Chad Mottola
Chad Mottola | |
---|---|
Tampa Bay Rays – No. 51 | |
Outfielder/ Coach | |
Born: Augusta, Georgia, U.S. | October 15, 1971|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
April 23, 1996, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
Last MLB appearance | |
July 26, 2006, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .200 |
Home runs | 4 |
Runs batted in | 12 |
Teams | |
As Player
As Coach
|
Charles Edward "Chad" Mottola (born October 15, 1971) is an American professional baseball player and coach for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Mottola played in MLB for five years as an outfielder. Considered a journeyman,[1] Mottola played professionally from 1992 through 2007, appearing in 59 MLB games and 1,801 minor league games. He was the hitting coach for the Toronto Blue Jays during the 2013 season, although his contract was not renewed for 2014.
Mottola is an alumnus of the
Mottola played in
Career
Amateur career
Mottola attended
Mottola then enrolled at the University of Central Florida (UCF), which he chose to attend over the University of New Orleans, as it was closer to his home.[4] At UCF, he played for the UCF Knights baseball team in NCAA Division I. As a freshman, he hit .321 in 57 games, but did not hit a home run.[4] He gained 30 pounds (14 kg) for his sophomore season.[4] As a sophomore, Mottola was named the American South Conference's Player of the Week on April 3, 1991, after batting .542 with one home run and eight RBIs in six games.[5] During the season, he batted .343 with nine home runs and 54 RBIs. After the 1991 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[6]
In his junior season, he batted .345 with 14 home runs, tying the UCF single-season record.[7] Professional scouts considered him a first round prospect, due to his intelligence, size, ability to hit for power, his strong throwing arm, running speed, instincts and polish.[4]
Professional career
The Cincinnati Reds drafted Mottola in the first round of the 1992 Major League Baseball draft with the fifth overall selection, one selection ahead of Derek Jeter. He signed with the Reds the day of the draft, receiving a signing bonus of $400,000,[8] as he attended the United States national baseball team tryouts for the 1992 Summer Olympics,[7] and did not want to have his contract status on his mind during the tryouts.[9] He was the first UCF athlete to be selected in the first round of an MLB draft.[10]
In his first professional season, Mottola led the
Mottola started the 1995 season with the
Though he was considered a top prospect, the Reds held him out of
Granted
After the 2000 season, the Blue Jays traded Mottola to the
Transition to coaching
Mottola retired after the
On November 24, 2012, Mottola was promoted to be the Toronto Blue Jays hitting coach for the 2013 season.[20] On October 7, 2013, the Blue Jays announced that Mottola would not be returning for the 2014 season.[21]
In November 2013, Mottola was hired by the Tampa Bay Rays as their minor-league hitting coordinator.[22] The Rays promoted Mottola to become their major league hitting coach in September 2016.[23]
Personal life
Mottola was born in Augusta, Georgia and grew up in Pembroke Pines, Florida.[13] When Mottola signed with the Reds in 1992, he bought his parents a house.[8] Mottola's father, Chuck, died of a heart attack at the age of 50 in October 1995. His mother, Elaine, works as an administrative assistant at St. Bernadette's School in Davie, Florida.[13] Mottola is of Italian descent.[24]
Mottola met his wife, Emily, at UCF. She played for the school's volleyball team. They had their son, Luke in 2005. Their daughter, Elle in 2008. [1]
References
- ^ Major League Baseball Advanced Media. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
- ^ South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved April 28, 2012. (subscription required)
- ^ "Mottola Named To 3A All-State". Miami Herald. June 1, 1989. p. 8D. Retrieved April 28, 2012. (subscription required)
- ^ a b c d White, Russ (April 22, 1992). "Scouts Put Mottola High On List". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
- ^ "Florida 8, Liu 4". Orlando Sentinel. April 3, 1991. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
- ^ "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ a b Cooper, Barry (May 6, 1992). "Ucf Star May Be Olympian: Mottola Will Join 39 At Baseball Trials". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Kepner, Tyler (June 5, 2010). "Five Players Who Outranked Jeter, if Only Briefly". The New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
- ^ O'Brien, David (June 6, 1992). "Mottola Signs With Reds For Reported $500,000". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Russo, Ric (June 10, 1999). "Mottola Gets It Back In Charlotte: Outfielder Chad Mottola, One Of The Best Players Ucf Ever Produced, Has Resurrected His Career". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Kauffman, Scott (March 16, 1997). "Mottola Doesn't See A Fair Shake From Reds: Former Ucf Outfielder Chad Mottola Says He's Ready For The Majors, But The Signings Of Veterans Block His Path". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
- ^ a b "All-Time Top 100 Prospects". Baseball America. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Edes, Gordon (March 15, 1996). "He's Loved But Not Needed". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
- ^ a b O'Brien, David (January 17, 2001). "Mottola's Odyssey Swings Back To South Florida". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
- ^ Wells, Sean (June 2, 2004). "Minor League Spotlight – Chad Mottola". Orlando Sentinel. p. J.4. Retrieved April 28, 2012. (subscription required)
- ^ "Blue Jays add Chad Mottola to their roster". Associated Press. September 5, 2000. Retrieved April 28, 2012. (subscription required)
- ^ McDonald, Joe (June 20, 2003). "Mottola wreaks more havoc on his ex-teammates". The Providence Journal. p. D.05. Retrieved April 28, 2012. (subscription required)
- ^ "Chiefs take three out of four from Bisons". syracuse.com. July 31, 2007. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
- ^ "Blue Jays round out minor-league staff". Toronto Star. October 10, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
- ^ "Jays' round out coaching staff, add Hale from Orioles". TSN.ca. November 26, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
- ^ "Jays coaches Chad Mottola, Murphy won't return in 2014". CBC.ca. October 7, 2013. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
- ^ Davidi, Shi (November 13, 2013). "Blue Jays expected to be active on trade front". Sportsnet. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
- ^ Topkin, Marc (September 6, 2016). "Rays fire hitting coach Derek Shelton, promote Chad Mottola". Archived from the original on September 9, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
- ^ Vaccaro, Chris (July 13, 2021). "Italian Americans Make 2021 MLB All-Star Roster as Players, Coaches, Officials - Italian American Baseball Foundation". Italian American Baseball Foundation.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)