NEW YORK -- A summer rainstorm may not have prevented Mike Piazza's jersey retirement ceremony from taking place, but it did stop Saturday's night's game at Citi Field from starting on time.
The Mets and Rockies opened Saturday in a slight rain delay, though grounds crew members began taking the tarp off the field even before the night's originally scheduled 7:10 p.m. ET first pitch. The tarp stayed on throughout a half-hour ceremony honoring Piazza, who entered the National Baseball Hall of Fame last weekend. Six days later, the Mets retired his No. 31.