Nicholas Carl Dini (born July 27, 1993) 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 ...

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 ...

. He 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

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) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

in 2019.

Early life and amateur career

Born on

Staten Island, NY Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

, Dini later moved to

Monroe Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey Monroe Township is a township located in southern Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is centrally located within the Raritan Valley region and is an outer-ring suburb of New York City within the New York metropol ...

and attended Monroe Township High School. At Monroe, Dini became the school's all-time leader in hits (160), runs (128), doubles (41), triples (10), home runs (23) and RBI (117). 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, ...

Wagner College Wagner College is a private university in Staten Island, New York. It was established in 1883 and, as of the 2023–2024 academic year, it enrolled approximately 1,932 students, including 1,592 undergraduates and 340 graduates. Its theatre prog ...

. As a senior, Dini was named the

Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...

Player of the Year and third team All-America by

Louisville Slugger Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

after batting .392 with 44 RBI and 26 extra-base hits. Dini also set school records for hits (245), at-bats (793), and games played (215). Dini's number 22 is retired in the program.

Professional career

Kansas City Royals

Minor leagues

Dini was selected by the

in the 14th round of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

. After signing, Dini was assigned to the rookie-league

Idaho Falls Chukars The Idaho Falls Chukars 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 Idaho Falls, Idaho, and play their home games at Melaleu ...

and hit .316 with four home runs and 29 RBIs in his first season of professional baseball. In 2016, Dini appeared in only 20 games with four different minor league teams due to injuries, batting .319 with nine RBIs. Dini began the 2017 season with the Single–A

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends have ...

and was promoted to the Double-A

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. T ...

hitting a combined .302 batting average with four home runs and 36 RBIs. He was selected by the Royals to play in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

for the

Surprise Saguaros The Surprise Saguaros are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Surprise, Arizona, at Surprise Stadium. The ballpark is also the spring training facility of the Kansas City Roya ...

following the end of the season. He started 2018 with Northwest Arkansas and was named a reserve to the

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 ...

All-Star Game, batting .239 in 80 games before being promoted to the Triple–A

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, Nebraska, Omah ...

for the rest of the season. He hit .333 with three home runs and six RBIs in 14 games with Omaha. Dini was a non-roster invitee to Royals spring training in 2019, but did not make the team out of camp and was assigned to Triple–A.

Major leagues

Dini was called up to the Major Leagues on August 7, 2019, after catcher

Cam Gallagher Cameron Joseph Gallagher (born December 6, 1992) is an American professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians. Professional career Ka ...

sustained an injury. He made his big league debut that same night as a pinch hitter for Meibrys Viloria and remained in the game as catcher. The next day, August 8, 2019, he made his first big league start at catcher against 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 club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

and collecting his first career hit, a single off Matt Hall, while going 1–3 with a walk and a run scored. On August 19, 2019, Dini hit his first major league home run off of Gabriel Ynoa at Camden Yards in a 5–4 win over the Orioles. Dini finished his rookie season with a .196 batting average, two home runs, six RBIs and 11 runs scored in 20 games played. He also threw out four of ten attempted base stealers for a 40% caught-stealing average. Dini was designated for assignment on November 20, 2019.

New York Mets

On November 29, 2021, Dini signed a minor league deal with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

organization. He spent the 2022 season with the Triple–A

Syracuse Mets The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which ope ...

, playing in 50 games and hitting .232/.323/.446 with a career–high 11 home runs and 37 RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 10.

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 15, 2022, Dini signed a minor league deal with 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 ...

. In 71 games for the Triple–A

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 ...

, he batted .198/.356/.371 with nine home runs, 29 RBI, and six stolen bases. Dini became a free agent after the 2023 season.

References

External links

Wagner Seahawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dini, Nick 1993 births Living people Arizona League Royals players Baseball players from Middlesex County, New Jersey Durham Bulls players Idaho Falls Chukars players Kansas City Royals players Lexington Legends players Major League Baseball catchers Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Omaha Storm Chasers players People from Monroe Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey Baseball players from Staten Island Surprise Saguaros players Syracuse Mets players Wagner Seahawks baseball players Wilmington Blue Rocks players