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Rocco Daniel Baldelli (born September 25, 1981 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island)[1] is a currently inactive Major League Baseball outfielder.
[edit] Early lifeRocco Baldelli attended the PEGASUS Gifted and Talented middle-school program at La Salle Academy in Providence. He played baseball for the Rhode Island Tides, an AAU ball club. Then he switched to Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, Rhode Island, for high school. There he posted a 4.25 grade point average. He was also a four sport star, excelling at baseball, a season of indoor track, basketball, and volleyball and was selected in the first round of the 2000 amateur draft. He has said that if he had not signed with Tampa Bay, he would have attended Wake Forest University, rather than Princeton. He is of pre-dominantly Italian ancestry but has a distant Syrian lineage through his paternal grandmother. [edit] Major league career[edit] Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays[edit] Early success Baldelli made his major league debut on March 31, 2003. In 2003, he and New York Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui were among the early contenders for AL Rookie of the Year. Matsui - a Japanese baseball star who spent many years in Japan's professional league - and Baldelli both fell short of winning the award, losing out to Angel Berroa of the Kansas City Royals. Several members of the BBWAA contested Matsui's rookie eligibility, and two left him off their ballots, ensuring the win for Berroa.[2] Baldelli finished the 2003 season with an impressive line, batting .289 with 11 home runs, 78 runs batted in, 89 runs scored and 27 stolen bases. In 2004, Baldelli had a similar season, batting .280 with 16 home runs, 74 runs batted in, 79 runs scored and 17 stolen bases. He led all major league center fielders in range factor (3.03). According to professional baseball scouts, Baldelli shared many similarities to Hall of Fame outfielder Joe DiMaggio ever since his days as a prep star. This can be attributed to Baldelli's athletic ability, their shared position (center field), wearing the same uniform number (5), and their Italian-American heritage. Al LaMacchia, a professional scout for over 50 years, went so far as to call Rocco "Joe's twin" [3][4]. [edit] Medical issuesBaldelli started the 2005 season on the disabled list after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament over the offseason while playing baseball with his brother. He was initially expected to be back by the All-Star break, but then injured his elbow while rehabilitating and needed Tommy John surgery, a medical procedure which required months of further rehabilitation. After missing almost a full season and a half, Baldelli returned to the D-Rays' lineup against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on June 7, 2006. Baldelli was a regular starter in the outfield for the rest of the 2006 campaign and hit .302 with 16 home runs, 57 runs batted in, 57 runs scored and 10 stolen bases in only 364 at bats. In spring training before the 2007 season, Rocco pulled his hamstring. The injury lingered, but Baldelli attempted to play, appearing in 35 games (15 as a designated hitter) while posting only a .204 batting average. He reaggravated his hamstring in May and was placed on the DL on May 17th [5]. Doctors recommended a period of rest, and then Baldelli reported to the minor leagues for a rehab assignment. After several games, he injured his hamstring again and was unable to play again for the remainder of the baseball season. In the following offseason, Baldelli underwent extensive medical testing to determine the reasons for his muscle problems and worsening fatigue after even brief workouts. Doctors discovered some "metabolic and/or mitochondrial abnormalities" but were unable to provide an exact diagnosis.[6] Baldelli attempted to return to game action during spring training in 2008 but was unable to do so due to continued physical problems. On March 12, he held an emotional press conference in which he announced that he would be once again placed on the disabled list while he attempted to overcome his mysterious medical issues. Though he did not retire, the future of his baseball career was in doubt.[7] Accordingly, on April 1, 2008, the Tampa Bay Rays declined Baldelli's contract option for the following season (2009), potentially making him a free agent after the season.[8] After more medical consultations, Baldelli began taking a combination of medications and nutritional supplements that seemed to improve his condition. On May 29, 2008, he began playing in extended spring training games, and in mid-June was sent to play in the Rays' minor league system for further rehabilitation and conditioning in the hope that he might return to the majors during the 2008 season.[9][10] [edit] Return to the fieldFinally, on August 10, 2008, Rocco was activated and started in right field for the Rays in a game against the Seattle Mariners. Baldelli had been growing a beard for months as a "symbol of his rehabilitation" and shaved it off before playing. In the contest, he had an RBI single as well as a diving catch before coming out of the game after the 5th inning.[11] Baldelli ended up appearing in 28 games for the Rays in 2008, mainly as a DH and pinch hitter but occasionally playing in right or left field.[12] He hit .263 with 4 home runs and 13 RBI, and was deemed valuable enough to be included in the Rays' postseason roster as they made the playoffs for the first time.[13] Baldelli made an impact in his limited post-season playing time. In Game 3 of the 2008 American League Championship Series, Baldelli hit a three-run home run off Boston's Paul Byrd in the eighth inning to help the Rays take the lead in the series. And in game 2 of the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, Baldelli made a double play by catching a fly ball and throwing back to first baseman Carlos Pena in time to beat Jayson Werth [14]. Overall, Baldelli hit .200 in 20 postseason at-bats with 2 HRs and 6 RBIs [12]. While improved, his medical condition prevented him from playing in back-to-back games, and he sometimes sat down to rest on the field during breaks in the action.[15] After the season, Baldelli was the recipient of the 2008 Tony Conigliaro Award, which is annually presented to a major league player who has "overcome adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination and courage that were trademarks of Tony Conigliaro.[16] During the 2008-09 offseason, further medical testing indicated that Baldelli suffers from a form of channelopathy, which makes his condition less serious and more treatable than the previous diagnosis of a mitochondrial disorder.[17] [edit] Boston Red SoxOn January 8, 2009 Baldelli signed a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox.[18] The deal is reported to be worth a base of $500,000 plus up to $6.75 million in incentives.[19] Baldelli continued to wear number 5 with his new team, becoming the first Red Sox player to wear that number since the departure of Nomar Garciaparra in 2004. Baldelli hit his first home run for the Red Sox on May 9, 2009 at Fenway Park against his old team, the Rays. For much of the season, however, he continued to struggle through physical ailments, landing on the 15-day DL twice and sitting out numerous contests with hamstring pulls and other issues. For the year, Baldelli appeared in 62 games for the Red Sox, hitting .253 with 7 HRs, 23 RBIs, and 1 SB. Boston made the playoffs as the AL wildcard team, but Baldelli was left off the team's postseason roster. After the season, he became a free agent. [edit] PersonalIn 2004, Baldelli was inducted into the Rhode Island Italian-American Hall of Fame. [edit] References
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