Piazza agrees to manage Italian national team
Mike Piazza is returning to baseball.
The Hall of Famer tweeted Wednesday that he's agreed to manage Team Italy at a European tournament in 2020 and at the 2021 World Baseball Classic.
This will serve as Piazza's first foray into managing. The 51-year-old retired following the 2007 season after a 16-year playing career split between the Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, and Oakland Athletics.
The 12-time All-Star posted a career batting line of .308/.377/.545 with 427 home runs, 344 doubles, and 1,335 RBIs. He remains MLB's all-time leader in home runs among catchers and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016.
Piazza played for Italy at the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006. Overall, the country has gone 5-10 in WBC games and has never advanced beyond the second round.
Following his retirement as a player, Piazza became the majority owner of AC Reggiana, an Italian soccer team, from 2016 until its cessation in 2018.