Blake Thomas Lalli (born May 12, 1983) 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 ...

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

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 ...

and current

third base coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...

for the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

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). He played in MLB for the

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

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

, and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

Playing career

Amateur

Lalli graduated from

Pine-Richland High School Pine-Richland High School is a large public high school located at 700 Warrendale Road, in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the only high school in the Pine-Richland School District and is located in Pine Township. In the 2018– ...

Gibsonia, Pennsylvania Gibsonia is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Richland Township, Allegheny County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, north of the city of Pittsburgh. It had a population of 2,785 at the 2020 Census. Its ZIP code is 1 ...

, in 2001. He attended Gardner–Webb University from 2002 through 2006, where he played for the school's baseball team. Lalli was named to the All-

Atlantic Sun Conference The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Division I FCS level in 2022. ...

's first team as a

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 Baseball scorekeep ...

in 2005 and as a

in 2006. In 2005, 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

Harwich Mariners The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fiel ...

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 ...

Chicago Cubs

Undrafted out of college, Lalli signed with the

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2006. He was named a Southern League All-Star in 2009, 2010, and 2011. The Cubs promoted Lalli to MLB on May 18, 2012, and he made his MLB debut that day. He became the first GWU alumnus to appear in MLB.

Oakland Athletics

On August 27, 2012, the Athletics acquired Lalli from the

in exchange for catcher

Anthony Recker Anthony Vito Recker (born August 29, 1983) is an American broadcaster and former professional baseball catcher and first baseman. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, and Atla ...

Milwaukee Brewers

On November 14, 2012, the

signed Lalli to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training. On April 9, 2013, Lalli's contract was purchased and he was added to the Major League roster by the Brewers. He was designated for assignment on September 19, 2013, and became a free agent on October 1.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On October 28, 2013, Lalli signed a minor league contract with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

. He became a minor league free agent after the 2014 season. On November 26, 2014, Lalli re–signed with the Diamondbacks organization on a minor league contract.

Atlanta Braves

On September 11, 2016, Lalli was called up from the Triple–A

Gwinnett Braves The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevi ...

to the

. He was released on May 13, 2017.

Arizona Diamondbacks (second stint)

On June 7, 2017, Lalli signed a minor league contract with the

Coaching career

Kane County Cougars

For the 2018 season, Lalli was named the manager for the

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are a professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois, and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their home games a ...

, the Single–A affiliate of the Diamondbacks.

Jackson Generals

After one year in the Chicago suburbs, he left to become manager of the

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mari ...

for the 2019 season. In one season with the Generals, Lalli led the team to their third championship in the last four seasons in the Southern League.

Reno Aces

On February 1, 2021, Lalli was announced as the new manager for the

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, w ...

. He became the youngest manager in Aces history and first to be a former Aces player.

Miami Marlins

On January 17, 2025, the

hired Lalli to serve as their third base coach.

Personal

Lalli resides in

Boiling Springs, North Carolina Boiling Springs is a town in Cleveland County, North Carolina, United States, in the westernmost part of the Charlotte metropolitan area, approximately 50 miles away from the city. As of the 2010 census, the town's population was 4,647. It is ho ...

during the baseball

offseason In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lalli, Blake 1983 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Atlanta Braves players Baseball coaches from Pennsylvania Baseball players from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Boise Hawks players Caribes de Anzoátegui players Chicago Cubs players Daytona Cubs players Estrellas Orientales players Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs baseball players Gwinnett Braves players Harwich Mariners players Iowa Cubs players Major League Baseball catchers Milwaukee Brewers players Minor league baseball managers Nashville Sounds players People from Boiling Springs, North Carolina People from Richland Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Peoria Chiefs players Pine-Richland High School alumni Reno Aces players Sacramento River Cats players Sportspeople from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area Tennessee Smokies players Vermont Mountaineers players