September 14, 1993 – Mike Piazza set a Major League record for rookie catchers with his 29th and 30th home runs in a 5-3 victory at San Diego. Piazza, a 62nd round draft choice in 1988, was on his way to a spectacular Rookie of the Year campaign with Los Angeles. Piazza finished with a .318 batting average, 35 home runs and 112 RBI. Overlooked among Piazza’s franchise rookie records was his 35 home runs, which eclipsed the previous L.A. mark of 33 home runs by Steve Garvey in 1977 and Pedro Guerrero in 1985. Piazza played one season at Miami-Dade North Community College as a first baseman and designated hitter. At the suggestion of Tommy Lasorda, who was a longtime friend of the Piazza family and Mike’s father Vince, the younger Piazza learned to become a catcher at the team’s Campo Las Palmas Academy in the Dominican Republic.