In the 1988 draft, 1,389 players were chosen before Mike Piazza, who was taken in the 62nd round purely as a favor to his father. This deep dive examines how an afterthought pick backed by immense family resources became a defining athletic and cultural figure and a 427-home-run Hall of Famer.

Connections opened the door, but only relentless work behind the plate kept him there.

• Received a backyard hitting lesson from Ted Williams at age 16 and served as a batboy thanks to family friend Tommy Lasorda.
• Switched to the grueling catcher position on Lasorda’s advice, then won a unanimous Rookie of the Year award in 1993.
• Traded twice within a single week in 1998, he still became the first player to hit 30 home runs in a season for three different teams.
• Feuded with Roger Clemens during the 2000 World Series and later had his defense vindicated by modern pitch-framing data.
• Hit an emotional home run in the first New York game after September 11, 2001, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2016 as the Mets retired his number 31.