 Mike Piazza

What listeners say about Long Shot

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I only thought i knew the Mike Piazza story

Where does Long Shot rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Right up there! Its a great book

What was one of the most memorable moments of Long Shot?

Finally coming to the realization that i only thought i knew the story of one of my favorite catchers of all time

Which scene was your favorite?

I loved the story of Ted Williams showing up in the Piazza driveway to watch a young Mike hit

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

How to build a future Hall of Fame catcher

Any additional comments?

If you love Baseball, you owe it to yourself to use a credit to learn the real story of Mike Piazza. i really have a whole new respect for Mike now, and even before listening to this book he was my all time favorite catcher.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An Inspiration For Everyone

Any additional comments?

If you love baseball stories and overcoming adversity, this book is for you. He takes you from his early days hitting balls in his backyard right through the major league. Amazing how such a standout player can be overlooked by everyone in baseball, as he was drafted as a favor to his father in the 62nd round by the LA Dodgers. His hard work, perseverance, and belief in himself eventually carried the day. Mikes's language can be a little rough at times for very young readers, but it does fit the context of his story. I especially liked it because Mike is the narrator which makes it more personal. Aspiring young players will get a mental boost from listening to this program.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

In His Own Words

Mike has always been a thrill, and he delivers here with a good book. ‘Always been a fan and am glad to have found this. The man set many records and added some new ones clearing the fences more often than anyone, ever in personal pronouns. Despite that, i was moved by how much he was affected by tabloid stuff. From here - having followed his entire career - he never came off looking bad, and we heard all that noise. My impression is he’s a really solid guy, with a good honest story, who overdoes it defending himself in this book, because he thought he had to even though he didn’t, and it’s still a good book.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Long shot delivers

The story of how Piazza overcame many obstacles and controversies to become a Hall of Fame baseball player. It’s heartwarming and poignant in respect to the different aspects of his career. Well read and flirting story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Mike Piazza Fan

Uncovers a lot of stuff I never knew about him. Is he the player I thought he was? Absolutely not. Do I have more respect for him for not pretending he was from a background he wasn’t? Absolutely. I’ll love Mikey until I die.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

True Underdog

It’s difficult to see Mike as an underdog. However, his path to the majors was just that. It’s interesting to hear Mike be a fish out of water and discuss some of the happenings in the game. Definitely a listen for baseball fans.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Piazza!

What an amazing story of Mike’s life. Mets fan or Baseball fan, it doesn’t matter; this is a great book!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A great success story

A truly engrossing story. Mike Piazza's story as a long shot who never gave up and worked hard, never compromising, to become one of the greatest players in the game. it was interesting to see how the business side of baseball works and how the Dodgers just couldn't, or more precisely wouldn't see how important Piazza was to their organization. As a life long Dodgers fan, trading away Piazza was one of the worst moves the Dodgers have made, ever. I don't normally read sports books nor athlete biographies, but this was a true joy and a real page turner.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

Great book. I was a little worried at the beginning when piazza was reading the book himself, but that subsided by chapter two. Excellent insight into the mindset that it takes to compete at the games highest level when he(piazza) was the one who knew he could.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Never Has One Person Been So Misunderstood

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Listening was fine - the book is long. The story is not worth hearing. I'm a huge Met fan and have been my enitre life. Mike was one of my favorite players during his era. I actually have a bobblehead on my desk of him. However, he comes across as a total jerk throughout the book. He gets along with nobody and can never comprhend why? Really? How about some self awareness - if everyone thinks you are a jerk - then maybe you are a jerk. Really disappoining to hear the whinning and crying of a millionaire.

Would you ever listen to anything by Mike Piazza and Lonnie Wheeler again?

Lonnie yes, Mike no.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

After awhile Lonnie became Mike. He did a nice job

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Long Shot?

I wanted my son to hear the story (he is 10) but its laced with f-bombs. For what reason I have no idea. Maybe Mike wanted to sound tough.

Any additional comments?

Spoiler alert. Mike was a great player. Mike was a jerk that nobody liked. Mike complains about that fact the entire book. Mike wants more money because he is great. Mike denies rumors. Could have been a short story.

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