Piazza's European Vacation

Though Mike Piazza looked like a celebrity tourist, meeting the pope and posing by the Brandenburg Gate, the Mets catcher was a man on a mission. During his three-week trip through Europe , Piazza was also spreading the gospel of Major League Baseball . It may be hard to draw fans in Miami , but MLB dreams of a day when 50 million Frenchmen will watch its games on TV, spend Euros on caps and T-shirts, and support local leagues that will serve as a feeder system for the U.S. Says Paul Archey, senior vice president for MLB 's international business operations, "We'd like to get in at the grassroots level." Piazza , who offered hitting and fielding tips to groups of kids along the way, could see that was already happening. Pro leagues are thriving in Italy , the Netherlands and Germany , which has three players on major league farm teams. "There's a real future for us in Europe ," says Archey. "We can produce players at the youth level, and if not, hopefully, we'll produce some consumers." Fine, but who does the pope root for when the Cardinals play the Padres ?