Piazza, New York Catcher by Belle & Sebastian

Album: Dear Catastrophe Waitress (2003)

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This song finds a guy laying out the details of a proposed elopement, and for some reason he throws in a bunch of baseball references. Mike Piazza was a catcher for the New York Mets. It was rumored that he was gay, and he even addressed the issue in a press conference where he asserted his heterosexuality. His career batting average is .308, but it may have been .318 (as stated in the lyrics) when the song was written.
The line, "The pitcher puts religion first and rests on holidays" is probably a reference to Sandy Koufax, one of the greatest left handed pitchers of all time, who was Jewish and refused to pitch on Yum Kippur. The Giants would be the San Francisco Giants, the statue is probably the giant Willie Mays statue in front of SBC Park. Mays was regarded by many at the time as the greatest living ballplayer. >>
Suggestion credit:
Christina - Calgary, AB, for above 2
This was featured on the soundtrack of the 2008 movie Juno, which contains a lot of quirky songs.

Comments: 4

Miss Private from TelemarkI always thought some parts of this songs at least refer to a longing for having a child. Going through Ivf at least, makes more poignant. "I wish that you were here with me to pass the dull weekend. I know it wouldn't come to love, my heroine pretend"
Bodie from SdThe second ball player referred to "prostate on the floor" cannot be an ACCURATE reference to Sandy Koufax. Being Jewish, Koufax wouldn't have been in a Cathedral, and he was a fanatic about his health during his playing career and was notably sober (literally and figuratively) as a player. He IS the most recent and (probably) famous player to be observant enough to refuse to play of his "day of rest", and therefor would be the easy answer to the casual observer.
Matthew from Roseville, Ca, CaBoth Piazza and Koufax were rumored to be gay. Their references are related by situation, not by similar era. The pitcher is clearly Koufax.
Jay from Brooklyn, NyThe line "The pitcher put religion first and rests on holidays" may not be a reference to Sandy Koufax. Koufax' career ended nearly thirty years before Piazza's started. Why reference Koufax and Piazza in consecutive lines when their careers had nothing to do with each other? Also, the next line "He goes into cathedrals and lies prostrate on the floor/He knows the drink affects his speed he's praying for/a doorway" does not refer to Koufax, who would not go to cathedrals and did not have a problem with alcohol. On the other hand, I cannot think of an incident during Piazza's time with the Mets when a pitcher refused to pitch because it was a religious holiday.

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