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Pitchers and Catchers

Mike Piazza and the Discourse of Gay Identity in the National Pastime

Indiana University

This essay identifies the recent discursive formation that has emerged about gay players in the "American game." In particular, media reports speculating that New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza could be gay spotlight the tensions that historically have been part of baseball culture. The author's argument suggests that Piazza's on-field performances of gender shifted to rearticulate his identity in terms of hegemonic masculinity. In this specific case, Piazza as a catcher metaphorically embodied and resisted the receptivity and passivity often assigned to gay men. Piazza's behavior and the discourse surrounding gay identity in baseball call attention to the ways gender is used to mark bodies in sport, to perpetuate normative standards of masculinity, and to discipline those who do not adhere to these norms.

Key Words: baseball • hegemonic masculinity • identity • Mike Piazza • performativity

Journal of Sport & Social Issues, Vol. 30, No. 2, 138-157 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0193723506286757


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