Adam Robert Ottavino (born November 22, 1985) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who is a free agent. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

and

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. Listed at and , he throws right-handed and is a

switch hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers. Characteristics Right-handed batters generally hit better aga ...

Amateur career

A native of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Ottavino was born in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

when he was three years old. He attended elementary school at P.S. 39, The Henry Bristow School in the

Park Slope Park Slope is a neighborhood in northwestern Brooklyn, New York City, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park and Prospect Park West to the east, Fourth Avenue to the west, Flatbush Aven ...

neighborhood of Brooklyn, junior high school at I.S. 240 Andries Hudde and graduated from the

Berkeley Carroll School The Berkeley Carroll School is a coed independent college prep school in New York City. Located in Park Slope, Brooklyn, it has a Lower School (preK – grade 4), Middle School (grades 5–8) and Upper School (grades 9–12). History The ...

in Park Slope in 2003. He attended one of the aforementioned schools with future teammate

Dellin Betances Dellin Betances (; born March 23, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees and New York Mets from 2011 to 2021. Betances was named an Major League Baseball All-S ...

, who was a couple of grades younger. They were also in the same baseball league as kids, and Ottavino described him as very tall and lanky, saying he matured into his well-built structure as he got older. 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 venu ...

selected Ottavino in the 30th round of the 2003 MLB draft, but he did not sign. Ottavino enrolled at

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Northeastern Huskies baseball Northeastern Huskies baseball is the varsity intercollegiate team representing Northeastern University in the sport of college baseball at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The team is led by Mike Glavin ...

team. Ottavino holds both the Northeastern career and single season records for

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s. In 2005, he was named

America East Conference The America East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I founded in 1979, whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference has nine core members including eight public research u ...

's Pitcher of the Year. After the 2005 season, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Harwich Mariners The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fiel ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

Professional career

St. Louis Cardinals

The

selected Ottavino out of Northeastern University in the first round, with the 30th overall selection, of the 2006 MLB draft. That year, he pitched for the

Swing of the Quad Cities Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...

of the Class A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. He pitched for the

Springfield Cardinals The Springfield Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springfield, Missouri. They compete as a member of the Texas League's North Division. The Cardinals began play in 2005. The team is owned by the 11-time Major League Baseball ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

in 2008. In 2009, Ottavino pitched for the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(PCL). He had an 0–9

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

in the first half of the season, but had a 7–3 record in the second half. Adam Ottavino, 2010

After the 2009 season, the Cardinals added Ottavino to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

. He began the 2010 season with Memphis. On May 29, 2010, Ottavino made his major league debut for the Cardinals as a starter. He appeared in five games for the Cardinals in 2010, three of them starts. After the 2010 season, the Cardinals outrighted Ottavino off of their 40-man roster. He pitched for Memphis in 2011, and the Cardinals re-added him to their 40-man roster after the season.

Colorado Rockies

On April 3, 2012, the

claimed Ottavino off of waivers. The Rockies assigned him to the

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockie ...

of the PCL. They promoted him to the majors later that season, and developed him into a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

. In 2013, Ottavino switched his

uniform number In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar (with such naming differences varying by sport and region) is the number worn on a player's uniform, to ...

to 0. Despite posting a 5–1 win–loss record, his

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) was close to 5.00 in 79 innings. In 2013, Ottavino appeared in 51 games, pitching in 78.1 innings and lowering his ERA from the previous season by two runs, registering an ERA of 2.64 for the Rockies. In 2014, Ottavino went 1–4 with a 3.60 ERA in a career high 75 games. After closer

LaTroy Hawkins LaTroy Hawkins (born December 21, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. In his 21-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Ro ...

struggled to open the 2015 season, Ottavino was named the new closer. On May 4, 2015, it was revealed that Ottavino had a partially torn

ulnar collateral ligament Ulnar collateral ligament (or UCL), may refer to: * Ulnar carpal collateral ligament * Ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint * Ulnar collateral ligament of thumb The ulnar collateral ligament of the thumb runs along the ulnar side of the met ...

in his right elbow, which required

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

, ending his 2015 season. After the 2015 season, the Rockies and Ottavino agreed on a three-year contract worth $10.4 million. Ottavino began the 2016 season on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

. After returning, he completed 37 scoreless appearances, in 31 innings pitched, which set a Rockies' franchise record. In 2018, he was 6–4 with a 2.34 ERA, and shared the major league lead in

hold Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (ship), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called a Fermat ...

s, with 34. Following the 2017 season, Ottavino rented a vacant storefront on

St. Nicholas Avenue __NOTOC__ St. Nicholas Avenue is a major street that runs obliquely north-south through several blocks between 111th and 193rd Streets in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The route, which follows a course that is much older than the grid ...

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

from his father-in-law which he converted into a pitching lab. In the lab, he and other local players at lower levels of the sport used technology and data to develop pitches and hone their craft.

New York Yankees

On January 24, 2019, the

signed Ottavino to a three-year contract worth $27 million. Ottavino became the first Yankee in team history to wear

0, the last single-digit number not

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

by the Yankees. During the 2019 season, Ottavino appeared in 73 games for the Yankees, all in relief, pitching to a 6–5 record with 1.90 ERA and 88 strikeouts in innings pitched. During the shortened 2020 season, he made 24 appearances, all in relief, with a 5.89 ERA and 2–3 record with 25 strikeouts in innings pitched.

Boston Red Sox

On January 25, 2021, the Yankees traded Ottavino and minor league pitcher Frank German to the

for cash considerations or a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

; it was only the second trade between the

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

since 1987. During the regular season, Ottavino made 69 appearances for Boston, all in relief, compiling a 7–3 record with 11 saves and 4.21 ERA; he struck out 71 batters in 62 innings. In the postseason, he made five relief appearances, allowing one run in four innings, as the Red Sox advanced to the

American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...

. On November 3, Ottavino elected to become a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

New York Mets

Adam Ottavino pitching, Aug 27 2022 (cropped)

On March 14, 2022, Ottavino signed a one-year contract with the

. In 2022 he was 6-3.

Personal life

During his first season with the Yankees, Ottavino resided in his childhood neighborhood of

, New York City, with his wife, Brette, and their two daughters. They currently live in

Dyker Heights, Brooklyn Dyker Heights is a predominantly residential neighborhood in the southwest corner of the Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn in New York City. It is on a hill between Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Bensonhurst, Bor ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ottavino, Adam 1985 births Living people American sportspeople of Italian descent American Roman Catholics Baseball players from New York (state) Boston Red Sox players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Harwich Mariners players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Redbirds players New York Mets players New York Yankees players Northeastern Huskies baseball players Palm Beach Cardinals players People from Park Slope Peoria Saguaros players St. Louis Cardinals players State College Spikes players Sportspeople from Brooklyn Springfield Cardinals players Swing of the Quad Cities players People from Dyker Heights, Brooklyn