During his years with the Dodgers, Piazza worked with what he describes as a United Nations pitching rotation that included Hideo Nomo of Japan; Chan Ho Park of South Korea; Ramon Martinez and Pedro Astacio of the Dominican Republic; and Ismael Valdez of Mexico.
In the heat of the game, Piazza said he once mistakenly started speaking Spanish to Nomo. Despite their language difference, the two enjoyed a strong working relationship and Nomo regularly gave credit to Piazza in his post-game remarks to Japanese reporters. This made Piazza such a popular player in Japan that he actually landed some lucrative endorsements there, including with a heavy-equipment company and an underwear maker. The latter produced an ad that showed him sliding into home plate in just his underwear with flaming feet, which was funny given Piazza鈥檚 lack of speed on the base paths.
