Adam Joseph Liberatore (born May 12, 1987) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Career

Amateur

Liberatore is of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

descent and attended

Quigley Catholic High School Quigley Catholic High School was located in Baden, Pennsylvania. It was the only Roman Catholic high school in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. The school opened in 1967 and was named after Monsignor Thomas J. Quigley, and it closed after on May 2 ...

Baden, Pennsylvania Baden is a borough in southeastern Beaver County, Pennsylvania, along the Ohio River. The population was 3,904 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Baden is the former site of Logstown, a significant Native Ameri ...

, for three years, and transferred to

Blackhawk High School Blackhawk High School is a public high school in Chippewa Township, Pennsylvania, United States, with a mailing address for nearby Beaver Falls. It is the only high school in the Blackhawk School District. Athletic teams compete as the Blackhawk ...

Chippewa Township, Pennsylvania Chippewa Township is a township in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,040 at the 2020 census. The township shares the ZIP Code of nearby Beaver Falls. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Geography Acc ...

, for his senior year. He pitched 6 innings as a senior and graduated from Blackhawk in 2005. He played for the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

team after his senior year and the coach thought he was more comfortable in the outfield than at pitcher. In the summer of 2005, he received a scholarship attend

Tennessee Technological University Tennessee Technological University (commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech) is a Public university, public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of D ...

and play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Tennessee Technological University (TTU), located in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. The TTU athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and ...

. Liberatore appeared in only six games and made one start as a freshman, while allowing twelve earned runs in 10 innings. In 2007, as a sophomore, he appeared in 15 games with four starts and an 8.42

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 number ...

(ERA) and as a junior he had an 8.68 ERA in 13 appearances (eight starts). He participated in the

Valley Baseball League The Valley Baseball League is an National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA and Major League Baseball, MLB-sanctioned collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. The league was s ...

over the summer between his junior and senior seasons and won the pitcher of the year honors while leading the league with a .170 batting average against. In 2009, he was 2-0 with a perfect 0.00 ERA in three starts, with 21 strikeouts when he left his last game with a season-ending elbow injury. Liberatore underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

and received a medical redshirt season. In 2010, as a redshirt senior, he was 6-4 with a 5.30 ERA in 13 starts.

Tampa Bay Rays

The

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

selected Liberatore in the 21st round of the

2010 MLB draft The 2010 Major League Baseball draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team picking first. ;Key ...

. 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 ...

in college, the Rays transitioned Liberatore into a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

. He made his professional debut with the

Hudson Valley Renegades The Hudson Valley Renegades are a Minor League Baseball team based in Fishkill, New York. The High-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, the Renegades play in the South Atlantic League. The Renegades play their home games at Heritage Financial Pa ...

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 (crea ...

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

in 2010, and played for the

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

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 (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

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 following ...

in 2011. Liberatore split the 2012 season between the

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League B ...

Southern League and the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

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 (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

, with a combined 4-5 record and 2.47 ERA in 49 games. He played for Durham in 2013 and 2014. Liberatore had a 1.66

in the 2014 season, after which the Rays named him their Minor League Reliever of the Year.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On November 20, 2014, Liberatore was traded to the

, along with

Joel Peralta Joel Peralta Gutiérrez (; ; born March 23, 1976) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals, Ta ...

, in exchange for Jose Dominguez and Greg Harris. He was also added to the Dodgers

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

. At the conclusion of spring training, he was optioned to the Triple-A

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Comets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their ho ...

. Liberatore began the 2015 season with the

of the Triple-A

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

. The Dodgers called him up to the major leagues for the first time on April 17, 2015. He made his debut by pitching the ninth inning against the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

that night, retiring all three batters he faced. Liberatore pitched in 39 games for the Dodgers with a 2–2 record and 4.25 ERA. He also pitched in 19 games for Oklahoma City, with a 3.74 ERA. On July 9, 2016, Liberatore set a Dodgers franchise record with his 24th consecutive scoreless appearance, breaking the mark previously set by

John Candelaria John Robert Candelaria (born November 6, 1953) is a Puerto Rican-American former Major League Baseball pitcher. Nicknamed "the Candy Man", he played in MLB during the years 1975–1993 for eight teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates, California Angels, ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

. In 2016, he appeared in 58 games with a 3.38 ERA. He underwent left elbow debridement surgery after the season. Liberatore was again optioned to Oklahoma City to begin the 2017 season. After pitching in six games in the minors, he was recalled to the Dodgers on April 23. He was sidelined with a groin injury in May and then came down with left forearm tightness shortly afterwards. That injury wound up keeping him on the disabled list for the rest of the season. He only pitched 3 innings over four games for the Dodgers in 2017, allowing one run on three hits. On May 4, 2018, against the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey The Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey, officially known as Estadio Mobil Super and popularly known as Palacio Sultán, is a baseball stadium in Monterrey, Mexico. It is the home venue of the Sultanes Monterrey Mexican League baseball team. It holds ...

, Liberatore was one of four pitchers involved in a combined

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

as the Dodgers won 4–0, pitching the ninth inning to finish off the game. The Dodgers designated him for assignment on August 31, 2018 and released him on September 5. In 17 major league games in 2018, he allowed four earned runs in 13 innings for a 2.77 ERA.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Liberatore, Adam Living people 1987 births Los Angeles Dodgers players Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles baseball players Hudson Valley Renegades players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Surprise Saguaros players Montgomery Biscuits players Durham Bulls players Estrellas Orientales players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Oklahoma City Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Arizona League Dodgers players

Career

Amateur

Tampa Bay Rays

Los Angeles Dodgers

See also

References

External links