Scott Cursi is the clubhouse assistant and former

bullpen catcher The bullpen catcher is a member of a baseball team's staff, often a former professional player, who catches the ball for relief pitchers warming up before entering a game and starting pitchers before games. A bullpen catcher differentiates from a ...

for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

baseball team.

Career

He played as a catcher at Pickerington High School in Ohio and

Seminole Community College Seminole State College of Florida is a public college with four campuses in Central Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. Founded in 1965, the Florida State Legislature signed a charter creating "Seminole Junior College." The ...

, where he later served as an assistant while taking classes at

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

. He took a summer job as a bullpen catcher 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 part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

' Double-A Southern League affiliate, which later became the

Orlando Rays Several different minor league baseball teams have called the city of Orlando, Florida home from 1919–2003. Most have played in the Florida State League. The original Orlando franchise played between 1919 and 1924 and was alternately called the ...

under the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

(now the Tampa Bay Rays) organization. Cursi served as Orlando's bullpen catcher for three seasons, from 1996 to 1998,. In 1999,

Larry Rothschild Lawrence Lee Rothschild (born March 12, 1954) is an American professional baseball pitcher, coach, and manager. Rothschild played for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1981 and 1982. He has coached for the Cincinnati Reds ...

, then Tampa Bay manager, offered Cursi a job as bullpen catcher on the recommendation of Orlando manager

Bruce Kimm Bruce Edward Kimm (born June 29, 1951) is an American former professional baseball catcher, manager and coach. He played all or part of four seasons in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox between 1976 u ...

. Cursi began catching in Tampa Bay's bullpen on Easter Sunday in 1999, working home games while he completed his college degree, before becoming the full-time bullpen catcher later that season. Cursi went to the

2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 80th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 14, 2009 ...

with the Rays' coaching staff, as Tampa Bay was the defending

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

champions. There, Cursi warmed up pitchers and caught two rounds of the Home Run Derby. Cursi previously coached at

Bishop Waterson High School A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop i ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

for four years, following his high school graduation in 1989.

Off the field

Cursi graduated from

with a degree in physical education. He and his wife Stephanie live in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

with their son, Noah. Cursi also works as an umpire for

Little League Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization Pinellas County Pinellas County (, ) is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 959,107. The county is part of the Tampa– St. Petersburg– Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistic ...

References

Living people Tampa Bay Rays field personnel Major League Baseball bullpen catchers 1971 births {{US-baseball-bio-stub