Catalanotto, Frank

Cambria, Fred
February 6, 2018
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Catalanotto, Frank

Frank Catalanotto

Induction Year: 2011

Category: Baseball

Location: Smithtown

Graduated from Smithtown East in 1992 and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 10th round.

He played Double A and Triple A ball for various teams from 1992 until 1997, in outfield & infield positions.  In 1997, while playing Triple A ball for the Toledo Mud Hens, he was named to the International League All-Star Team and named the Most Valuable Player at the All-Star game.  He was called up by the Detroit Tigers and made his MLB debut  on Sept. 3, 1997.  He was traded to the Texas Rangers in 2000, where he set the club record with 10 consecutive hits and reaching base 13 straight times.

In 2001, he led the Rangers and finished fifth in the American League with a .330 batting average and moved from an infield to outfield position.  From 2003 to 2006, he played for the Toronto Blue Jays, where he established career highs in home runs, RBIs and total bases.  In 2004, he became the first player in Blue Jays history to record 6 hits in a single game.  He went back to the Rangers for 2007 and 2008, and in 2007 collected his 1,000th career hit.

In 2008, he led the American League with a .350 batting average as a pinch hitter.  In 2006 & 2008, he played for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic.  He played for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2009 and signed with the N.Y. Mets in January of 2010, where he made the team out of spring training but was released on May 10.

In 2011, he was asked to be part of the coaching staff for Team Italy along with former N.Y. Met Mike Piazza.

In 2018 he was named as the head baseball coach at NYIT on Long Island and in 2021 he was named head baseball coach at Hofstra University.

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