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Jarrod Saltalamacchia
From BR Bullpen
Jarrod Scott Saltalamacchia
- Bats Both, Throws Right
- Height 6' 4", Weight 195 lb.
- High School Royal Palm Beach High School
- Debut May 2, 2007
- Born May 2, 1985 in West Palm Beach, FL USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Jarrod Saltalamacchia made history in 2007 when he made his major league debut. Having 14 letters in his last name, he had the longest surname in MLB history, breaking the mark of 13 shared by 15 players: Gene DeMontreville, Ossee Schreckengost, Lou Schiappacasse, Lee DeMontreville, Bonnie Hollingsworth, Bill Knickerbocker, Al Hollingsworth, Ken Raffensberger, Austin Knickerbocker, Kirk Dressendorfer, William Van Landingham, Todd Hollandsworth, Steve Wojciechowski, Tim Spooneybarger and John Van Benschoten. The old record had stood since the 19th Century.
In the 2001 World Youth Championship, he hit .316/?/.474 as the main catcher for the Gold Medal-winning USA. Saltalamacchia hit .348 as a high school senior. He was chosen by the Atlanta Braves with the 36th pick in the 1st round of the 2003 amateur draft, a supplemental pick for the loss of Mike Remlinger to free agency. Jarrod was signed by scout Alex Morales for a $950,000 bonus. In 2003, he hit .239/.382/.396 for the GCL Braves and .214/.267/.286 in 9 games with the Danville Braves. In the Gulf Coast League, he led catchers with 35 assists, but also with eight errors. Baseball America rated him the #3 prospect in the GCL.
In 2004, Jarrod played for the Rome Braves and hit .272/.348/.437. Baseball America ranked him as the #7 prospect in the South Atlantic League and also as the 7th-best catching prospect in baseball, between Kelly Shoppach and Russell Martin.
Saltalamacchia had his best minor league season yet in 2005, hitting .314/.394/.519 for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. He hit 19 home runs and 35 doubles, the most in the Braves minor league chain. Baseball America named him the top catcher in the minor leagues and the top prospect in the Carolina League, ahead of Anibal Sanchez and Nick Markakis. He made the Carolina League All-Star team, having finished third in average and led in intentional walks (11). He followed up by hitting .565 in 23 AB for the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League.
The prospect struggled in 2006, only hitting .230/.353/.380 for the Mississippi Braves. Baseball America still rated him the #10 prospect in the Southern League between Sanchez and Miguel Montero. In the qualifying tournament for the 2008 Olympics, he backed up Kurt Suzuki at catcher while also serving as the team's primary DH. He batted .250/.368/.406.
Saltalamacchia started 2007 with a .309/.404/.617 line with 18 runs in 22 games for Mississippi. When Atlanta's top two catchers, Brian McCann and Brayan Pena, were both injured by swung bats on May 1, Saltalamacchia was called up to be Atlanta's backstop.
In his first game with Atlanta, Jarrod went 0 for 2 with a walk and a time hit by pitch on his 22nd birthday. In his first MLB at-bat, he flew out to Aaron Rowand against Freddy Garcia. When Pena returned, Saltalamacchia remained on the roster, with the team releasing Craig Wilson. To get him some playing time, Atlanta also used him at first in lieu of Scott Thorman. Saltalamacchia hit .284/.333/.411 in 47 games for the 2007 Braves. He was then involved in the big trade deadline deal, getting sent to the Texas Rangers with Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz, Matt Harrison and Beau Jones in exchange for Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay.
Saltalamacchia played a key role within a month, in the highest-scoring game in American League history, on August 22, as Texas scored 30 times. Saltalamacchia scored five of those runs, drove in seven and hit two homers to lead the offense.
Sources: 2002-2007 Baseball Almanacs, MILB.com, IBAF website
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 20-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2012)
