Michael A. Costanzo (born September 9, 1983) 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 ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system u ...

. 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) for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Amateur career

Costanzo played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an in ...

, and was named an All-American in his junior year. In 2004, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the Hyannis Mets of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

Professional career

Costanzo was drafted by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

pick #65 in the second round of the

2005 Major League Baseball draft The 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the bes ...

. In 2005, Costanzo reported to Short-season A ball for the

Batavia Muckdogs The Batavia Muckdogs are a collegiate summer baseball team in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL). They are located in Batavia, a city in Genesee County, New York, United States. Their home field is Dwyer Stadium in the city of ...

. In 2006, Costanzo spends the season in High-A in Clearwater, where he is named

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A followi ...

's Top defensive 3rd baseman. 2007 Costanzo is promoted to AA-Reading Phillies in the Eastern League and hits 27 Home runs with 86 RBI and is selected to the Eastern League All-Star game. He is selected to play in 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 ...

for top prospects. On November 7, 2007, Costanzo, along with Michael Bourn and

Geoff Geary Geoffrey Michael Geary (born August 26, 1976) is an American former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros. Biography Geary graduated from Gro ...

, is traded to the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

for

Brad Lidge Bradley Thomas Lidge (born December 23, 1976) nicknamed "Lights Out" is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Lidge played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 2002–2012. He played for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phi ...

and Eric Bruntlett. On December 12, 2007 he was traded for the second time in 34 days to 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 ...

along with Luke Scott,

Matt Albers Matthew James Albers (born January 20, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Indians, Chica ...

, Troy Patton and Dennis Sarfate for

Miguel Tejada Miguel Odalis Tejada ( Tejeda; born May 25, 1974) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for six teams, most notably the Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles, befo ...

. The Orioles released him on April 2, 2010. He signed with the

on May 13, 2010. Costanzo is called up to the majors with the Cincinnati Reds for the first time on May 12, 2012. In his first Major League at bat, he hit a

sacrifice fly In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

to left field, which scored

Ryan Hanigan Ryan Michael Hanigan (born August 16, 1980) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, and Colorado Rockies. After graduating from An ...

from third base. On May 19, 2012 Costanzo got his first Major League Hit off of

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 ...

pitcher

Iván Nova Iván Manuel Nova Guance (born January 12, 1987) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, and Det ...

. Yankees shortstop

Derek Jeter Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees ...

retrieved the baseball and tossed it into the Reds dugout. On June 6, he was optioned back to Triple-A

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

. On August 1, Costanzo was designated for assignment. Costanzo was inducted into the Coastal Carolina University Hall of Fame in fall of 2012. On December 28, 2012, he signed a minor league deal with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

.Contract length sticking point with LaRoche, Nats
/ref> Costanzo was released by the Nationals in June 2013 and was signed by the Cincinnati Reds. Costanzo represented Team Italy in the 2009 and 2013 World Baseball Classic. After spending all of 2014 with the

AAA affiliate the

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the winged mammal and basebal ...

, Costanzo signed with the

Camden Riversharks The Camden Riversharks were an American professional baseball team based in Camden, New Jersey, from 2001 to 2015. They were a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not at that time affiliated ...

of the

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 ...

in the following offseason. It is his second stint with the

, he also played with the team during the 2010 season.

Personal

Costanzo currently owns The Mike Costanzo Farmers Insurance Agency in Springfield, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Costanzo, Mike 1983 births Living people All-American college baseball players American sportspeople of Italian descent Batavia Muckdogs players Bowie Baysox players Camden Riversharks players Carolina Mudcats players Cincinnati Reds players Clearwater Threshers players Coastal Carolina Chanticleers baseball players Criollos de Caguas players Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente infielders Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball third basemen Norfolk Tides players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players Peoria Saguaros players Reading Phillies players Baseball players from Philadelphia Syracuse Chiefs players 2013 World Baseball Classic players