Charles Edward "Chad" Mottola (born October 15, 1971) is an American 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 ...

player and coach for 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 ...

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). Mottola played in MLB for five years as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

. Considered a

journeyman A journeyman is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that field as a fully qualified employee ...

, Mottola played professionally from 1992 through 2007, appearing in 59 MLB games and 1,801 minor league games. He was the

hitting 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 decisi ...

for 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 ...

during the 2013 season, although his contract was not renewed for 2014. Mottola is an alumnus of the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

(UCF), where he played

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

UCF Knights baseball The UCF Knights baseball team represents The University of Central Florida in National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division I. The Knights compete in the Big 12 Conference. The Knights play their home games on UCF's main campus in Orl ...

team. A highly regarded prospect, Mottola was selected by the

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

with the fifth overall selection of the 1992 MLB draft (one spot ahead of Derek Jeter). Mottola played in

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

for different organizations, receiving major league playing time with the

in 1996, the

in 2000 and 2006, the

Florida 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 (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

in 2001 and the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

in 2004. As he received less playing time in 2007, he began to mentor younger teammates, which helped him transition into a coaching career.

Career

Amateur career

Mottola attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

, graduating in 1989. After leading all

Broward County Broward County ( ) is a County (United States), county in Florida, United States, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the List of the most ...

high school players in

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(.573),

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s (14) and

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBIs) (48) as a senior, Mottola was named to Florida's Class 3A All-State first team. Out of high school, the

selected Mottola in the tenth round of the 1989 Major League Baseball draft, with the 243rd overall selection. Mottola did not sign with the Orioles, opting to pursue a

career. Mottola then enrolled at the

(UCF), which he chose to attend over the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a Public university, public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. First opened in 1958 as Louisiana State University in New Orleans, it is the largest public university and one of t ...

, as it was closer to his home. At UCF, he played for the

team in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

. As a freshman, he hit .321 in 57 games, but did not hit a home run. He gained for his sophomore season. As a sophomore, Mottola was named the

American South Conference The American South Conference was an NCAA Division I athletic conference that existed from 1987–88 to 1990–91. The charter members were Arkansas State University, Lamar University, Louisiana Tech University, the University of New Orleans, the ...

's Player of the Week on April 3, 1991, after batting .542 with one home run and eight RBIs in six games. During the season, he batted .343 with nine home runs and 54 RBIs. After the 1991 season, 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

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

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 ...

. In his junior season, he batted .345 with 14 home runs, tying the UCF single-season record. Professional

scouts Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

considered him a first round prospect, due to his intelligence, size, ability to hit for power, his strong throwing arm, running speed, instincts and polish.

Professional career

The

drafted Mottola in the first round of the 1992 Major League Baseball draft with the fifth overall selection, one selection ahead of

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

. He signed with the Reds the day of the draft, receiving a

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 ...

of $400,000, as he attended the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team, also known as Team USA, represents the United States in international level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The United S ...

tryouts for the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

, and did not want to have his contract status on his mind during the tryouts. He was the first UCF athlete to be selected in the first round of an MLB draft. In his first professional season, Mottola led the

Billings Mustangs The Billings Mustangs are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Billings, Montana, and have played their home games at Deh ...

to the Pioneer League championship, batting .286 with 12

s and 37

(RBIs). ''

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 ...

'' rated Mottola as the 71st best prospect in baseball before the 1993 season. Playing a full season for the first time in 1993, he batted .280 for the Winston-Salem Spirits with 21 home runs and led the Class-A Advanced

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

with 91 RBIs. He was named a Carolina League All-Star outfielder after the 1993 season. Prior to the 1994 season, ''

'' rated Mottola as the 43rd best prospect in baseball. Mottola started the 1995 season with the

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

of the Class-AA Southern League, receiving a promotion to the Class-AAA

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

of the

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 ...

that season. Despite his minor league success, Mottola's path to the Reds was blocked by outfielders Reggie Sanders, Curtis Goodwin, Eric Davis, Vince Coleman, Mike Kelly, Steve Gibraltar and Eric Anthony, all of whom the Reds had in

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

that season.

General manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Jim Bowden commented that Mottola needed more minor league seasoning before he would be promoted to the Reds. He made his major league debut with the Cincinnati Reds on April 23, 1996. In 35 games for the Reds, Mottola batted .215 with three home runs and six RBIs. For Indianapolis, he batted .262 with 9 home runs, 47 RBIs and nine

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s in 102 games. Though he was considered a top prospect, the Reds held him out of

winter league baseball Winter league baseball is baseball contested in sports leagues during what is generally considered the baseball off-season. Background Annually, the highest level of professional baseball competition, Major League Baseball (MLB), begins with spri ...

during the 1995–96 offseason. The Reds added

Deion Sanders Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr. (born August 9, 1967) is an American American football, football coach with the Colorado Buffaloes football, Colorado Buffaloes. Sanders is also a former professional football and baseball player, having played in the N ...

and Rubén Sierra to their outfield competition for the 1997 season, prompting Mottola to question the Reds commitment to him. After he spent the 1997 season in the minors, the Reds traded Mottola to the Texas Rangers for a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

in April 1998. He spent most of the 1998 season with the

Oklahoma City RedHawks Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

of the Class-AAA

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 ...

(PCL), but suffered a broken thumb that required surgery, limiting his season. Granted

free agency 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 ...

after the 1998 season, Mottola signed with 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 ...

for the 1999 season. He batted .321 with 164 hits, 32 doubles and 20 home runs for the

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

. With the Syracuse SkyChiefs, the Class-AAA affiliate of the

, in 2000, Mottola batted .309 in 134 games with 505 at-bats, 156 hits, 85 runs, 25 doubles, 3 triples, 33 home runs, 102 RBI, 37 walks, 30 stolen bases and 99 strikeouts. He led the league in home runs and also in slugging percentage, had the second highest RBI, was fourth in the league in hits and extra-base hits, and had the seventh highest batting average. He was named an International League All-Star outfielder in 2000, and won the International League Most Valuable Player Award. He was also named the Blue Jays minor league player of the year that season, and earned a promotion to the Blue Jays in September. After the 2000 season, the Blue Jays traded Mottola to the

for a player to be named later or cash. He played for the Marlins' Class-AAA affiliate, the

Calgary Cannons The Calgary Cannons were a minor league baseball team located in Calgary, Alberta, for 18 seasons, from 1985 until 2002. They were a member of the Triple-A (baseball), AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL) and played at Foothills Stadium. The Cannons ...

of the PCL, and appeared in five games for the Marlins. In 2002, Mottola returned to Syracuse. He began the 2003 season with the

Tampa Bay Devil 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) East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based i ...

organization, playing for the Class-AAA

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 ...

, but was released. He signed with the

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

on June 12 to replace Julio Zuleta, who had signed to play in Japan, on the Class-AAA

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

. Mottola signed with the Orioles for the 2004 season, splitting his time between MLB and the Class-AAA

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 Exp ...

. In 2005, he returned to the Blue Jays organization, playing with Syracuse. He was promoted to MLB in 2006, but spent the majority of the 2005 through 2007 seasons with Syracuse.

Transition to coaching

Mottola retired after the 2007 season. During his final seasons, Mottola began to play less and serve as a mentor to younger players, making for a transition into a coaching career. After the 2007 season, Mottola accepted a job as the

of the Gulf Coast Blue Jays of the Rookie-level

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the low ...

. On October 6, 2008, Mottola was announced as the Blue Jays roving minor league hitting instructor for the 2009 season. From 2010 to 2012, he was the hitting coach for the Las Vegas 51s, Toronto's Triple-A affiliate at the time. On November 24, 2012, Mottola was promoted to be the

hitting coach for the 2013 season. On October 7, 2013, the Blue Jays announced that Mottola would not be returning for the 2014 season. In November 2013, Mottola was hired by the

as their minor-league hitting coordinator. The Rays promoted Mottola to become their major league hitting coach in September 2016.

Personal life

Mottola was born in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

and grew up in

Pembroke Pines, Florida Pembroke Pines is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is located 22 miles (35 km) north of Miami. It is a suburb of and the fourth-most populous city in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Pembroke ...

. When Mottola signed with the Reds in 1992, he bought his parents a house. Mottola's father, Chuck, died of a heart attack at the age of 50 in October 1995. His mother, Elaine, works as an

administrative assistant A person responsible for providing various kinds of administrative assistance is called an administrative assistant (admin assistant) or sometimes an administrative support specialist. In most instances it is identical to the modern iteration of th ...

at St. Bernadette's School in

Davie, Florida Davie is a town in Broward County, Florida, United States, approximately north of Miami. The town's population was 110,320 at the 2020 census, making it the largest town in Florida by population. Davie is a principal town of the Miami metropol ...

. Mottola is of Italian descent. Mottola met his wife, Emily, at UCF. She played for the school's

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

team. They had their son, Luke in 2005. Their daughter, Elle in 2008.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mottola, Chad 1971 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American people of Italian descent Baltimore Orioles players Baseball coaches from Florida Baseball coaches from Georgia (U.S. state) Baseball players from Florida Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Billings Mustangs players Brewster Whitecaps players Calgary Cannons players Charlotte Knights players Chattanooga Lookouts players Cincinnati Reds players Durham Bulls players Florida Marlins players Indianapolis Indians players International League MVP award winners Major League Baseball hitting coaches Major League Baseball outfielders Oklahoma RedHawks players Ottawa Lynx players Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Pembroke Pines, Florida Baseball players from Augusta, Georgia Syracuse Chiefs players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Tampa Bay Rays coaches Toronto Blue Jays coaches Toronto Blue Jays players Tulsa Drillers players UCF Knights baseball players Winston-Salem Spirits players St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Florida) alumni