Vincent Michael "Vin" Mazzaro (born September 27, 1986) 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 ...

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 ...

for the

Sussex County Miners The Sussex County Miners are a professional independent league baseball team based in the Augusta section of Frankford Township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. The Miners are members of the East Division of the Frontier League, an ...

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 ...

. He played 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), ...

(MLB) for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

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 ...

Miami 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 ...

and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

Early years

Mazzaro grew up in

Rutherford, New Jersey Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough's population was 18,834. Rutherford was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on September 21, 1881, fr ...

, and attended Rutherford High School, where he led the team to two consecutive state championships.

Professional career

Oakland Athletics

Mazzaro was drafted by the

in the third round of the

2005 Major League Baseball Draft The 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the best ...

. In December 2008,

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

named Mazzaro the #8 prospect in Oakland's organization. Mazzaro made his major league debut on June 2, against 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 ...

. He earned the victory after pitching innings without allowing a run.

Kansas City Royals

Mazzaro was traded along with minor league pitcher

Justin Marks Justin Marks (born March 25, 1981) is an American racing driver, entrepreneur, and current owner of Trackhouse Racing Team in the NASCAR Cup Series. He last competed in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, driving the No. 93 for Meyer Shank R ...

to the

for

David DeJesus David Christopher DeJesus (; born December 20, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals, Tampa Bay ...

on November 10, 2010. After starting the 2011 season with the

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, and play their home games at Wer ...

, he was recalled by the Royals to replace the injured

Bruce Chen Bruce Kastulo Chen (born June 19, 1977), is a Panamanian former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Montreal Expos, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astr ...

on May 10. He surrendered 14 runs in innings in an emergency appearance out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

in a 19–1 loss to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

Kauffman Stadium Kauffman Stadium (), often called "The K", is a baseball stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri. It is home to the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). It is part of the Truman Sports Complex together with the adjacent Arrowhe ...

on May 16, 2011. Besides setting a new franchise record for most runs yielded in a game, he became the first pitcher in the modern era (since 1900) to allow that many without pitching 3 innings. His 14 earned runs given up was also the most by a relief pitcher since

Les McCrabb Lester William "Buster" McCrabb (November 4, 1914 – October 8, 2008) was a starting pitcher who played in Major League Baseball. He batted and threw right-handed. The , McCrabb was born in Wakefield, Pennsylvania. McCrabb's professional ba ...

of the Philadelphia Athletics allowed the same amount in four innings in a 19–4 defeat to 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 ...

on April 16, 1942. Originally scheduled to be the starter the following night, Mazzaro was optioned back to the Storm Chasers after the game. Mazzaro was called back to Kansas City on June 7 after Royals starting pitcher Sean O'Sullivan was placed on the disabled list. The following year, he finished the season with an overall record of 4–3 with a 5.73 ERA in 18 games, primarily in relief. On November 20, 2012, the Royals designated Mazzaro for assignment as they cleared room on the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 draft.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On November 28, 2012, Mazzaro was traded to the

with first baseman Clint Robinson in exchange for right-handed pitcher Luis Santos and left-hander Luis Rico. Santos and Rico both pitched in the

Dominican Summer League The Dominican Summer League (DSL) is a branch of affiliated Minor League Baseball which is played in the Dominican Republic. The league was founded in 1985. After the demise of the Venezuelan Summer League after the 2015 season, it is the only L ...

in 2012. Mazzaro was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

on March 29, 2014, and assigned outright to the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

on April 8. On May 26, 2014, Mazzaro was designated for assignment again in order for

Brandon Cumpton Brandon Tyler Cumpton (born November 16, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 9th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft and made his MLB debut for them in 2013. He att ...

to be called up. He elected free agency in October 2014.

Miami Marlins

On January 21, 2015, the

announced that they had signed Mazzaro to a minor league deal. He split 21 games between Miami and the

New Orleans Zephyrs New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

Atlanta Braves

Mazzaro signed a minor league deal with 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 ...

on July 10, 2015. He was assigned to the

Gwinnett Braves The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...

San Francisco Giants

Mazzaro signed a minor league deal with the

on January 11, 2016. On April 30, 2016, Mazzaro was called to the major league roster in order to replace the struggling

Mike Broadway Michael Allen Broadway (born March 30, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yokohama DeN ...

. On May 5, 2016, Mazzaro gave up nine runs, while pitching 1/3 of an inning against 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 ...

. Then next day he was designated for assignment to make room for

Albert Suarez Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert C ...

Somerset Patriots

On May 9, 2017, Mazzaro signed with the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, that is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League, known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021, and ...

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 ...

Cincinnati Reds

Mazzaro signed a minor league deal with the

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 ...

on May 18, 2017. He elected free agency on November 6, 2017.

New Jersey Jackals

On May 6, 2018, Mazzaro signed with the

New Jersey Jackals The New Jersey Jackals are an American professional baseball team based in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. The team was founded in 1998 by Floyd Hall and is owned by Al Dorso, a businessman who also owns the Sussex County Miners, Sky ...

of the independent

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 ...

Long Island Ducks

On April 9, 2019, Mazzaro was traded to the

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor-league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "partne ...

of the

. He won the 2019 ALPB championship with Long Island. He re-signed with the Ducks for the 2020 season on February 18, 2020. Mazzaro did not play in a game in for the team due to the cancellation of the 2020 ALPB season because of 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 ...

and became a free agent after the year. On April 20, 2021, Mazzaro re-signed with the Ducks for the 2021 season. Mazzaro retired from professional baseball on September 9, 2021.

Sussex County Miners

On May 6, 2022, Mazzaro came out of retirement and signed with the

of the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazzaro, Vin 1986 births Living people Baseball players from New Jersey Indianapolis Indians players Kane County Cougars players Kansas City Royals players Long Island Ducks players Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins players Midland RockHounds players New Jersey Jackals players New Orleans Zephyrs players Oakland Athletics players Omaha Storm Chasers players People from Rutherford, New Jersey Pittsburgh Pirates players Rutherford High School (New Jersey) alumni Sacramento River Cats players San Francisco Giants players Somerset Patriots players Sportspeople from Bergen County, New Jersey Stockton Ports players