Andrew Lee Cannizaro (born December 19, 1978) is a former

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), ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

who played for the

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

and

Tampa Bay 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) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

between 2006 and 2008, and a former head baseball coach for the

Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State Bulldogs is the name given to the athletic teams of Mississippi State University, in Mississippi State, Mississippi. The university is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and competes in NCAA Division I. Sports sp ...

Playing career

Cannizaro played college baseball for the

Tulane Green Wave The Tulane Green Wave are the athletic teams that represent Tulane University, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tulane competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the American Athletic Conference (The American). There are 14 Green Wave intercol ...

. While at

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

, he was named to the All-Tournament Team at the

1999 Conference USA baseball tournament The 1999 Conference USA baseball tournament was the 1999 postseason baseball championship of the NCAA Division I Conference USA, held at USA Stadium in Millington, Tennessee, from May 12 through 17. defeated in the championship game, earning ...

, which Tulane won. After the 1999 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

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the lea ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was a two time all-American at Tulane, and a four-year starter. After four seasons in college, he was drafted by the Yankees in the seventh round of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft after two seasons at

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

. He was called up by the Yankees on September 5, , as a September call-up after spending six seasons in the Yankee farm system with the

Staten Island Yankees The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and pla ...

Tampa Yankees Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the ...

, and

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

. Cannizaro played in his first major league game on September 5, 2006, playing at

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

for two innings, without an at-bat, against the Kansas City Royals. Cannizaro singled in the first at-bat of his career on September 8, 2006, against

Brian Burres Brian Burres (born April 8, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Burres' best pitch is his changeup. He also has a high 80s-low 90 MPH fastball and a curveball. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Or ...

of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

, and later scored. He hit his first major league

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

on September 25, 2006, off

Jon Switzer Jon Michael Switzer (born August 13, 1979) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Amateur career High school Switzer is a 1998 graduate of Clear Lake High School in Houston, Texas While there he was three-year letterwinner and was s ...

in a 16–1 win against 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 ve ...

. Cannizaro signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays during the - offseason. He made his Rays debut on May 3, . On August 4, 2008, Cannizaro was traded to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

and assigned to Triple-A Buffalo. On August 13, 2009, just one year after being traded to the

Cannizaro was traded to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. In October 2009 Cannizaro was granted free agency.

Coaching career

In 2014, Cannizaro was named hitting coach and recruiting coordinator at

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

. On November 5, 2016, Mississippi State University Athletic Director John Cohen, who had recently stepped down as head baseball coach, announced Cannizaro as his successor. On February 19, 2018, Cannizaro resigned as the head coach of Mississippi State University's baseball team after it was discovered that he had an extramarital affair with a Mississippi State football staff assistant. At the time he was married with two children, and his wife was reportedly pregnant with a third child. His resignation was accepted immediately by Athletic Director John Cohen. His resignation came three games into the Diamond Dawgs’ season. On February 22, 2019, Holy Cross High School of New Orleans announced that Cannizaro would become the school's head baseball coach starting June 1, replacing Trey Guillot.

Family

Cannizaro has two younger brothers. Lee Cannizaro attended the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

where he played college baseball. His youngest brother, Garrett Cannizaro, 27, attended Tulane University where he played baseball.

Head coaching record

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cannizaro, Andy 1978 births Living people Baseball players from Louisiana Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Columbus Clippers players Cotuit Kettleers players Durham Bulls players LSU Tigers baseball coaches Major League Baseball shortstops Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball coaches New York Yankees players New York Yankees scouts Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Staten Island Yankees players Tampa Bay Rays players Tampa Yankees players Trenton Thunder players Tulane Green Wave baseball players People from Mandeville, Louisiana Sportspeople from St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana