Valentino Martin Pascucci (born November 17, 1978) is an American former professional baseball player. He played parts of two major league seasons with the

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He batted and threw right-handed. In 2014, he transitioned to the role of hitting coach for the Mets Single A affiliate, 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 ...

. In 2016, he was named the hitting coach for the St. Lucie Mets.

Career

High school

Pascucci attended

Gahr High School Richard Gahr High School, often simply known as Gahr High School, is a public, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) magnet high school in Cerritos, California, serving grades 9- 12. Gahr High is one of three comprehensive high ...

in Cerritos, CA.

College

Pascucci was originally drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 11th round of the 1996 Major League Baseball draft, but he chose to go to college instead. He attended college at the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

for two years, from –. He was originally a

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 ...

, compiling a 4-0 win-loss record with two saves and 64 strikeouts in 58 innings pitched.

Montreal Expos

The Montréal Expos selected him in the 15th round of the 1999 Major League Baseball draft. He began his professional career as a position player. Pascucci's pro career began in , with the Single-A Vermont Expos. In , with a 20-game stint with the Cape Fear Crocs, the Single-A affiliate of the Expos, Pascucci batted .319 with 3

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 10 RBI and was called up to the High-A

Jupiter Hammerheads The Jupiter Hammerheads are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roger Dean ...

later that season. He played 113 games for Jupiter, hitting .284 with a .394 on-base percentage. Val was promoted to the Double-A

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League, and the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who play their home games at FNB Field on City Island, which opened in 1987 a ...

for the season, where he sent a minor league career high 27 home runs out of the park. He played with the Triple-A

Edmonton Trappers The Edmonton Trappers were a minor league baseball team in Edmonton, Alberta. They were a part of the Triple-A level in the Pacific Coast League, ending with the 2004 season. Their home games were played at Telus Field in downtown Edmonton. T ...

for all of and parts of . On April 26, 2004, Pascucci was called up by Montréal from Triple-A Edmonton. He debuted for the Expos in right field later that day. Pascucci, however, was sent back down to the minor leagues on May 28. Pascucci was not called back up to the Majors until September 1, when MLB rosters expanded. He hit his first career home run on September 15, 2004 and also played in the final game of the Expos' history on October 3. He was released on December 10, 2004.

Chiba Lotte Marines

Pascucci spent the 2005 and 2006 seasons with the

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. History The Marines franchise began in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions, an inaugural ...

of Japan's

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently cons ...

Florida Marlins

On April 6, , Pascucci was signed by the

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 fran ...

and spent the season with their Triple-A affiliate, 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 e ...

Philadelphia Phillies

In December 2007, Pascucci signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies' Triple-A affiliate, the

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

New York Mets

After being released by the Phillies on April 29, Pascucci signed a minor league contract with the

a few days later. He spent the rest of the season playing for the New Orleans Zephyrs, the Mets Triple-A affiliate. He became a free agent at the end of the season.

Los Angeles Dodgers

In January , he signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

. Pascucci hit only .207 with 8 home runs in 60 games with the AAA

before he was released by the Dodgers on June 18, 2009.

San Diego Padres

He was signed by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

on June 27 and assigned to their AAA club, the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

New York Mets

On May 14, 2010, after a brief stint with the Camden Riversharks, Pascucci signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets, and was assigned to the Triple-A

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 ...

. In 2011, he was called up when the rosters expanded on September 1, after hitting 21 home runs and driving in 91 RBIs with AAA Buffalo. He made his Mets debut on September 8, 2011 when he pinch hit for

Willie Harris William Charles Harris (born June 22, 1978) is an American professional baseball coach who is currently the third base coach for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is also a former Major League Baseball outfielder and second ba ...

. He got a single against

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) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

pitcher Eric O'Flaherty and was then pinch run for by Jason Pridie. After that, he went 0–5 with a main

pinch-hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...

role for the team, until on September 24, he hit a game tying pinch-hit home run in the 7th inning off of Philadelphia Phillies pitcher

Cole Hamels Colbert Michael Hamels (born December 27, 1983), nicknamed "Hollywood", is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (2006–2015), Texas Rangers ( ...

to tie the game at 1. It was Pascucci's first pinch-hit home run and just the 3rd home run of his Major league career. Val's teammate and Mets third baseman

David Wright David Allen Wright (born December 20, 1982) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played his entire 14-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career for the New York Mets. He was drafted by the Mets in 2001 MLB draft and made h ...

then hit a go-ahead double in the 8th inning to give the Mets a 2–1 win over their rivals. On the very next day, Pasccuci hit a pinch-hit RBI single against Phillies pitcher Antonio Bastardo. That would be Pasccuci's last hit of the 2011 season. He made a mere two pinch-hit appearances in the Mets' last series of the season against the Cincinnati Reds. Pasccuci finished the 2011 season 3-11, good for a .273

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 ...

. On November 17, 2011, the Mets announced that Pascucci would be invited to 2012 Major League spring training. He spent the 2012 season with the Buffalo Bisons. During the 2012 season, Pascucci got invited to the AAA All Star Game and Home Run Derby held in

Buffalo NY Buffalo is the list of cities in New York, second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head o ...

. Pascucci won the Home Run Derby, energizing the home crowd. He became a minor league free agent after 2012 season.

Coaching career

For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, Pascucci served as the hitting coach for the Mets' Class-A affiliate

. Pascucci was named as the hitting coach for the

Binghamton Rumble Ponies 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 ...

of the

organization for the 2018 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pascucci, Valentino 1978 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American people of Italian descent Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from California Broncos de Reynosa players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Camden Riversharks players Cape Fear Crocs players Chiba Lotte Marines players Edmonton Trappers players Harrisburg Senators players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Leones del Escogido players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball right fielders Mexican League baseball first basemen Minor league baseball coaches Montreal Expos players New Orleans Zephyrs players New York Mets players Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Oklahoma Sooners baseball players People from Bellflower, California Portland Beavers players Vermont Expos players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players Rochester Honkers players