Tom Urbani

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Tom Urbani
Pitcher
Born: (1968-01-21)January 21, 1968
Santa Cruz, California, U.S.
Died: September 28, 2022(2022-09-28) (aged 54)
Santa Cruz, California, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 21, 1993, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last MLB appearance
August 4, 1996, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
Win–loss record10–17
Earned run average4.98
Strikeouts149
Teams

Thomas James Urbani (January 21, 1968 – September 28, 2022) was an American professional baseball

youth baseball
after his playing career.

Early life and career

Urbani was born in Santa Cruz, California, on January 21, 1968.[1] His great-grandfather, Giuseppi, immigrated to Santa Cruz from Italy in 1906.[2] Urbani played Little League Baseball in Santa Cruz.[3] He attended Harbor High School, and was named the Santa Cruz Sentinel's All-Santa Cruz County high school baseball player of the year after he had a .493 batting average and a 1.13 earned run average (ERA).[4] Urbani then enrolled at Cabrillo College, where he played college baseball for two years.[5] In 1988, he was named the Coast Conference's player of the year.[4]

Urbani transferred to

1989 College World Series with Long Beach State.[8]

Urbani was selected in the

1989 MLB draft.[9]

Professional career

The

Class AAA International League during the season. He returned to Louisville for the start of the 1993 season after he was the last pitcher cut by the Cardinals during spring training.[4]

The Cardinals promoted Urbani to the major leagues on April 21, 1993, when René Arocha needed surgery for a broken finger. Urbani made his major league debut with the Cardinals that day.[8][4] The Cardinals shuttled Urbani back and forth between St. Louis and Louisville, promoting him to the major leagues four times during the 1993 season. The Cardinals transitioned Urbani from a starting pitcher to a relief pitcher for the 1994 season.[3] Urbani underwent surgery after the 1995 season to repair a damaged rotator cuff.[2][13] Urbani started the 1996 season with St. Louis, but struggled to a 7.71 ERA and was demoted to Louisville. On June 7, 1996, the Cardinals traded Urbani and Miguel Inzunza to the Detroit Tigers for Micah Franklin and Brian Maxcy.[14] The Tigers released Urbani after the 1996 season.[5]

Urbani last pitched in MLB in 1996 for Detroit. In his four MLB seasons, he had a 10–17

Reno Chukars of the Western Baseball League, an independent baseball league, in July 1998.[13]

In 1999, Urbani ended his professional career while pitching for the

Italian national baseball team in the 1999 European Baseball Championship, a pre-Olympic European tournament. He helped Italy earn the silver medal, earning a berth in the 2000 Summer Olympics.[2]

Personal life

During his career, Urbani bought a house in Carson City, Nevada, on the recommendation of Donovan Osborne, a teammate and Carson City native. Urbani held youth baseball clinics in Carson City during the offseason.[5]

After his professional career, Urbani worked as a mortgage broker in Santa Cruz and also coached for Harbor High and Scotts Valley High School in Scotts Valley, California.[17] Urbani later moved near Folsom.[8]

Urbani and his wife, Lisa, had three children. He died on September 28, 2022, at the age of 54.[8]

Sources

  1. ^ a b "Tom Urbani Minor & Independent Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 25, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "18 Sep 1999, Page 15". Santa Cruz Sentinel. September 18, 1999. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "11 Apr 1994, Page 13". Santa Cruz Sentinel. April 11, 1994. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Urbani called up by the Cardinals". Santa Cruz Sentinel. April 22, 1993. p. 13. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Carson City resident shares his journey". Reno Gazette-Journal. November 15, 1997. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "For Love Of The Game". Santa Cruz Sentinel. June 13, 2001. p. 33. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "3 Apr 1990, Page 10". Santa Cruz Sentinel. April 3, 1990. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Seimas, Jim (September 29, 2022). "Santa Cruz native Tom Urbani, 54, a former MLB pitcher who coached youth baseball, dies". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Archived from the original on September 30, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Urbani signs with Cards organization". Santa Cruz Sentinel. June 13, 1990. p. 15. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  10. ^ "23 Aug 1990, 8". Press & Sun-Bulletin. August 23, 1990. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "16 Jun 1991, Page 46". Santa Cruz Sentinel. June 16, 1991. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "8 Feb 1992, Page 15". Santa Cruz Sentinel. February 8, 1992. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ a b c d "16 Jul 1998, Page 24". Reno Gazette-Journal. July 16, 1998. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Elkins, Ashley (June 8, 1996). "Amory's Maxcy Sent to Cardinals in Trade". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  15. ^ "20 Jun 1998, Page 68". Reno Gazette-Journal. June 20, 1998. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Rimini va alla caccia del 1° posto nel big match dell'8^ di ritorno con Bologna" [Rimini is hunting for 1st place in the big match of the 8th return match against Bologna]. Federazione Italiana Baseball Softball (in Italian). March 15, 2008. Archived from the original on September 30, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  17. ^ "3 Apr 2002, Page 29". Santa Cruz Sentinel. April 3, 2002. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tom_Urbani&oldid=1167492355"