Leonard Edward DiNardo (born September 19, 1979) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

. He played in

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 (A ...

(MLB) from 2004 through 2009, with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

, and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. Listed at and , he both threw and batted left-handed.

Early years

DiNardo graduated from Santa Fe High School in

Alachua, Florida Alachua ( ) is the second-largest city in Alachua County, Florida and the third-largest in North Central Florida. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 10,574. The city is part of the Gainesville metropolitan area, which had a ...

, in 1998. The

selected DiNardo in the 10th round of the

1998 Major League Baseball draft The 1998 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1998. A total of 1445 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections ...

, but he did not sign, opting to attend

Stetson University Stetson University is a private university with four colleges and schools located across the I–4 corridor in Central Florida with the primary undergraduate campus in DeLand. The university was founded in 1883 and was later established in 1887 ...

instead.

Professional career

Road to the majors

DiNardo was selected by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

in the third round of the

2001 MLB draft The 2001 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 5 and 6. First round selections Supplemental First Round Selections Compensation Picks Background On June 1, 2001, Rolando Viera, a Cuban ba ...

; he signed with the team in July 2001. In the summer of , DiNardo made his professional debut with the

Brooklyn Cyclones The Brooklyn Cyclones are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and play at Maimonides Park, just off the Coney Islan ...

, the Mets' Single-A affiliate. In 2002, DiNardo played for the Columbia Mets in the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, another Single-A farm team of the Mets. In 2003, he split time between the St. Lucie Mets (Single-A) and

Binghamton Mets The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mirab ...

(Double-A). He pitched well enough to warrant being selected by the Boston Red Sox during the Rule 5 draft on December 15.

Boston Red Sox

As is the requirement with Rule 5 selections, DiNardo would remain on the Red Sox major league roster during the entire 2004 season. He began the season on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

and made his major league debut on April 23 against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

, retiring the side in order in the ninth inning. DiNardo spent much of the second half of the season back on the disabled list. With the 2004 Boston Red Sox, DiNardo made 22 appearances (all in relief) compiling a 4.23 ERA in innings pitched; he did not register a win or a loss. He received a

World Series ring A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...

for his contributions to the

2004 World Series The 2004 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2004 season. The 100th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the National Leag ...

championship team. Having satisfied the Rule 5 requirement of keeping DiNardo on the major league roster during 2004, the Red Sox sent the pitcher to the Triple-A

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

to start the 2005 season. He was recalled to the major league club five different times during the year. For the 2005 Boston Red Sox, DiNardo appeared in eight games (one start), compiling an 0–1 record with 1.84 ERA in innings pitched. In 2006, DiNardo made six starts in place of the injured David Wells. His first MLB win came on May 7, against 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 ...

. DiNardo spent a lot of time on the disabled list himself, due to a neck injury. With the 2006 Boston Red Sox, he appeared in 13 games (six starts), compiling a 1–2 record with 7.85 ERA in 39 innings pitched. DiNardo played for

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

at the

2006 World Baseball Classic The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums that are in and around Tokyo, Japan; San Juan, Puert ...

. To prepare for the MLB season, he played for the Peoria Javelinas of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fille ...

Oakland Athletics

On February 14, 2007, the

claimed DiNardo off waivers from the Boston Red Sox. With the 2007 Oakland Athletics, DiNardo made 20 starts and 15 relief appearances, logging innings with an 8–10 record and a 4.11 ERA. During 2007, DiNardo had his first and only MLB hit, a single off of

Matt Cain Matthew Thomas Cain (born October 1, 1984), nicknamed "The Horse", "Big Daddy", "Big Sugar" and "Cainer", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career for the San Francisco Giants ...

of the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

on June 10. For the 2008 Oakland Athletics, DiNardo made 11 appearances (two starts), compiling a 7.43 ERA with 1–2 record in 23 innings pitched.

Kansas City Royals

DiNardo signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals on December 17, 2008. He spent the last month of the 2009 season in the major leagues; these would be his final MLB appearances. For the 2009 Kansas City Royals, DiNardo appeared in five games (all starts), compiling an 0–3 record with 10.12 ERA in innings pitched. DiNardo again represented

at the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26. Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference ti ...

Late career

On January 8, 2010, DiNardo signed a minor league contract to return to the Oakland Athletics; the deal included an invite to spring training. He played in the rookie-level

Arizona League The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it ...

and for the Triple-A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 ye ...

, making 12 appearances (11 starts) with a 3.53 ERA and 2–5 record. On December 15, 2010, DiNardo signed a minor league contract to return to the Boston Red Sox. However, on April 1, 2011, he was released. On April 14, 2011, DiNardo signed with the

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor-league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "part ...

of the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. DiNardo signed a minor league contract with the Oakland Athletics on May 21, 2011. He played for the Double-A

Midland RockHounds The Midland RockHounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Midland, Texas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Momentum Bank Ballpark, w ...

and with Triple-A Sacramento, making 19 appearances (13 starts) with a 5.61 ERA and 4–7 record. In 2012, DiNardo played in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

for the

Lamigo Monkeys The Rakuten Monkeys (), formerly First Financial Holdings Agan (, abbreviated ), La New Bears () and then the Lamigo Monkeys (), are a professional baseball team in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan. Owned and administer ...

of the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 2 ...

. DiNardo played for the

Lancaster Barnstormers The Lancaster Barnstormers (colloquially known as the Stormers) are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a ...

of the independent Atlantic League in 2013, going 5–9 with a 5.25 ERA in 20 games (19 starts). He tossed the franchise's first ever

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

on May 8, 2013, against the Long Island Ducks. He retired in August of that year.

Personal life

DiNardo previously lived in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

and Micanopy, Florida. He has worked as a pitching instructor in Florida (

Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

and

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

) and in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. As of April 2021, DiNardo is an in-studio baseball analyst with

New England Sports Network New England Sports Network, popularly known as NESN , is an American regional sports cable and satellite television network owned by a joint venture of Fenway Sports Group (which owns a controlling 80% interest, and is the owner of Boston Red ...

(NESN).

Music

DiNardo plays guitar and has been a part of the annual

Hot Stove Cool Music Hot or the acronym HOT may refer to: Food and drink *Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality *Hot, a wine tasting descriptor Places *Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand ** Hot subdistrict, a sub-district of Hot Distric ...

concert in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

for several years. He's performed with

Evan Dando Evan Griffith Dando (born March 4, 1967) is an American musician and frontman of the Lemonheads. He has also embarked on a solo career and collaborated on songs with various artists. In December 2015 Dando was inducted into the Boston Music Award ...

( The Lemonheads), Juliana Hatfield (

Blake Babies Blake Babies were an American college rock band formed in 1986 in Boston, Massachusetts. The three primary members were John Strohm, Freda Love, and Juliana Hatfield. They recorded three albums before splitting up in 1991. They reformed to rec ...

), Joe Keefe and Sebastion Keefe (

Family of the Year Family of the Year is an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California. It consists of members Joseph Keefe (vocals/guitar), Sebastian Keefe (drums/vocals), James Buckey (guitar/vocals), and Christina Schroeter (keyboard/vocals). Thei ...

Kay Hanley Kay Hanley is an American singer and songwriter. She is best known as the vocalist for the alternative rock band Letters to Cleo. Life and career Hanley grew up in Dorchester, Massachusetts across the street from the Wahlberg family. She atte ...

and

Stacy Jones Stacy Glen Jones (born December 19, 1970) is an American musician, songwriter, and producer. He is currently the musical director and drummer for Miley Cyrus and Life of Dillon, and is also known for being the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, a ...

(

Letters to Cleo Letters to Cleo is an American alternative rock band originating from Boston, Massachusetts, best known for the 1994 single, "Here & Now", from their full-length debut album, '' Aurora Gory Alice''. The band's members are Kay Hanley, Greg McKe ...

), and

Bill Janovitz Bill Janovitz (born June 3, 1966) is an American musician and writer. He is the singer, guitarist, and songwriter of alternative rock band Buffalo Tom, and has also released three solo albums. Janovitz has written extensively for Allmusic, author ...

(

Buffalo Tom Buffalo Tom is an American alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1986. Its principal members are guitarist Bill Janovitz, bassist Chris Colbourn, and drummer Tom Maginnis. The band's name is derived from the band Buffalo Sp ...

). DiNardo sang back up vocals on the

Dropkick Murphys Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. Singer and bassist Ken Casey has been the band's only constant member. Other current members include drummer Matt Kelly (1997– ), singer Al Barr (19 ...

' 2004 hit, " Tessie", along with Bronson Arroyo and

Johnny Damon Johnny David Damon (born November 5, 1973) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995 to 2012. During his MLB career, Damon played for the Kansas City Royals (1995–2000), Oakland A ...

, and on "

Dirty Water "Dirty Water" is a song by the American rock band The Standells, written by their producer Ed Cobb. The song is a mock paean to the city of Boston, Massachusetts, and its then-famously polluted Boston Harbor and Charles River. History Accord ...

" off Arroyo's debut album, ''

Covering the Bases ''Covering the Bases'' is the debut album by Major League Baseball pitcher Bronson Arroyo. It was released in 2005 following the Boston Red Sox 2004 World Series Championship, which Arroyo was a part of. The album features cover versions of twel ...

''. DiNardo played rhythm guitar on " Model Citizen" off

Peter Gammons Peter Gammons (born April 9, 1945) is an American sportswriter, media personality, and musician. He is a recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Early ...

debut album, '' Never Slow Down, Never Grow Old''.

References

External links

dinardopitching.com
via

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dinardo, Lenny 1979 births Living people All-American college baseball players American sportspeople of Italian descent Arizona League Athletics players Binghamton Mets players Baseball players from Miami Boston Red Sox players Brooklyn Cyclones players Capital City Bombers players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Kansas City Royals players Lancaster Barnstormers players Long Island Ducks players Major League Baseball pitchers Midland RockHounds players Oakland Athletics players Omaha Royals players Pawtucket Red Sox players Peoria Javelinas players Portland Sea Dogs players Sacramento River Cats players Sarasota Red Sox players Stetson Hatters baseball players St. Lucie Mets players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players American expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Lamigo Monkeys players Gigantes del Cibao players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Peoria Saguaros players

Early years

Professional career

Road to the majors

Boston Red Sox

Oakland Athletics

Kansas City Royals

Late career

Personal life

Music

References

Further reading

External links