GIVE ’EM HALL!

Piazza’s all smiles as his big day approaches

COOPERSTOWN — Mike Piazza looked relaxed Friday afternoon as he made his way through the lobby of the Otesaga Hotel here, two days before his induction ceremony into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Piazza smiled often, stopping at one point to schmooze with fellow catcher Johnny Bench, the Reds’ great. The emotions, though, no doubt will flow Sunday afternoon when he delivers his speech. He’s already acknowledged publicly he’ll probably get misty-eyed.

For now, though, he seems happy about what he plans to say. “I think I’ve got a pretty good speech carved out,” he said while on his way onto the hotel’s porch.

The ex-Met superstar is going into the Hall of Fame alongside Ken Griffey, Jr., the sweet-swinging outfielder. The Hall says 52 of the 69 living Hall of Famers, a total that includes Piazza and Griffey, are planning to be in attendance at the ceremonies. Tom Seaver, the only other Met in the Hall of Fame, was not on the list of planned attendees released by the Hall of

Fame.

Meanwhile, Cooperstown’s Main Street was already gearing up for the weekend’s events on Friday. At one shop, Shoeless Joe’s, T-shirts reading “Amazin’ Mike: He Raised the Big Apple Now Raise the Plaque” were being hawked.

Steve Fumosa, a 63-year-old Met fan from Sparta, N.J., wandered Main Street decked out in a replica of Piazza’s No. 31 Met jersey.

“This one is special,” said Fumosa, who owns a trucking and distribution company, Redwood Express. “What was he drafted? 62nd round? Talk about an American story, you know?”

“I loved his demeanor, his way of telling it like it is, his way of not succumbing to pressure from media or outside or anywhere else, and being who he was. And his ability to carry a team on his back, the way he did with the Mets.

“And that 2001 home run, as everybody knows, was everything. It was amazing. Hopefully, it’s never forgotten.”

Ex-Met Jesse Orosco was signing autographs at a show on Main Street, which serves as a kind of baseball bazaar for memorabilia during Induction Weekend. He was thrilled that Piazza, another player who’ll always be associated with the Mets, was going in. Call it Met Pride.

“It’s fantastic,” Orosco said. “He’ll represent the Mets. He had an incredible career with them.”

When someone noted that Seaver is the only other Met in Cooperstown, Orosco said, “Seaver wasn’t a bad player himself, so Mike is going into good company.”