Peter John Pilittere (born November 23, 1981) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. He has previously served as the assistant

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

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

and

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 ...

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).

Career

Playing career

Pilittere graduated from

Bishop Amat High School Bishop Amat Memorial High School is a co-ed Catholic high school serving the San Gabriel Valley in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and was founded in 1957. The campus is located in La Puente, California, approximately east of dow ...

La Puente, California La Puente ( Spanish for "The Bridge") is a city in east Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city had a population of 39,816 at the 2010 census and is approximately east of downtown Los Angeles. History The original inhabitan ...

. He enrolled at

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public research university in Fullerton, California, United States. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the California State ...

to 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

Cal State Fullerton Titans The Cal State Fullerton Titans (also known as CSUF or Fullerton Titans) are the sport, athletic teams that represent California State University, Fullerton. The Titans are a member of the NCAA Division I level. The Titans compete within the Big W ...

, where was a member of their

2004 College World Series The 2004 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was held from June 4 through June 27, . Sixty-four NCAA Division I college baseball teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament, to play in ...

championship team. The

selected Pilittere in the 13th round of the 2004 Major League Baseball draft. He played in the Yankees' organization until 2011, when he retired after playing in 470 games across eight seasons.

Coaching career

In 2012, Pilittere became a

with the

Gulf Coast Yankees The Florida Complex League Yankees are a Rookie-level affiliate of the New York Yankees, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball ...

. The Yankees promoted him to serve as the hitting coach for the

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Char ...

of the Single–A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

for the 2013 season, the 2014 season with the

Tampa Yankees Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the county seat of Hillsborough C ...

of the High–A, and the 2015 and 2016 seasons with the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the D ...

of the Double–A Eastern League. In 2017, he coached for the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders, are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

of the Triple–A

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 ...

. Prior to the 2018 season, the Yankees named Pilittere their assistant hitting coach at the major league level. The Yankees opted not to retain Pilittere after the 2021 season. The

hired Pilittere as their assistant hitting coach on December 14, 2021. On October 8, 2024, Pilittere and the Rockies parted ways.

References

External links

Yankees coaching bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pilittere, P. J. 1981 births Living people Baseball players from San Dimas, California Baseball coaches from California Baseball catchers Major League Baseball hitting coaches New York Yankees coaches Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball players Staten Island Yankees players Tampa Yankees players Peoria Saguaros players Trenton Thunder players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Minor league baseball coaches Bishop Amat Memorial High School alumni