Anthony Giacinto Tarasco (born December 9, 1970) is an American

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 ...

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

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He played in the major leagues for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

, and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

between 1993 and 1999 and for the Mets in 2002. He also played with the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

in the Japanese

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

in 2000.

Early life

Tarasco was born at

Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers of New York d/b/a as Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Centers (Saint Vincent's, or SVCMC) was a healthcare system, anchored by its flagship hospital, St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan, locally referred to a ...

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

and, until he was 6 or 7 years old, lived in Washington Heights and

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. His father, Jack, worked a summer job as a vendor at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

. At 13 years old, after moving to

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, Tarasco joined the Santa Monica Graveyard Crips, a

set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

of the

Crips The Crips is an alliance of street gangs that is based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips were initially a single alliance ...

street gang. At 16 years old, with the encouragement of fellow Crips members, he left the gang to focus on playing high school baseball. Tarasco was selected by the

in the 15th round of the 1988 Major League Baseball draft out of

Santa Monica High School Santa Monica High School, officially abbreviated to SaMoHi, is located in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1891, it changed location several times in its early years before settling into its present campus at 601 Pico Boulevard. It is a part o ...

Professional career

Tarasco was traded along with

Roberto Kelly Roberto Conrado "Gray" Kelly (born October 1, 1964) is a Panamanian baseball manager and former professional baseball outfielder in Major League Baseball. He was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1982 and went on to play ...

and

Esteban Yan Esteban Luis Yan (born June 22, 1975) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in all or parts of 11 seasons in Major League Baseball. At , , he batted and threw ri ...

from the

Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

to the

Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

for

Marquis Grissom Marquis Deon Grissom (born April 17, 1967) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and ...

on April 6, 1995. As Montreal's starting right fielder, he hit .249 with 14

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, 40

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 ...

(RBI) and 24

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s out of 27 attempts in 126 games with the

in 1995.Maske, Mark. "O's Get Tarasco from Expos for Obando," ''The Washington Post'', Thursday, March 14, 1996.
Retrieved February 2, 2023. Originally expected to be the Expos'

leadoff hitter In baseball, a leadoff hitter is a batter who bats first in the lineup. It can also refer to any batter who bats first in any inning. Strategy Traditionally, the leadoff hitter has been utilized as a contact-oriented position. The leadoff hit ...

entering the 1996 campaign, Tarasco was acquired by the

Orioles Oriole or Orioles may refer to: Animals * Old World oriole, colorful passerine birds in the family Oriolidae * New World oriole, a group of birds in the family Icteridae Music * The Orioles, an R&B and doo-wop group of the late 1940s and earl ...

from the Expos for

Sherman Obando Sherman Omar Obando Gainor (born January 23, 1970) is a former major league baseball player who played for the Baltimore Orioles and Montreal Expos. His main position was outfield, but often played as a first baseman or designated hitter. He is ...

during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

on March 13. The Orioles needed a left-handed-hitting reserve outfielder at the time. He was involved in a controversial play in the 1996 American League Championship Series while playing right field for the Baltimore Orioles. While fielding a fly ball hit by New York Yankees

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 ...

Derek Jeter Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees ...

, 12-year-old fan

Jeffrey Maier Jeffrey Maier (born 1983) is an American baseball fan who received media attention for an incident in which he was involved as a 12-year-old at a baseball game. During Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series between the New York Ya ...

reached over the fence and tried to catch the ball but instead deflected it into the stands. The

umpires An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

called a

, although the correct call would have been fan interference. The play was the turning point in the series, which the Yankees won. Tarasco was claimed off waivers by the

Reds Reds may refer to: General * Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism * Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists during the January Uprising in 1863 * USSR (or, to a lesser extent, China) during th ...

from the Orioles on March 24, 1998. He had requested not to be demoted to the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

. Tarasco spent the remainder of his career as a part time player, often shuttling between the major and minor leagues. Tarasco and Jeter were teammates for a short time during the 1999 season.Baseball Reference
/ref> In June 2002, Tarasco's

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 ...

teammate

Mark Corey Mark Franklin Corey (born November 16, 1974) is a retired American baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Early life Corey attended Austin High School in Austin, Pen ...

suffered a

seizure An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with los ...

after the two players smoked

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

outside of

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City. Under

Major League Baseball drug policy Major League Baseball's drug policy—the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program—was established by agreement between the MLB Players Association and the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball. The goal was to deter and end the use of b ...

at the time, because both players were first-time offenders, they were not subject to discipline from the league.

Coaching career

Washington Nationals

Tarasco began working for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

in or around 2005. For a time, Tarasco was the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

coordinator for the Nationals.Nats officials make unfortunate Harper comparisons
''Washington Examiner'', July 2011. On November 14, 2012, the Nationals announced that Tarasco would join their coaching staff in the 2013 season to coach first base and outfield. Tarasco served as first base coach for the Nationals through the 2015 season. On October 5, 2015, the entire Nationals coaching staff, including Tarasco, were fired after a disappointing 2015 season.

New York Mets

On December 30, 2020, Tarasco was hired to be the first base coach for the

replacing

Tony DeFrancesco Anthony John DeFrancesco (born April 24, 1963) is an American professional baseball coach. Previously, he was interim manager with the Houston Astros; served one season as third-base coach for the Oakland Athletics; spent six seasons as manager ...

References

External links

, o
RetrosheetPelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
: {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarasco, Tony 1970 births Living people African-American baseball players Baseball coaches from New York (state) American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Atlanta Braves players Baltimore Orioles players Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Cincinnati Reds players Columbus Clippers players Durham Bulls players Frederick Keys players Greenville Braves players Gulf Coast Braves players Gulf Coast Orioles players Hanshin Tigers players Idaho Falls Braves players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball right fielders Montreal Expos players New York Mets players New York Yankees players Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Norfolk Tides players Pulaski Braves players Richmond Braves players Rochester Red Wings players Baseball players from Atlanta Baseball players from New York City St. Lucie Mets players Sumter Braves players Washington Nationals coaches New York Mets coaches 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople Crips