Michael John Antonini (born August 6, 1985) is a former professional baseball

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 ...

. He played ball at Cardinal O'Hara High School,

Georgia College & State University Georgia College & State University (Georgia College or GC) is a public liberal arts university in Milledgeville, Georgia. The university enrolls approximately 7,000 students and is a member of the University System of Georgia and the Council ...

and Gloucester County College. He was originally drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 41st round of the 2006 MLB Draft but did not sign and was then drafted by the

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 ...

in the 18th round of the

2007 MLB Draft The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players and was held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the fir ...

Career

Minor League Baseball

New York Mets

Antonini signed with the Mets in 2007 and made his professional debut with their rookie league team, the

Kingsport Mets The Kingsport Mets were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League from 1921 to 2020. They were located in Kingsport, Tennessee, and were last named for the team's major league affiliate, the New York Mets. The team played its home ga ...

, that year. After a few starts he was promoted to the

Brooklyn Cyclones The Brooklyn Cyclones are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and play at Maimonides Park, just off the Coney Island Boar ...

. He split 2008 between the

Savannah Sand Gnats The Savannah Sand Gnats were a minor league baseball team based in Savannah, Georgia. They were a member of the A-level South Atlantic League. The Sand Gnats were an affiliate of the New York Mets in their final nine seasons. The team relocated ...

and the St. Lucie Mets. He spent most of 2009 with the AA

Binghamton Mets The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mirab ...

, where he was 7–5 with a 5.32 ERA in 25 appearances (20 starts). In 2010, he was 6–9 with a 4.32 ERA in 23 starts for Binghamton and received a promotion to the AAA

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

where he started six games late in the year and was 2–3 with a 5.11 ERA.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Antonini was traded to the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

on December 27, 2010, for Chin-lung Hu. With the Dodgers organization in 2011, he made 27 starts for the AA

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

and was 10–9 with a 4.01 ERA. He played in the mid-season

Southern League All-Star Game The Southern League All-Star Game was an annual baseball game sanctioned by Minor League Baseball between professional players from the teams of the Double-A Southern League. Each division, North and South, fielded a team composed of players in ...

and was added to the Dodgers'

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, an ...

after the season to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. Antonini was promoted to the AAA

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an e ...

to start 2012. On April 24, he was called up to the major leagues for the first time when Matt Guerrier was placed on the disabled list; however, Antonini was optioned back to the minors on April 27 without appearing in any games. On May 28, he was again called up to replace the injured

Ted Lilly Theodore Roosevelt Lilly III (born January 4, 1976) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Lilly attended Yosemite High School in Oakhurst, California, and Fresno City College. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Mont ...

, but returned to AAA one day later, again without appearing in a game. He was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Dodgers on July 31, and removed from their 40-man roster. Because Antonini has spent time on an active MLB roster without ever appearing in an MLB game (to date), he is an example of a " phantom ballplayer." Antonini cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Isotopes. He pitched in 30 games in Albuquerque, including 13 starts, and finished the season 2–7 with a 5.71 ERA. He was released at the end of March 2013.

Los Angeles Angels

During 2015, Antonini was briefly with the

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, also known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are affiliated with the Seattle Mariners as members of the Texas League. History The team succeeded ...

, the AA affiliate of the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

. In four games (all starts) he had a 1–1 record with 4.95 ERA.

Independent leagues

Atlantic League

Antonini signed with the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball for 2013. He appeared in 13 games (one start) with an 0–1 record and 7.84 ERA.

Can-Am League

Antonini played with the

New Jersey Jackals The New Jersey Jackals are an American professional baseball team based in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. The team was founded in 1998 by Floyd Hall and is owned by Al Dorso, a businessman who also owns the Sussex County Miners, ...

of the

Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional, independent baseball league with teams in the Northeast United States and Eastern Canada, founded in 2005 as a reorganization of ...

in 2014. He broke the Can-Am League record for most

strikeouts 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 ...

in a game with 15 on July 12, 2014, against the

Lincoln Saltdogs The Lincoln Saltdogs are a professional baseball team based in Lincoln, Nebraska, in the United States. The Saltdogs are in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. Since the 2001 sea ...

. For the season, he played in 19 games (all starts) with a 9–3 record and 2.84 ERA.

Second stint in Atlantic League

During 2015 and 2016, Antonini was with the

Bridgeport Bluefish The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseba ...

; during those two seasons he made a combined 28 appearances (all starts) with an 8–12 record and 3.43 ERA. He signed with the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, that is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League, known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021, and w ...

in 2017, and re-signed with the Patriots for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Mexican League

On July 12, 2019, Antonini's contract was purchased by the

Pericos de Puebla The Pericos de Puebla (English: "Puebla Parrots") are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Puebla, Mexico. History The state of Puebla came upon baseball in the early 1920s when returning Poblanos that had come from militar ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. He was released on September 2, 2019.

Third stint in Atlantic League

On September 3, 2019, Antonini re-signed with the

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He became a free agent following the season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antonini, Michael Living people 1985 births Kingsport Mets players Brooklyn Cyclones players Savannah Sand Gnats players St. Lucie Mets players Binghamton Mets players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chattanooga Lookouts players Albuquerque Isotopes players Camden Riversharks players New Jersey Jackals players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente pitchers Leones de Ponce baseball players Indios de Mayagüez players Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players Bridgeport Bluefish players Arkansas Travelers players Tiburones de La Guaira players Somerset Patriots players Naranjeros de Hermosillo players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Pericos de Puebla players People from Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania Baseball players from Delaware County, Pennsylvania