Former Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza is out with his memoir and in it he reiterates what he said publicly in 2002 -- he is not gay. The New York Post has excerpts from the book:

"I found it hugely insulting that people believed I’d go so far out of my way — living with Playmates, vacationing with actresses, showing up at nightclubs — to act out a lifestyle that would amount to a charade,” he writes. “If I was gay, I’d be gay all the way.”

Since 2005, Piazza has been married to a fomer Playboy Playmate, Alicia Rickter, with whom he has two daughters.

In 2002, rumors swirled about there being a gay New York Met and many people immediately thought of Piazza, who was later reported to be dating TV weatherman Sam Champion (Champion married his male partner a year ago). Piazza took the unusual step of holding a press conference at the time to declare his heterosexuality:

"I'm not gay. I'm heterosexual. I can't control what people think. That's obvious. And I can't convince people what to think. I can only say what I know and what the truth is and that's I'm heterosexual and I date women. That's it. End of story."

It was the end of the story until Piazza decided to write about it in his book.

Photo: Former New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza attends the Jan. 21, 2012, game between the New York Knicks and the Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden. (Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports).