David Michael Dellucci (born October 31, 1973) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent.

Dellucci graduated from Catholic High in Baton Rouge in 1991. He earned the team's Most Valuable Player honors in both baseball and football, and also earned All-State honors for baseball. Dellucci was voted "Man of the Year" in high school for his success as a student athlete and for being a role model for youth. During the winter of 2001, he was inducted into the Catholic HS Hall of Fame.

He played four seasons at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), where he was an All-Southeastern Conference selection in both 1994 and 1995 and earned All-American status in 1995, setting 10 school records while leading the SEC in hitting. He was named Athlete of the Year at Ole Miss in 1995.

Dellucci was drafted in the 10th round by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1995 First-Year Player Draft. During his stint with the Orioles in 1997, Dellucci hit his first major league home run on June 25 in a road game against the Brewers. Selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 1998 MLB Expansion Draft, he played for Arizona from 1998 to 2003, including playing on the World Series-winning squad in 2001. During the 2003 season, Dellucci was traded to the New York Yankees, along with pitcher Bret Prinz and catcher John Sprowl, in exchange for outfielder Raúl Mondesí. He finished the 2003 season with New York, and in 2004, signed with the Texas Rangers as a free agent. In 2005, with Texas, he had 29 homers and 65 RBI. In 2006, Dellucci was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Robinson Tejeda and Minor League outfielder Jake Blalock.

Dellucci became a Cleveland Indian on December 6, 2006. On June 19, 2007 Dellucci severely tore his left hamstring tendon off of the bone just under his left knee. He missed time early in Spring Training 2009 due to a surgically repaired thumb after smashing it in the tailgate of his trailer. It is believed that Dellucci was heavily intoxicated when the incident occurred. He started the 2009 season on the Disabled List with a strained left calf.

While hitting .275 in 40 at bats, he was designated for assignment by the Indians on May 29, 2009, and after clearing waivers was released on June 1.

On June 10, 2009 Dellucci agreed to terms on a minor league contract with the Blue Jays. On July 3, 2009, the Blue Jays selected Dellucci's contract from Las Vegas 51's of the Pacific Coast League (AAA). After a brief stint with the major league club in Toronto, he was designated for assignment on July 23, 2009.

[edit] Personal

After Hurricane Katrina, Dellucci, a Louisiana native, started the Catch 22 for Blue Foundation to raise money to help the victims of the hurricane. He was rewarded with a Commendation from the Louisiana Senate and House of Representatives for the work he did. He now heads The Dellucci's Dream Foundation which puts on an annual free baseball clinic in Baton Rouge for boys and girls as well as educates young children with life skills to help them become better citizens in society.

Dellucci dated dated Playboy playmate Gena Lee Nolin during the Arizona Diamondbacks World Series run in 2001. ^[1]

Dellucci is engaged to Rachel Reynolds, a model on The Price is Right. Coincidentally, Gena Lee Nolin is also a former Barker's Beauty.

[edit] See also

• List of Major League Baseball triples champions

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube