Former catcher Piazza will take centre stage with Miami ballet performance

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Former major-league catcher Mike Piazza will be taking centre stage with the Miami City Ballet.

The Miami Beach-based dance company has tapped Piazza to play the role of a gangster in the May 3 production of “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.”

Piazza won’t be dancing in tights. He’ll wear a 1920s-era gangster costume, say a few lines and then watch the rest of the performance from a seat onstage.

Piazza says his turn with the troupe is his gift to his six-year-old daughter, a student at Miami City Ballet School.

The ballet features gangsters, strippers and an attempted murder plot. It originally appeared as part of the 1930s musical “On Your Toes.”

Piazza had 427 career home runs and made 12 all-star game appearances.

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