Stephen Andrew Cardullo (born August 31, 1987) is an American 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 tea ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

who is a free agent. After playing

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...

, Cardullo played for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

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), ...

(MLB) in 2016 and 2017.

Career

Cardullo attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

. He was not recruited to play

, but after a tryout became a

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music * ''Walk On'', a 1994 album by Boston, and its title song Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album), 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album), 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album), 1992 *''Walk On'', a 2007 album by ...

for the

Florida State Seminoles baseball The Florida State Seminoles baseball team represents Florida State University (variously Florida State or FSU) in the sport of college baseball. Florida State competes in NCAA Division I, and the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conferenc ...

team at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

. After receiving little playing time as a freshman and a sophomore, he began his junior year as the Seminoles' starting

before shifting to

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 ...

. He batted .376 with 10

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 ...

s and 51

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

, and was named a First-Team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n. In 2009, 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

Harwich Mariners The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fiel ...

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 ...

Arizona Diamondbacks

The

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

selected Cardullo in the 24th round of the

2010 Major League Baseball draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pic ...

. Cardullo spent the 2010 and 2011 seasons in rookie ball with the

Missoula Osprey The Missoula PaddleHeads are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Missoula, Montana, and play their home games at Ogren Park ...

, batting a cumulative .264/.348/.451 with 10 home runs and 43 RBI in 81 total games. On March 20, 2012, Cardullo was released by the Diamondbacks organization.

Florence Freedom

Cardullo signed with the

London Rippers The London Rippers were a professional baseball team based in London, Ontario, in Canada. The Rippers were a member of the Frontier League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. They played their home games at Labatt Park, and were th ...

of the

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

for the 2012 season. However, the team folded, and Cardullo was traded to the

Florence Freedom The Florence Y'alls are a professional baseball team based within the Greater Cincinnati region in the city of Florence, Kentucky. The Y'alls are a member of the West Division of the Frontier League, an independent baseball league. Since 2004, t ...

of the

. On the year, Cardullo slashed .263/.351/.375 between the two clubs with 3 home runs and 35 RBI in 87 games.

Rockland Boulders

Cardullo signed with the

Rockland Boulders The New York Boulders are an American independent professional baseball team playing in the Frontier League based in Pomona, Rockland County, New York. The team was founded as a member of the Can-Am League, beginning play in the 2011 season as ...

of the

Can-Am League 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 ...

for the 2013 season. In 2013, Cardullo batted .267/.349/.417 with 6 home runs and 56 RBI in 100 contests. The next year, Cardullo played in 92 games for Rockland with a batting line of .298/.339/.423 to go along with 6 home runs and 51 RBI. In 2015, Cardullo had a batting line of .331/.410/.518, all career-highs to go along with career-highs in RBI (76) and stolen bases (23). Cardullo was named the CanAm League MVP for the 2015 season.

Colorado Rockies

On January 6, 2016, Cardullo signed a minor league contract with the

organization. The Rockies assigned Cardullo to the

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 el ...

of the Triple–A

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

. Cardullo was called up to the major leagues for the first time on August 26, 2016. He hit his first Major League home run against

Casey Fien Casey Michael Fien ( ; born October 21, 1983), is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, and Philadelphia Phillie ...

in the first game of a doubleheader against 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 August 31, 2016, his 29th birthday, and his first

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

in the second game against

Bud Norris David Stefan "Bud" Norris (March 2, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles ...

. On December 2, 2016, Cardullo was non-tendered by the Rockies after hitting .214/.254/.411 with 2 home runs and 6 RBI in 27 games. On December 15, 2016, Cardullo signed a minor league contract with the Rockies that included an invitation to 2017 spring training. Cardullo made the Rockies' Opening Day roster out of spring and had his contract selected to the 40-man roster on March 31, 2017. After collecting 4 hits in 32 plate appearances for the Rockies, Cardullo suffered a broken wrist while playing for the Triple-A

. The Rockies released Cardullo on May 19, 2017, but quickly re-signed him to a minor league contract on May 23. He elected free agency following the season on November 6. He re-signed with the Rockies on a minor league deal on January 5, 2018. He elected free agency on November 3, 2018.

High Point Rockers

On April 11, 2019, Cardullo signed with the

High Point Rockers The High Point Rockers are an American professional baseball team based at Truist Point ballpark in High Point, North Carolina, which is part of the Piedmont Triad region. They are members of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Profession ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. Cardullo was named an Atlantic League All-Star for the 2019 season. He finished the year batting .266/.375/.477 with 22 home runs and 70 RBI. He became a free agent following the season. On January 30, 2020, Cardullo signed with the

Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos The Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos (''Owls of the Two Laredos''), formerly known as the Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo (''Owls of Nuevo Laredo''), are a Minor League Baseball team based in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, and Laredo, Texas in the Mexican Leagu ...

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 ...

. Cardullo did not play a Mexican League game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Mexican League season caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. He later became a free agent. On June 15, 2021, Cardullo re-signed with the

of the

. He became a free agent following the season.

References

External links

Florida State Seminoles bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cardullo, Stephen 1987 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players Charros de Jalisco players Colorado Rockies players Florence Freedom players Florida State Seminoles baseball players Gigantes del Cibao players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Harwich Mariners players High Point Rockers players Major League Baseball first basemen Missoula Osprey players Rockland Boulders players Sportspeople from Hollywood, Florida Baseball players from Broward County, Florida St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Florida) alumni