Jarrod Saltalamacchia

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Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Jarrod Saltalamacchia on May 21, 2012.jpg
Boston Red Sox – No. 39
Catcher
Born: (1985-05-02) May 2, 1985 (age 28)
West Palm Beach, Florida
Bats: Switch Throws: Right 
MLB debut
May 2, 2007 for the Atlanta Braves
Career statistics
(through May 20, 2013)
Batting average     .241
Hits     406
Home runs     69
Runs batted in     223
Slugging percentage     .423
Teams

Jarrod Scott Saltalamacchia (/ˌsɒltələˈmɑːkiə/; born May 2, 1985), is an American professional baseball catcher with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball.

At 14 characters, his last name is the longest in Major League Baseball history.[1] Saltalamacchia is Italian for "jump over" (salta) "the thicket" (la macchia, a kind of tall shrub). His nickname is Salty.

Contents

Baseball career [edit]

He was drafted out of Royal Palm Beach High School in the first round of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft by the Atlanta Braves.

In 2006, Saltalamacchia had a breakout season for the Class A Myrtle Beach Pelicans, where the switch-hitting slugger hit .314 with 35 doubles, 19 homers, and 81 RBIs in 129 games. Saltalamacchia ranked 18th in Baseball America top 100 prospects in 2006, and 36th the following year.[2]

Saltalamacchia batting for the Braves in 2007.

In the 2007 season, Saltalamacchia started at catcher for the Double-A Mississippi Braves. In 22 games played, he belted 7 home runs with a batting average of .373.

On his 22nd birthday, he was called up to Atlanta to replace Brayan Peña on the roster and to fill in for Brian McCann, who re-injured his finger on May 1, 2007.[3] Saltalamacchia's call-up made him the new record-holder of the longest surname in Major League Baseball history, at 14 letters,[4] breaking the record set by William Van Landingham (or tying it, depending on whether one counts the space in the latter's surname).

On May 6, 2007, Saltalamacchia had the first hit of his major league career in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the seventh inning, with two outs and two men on base, Saltalamacchia got his first RBI, which also drove in the winning run for the Braves. On May 27, 2007, Saltalamacchia hit his first major league home run, a solo shot off Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies. On June 26 in a start at first base, Saltalamacchia had his first multi-home run game. Both blasts came batting right-handed off Washington Nationals pitcher Mike Bacsik.

Because Saltalamacchia was "blocked" (by McCann, who was recently signed to a large contract with Atlanta), he was the subject of much trade speculation within baseball, and was traded to the Texas Rangers on July 31, 2007, with Elvis Andrus, Neftalí Feliz, Matt Harrison, and Beau Jones for first baseman Mark Teixeira and reliever Ron Mahay.

In 2007, Saltalamacchia batted .284 with 4 home runs and 12 RBI in 47 games with Texas.

Texas Rangers [edit]

Upon joining the Rangers after being traded Saltalamacchia changed his number to 25. In his first game with the Rangers on August 1, 2007, Saltalamacchia started at first base and drove in two runs.

On August 22, 2007, Saltalamacchia had two home runs and seven RBIs in the historic 30–3 rout of the Baltimore Orioles.[5]

In 46 games with the Rangers in 2007, Saltamacchia batted .251, collecting 7 home runs and 21 RBIs.

On March 26, 2008, Saltalamacchia lost the starting catching job to Gerald Laird, and the Rangers chose to send him down to the minors to catch every day instead of sitting as the backup.[6] However, Saltalamacchia was soon called up on April 25, 2008.[7]

Saltalamacchia during his tenure with the Rangers in 2009.

After the Rangers signed free agent Andruw Jones, Saltalamacchia gave up his number 25 to Jones and selected the number 21.[8] On April 25, 2009, Saltalamacchia struck out in his 28th consecutive game played, setting a new MLB strikeout streak record for a position player (pitcher Bill Stoneman holds the all-time record with 37 games). Saltalamacchia's streak started on July 23, 2008.[9] Saltalamacchia suffered a shoulder injury on August 15, 2009 and was placed on the disabled list.

Saltalamacchia was placed on the disabled list after the 2nd game of the 2010 season. On April 27, 2010, Saltalamacchia was removed from the DL and assigned to the Oklahoma City RedHawks.[10] He has struggled with throwing the ball back to the pitcher.

Boston Red Sox [edit]

Saltalamacchia was traded to the Boston Red Sox just before the Major League Baseball trading deadline on July 31, 2010. The Rangers received minor league prospects Chris McGuinness, Román Méndez, a player to be named later (Michael Thomas), and cash. He reported to the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox, wearing uniform number 39.[11][12] Saltalamacchia was called up on August 11 after Kevin Cash went on the disabled list needing surgery in his left thumb, in September 2010.[13][14]

In the 2011 season, Saltalamacchia was slated at the beginning of the year to be Boston's primary catcher with veteran Jason Varitek taking the role as the backup. Out of the gate, he struggled defensively and showed weakness in the batter's box.[15] However, he showed improvement at the plate as the season progressed, hitting .327 in the month of June.

On January 15, 2012, Saltalamacchia avoided arbitration by signing a one-year, non-guaranteed contract worth $2.5 million with the Sox to be their starting catcher. Kelly Shoppach was his backup until being traded, making Ryan Lavarnway his backup catcher.[16]

On May 26, 2012, with one out in the ninth inning, Saltalamacchia hit a 2-run walk-off home run off of Fernando Rodney to beat the Tampa Bay Rays.

Personal [edit]

Saltalamacchia and his former Rangers teammate, Kason Gabbard, were childhood friends. Both were traded to the Rangers from different teams on July 31, 2007.[17] They were nearly potential teammates once again when the Red Sox, having reacquired Gabbard in 2009, released him from their farm system into free agency on July 24, 2010, exactly one week before Saltalamacchia was traded to Boston.[18]

References [edit]

  1. ^ Glier, Ray (May 9, 2007). "Q&A: Catching up with the longest name in baseball". USA Today. Retrieved May 5, 2010. 
  2. ^ "Prospects: All-Time Top 100 Prospects". BaseballAmerica.com. Retrieved 2012-09-02. 
  3. ^ Rogers, Bowman (May 3, 2007). "Saltalamacchia solid in debut". Braves.com. Retrieved 2007-05-03. 
  4. ^ Glier, Ray (May 3, 2007). "Man of letters: Saltalamacchia sets mark". USA Today. 
  5. ^ T. R. Sullivan (2007-08-22). "Rangers break record.". MLB.com. 
  6. ^ "Laird named Rangers' starting catcher , Saltalamacchia sent down". ESPN.com. 2008-03-26. 
  7. ^ Anthony Andro (April 25, 2008). "JD confirms Saltalamacchia". Foul Territory. Retrieved August 2, 2011. 
  8. ^ http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/02/saltalamacchia-giving-up-jersey-number.html[dead link]
  9. ^ 57hits.com (2011-05-15). "http://www.57hits.com/top-ten-longest-strikeout-streaks". 57hits.com. Retrieved 2011-05-15. 
  10. ^ "Transactions | texasrangers.com: Team". Texas.rangers.mlb.com. 2012-06-19. Retrieved 2012-09-02. 
  11. ^ Bob Hersom (May 12, 2010). "OKC catcher: just trying to play catch". okcredhawks.com. Retrieved August 2, 2011. 
  12. ^ "Saltalamacchia nets Texas two prospects | texasrangers.com: News". Texas.rangers.mlb.com. Retrieved 2012-09-02. 
  13. ^ "Red Sox recall catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia from Triple-A Pawtucket; place catcher Kevin Cash on 15-day disabled list | redsox.com: Official Info". Boston.redsox.mlb.com. 2012-06-19. Retrieved 2012-09-02. 
  14. ^ "Jarrod Saltalamacchia to have thumb surgery Tuesday - ESPN Boston". Sports.espn.go.com. 2010-09-27. Retrieved 2012-09-02. 
  15. ^ Craig Calcaterra (April 6, 2011). "Jarrod Saltalamacchia has until June". NBC Sports. Retrieved August 2, 2011. 
  16. ^ "Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Red Sox agree on 1-year contract". KSPR.com. Associated Press. January 15, 2012. 
  17. ^ "Gabbard tastes victory in home debut". texas.rangers.mlb.com. 2007-08-08. 
  18. ^ "Kason Gabbard Stats, Bio, Photos, Highlights | MiLB.com Stats | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Minorleaguebaseball.com. Retrieved 2012-09-02. 

External links [edit]

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