Frank Catalanotto
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Birth Name: Frank John Catalanotto College: C.W. Post (NY) Personal: Wife, two children
“My dad was usually my coach in Little League. He taught me more about baseball than anyone. Whether I did well or did badly, whenever I got in the car, my dad was telling me what I did wrong or what I did right. He’s the guy I learned the most from. Sometimes it was hard to have my dad as the coach. I think because the other kids on the teams would think that my dad would favor me or something like that. Sometimes, when you’re a kid and your dad tells you, “Hey, you should have done this. You should have done that.” Sometimes, you don’t want to hear that and you get upset. I remember getting upset even though he was just trying to help me out. “The most memorable moment of Little League was the parade before the first game. I remember the anticipation and the excitement for Opening Day and that parade. We’d walk down those streets, and at the end of the parade, some guy gave a little speech, and then we went and played our game. I never remember specific games that I did well in, I have a terrible memory, but that is one thing that I always seem to remember.
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Catalanotto also known as “Cat” grew up idolizing Don Mattingly and the New York Yankees. Frank played baseball, soccer and ran track at Smithtown High School and graduated in 1992. He earned All-Long Island honors in baseball in 1992. Frank is married with one child. He is an honorary chairman for the National Vascular Birthmark Foundation and participates in Little league programs. Cat also enjoys playing billiards in his time off and carries a notebook around with him taking notes after each at bat.After being drafted by the Tigers Frank immediately began assaulting the minor leagues. After finishing 9th in the Appalachian League in 1993 he went on to win the batting title with Fayetteville in 1994. His batting average was 19 points higher then any other player in the league. He was then named to the SAL post season all star team. Playing with Jacksonville in 1995 he lead all Southern League first basemen in fielding percentage, assists, double plays, and total chances. Frank ranked in the top three in just about every offensive category for the team. In 1996 Frank helped lead Jacksonville to the Southern League title. He finished second in runs, third in hits, ranked fourth in doubles and his .298 batting average was 8th best. He would also set highs in homers, walks, and stolen bases. Frank played second base that season and led all second basemen in total chances, assists, errors, doubles plays and fielding percentage. In one game on May 20th against Orlando he was five-for–five with four runs.The Oakland A’s selected Cat in the 1996 Rule V draft on December 6th but he was later returned to the Tigers in March of 1997. He made the International League midseason and post season all-star teams and earned MVP honors in the game. He led the Mudhens in average, hits, runs, doubles, and was second in RBIS and third in homers. His .984 fielding percentage was the best in the league at second base. Frank was recalled to the Tigers on September 2nd and appeared in 13 games 6 of which were starts at second base, On September 9th Catalanotto picked up his first hit against Rick Helling of the Rangers and would post his first 3 hit game against the Oakland A’s on the 14th. While playing in the Fall league at third base Catalanotto hurt himself and would undergo right shoulder surgery on the 5th of November under Dr. James Andrews.In 1998 Catalanotto lead the AL in pinch hit at bats and finished second in pinch hits. His 8/32 effort included a homer and 3 RBI. On May 10th he hit his first career homerun off of Ken Hill of the Angels. On June 15th Cat was sent back to the minors. Against Buffalo on the 19th of July he hit for the Cycle and was recalled four days after. He would hit .299 after his recall and started 26 of the teams final 48 games. He broke up Mike Mussina’s no hit bid on the 4th of August with a double in the 8th. On August 25th he collected three doubles against the Rangers. In 1999 Cats played in a career high 100 games setting highs in runs, hits doubles , homers, RBIS and walked. He started 24 games at first, 20 at second, 17 at third and 7 at DH. He even doubled in 5 straight games from April 25th to May 2nd. On May 21st he hit his first career two run homer in Cleveland. On June 13th in St. Louis he hit his second career pinch hit homerun, a game winner against the Cardinals in the 10th. By all accounts 1999 was a huge success for Catalanotto who was quickly becoming the best player on the Tigers.
Then on November 2nd Catalanotto found himself traded to the Texas Rangers along with Alan Webb, Francisco Cordero, Bill Haselman, Gabe Kapler and Justin Thompson for Juan Gonzalez, Danny Patterson and Greg Zaun. The Tigers were moving into a new ballpark and was hoping that the addition of Gonzalez would help spark fan interest and the teams record. Of course it didn’t and the following season Gonzalez was in Cleveland. From April 21 though May 18th he set club records with 10 straight hits, and 13 consecutive times on base. From the 22nd of April to the 15th of May he was on the DL with a strained groin muscle. He started 44 of the teams final 62 games. 2000 had been another good year for Catalanotto but everyone was about ready for the Cat to start being a full time player. In 2001 his .330 batting average was 5th best in the AL. His .391 OBP was 2nd on the team and 10th in the AL. Playing fulltime he set highs in average, games, at bats, runs, hits , doubles, triples, RBI, walks, steals and tied his career high of 11 homers. He started 72 games in left, 14 in right, 11 at second, 6 at third and 4 at DH. That tied Randy Velarde for the most positions played on the team. The Rangers were finding anyway possible to get his bat into the lineup. Two stints on the DL, lower back and groin pain allowed him only to play 68 games in 2002. On August 16th he was hit by a pitch by Toronto’s Mark Hendrickson, causing him to miss the remainder of the season. He became a free agent at the end of the season and was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays on December 30th. In his first season with the Jays he set highs in home runs, runs and RBIs and matched a career high 133 games played. On May 29th against the White Sox he picked up his 500th career hit. His .366 average with RISP was 6th best in the league. Frank spent most of the season in the number two hole for the high powered Jays offense. He would collect four hits twice and had five hits in a game against the Red Sox on July 9th. He tied career highs in runs with four on July 1s versus the Red Sox and again on September 7th against the Tigers. Frank struggled again versus lefties but managed to hit his first homerun versus a left on May 30th against Matt White of the Red Sox. During the off season the Blue Jays picked up his option for 2004. “It seemed like I was on the right page with the pitcher at all times. Whatever I was looking for, I got it right in that spot. It’s an unbelievable feeling (going 6-for-6). Nights like this don’t come around very often, so you want to take advantage of them and enjoy them.” - Frank Catalanotto (May 1, 2004) Injuries again struck in the 2004 season. Though not before Cat collected a Major League tying 6 hits (6-for-6) on May 1. For 2006 Frank appeared in 130 games, batting .301 with eight home runs as he collected 59 RBI, matching his career best established in 2003 with the Blue Jays. He was twice selected as the AL Player of the Week. The first time he was selected was July 25 after batting .565 with one home run, nine RBI and five multi-hit games. He later won the award on October 2 after batting .500 over the final week of the season, leading the league with 15 hits, 15 RBI, 29 total bases and a .967 slugging percentage. On June 5 at Oakland, collected the 700th hit of his Major League career and scored his 400th career run, September 22nd against Seattle. Catalanotto saw just 31 at bats against southpaws but hit .290 including his second career home run off a left-handed pitcher taking Milwaukee’s Chris Capuano deep on June 19. He hit .301 against righties for the season. The Cat was also good in the clutch batted .409 with runners in scoring position, including a .359 average with two out. A return to Texas (2007-Present) Catalanotto signed a multi-year deal returning to the Texas Rangers. In his first year back in Texas he hit 11 homers but struggled much of the first half before heating up late. |
