Met's Greatest Games
July 2003

This spring, the Mets hired sports psychologist Dr. Fran Pirozzolo to be the team's "mental skills coach." Pirozzolo, who is based in Houston, held a similar position with the Yankees from 1996 through 2002, and also works with PGA and LPGA players.

Pirozzolo attracted attention to himself by wearing a Mets uniform with the number 57 and also shagged fly balls and hit fungos during batting practice. More troubling, though, was his presence in the Mets dugout. Major League rules specify the number of people who are allowed in the dugout during games, and during April's series in Pittsburgh the Mets were warned that Pirozzolo's presence in the dugout was a violation of this rule. Yet, on May 8th at Shea, television cameras caught Pirozzolo in the dugout again during a game against San Diego. While the rule against extra people in the dugout during games is a series-by-series rule that can be waived with the consent of the opposing manager, reportedly nobody asked Padres manager Bruce Bochy for such a waiver.

The following week, while the Mets were in Colorado, it was announced that Pirozzolo's relationship with the Mets had been terminated. Although the decision was described as a mutual one, the separation was apparently a messy one -- Shea security guards were reportedly given Pirozzolo's picture and instructed not to allow him into the stadium. Assistant general manager Jim Duquette simply told the media that, "It was one of those things that didn't work out on both sides."

And with that, Pirozzolo went from wearing a uniform on the field to being a persona non grata at Shea in record time.