Michael Gregory Rabelo (born January 17, 1980) 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), ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

who played with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

and

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

from 2006 to 2008. He is currently the Third Base Coach and Major League Field Coordinator for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Amateur career

A native of

New Port Richey, Florida New Port Richey is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburban city included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was counted at 16,728 in the 2020 census. History By ...

, Rabelo and attended Ridgewood High School. Following his senior year of high school in 1998, Rabelo was drafted in the 13th round of the

Major League Baseball amateur draft Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicator ...

by the

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 ...

. He did not sign, however, instead choosing to play collegiate baseball for the University of Tampa Spartans. In 2000, 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

Hyannis Mets The Hyannis Harbor Hawks, formerly the Hyannis Mets, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Harbor Hawks play ...

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 ...

. Following his junior season of college, the

signed Rabelo after selecting him in the 4th round of the

2001 MLB Draft The 2001 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 5 and 6. First round selections Supplemental First Round Selections Compensation Picks Background On June 1, 2001, Rolando Viera, a Cuban ba ...

Professional career

Detroit Tigers

Rabelo began his career with the Single-A

Oneonta Tigers The Oneonta Tigers were a minor league baseball team located in Oneonta, New York. They were members of the New York–Penn League. The Tigers were the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, and played their home games ...

of the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

, where he was named an all star at catcher. He later played for the Single-A

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpark. ...

in 2002 and 2003; the Single-A

Lakeland Flying Tigers The Lakeland Flying Tigers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Lakeland, Florida, and play their home games at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. ...

in 2004; the Double-A

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving ...

in 2004, 2005, and 2006; and the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

to finish out the 2006 season. During his time in the minors, Rabelo developed a reputation as a personal catcher for

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 ...

Joel Zumaya Joel Martin Zumaya (born November 9, 1984) is a former American professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers from 2006 through 2010. Baseball career Zumaya was drafted out of Bonita Vista High School ...

. Rabelo was added to the Tigers

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 ...

in September 2006, and made his debut the same month. Rabelo began the 2007 season third on the Tigers catching depth chart behind established veterans

Iván Rodríguez Iván Rodríguez Torres (born November 27, 1971), nicknamed "Pudge" and "I-Rod", is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball catcher. He played for the Texas Rangers (in two separate stints, comprising the majority of his career), Florida ...

and backup

Vance Wilson Vance Allen Wilson (born March 17, 1973) is an American former professional baseball catcher and current coach. He is the third base coach for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played all or parts of eight seasons in MLB. L ...

. During spring training, Wilson experienced elbow pain, and later learned he would have to undergo

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 ...

. As a result, Rabelo began the season on the 25-man active roster, and generally played well, maintaining a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

that surpassed his minor league average of .263. 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 30, 2007, the last game of the season off

Mike MacDougal Robert Meiklejohn MacDougal (born March 5, 1977) is a former relief pitcher in professional baseball. He is a switch hitter and throws right-handed. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, Washing ...

of 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 ...

Florida Marlins

On December 5, 2007, the Tigers traded Rabelo, Andrew Miller,

Cameron Maybin Cameron Keith Maybin (born April 4, 1987) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and current broadcaster. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Florida / Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Brave ...

Dallas Trahern Dallas Neal Trahern (born November 29, 1985) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played in international competition with USA Baseball. Trahern was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 34th round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft. ...

Eulogio De La Cruz Eulogio "Frankie" De La Cruz Martínez (;) (March 12, 1984 – March 14, 2021) was a Dominican baseball pitcher who played four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), as well as one season each in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and the Chin ...

and

Burke Badenhop Burke Heinrich Badenhop (born February 8, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds. Badenho ...

to the

for

Dontrelle Willis Dontrelle Wayne Willis (born January 12, 1982), nicknamed "The D-Train", is an American former left-handed professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinn ...

and

Miguel Cabrera José Miguel Cabrera Torres (born April 18, 1983), nicknamed "Miggy", is a Venezuelan professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Since his debut in 2003 he has been a two-t ...

. In November 2009, Rabelo was granted free agency by the

Second Stint with Tigers

On January 14, 2010, Rabelo signed a minor league contract with the

with an invite to spring training. He was optioned to the

of the

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

, where he was the second string catcher behind Robinzon Diaz. On July 19, 2010, he was released, after batting .143 with one home run and eight RBIs.

Coaching career

Rabelo was the hitting coach for the

Gulf Coast League Tigers The Florida Complex League Tigers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Tigers. The team plays its home gam ...

and the

Short season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

Connecticut Tigers The Norwich Sea Unicorns are a baseball team located in Norwich, Connecticut. From 2010 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They play th ...

. He was hired as manager of the Connecticut Tigers for the 2014 season. On October 20, 2016, Rabelo was promoted to the

managerial position. On November 7, 2017, Rabelo was promoted to the Lakeland Flying Tigers managerial positsion for the 2018 season. On December 13, 2018, Rabelo was promoted again as the

' manager. In January 2020 Rabelo was hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates as their Major League assistant hitting coach and in January 2021 he was named as their Major League Field Coordinator. In November 2021 the Pirates announced that Rabelo would be their third base coach in addition to his field coordinator duties.

Personal life

Mike currently resides in Florida with his wife Erin and their two daughters.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabelo, Mike 1980 births Detroit Tigers players Florida Marlins players Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players Major League Baseball catchers Baseball players from Florida Tampa Spartans baseball players Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Azucareros del Este players Erie SeaWolves players Gulf Coast Marlins players Jupiter Hammerheads players Lakeland Tigers players Oneonta Tigers players Phoenix Desert Dogs players Tigres del Licey players Toledo Mud Hens players West Michigan Whitecaps players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic