Mike Piazza, Winemaker

Next year, Mike Piazza‘s name goes on the Hall of Fame ballot. Whether he gets in or not is beyond his control — and judging by the lack of love for Jeff Bagwell, Rafael Palmeiro, and other sluggers from the PEDs era, it may not be a slam-dunk that Mike gets in.

However, Mike has another dream beyond the Hall of Fame, and he doesn’t have to rely on other people to make it happen — to be a winemaker. Mike sat down with Lettie Teague of the Wall Street Journal to discuss his love for wine and secret fantasy to one day make his own. That would be interesting, especially since Tom Seaver already has his own vineyard, and Rusty Staub used to make his own wine as well — how many other MLB teams have former players who make wine?

What does this have to do with the 2012 Mets? Nothing, just trying to lighten the mood …