Brian Scott Omogrosso (born April 26, 1984) is a former

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.

Early life

Prior to playing professionally, he attended

Blackhawk High School Blackhawk High School is a public high school in Chippewa Township, Pennsylvania, United States, with a mailing address for nearby Beaver Falls. It is the only high school in the Blackhawk School District. Athletic teams compete as the Blackhawk ...

in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania and then Indiana State University. He was drafted by the White Sox in the sixth round of the 2006 amateur draft.

Minor leagues

He began his professional career in 2006 with the Kannapolis Intimidators, going 1-for–2 with a 3.19 ERA in 22 relief appearances. With the Winston-Salem Warthogs in 2007, Omogrosso went 8-for-8 with a 3.74 ERA in 40 games (14 starts), striking out 108 batters in innings. In 2008, he pitched for the

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current ...

, going 2-for-3 with a 3.69 ERA in 17 games (five starts). He split 2009 between the Barons and the Charlotte Knights, going a combined 7–2 with a 5.03 ERA in 17 games (13 starts). He missed most of the 2010 season while on the minor league

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 ...

Major leagues

Chicago White Sox

On June 29, 2012, Omogrosso was called up from Charlotte to replace the injured

Brian Bruney Brian Anthony Bruney (born February 17, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, and Chicago White Sox. He won the 200 ...

. Four days later, Omogrosso made his

Major league debut 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), ...

during a 19–2 win over the Texas Rangers. After his 5th appearance, he was optioned to make room for the return of

Jesse Crain Jesse Alan Crain (born July 5, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox. High school and college Crain was born in Toronto, Ontario and at ...

. Omogrosso returned as a September call-up, and pitched solidly to finish the season. In 17 major league appearances, he had a 2.57 ERA and struck out 18 in 21 innings. Omogrosso began the season with Charlotte, but was recalled on May 1 to replace

Donnie Veal Donald Tyrone Veal (born September 18, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Veal played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, and Atlanta Braves. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs ...

. After pitching 3 consecutive games, he was optioned to Charlotte on June 5, but was recalled on the June 21. He gave up 9 runs in an outing against Cleveland, and was optioned June 29. After being placed on the disabled list on July 10, he underwent season-ending elbow surgery on August 6, ending his season. He was outrighted off the roster on October 3, 2013, and elected free agency on October 6. He was re-signed in January 2014. In April 2014 he was released.

Bridgeport Bluefish

Omogrosso signed with the Bridgeport Bluefish for the 2014 season.

Retirement

Omogrosso retired on May 28, 2014.

Pitching style

Omogrosso throws five pitches, leading with a four-seam fastball at 93–96 mph. He also has a slider (mid 80s), a

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

(upper 70s), a changeup (upper 80s), and an occasional

two-seam fastball A two-seam fastball is a pitch in baseball and softball. It is a variant of the straight fastball. The pitch has the speed of a fastball and can also include late-breaking action caused by varying the pressure of the index and middle fingers on t ...

. The slider is mostly used against right-handers, while the changeup is used mostly against lefties. The curve is a common two-strike pitch against hitters of both sides.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Omogrosso, Brian 1984 births Living people Baseball players from Pennsylvania Birmingham Barons players Bridgeport Bluefish players Bristol White Sox players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Indiana State Sycamores baseball players Indiana State University alumni Kannapolis Intimidators players Major League Baseball pitchers People from Beaver, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Beaver County, Pennsylvania Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Winston-Salem Warthogs players