Meh. I'm not exactly enjoying this book. It's not horrible, but it's just not good, either. Mech. Not just an indifferent "meh," but a gagging "mech." I used to love Mike Piazza: awesome catcher, good hitter, seemed like a nice enough guy. This book, though, is actually changing completely changed my opinion of him. To me, at least, he comes across as much more of an entitled brat than I ever thought he was, which is ironic, since that's the impression he's actually trying to shoot down. But I tMeh. I'm not exactly enjoying this book. It's not horrible, but it's just not good, either. Mech. Not just an indifferent "meh," but a gagging "mech." I used to love Mike Piazza: awesome catcher, good hitter, seemed like a nice enough guy. This book, though, is actually changing completely changed my opinion of him. To me, at least, he comes across as much more of an entitled brat than I ever thought he was, which is ironic, since that's the impression he's actually trying to shoot down. But I think he (and/or his co-writer) spends so much time trying to prove the point that HE BELONGS IN THE MAJORS that he just comes across as whiny (and bratty and ... entitledy?). Plus, he mentions a few times that he was raised as a good Catholic, with a solid foundation from his mother, so sex was not something he did when he was young, and he was a good virgin, blah blah blah. But he usually says this as he's about the describe another conquest or semi-conquest, and he likes to talk about the Playmate-type of women he dated or wanted to date ("date"). Me, personally, I don't need to know how many chicks you slept with, or how many wanted to sleep with you, or what they did to/for you. Maybe that's just me, but it's too much. I don't know if he/his co-writer is trying to overcompensate for the gay rumors that surrounded him toward the end of his career, but I GET IT. YOU'RE HOT, CHICKS DIG YOU, YOU DIG THE LADIES. GOT IT. And I'm sorry, but any person (male or female) who uses the phrase "boob job" loses respect-points in my book. You're a dude, I know you don't have to respect women, since they were all put here to serve you, especially when you're hot and you like the Playmate chicks. But geezus, anyone who uses that phrase sounds like an ass.
I would not recommend this book at all. There are only two things you need to know, which I'll tell you right now: One, Mike Piazza worked his butt off training for baseball. Getting into the majors was not a gift from Tommy Lasorda (But boy, having connections sure does help--especially when you were originally drafted only because Tommy Lasorda forced them to draft you. I understand that you worked hard to deserve to be drafted, but I'm sure there are other guys in this world who have also worked hard and deserved to be drafted, but didn't have friends in high places, and therefore are the damned best players on their insurance company's softball team.). Two, Mike Piazza can swear just as well as any other foul-mouthed man who's trying to show off. Whoop-dee-doo. Or should I say, Whoop-de-#($#@($*&(#@$*-doo.
At page 100, I actually just started skimming the book. It got a little bit better around the point where he was traded from the Dodgers to the Marlins (maybe because that's when he stopped having to say on every page that he WORKED HARD TO BE A BASEBALL PLAYER), but it still wasn't worth reading. Even the parts that you'd think would be really interesting or eye-opening (i.e. the parts about steroids and the parts about his alleged homosexuality) aren't! They're just so... There's no depth to them. They sound no more enlightened than an official line of "No, not me" that's given to reporters. I mean, he explains *a little* about each (more so with the steroid allegations. The gay rumors he seems to blow off with something to the effect of "Have you seen the Playmates I run around with?"), but not worth reading the book for. I want more! I don't need you to say "Yes! I'm a steroids-freak!" if you aren't really; I certainly don't need details about every chick you got with to prove to me you're not gay. But come on! Something that's more explanatory or in-detail or emotional (not break-down-crying emotional, but tell me how these things affected you) than what I could have read in a newspaper interview 20 years ago.
Around page 250, I actually gave up entirely. Don't read this book. Don't buy it, don't even check it out from the library. It's not worth it. (Sorry, Mike.)...more
