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

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 ...

who 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 ...

for four seasons. He pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1993 through the 1996 midseason, before joining the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

for the rest of the season. He also pitched in the Italian Baseball League and coached youth baseball after his playing career.

Early life and career

Urbani was born in

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz ( Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a po ...

, on January 21, 1968. His great-grandfather, Giuseppi, immigrated to Santa Cruz from Italy in 1906. Urbani played

Little League Baseball Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationHarbor High School, and was named the ''

Santa Cruz Sentinel The ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'' is a daily newspaper published in Santa Cruz, California, covering Santa Cruz County, California, and owned by Media News Group. Ottaway Community Newspapers, a division of Dow Jones & Company bought the paper in 19 ...

''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 In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

(ERA). Urbani then enrolled at Cabrillo College, where he 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 two years. In 1988, he was named the

Coast Conference The Coast Conference is a college athletic conference that is affiliated with the California Community College Athletic Association. Its members are primarily based in the Southern San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often refe ...

's player of the year. Urbani transferred to

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities ...

, where he played college baseball for the Long Beach State Dirtbags baseball team for two years. He was a member of the "original Dirtbags", the

Long Beach State 49ers Long Beach State athletics, or simply Beach athletics (previously known as the 49ers), are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Long Beach. Teams compete in 19 sports at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NC ...

baseball players who practiced on a dirt field while the university renovated their facilities, which generated a new nickname that stuck. With Long Beach State, Urbani played as a

, a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, and a

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by t ...

. Urbani participated in the 1989 College World Series with Long Beach State. Urbani was selected in the Major League Baseball (MLB) draft three times without signing. He was drafted by the

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 ...

in the 33rd round in the 1986 MLB draft, the Texas Rangers in the 34th round of the 1988 MLB draft, and the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

in the 29th round of the 1989 MLB draft.

Professional career

The St. Louis Cardinals selected Urbani in the 13th round of the

1990 MLB draft The 1990 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft was held in June 1990. The draft placed amateur baseball players onto major league teams. 1,487 players were distributed to 26 teams. The draft consisted of first round selections, supplemental first ...

. He signed with the Cardinals, receiving a $1,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

, and began his professional career with the Johnson City Cardinals of the Rookie-level

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from J ...

. In August, he pitched for the Hamilton Redbirds of the

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

New York-Penn League New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

. Urbani began the 1991 season with the Springfield Cardinals of the Class A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganiza ...

and was promoted to the

St. Petersburg Cardinals ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosoph ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

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 ...

during the season. Urbani began the 1992 season with the

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, also known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are affiliated with the Seattle Mariners as members of the Texas League. History The team succeeded ...

of the Class AA

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

and was promoted to the Louisville Redbirds of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

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 Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

. The Cardinals promoted Urbani to the major leagues on April 21, 1993, when

René Arocha René Arocha (born February 24, 1966) is a former MLB baseball player. Biography René Arocha studied at the Regla high school in Havana. After graduating high school, Arocha became a member of Cuba's famed national baseball team. In 199 ...

needed surgery for a broken finger. Urbani made his major league debut with the Cardinals that day. 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 In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

to a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

for the 1994 season. Urbani underwent surgery after the 1995 season to repair a damaged

rotator cuff The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles are the supraspi ...

. 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

for Micah Franklin and

Brian Maxcy David Brian Maxcy (born May 4, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Detroit Tigers for two seasons. He pitched 41 games during the 1995 Detroit Tigers season, and pitched two more during the 1996 Detroit Tigers season ...

. The Tigers released Urbani after the 1996 season. Urbani last pitched in MLB in 1996 for Detroit. In his four MLB seasons, he had a 10–17 win-loss record and a 4.98 ERA with 149

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is den ...

s in

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning ...

. He pitched in the minor leagues for the

Oklahoma City 89ers Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

in the Rangers organization and for the

Ottawa Lynx The Ottawa Lynx were a Minor League Baseball team that competed in the Triple-A International League (IL) from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over 15 seasons, the team was an affiliate of the Montreal ...

in the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in ...

organization in 1997. He signed a minor league contract with

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 ...

in 1998 and attended spring training with them, but was released before the beginning of the season. He signed a minor league contract with the Cardinals for the 1998 season and pitched for the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Red ...

, the Cardinals' new Class AAA affiliate, before he was released in June. He announced his retirement from baseball, but signed with the Reno Chukars of the Western Baseball League, an

independent baseball league An independent baseball league is a professional baseball organization in the United States or Canada that is not overseen by Major League Baseball and is outside the Minor League Baseball clubs affiliated to it. The Northern League (baseball, 19 ...

, in July 1998. In 1999, Urbani ended his professional career while pitching for the Rimini Baseball Club of the Italian Baseball League. In his only season in the league, Urbani led all pitchers with 12 wins and a 1.35 ERA. Afterwards, he guided Rimini to the best-of-seven championship series with a victory over the

Nettuno Baseball Club The Nettuno Baseball Club, established in 1945, is situated and based in Nettuno, Italy. The club competes in the Italian Baseball League, with one team competing in the first division (''Danesi Nettuno BC'') and a second team playing in the s ...

. Urbani pitched the fifth perfect game in Italian baseball history against the San Marino Baseball Club in the regular season, which was also the only one in the 40-years' history of the Rimini team. In that summer, Urbani also played as a starting pitcher for the Italian national baseball team in the 1999 European Baseball Championship, a pre-Olympic European tournament. He helped Italy earn the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, et ...

, earning a berth in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

Personal life

During his career, Urbani bought a house in

Carson City, Nevada Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on th ...

, on the recommendation of

Donovan Osborne Donovan Alan Osborne (born June 21, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from -. Career Osborne attended Carson High School in Carson City, Nevada before he was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 1987 ...

, a teammate and Carson City native. Urbani held youth baseball clinics in Carson City during the offseason. 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 Scotts Valley is a small city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, about thirty miles (48 km) south of downtown San Jose and six miles (10 km) north of the city of Santa Cruz, in the upland slope of the Santa Cruz Moun ...

. Urbani later moved near

Folsom Folsom may refer to: People * Folsom (surname) Places in the United States * Folsom, Perry County, Alabama * Folsom, Randolph County, Alabama * Folsom, California * Folsom, Georgia * Folsom, Louisiana * Folsom, Missouri * Folsom, New Jerse ...

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

Sources

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urbani, Tom 1968 births 2022 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Canada American sportspeople of Italian descent Anchorage Bucs players Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players from California Detroit Tigers players American expatriate baseball players in Italy Hamilton Redbirds players Johnson City Cardinals players Long Beach State Dirtbags baseball players Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Redbirds players Oklahoma City 89ers players Ottawa Lynx players Reno Chukars players Rimini Baseball Club players Sportspeople from Santa Cruz, California Springfield Cardinals players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Toledo Mud Hens players