Valentino Martin Pascucci (born November 17, 1978) 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

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 ...

. 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

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

and

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 ...

, and in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba, Chiba, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings, Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. The Marines were a founding member of the Pacific Le ...

. He batted and threw right-handed. In 2014, he transitioned to the role of hitting coach for the Mets' SingleaA affiliate, the

Savannah Sand Gnats The Savannah Sand Gnats were a minor league baseball team based in Savannah, Georgia. They were a member of the A-level South Atlantic League. The Sand Gnats were an affiliate of the New York Mets in their final nine seasons. The team relocated t ...

. In 2016, he was named the hitting coach for the

St. Lucie Mets The St. Lucie Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and play their home games at Clover Park. The Mets have been members ...

Career

High school

Pascucci attended

Gahr High School Richard Gahr High School, often simply known as Gahr High School, is a public, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) magnet high school in Cerritos, California, serving grades 9- 12. Gahr High is one of three comprehensive high ...

in Cerritos, CA.

College

Pascucci was originally drafted by the

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 ...

in the 11th round of the 1996 Major League Baseball draft, but he chose to go to college instead. He attended college at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

for two years, from –. He was originally a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

, compiling a 4-0 win-loss record with two saves and 64

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s in 58

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

Montreal Expos

The

selected him in the 15th round of the

1999 Major League Baseball draft The 1999 Major League Baseball draft, was the annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held on June 2 and 3, 1999. A total of 1,474 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections Supplemental fir ...

. He began his professional career as a position player. Pascucci's pro career began in , with the Single-A

Vermont Expos Vermont () is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north. According to the mo ...

. In , with a 20-game stint with the

Cape Fear Crocs The Cape Fear Crocs were a minor league baseball team in Fayetteville, North Carolina. They were a low Class-A baseball team which played in the South Atlantic League, and were a farm team of the Montreal Expos for the franchise's entire tenu ...

, the Single-A affiliate of the Expos, Pascucci batted .319 with 3

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 and 10 RBI and was called up to the High-A

Jupiter Hammerheads The Jupiter Hammerheads are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roger Dean ...

later that season. He played 113 games for Jupiter, hitting .284 with a .394

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

. Val was promoted to the Double-A

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team who play in the Eastern League, and are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at FNB Field on Cit ...

for the season, where he sent a minor league career high 27 home runs out of the park. He played with the Triple-A

Edmonton Trappers The Edmonton Trappers were a minor league baseball team in Edmonton, Alberta. They were a part of the Triple-A level in the Pacific Coast League, ending with the 2004 season. Their home games were played at Telus Field in downtown Edmonton. The ...

for all of and parts of . On April 26, 2004, Pascucci was called up by Montréal from Triple-A Edmonton. He debuted for the Expos in

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

later that day. Pascucci, however, was sent back down to the minor leagues on May 28. Pascucci was not called back up to the Majors until September 1, when MLB rosters expanded. He hit his first career home run on September 15, 2004 and also played in the final game of the Expos' history on October 3. He was released on December 10, 2004.

Chiba Lotte Marines

Pascucci spent the 2005 and 2006 seasons with the

of Japan's

Pacific League The , or , or the , due to sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the a ...

Florida Marlins

On April 6, , Pascucci was signed by 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 ...

and spent the season with their Triple-A affiliate, the

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an ...

Philadelphia Phillies

In December 2007, Pascucci signed a minor league contract with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

' Triple-A affiliate, the

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and they are named in reference to pig iron, used ...

New York Mets

After being released by the Phillies on April 29, Pascucci signed a minor league contract with the

a few days later. He spent the rest of the season playing for the

New Orleans Zephyrs New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

, the Mets Triple-A affiliate. He became a free agent at the end of the season.

Los Angeles Dodgers

In January , he signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. Pascucci hit only .207 with 8 home runs in 60 games with the Triple-A

before he was released by the Dodgers on June 18, 2009.

San Diego Padres

Pascucci was signed by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

on June 27, 2009, and assigned to their Triple-A affiliate, the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams h ...

New York Mets

On May 14, 2010, after a brief stint with the

Camden Riversharks The Camden Riversharks were an United States, American professional baseball team based in Camden, New Jersey, from 2001 to 2015. They were a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, then unaffiliated with ...

, Pascucci signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets, and was assigned to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

. In 2011, he was called up when the rosters expanded on September 1, after hitting 21 home runs and driving in 91 RBI with Triple-A Buffalo. He made his Mets debut on September 8, 2011 when he pinch hit for

Willie Harris William Charles Harris (born June 22, 1978) is an American professional baseball Manager (baseball), manager who currently serves as the manager for the Daytona Tortugas, the Single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Harris served as the Coach ...

. He got a single against

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 ...

pitcher Eric O'Flaherty and was then pinch run for by Jason Pridie. After that, he went 0–5 with a main

pinch-hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, Am ...

role for the team, until on September 24, he hit a game tying pinch-hit home run in the 7th inning off of

pitcher

Cole Hamels Colbert Michael Hamels (born December 27, 1983), nicknamed "Hollywood", is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (2006–2015), Texas Rangers (2015–2018), Chi ...

to tie the game at 1. It was Pascucci's first pinch-hit home run and just the 3rd home run of his Major league career. Val's teammate and Mets third baseman

David Wright David Allen Wright (born December 20, 1982) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who spent his entire 14-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Mets. Chosen by the Mets in the 2001 Major League Baseball dr ...

then hit a go-ahead double in the 8th inning to give the Mets a 2–1 win over their rivals. On the very next day, Pasccuci hit a pinch-hit RBI single against Phillies pitcher Antonio Bastardo. That would be Pasccuci's last hit of the 2011 season. He made a mere two pinch-hit appearances in the Mets' last series of the season against 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 ...

. Pasccuci finished the 2011 season 3-11, good for a .273

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 ...

. On November 17, 2011, the Mets announced that Pascucci would be invited to

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 ...

as a non-roster invitee. He spent the entirety of the 2012 season with Triple-A Buffalo. During the 2012 season, Pascucci got invited to the Triple-A All-Star Game and Home Run Derby held in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. Pascucci won the Home Run Derby, energizing the home crowd. He became a minor league free agent after 2012 season.

Coaching career

For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, Pascucci served as the hitting coach for the Mets' Single-A affiliate, the

. Pascucci was named as the hitting coach for the

Binghamton Rumble Ponies The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mi ...

of the

organization for the 2018 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pascucci, Valentino 1978 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American people of Italian descent Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from Bellflower, California Broncos de Reynosa players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Camden Riversharks players Cape Fear Crocs players Chiba Lotte Marines players Edmonton Trappers players Harrisburg Senators players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Leones del Escogido players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball right fielders Mexican League baseball first basemen Minor league baseball coaches Montreal Expos players New Orleans Zephyrs players New York Mets players Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Oklahoma Sooners baseball players Portland Beavers players Vermont Expos players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players Rochester Honkers players Gahr High School alumni