Dennis Mark Malaska (born January 17, 1978 in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, whi ...

) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

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 played for 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 ...

in and 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 eigh ...

in 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), ...

. Malaska grew up on the south side of Youngstown, Ohio. He attended Cardinal Mooney High School where he earned three varsity letters in both baseball and basketball, earned All-Steel Valley honors in both sports, and was later inducted into the school's athletic Hall of Fame. Malaska was offered several athletic scholarships in both sports as well as several academic scholarships, but chose to continue his baseball career at The University of Akron. Malaska attended the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classifie ...

(1997–2000), where he set and still holds Akron single-game records for runs (5), doubles (3), and RBIs (10). He also garnered back-to-back Best Pro Prospect honors in the

New England Collegiate Baseball League The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 13-team collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 44-game schedule during June ...

(1998 and 1999) while playing center field for the Danbury Westerners (Danbury, Connecticut.) He would later be inducted into the New England Collegiate Baseball League Hall of Fame in 2010 as part of its inaugural class and have his number retired by the Westerners in 2014. In the spring of 2000, Malaska was developed into a relief pitcher at the University of Akron because of the team's need for a closer. He finished the 2000 NCAA season with a .326 batting average and a 1.13

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

earning him All

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great L ...

First Team honors. He was drafted in the 8th round of the 2000 MLB draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. A year after being drafted, he tied for the organizational lead in strikeouts, and in 2002 led the organization in complete games. He made his Major League debut with the

in 2003 and posted a 2.81 ERA in 22 appearances out of the bullpen, becoming only the third player in University of Akron history to reach the major leagues. He was acquired off waivers by the

after the 2003 season and received a

World Series ring A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...

as a member of the 2004 Boston Red Sox after 19 appearances out of their bullpen. Mark retired abruptly from

during spring training of and now resides in Youngstown, Ohio with his wife Shelby, son Benjamin (born April 13, 2011), and daughter Alexandra (born December 18, 2013).

Honors and awards

*1998 New England Collegiate Baseball League All Star *1998 New England Collegiate Baseball League Best Pro Prospect *1999 New England Collegiate Baseball League All Star *1999 New England Collegiate Baseball League All Star Game MVP *1999 New England Collegiate Baseball League Best Pro Prospect *2000 All Mid-American Conference First Team *2002 Baseball America Tampa Bay Devil Rays #29 Rated Prospect *2002 California League All Star *2003 Baseball America Boston Red Sox #25 Rated Prospect *World Series Champion (2004) *2010 New England Collegiate Baseball League Hall of Fame Inductee

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malaska, Mark 1978 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Youngstown, Ohio Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Boston Red Sox players Hudson Valley Renegades players Durham Bulls players Akron Zips baseball players Pawtucket Red Sox players Charleston RiverDogs players Bakersfield Blaze players Orlando Rays players