He’s nonetheless successful within the Empire State.
Lengthy Island native Frank Catalanotto has been inducted into the New York State Baseball Corridor of Fame — in recognition of the 14 record-filled seasons he spent taking part in within the Main Leagues for a collection of groups, together with the Mets.
The lifetime .291 hitter now joins the likes of former Yankees legend Don Mattingly and Pink Sox nice Carl Yastrzemski within the Empire State hardball corridor.
“It’s fairly humbling to be in a scene, the identical corridor of fame as a few of these guys,” stated Catalanotto, who was inducted in a ceremony in Troy on Nov. 9.
The 51-year-old began his highway to the professionals taking part in Little League for the Smithtown Bulls and Excessive College ball at Smithtown East, earlier than getting drafted into the Detroit Tigers minor league system in 1992.
Catalanotto, who performed each infield and outfield, made his MLB debut for the group 5 years later, in 1997. He acquired delt to the Texas Rangers in 2000 and noticed his profession actually take off, as he set a group document by recording 10 hits in consecutive at-bats in video games from late April to Could.
In 2001, he went on to beat out steroid-linked-superstar teammates Alex Rodriguez and Rafael Palmeiro for the highest batting common on the squad at .330, which ranked him fifth within the American League.
“The ball appeared like a seaside ball coming in then … I undoubtedly owe it to the blokes round me,” he stated.
“The pitchers had been extra centered on getting these big-time hitters out…due to them, I used to be getting higher pitches to hit.”
He moved on to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2003 — the place he set one other franchise document by getting six hits in a single sport in 2004.
The most important adversity Catalanotto confronted was “coping with the failure” of when instances weren’t stuffed with document streaks, because the tough days introduced upon “some sleepless nights.”
“You go 0-10, 0-12, you begin panicking just a little bit as a result of you recognize that there’s a man proper behind you able to take your job,” stated Catalanotto.
“There’s the hotshot stud within the minor leagues that may’t wait to get known as up. The best way I used to be capable of fight that was to attempt to work more durable than everybody else.”
When it got here time to hold the cleats up in 2010 after a short stint with the Mets, Catalanotto thought he was achieved with baseball for good.
He traded house plate for house fairness and started”having fun with” a second act flipping homes on LI, the place he was “handled like a star.”
“It was one thing I’ve all the time wished to do,” he stated.
A superb buddy realized the infielder-turned-outfielder had method an excessive amount of data of the sport to go away languishing in his head and urged Catalanotto to take a training gig with New York Tech in 2019.
“He stated, ‘Hear, simply, simply do it for a yr. Should you don’t prefer it, you’ll be able to simply give up.’ And I used to be like, ‘Alright, I’ll give it a strive, however I don’t suppose I’m going to love this.’”
He was by no means so flawed in his life.
“Once I noticed the impression that I may have, and people gentle bulb moments, that’s after I began getting keen about it, and saying, ‘Wow, I can actually assist these younger baseball gamers.’”
“While you see them get it…it’s so rewarding,” he added.
Breakthroughs didn’t take lengthy, both. Catalanotto joined Hofstra’s baseball program in July 2021 and led the Delight to its first-ever Colonial Athletic Affiliation title the very subsequent season, thanks largely to some inside baseball from a professional’s perspective.
“I’m capable of educate them issues that I talked about with Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Delgado, and David Wright, issues that you just won’t get from coaches that didn’t play skilled baseball.”
“I’d say it’s extra of the psychological a part of the sport. I’m capable of inform them, ‘hey, this pitcher, he’s tipping his pitches, when his glove is large, it’s a change-up, when his glove is tight, it’s a fastball.’”
His fame these days is shifting away from simply being Smithtown’s MLB bragging proper, as Catalanotto stated he’s having extra conversations about Hofstra’s future than about his previous glory days.
“Some folks, they get completed with their profession, they usually disappear,” Catalanotto, who nonetheless roots for his outdated Little League, stated.
“I believe it’s necessary to remain round, and it’s fairly cool to nonetheless be acknowledged right here on Lengthy Island.”
