| Chad Mottola | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Mottola as Blue Jays hitting coach in 2013 | |
| Tampa Bay Rays – No. 51 | |
| Outfielder/Coach | |
| Born: (1971-10-15)October 15, 1971 (age 54) Augusta, Georgia, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 23, 1996, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 26, 2006, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .200 |
| Home runs | 4 |
| Runs batted in | 12 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
As Player
As Coach
| |
Charles Edward "Chad" Mottola (born October 15, 1971) is an American professionalbaseball player andcoach for theTampa Bay Rays ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). Mottola played in MLB for five years as anoutfielder. Considered ajourneyman,[1] Mottola played professionally from 1992 through 2007, appearing in 59 MLB games and 1,801 minor league games. He was thehitting coach for theToronto Blue Jays during the 2013 season, although his contract was not renewed for 2014.
Mottola is an alumnus of theUniversity of Central Florida (UCF), where he playedcollege baseball for theUCF Knights baseball team. A highly regarded prospect, Mottola was selected by theCincinnati Reds with the fifth overall selection of the1992 MLB draft (one spot ahead of Derek Jeter).
Mottola played inminor league baseball for different organizations, receiving major league playing time with theCincinnati Reds in 1996, theToronto Blue Jays in 2000 and 2006, theFlorida Marlins in 2001 and theBaltimore Orioles in 2004. As he received less playing time in 2007, he began to mentor younger teammates, which helped him transition into a coaching career.
Mottola attendedSt. Thomas Aquinas High School inFort Lauderdale, Florida, graduating in 1989.[2] After leading allBroward County high school players inbatting average (.573),home runs (14) andruns batted in (RBIs) (48) as a senior, Mottola was named to Florida's Class 3A All-State first team.[3] Out of high school, theBaltimore Orioles selected Mottola in the tenth round of the1989 Major League Baseball draft, with the 243rd overall selection. Mottola did not sign with the Orioles, opting to pursue acollege baseball career.[2]
Mottola then enrolled at theUniversity of Central Florida (UCF), which he chose to attend over theUniversity of New Orleans, as it was closer to his home.[4] At UCF, he played for theUCF Knights baseball team inNCAA Division I. As a freshman, he hit .321 in 57 games, but did not hit a home run.[4] He gained 30 pounds (14 kg) for his sophomore season.[4] As a sophomore, Mottola was named theAmerican South Conference's Player of the Week on April 3, 1991, after batting .542 with one home run and eight RBIs in six games.[5] During the season, he batted .343 with nine home runs and 54 RBIs. After the 1991 season, he playedcollegiate summer baseball with theBrewster Whitecaps of theCape Cod Baseball League.[6]
In his junior season, he batted .345 with 14 home runs, tying the UCF single-season record.[7] Professionalscouts considered him a first round prospect, due to his intelligence, size, ability to hit for power, his strong throwing arm, running speed, instincts and polish.[4]
TheCincinnati Reds drafted Mottola in the first round of the1992 Major League Baseball draft with the fifth overall selection, one selection ahead ofDerek Jeter. He signed with the Reds the day of the draft, receiving asigning bonus of $400,000,[8] as he attended theUnited States national baseball team tryouts for the1992 Summer Olympics,[7] and did not want to have his contract status on his mind during the tryouts.[9] He was the first UCF athlete to be selected in the first round of an MLB draft.[10]
In his first professional season, Mottola led theBillings Mustangs to thePioneer League championship, batting .286 with 12home runs and 37runs batted in (RBIs).[11]Baseball America rated Mottola as the 71st best prospect in baseball before the 1993 season.[12] Playing a full season for the first time in 1993, he batted .280 for theWinston-Salem Spirits with 21 home runs and led the Class-A AdvancedCarolina League with 91 RBIs.[11] He was named a Carolina League All-Star outfielder after the 1993 season. Prior to the 1994 season,Baseball America rated Mottola as the 43rd best prospect in baseball.[12]
Mottola started the 1995 season with theChattanooga Lookouts of the Class-AASouthern League, receiving a promotion to theClass-AAAIndianapolis Indians of theInternational League that season. Despite his minor league success, Mottola's path to the Reds was blocked by outfieldersReggie Sanders,Curtis Goodwin,Eric Davis,Vince Coleman,Mike Kelly,Steve Gibraltar andEric Anthony, all of whom the Reds had inspring training that season.[13]General managerJim Bowden commented that Mottola needed more minor league seasoning before he would be promoted to the Reds.[13] He made his major league debut with the Cincinnati Reds on April 23, 1996. In 35 games for the Reds,[8] Mottola batted .215 with three home runs and six RBIs.[10] For Indianapolis, he batted .262 with 9 home runs, 47 RBIs and ninestolen bases in 102 games.[11]
Though he was considered a top prospect, the Reds held him out ofwinter league baseball during the 1995–96 offseason.[13] The Reds addedDeion Sanders andRubén Sierra to their outfield competition for the 1997 season, prompting Mottola to question the Reds commitment to him.[10][11] After he spent the 1997 season in the minors, the Reds traded Mottola to theTexas Rangers for aplayer to be named later in April 1998.[10] He spent most of the 1998 season with theOklahoma City RedHawks of the Class-AAAPacific Coast League (PCL), but suffered a broken thumb that required surgery, limiting his season.[10]
Grantedfree agency after the 1998 season, Mottola signed with theChicago White Sox for the 1999 season.[14] He batted .321 with 164 hits, 32 doubles and 20 home runs for theCharlotte Knights.[15] With theSyracuse SkyChiefs, the Class-AAA affiliate of theToronto Blue Jays, in 2000, Mottola batted .309 in 134 games with 505 at-bats, 156 hits, 85 runs, 25 doubles, 3 triples, 33 home runs, 102 RBI, 37 walks, 30 stolen bases and 99 strikeouts. He led the league in home runs and also in slugging percentage, had the second highest RBI, was fourth in the league in hits and extra-base hits, and had the seventh highest batting average. He was named an International League All-Star outfielder in 2000, and won theInternational League Most Valuable Player Award.[2] He was also named the Blue Jays minor league player of the year that season, and earned a promotion to the Blue Jays in September.[2][16]
After the 2000 season, the Blue Jays traded Mottola to theFlorida Marlins for a player to be named later or cash.[14] He played for the Marlins' Class-AAA affiliate, theCalgary Cannons of the PCL, and appeared in five games for the Marlins. In 2002, Mottola returned to Syracuse. He began the 2003 season with theTampa Bay Devil Rays organization, playing for the Class-AAADurham Bulls, but was released. He signed with theBoston Red Sox on June 12 to replaceJulio Zuleta, who had signed to play in Japan, on the Class-AAAPawtucket Red Sox.[17] Mottola signed with the Orioles for the 2004 season, splitting his time between MLB and the Class-AAAOttawa Lynx. In 2005, he returned to the Blue Jays organization, playing with Syracuse. He was promoted to MLB in 2006, but spent the majority of the 2005 through 2007 seasons with Syracuse.[18]
Mottola retired after the2007 season. During his final seasons, Mottola began to play less and serve as a mentor to younger players, making for a transition into a coaching career.[8] After the 2007 season, Mottola accepted a job as thehitting coach of theGulf Coast Blue Jays of the Rookie-levelGulf Coast League. On October 6, 2008, Mottola was announced as the Blue Jays roving minor league hitting instructor for the2009 season.[19] From 2010 to 2012, he was the hitting coach for theLas Vegas 51s, Toronto's Triple-A affiliate at the time.[8]
On November 24, 2012, Mottola was promoted to be theToronto Blue Jays hitting coach for the 2013 season.[20] On October 7, 2013, the Blue Jays announced that Mottola would not be returning for the 2014 season.[21]
In November 2013, Mottola was hired by theTampa Bay Rays as their minor-league hitting coordinator.[22] The Rays promoted Mottola to become their major league hitting coach in September 2016.[23]
Mottola was born inAugusta, Georgia and grew up inPembroke Pines, Florida.[13] When Mottola signed with the Reds in 1992, he bought his parents a house.[8] Mottola's father, Chuck, died of a heart attack at the age of 50 in October 1995. His mother, Elaine, works as anadministrative assistant atSt. Bernadette's School inDavie, Florida.[13] Mottola is of Italian descent.[24]
Mottola met his wife, Emily, at UCF. She played for the school'svolleyball team. They had their son, Luke in 2005. Their daughter, Elle in 2008.[1]
· Baseball Almanac
Media related toChad Mottola at Wikimedia Commons
