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Piazza's Hall of Fame career by the numbers

JEFF HAYNES / AFP / Getty

It took four years, but Mike Piazza finally reached baseball immortality. On Sunday, the catching legend will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown alongside Ken Griffey Jr., completing an unlikely path that started as an unheralded 62nd-round draft pick.

When he left the game after 16 years, Piazza's name was cemented as the greatest offensive catcher in baseball history, making 12 All-Star appearances, leading the Mets to a World Series appearance in 2000, and becoming a New York icon. As we wait for Piazza's induction speech Sunday afternoon - which is sure to be emotional - here's a look at some of the most eye-popping numbers from his career.

1,389 - Number of players selected in the 1988 amateur draft before Piazza was chosen by the Dodgers in the 62nd round - and even then, his selection was only done as a favor to his godfather, Tommy Lasorda.

25 - Piazza's first big-league uniform number, worn during his 21-game cameo with the Dodgers in 1992. He'd switch to his iconic No. 31 the following season.

35 - Number of home runs hit by Piazza in his rookie season of 1993, to go along with 112 RBIs and a .932 OPS, enough to make him the second of five consecutive Dodgers to win NL Rookie of the Year.

63.7 - Total WAR accumulated by Piazza over his 16-year career with the Dodgers, Marlins, Mets, Padres, and Athletics, ranking 95th all time and second only to Ivan Rodriguez among catchers, per Fangraphs.

5 - Number of hits Piazza recorded in a Florida Marlins uniform during his five-game stint with the franchise in 1998. One of those hits was, surprisingly, a triple. Florida acquired him from the Dodgers on May 14, 1998, then dealt him to the Mets on May 22.

9 - Number of seasons in which Piazza hit 30 or more home runs, the most ever by a catcher. For comparison, fellow Hall of Fame backstops Johnny Bench and Roy Campanella are tied for second on this list with four 30-homer campaigns. Piazza's also the only catcher to own multiple 40-homer seasons.

10 - Number of Silver Slugger awards won by Piazza over his career, trailing only Barry Bonds (12) for the most Silver Sluggers in history.

396​ - Total of home runs Piazza hit as a catcher, the most in baseball history. He surpassed Carlton Fisk's previous mark of 351 on May 5, 2004. His other 31 career homers came as either a first baseman, designated hitter, or pinch hitter.

10 - Number of days after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on New York City when Piazza launched an eighth-inning, game-winning home run off Atlanta's Steve Karsay at Shea Stadium that served as a healing moment for New York and remains one of baseball's most iconic and emotional homers.

83.0 - Percentage of votes Piazza received from Hall of Fame voters this past January to enter Cooperstown on his fourth try. In 2013, his first year on the ballot, he received just 57.8 percent of the vote.

2 - Number of Hall of Famers now wearing New York Mets caps in the Hall of Fame: Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza. Two will also be the number of Mets players to have their numbers retired by the franchise once Piazza's No. 31 is officially retired next week - an honor he'll also share with Seaver.

Related: Griffey's Hall of Fame career by the numbers

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