Rookie jerseys of players who would eventually make it to Cooperstown are prized items indeed. After being selected by the LA Dodgers as the overall 1,390th pick in the 62nd round in the 1988 MLB amateur draft, Mike Piazza had a rookie season that would launch his hall-of-fame career. This jersey was worn by Piazza during the 1993 season when he would be named the National League Rookie of the Year. Piazza’s first full season saw the future Hall-of-Famer hit 35 home runs, drive in 112 runs while compiling a solid .318 batting average. Piazza's 35 home runs in his rookie season were the most ever by a rookie catcher at the time and he also became the first NL rookie in 40 years to drive in more than 100 runs.

      Starting in 1993, Piazza began a streak of being named to 10 straight all-star teams as well as a record 10 consecutive silver slugger awards. Other than Piazza, only nine other players in MLB history have ever had over 400 home runs with over a .300 lifetime average while never striking out more than 100 times in a season. The others include the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Mel Ott, Hank Aaron, Albert Pujols, and Chipper Jones. Piazza is arguably the greatest hitting catcher of all time and holds the record for most home runs ever hit by any catcher in league history. Piazza will also always be remembered for one the most patriotic events in baseball history when hit the winning home run in major league baseball’s first game back after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York.

      This home white Los Angeles Dodgers size 48 button-down jersey has “Dodgers” is sewn on across the chest in blue with a paraph and his “31” sewn on in red on the left center. The back of the jersey has “PIAZZA” and his “31” sewn on in blue on white tackle twill. 1993 was a tragic year for the Dodgers as each sleeve has commemorative patches honoring passed players. The left sleeve has a black circle patch with “52” in white in memory of Tim Crews, who died in a boating accident during spring training with the Cleveland Indians (Crews had spent the previous six seasons with the Dodgers). The right sleeve has a black circle patch with “39” and “53” in blue and white with “ROY” and “DON” in white honoring the passing of Hall of Famers Don Drysdale and Roy Campanella, both of which occurred halfway into the season. The red Rawlings size 48 tag is sewn on the center bottom tail with a “SET 1 1993” flap. The jersey shows light game use with a very noticeable thin, black line six inches in length from where the chest protector chain constantly rubbed the jersey. Additionally, fabric wear is evident on both shoulders from the chest protector. Both sleeves are accompanied by dirt stains, the left more than the right. Also of note, the jersey displays marks and black colored lines on the back tail and on the sides near both obliques. This jersey comes with a full LOA from noted game used jersey expert Dave Miedema.

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