Former New York Mets third baseman Robin Ventura performed a spot-on Mike Piazza impression.
Most New York Mets fans remember former third baseman Robin Ventura for his walk-off grand slam against the Atlanta Braves during the 1999 National League Championship Series.
While the Mets continue to make headlines for all the wrong reasons, the Amazins posted an epic throwback post via Instagram on Thursday.
Ventura, a one-time New York Yankee and Met, was also known for being a grand-slam king, but who would have thought the California native was quite the entertainer.
The post shows rare footage of Ventura performing a spot-on impression of the great Mike Piazza’s mannerism in the batter’s box. Ventura performed the act during a rain delay at Yankee Stadium in a Subway Series game between the crosstown rivals.
The greatest hitting catcher of all-time had a notorious approach at the plate: calm, swayed his arms too often, and always took the first pitch. Ventura hit all the notes on Piazza’s mannerisms at the plate and the catcher’s motions while running the bases.
The impression took to the big stage at Yankee Stadium at some point during Ventura’s tenure with the Mets between 1999-2001.
Diehard New York baseball fans should appreciate this act considering how particular Piazza was at the plate. The Hall of Famer is one of the city’s greatest athletes of all-time and he gave Mets fans plenty of fantastic moments over the years.
Seeing Ventura poke fun at his teammate brings back memories of brighter days in Flushing. The Mets were fun, then.