Jeffrey Philip Fiorentino (born April 14, 1983) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

who played for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

and Oakland Athletics between 2005 and 2009. His

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

is '' Screech'' due to his resemblance to the

Dustin Diamond Dustin Neil Diamond (January 7, 1977 – February 1, 2021) was an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his role as Samuel "Screech" Powers throughout the ''Saved by the Bell'' franchise. Early life and family Diamond was born in ...

character from the

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

situation comedy ''

Saved by the Bell ''Saved by the Bell'' is an American television sitcom created by Sam Bobrick for NBC. The series premiered, in primetime, on August 20, 1989, a Sunday night. Targeted at kids and teens, ''Saved by the Bell'' was broadcast in the United States ...

''.

Playing career

Amateur

A native of Pembroke Pines, Florida, Fiorentino attended Nova High School and

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 12-ca ...

, where he played baseball for the Owls under head coach Kevin Cooney. In 2003, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the lea ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Baltimore Orioles

During the season, he played several games for the Baltimore Orioles after being called up from the

Single-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for each ...

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team masc ...

. He was then sent back down after nearly two weeks of action at the major league level. In and , he played for the Double-A Bowie Baysox.

Cincinnati Reds

The Orioles designated Fiorentino for assignment on January 2, , and on January 4 he was claimed by the Cincinnati Reds.

Oakland Athletics

On January 25, he was claimed off waivers by the Oakland Athletics.

Second stint with Orioles

After being designated for assignment on May 30, he was claimed off waivers by his original team, the Orioles, on June 5.

Hiroshima Toyo Carp

On January 31, 2010, Fiorentino signed a minor league contract with the

. He was released to sign with the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

Atlanta Braves

Fiorentino was traded to the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

on May 4, 2011, in return for cash. He joined the Double-A

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. ...

.Braves get journeyman outfielder from O’s
, ''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'', May 4, 2011.

Oakland Athletics

On November 19, 2011, he signed a minor league contract with the Oakland Athletics. He was released on June 2, 2012.

York Revolution

On July 13, 2012, Fiorentino signed with the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseba ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He was released on June 16, 2013.

Coaching career

Florida Atlantic University

Fiorentino joined the staff of his alma mater in the summer of 2014. He worked primarily with the outfielders, hitters, and base runners. During his one year on staff, FAU made it to the championship game of the Gainesville Regional where they were defeated by the Florida Gators.

Chipola College

Fiorentino joined the Chipola College coaching staff in the summer of 2015. He currently works primarily with the infielders, catchers, hitters and base runners. Fiorentino helped guide the Indians to back-to-back Junior College World Series championship titles in 2017 and 2018. Also during his tenure, Chipola was the first team from Region XIII since the 1960s to participate in the Junior College World Series three consecutive years by winning the state tournament from 2017 through 2019. There have been 20 players selected in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft during his first four years on staff at Chipola.

References

External links

RLPA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiorentino, Jeff 1983 births Living people Baltimore Orioles players Oakland Athletics players Major League Baseball outfielders Baseball players from Florida Florida Atlantic Owls baseball players Cotuit Kettleers players Aberdeen IronBirds players Delmarva Shorebirds players Frederick Keys players Bowie Baysox players Norfolk Tides players Sacramento River Cats players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Hiroshima Toyo Carp players Mississippi Braves players Gwinnett Braves players York Revolution players People from Pembroke Pines, Florida