William Joseph "B. J." LaMura (born January 1, 1981) 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 internationally for the

Italy national baseball team The Italy national baseball team represents Italy in international baseball competitions. The Italian national team was ranked WBSC World Rankings, 16th in the world as of 2022. Like the country's Italy national football team, association footba ...

in the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an International Baseball Federation, international baseball competition. It began on March 5 and finished March 23. Unlike in 2006 World Baseball Classic, 2006, when the Round-robin tournament, round- ...

High school & college

A native of

Mineola, New York Mineola is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village and the county seat of Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, Long Island, New York, United States. The population was 20,800 at the time of the 2020 United Stat ...

, LaMura attended

Connetquot High School Connetquot High School (CHS) is a Public school (government funded), public High school in the United States, high school serving students from the 9th–12th grades, located in Bohemia, New York. It is part of the Connetquot Central School Distr ...

where he was rated as the No. 3 high school prospect in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and among the top 100 in the nation by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

'' following his senior year in . He went on to attend

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

, and in 2000 and 2001 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

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie All ...

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 1,000 forme ...

. His junior year at Clemson (), he compiled a 6-2 record and 3.66

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 ...

with a save and 89

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s in 82

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

in eight starts and nine relief appearances.

Professional career

The

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

made LaMura their fifth round selection of the

2002 MLB draft The 2002 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 4 and 5. It is featured in Michael Lewis' 2003 book ''Moneyball''. First round selections Supplemental first round compensation selections * *Did Not Sign With Team Compensation ...

. Over four and a half seasons in the ChiSox

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

, he compiled a 20-25 record with six saves before a July 23, trade to 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 ...

in exchange for

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

Sandy Alomar Jr. Santos Alomar Velázquez (, ; born June 18, 1966), known as Sandy Alomar Jr., is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher between 1988 and 2007, most notably as a me ...

With the Dodgers, he went 6-9 in two and a half seasons with the Double-A

Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

and Triple-A Las Vegas 51s. He became a free agent at the end of the season. In an effort to showcase his talent to other major league clubs, LaMura played winter ball in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

for Aguilas del Zulia, and represented Italy in the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the Classic, is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the sport's global governing body, and organized in World Baseball Clas ...

. In 1.2 total

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

s pitched, LaMura gave up four earned runs in Italy's two losses to

. He played for the independent

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 "par ...

in 2009 and signed with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

as a minor league free agent in 2010.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lamura, B. J. Living people 1981 births Clemson Tigers baseball players Falmouth Commodores players Bristol White Sox players Kannapolis Intimidators players Winston-Salem Warthogs players Birmingham Barons players Jacksonville Suns players Las Vegas 51s players Long Island Ducks players Dunedin Blue Jays players New Hampshire Fisher Cats players 2009 World Baseball Classic players Sportspeople from Mineola, New York Baseball players from Nassau County, New York