Steve Lombardozzi
Encyclopedia
Stephen Paul Lombardozzi (born April 26, 1960) is a former American professional baseball
player who was a second baseman
for the Minnesota Twins
and Houston Astros
for six Major League Baseball
seasons. Lombardozzi, perhaps best known for his defense, provided key hits in the 1987 postseason when the Twins won the World Series. He is currently the minor league fielding coordinator for the Pittsburgh Pirates
.
. He received an athletic scholarship
to attend the University of Florida
in Gainesville, Florida
, where he played for coach Jay Bergman's
Florida Gators baseball
team in 1980 and 1981. In 1981, he received first team All-Southeastern Conference
(SEC) and SEC All-Tournament honors.
in the rookie-level Appalachian League
where he hit .321 with 6 home runs and 38 RBI in 65 games. The following years, he would make steady progress through the Twins' organization spending 1982 at class-A Visalia
, 1983 at AA Orlando, and 1984 at AAA Toledo. After returning to Toledo in 1985, he would make his major league debut with the Twins on July 12 and would split the rest of the season between the majors and AAA.
Lombardozzi would go north with the Twins following spring training in 1986 and would be the starting second baseman for the team for the next three seasons. In 1987, Lombardozzi would be on the team when they won the World Series
against the St. Louis Cardinals
. He led all hitters in that World Series with a .412 batting average
. He also held the record for the longest last name of any player to hit a postseason home run, hitting a Game 1, two-run homerun off Cardinal Bob Forsch
, until it was broken by Doug Mientkiewicz
of the Minnesota Twins in 2002. Lombardozzi would also knock in the winning run in Game 6 as his RBI single broke up a 5th Inning 5-5 tie that would eventually lead to an 11-6 Twins' victory.
Despite his World Series heroics and gold glove-caliber fielding (his .991 fielding percentage was tops among American League second basemen in 1986), Lombardozzi was never able to hit above .238 for the Twins (after hitting .275 in the minors and .370 during his 1985 major league debut season) and would hit only .209 with 3 home runs and 27 RBI in 1989. Following both the 1987 and 1988 seasons, the Twins, looking to add some more offense at the position, would trade first for Cardinal Tommy Herr and then New York Mets
second baseman Wally Backman
. Being the odd man out, Lombardozzi would split time at second in 1988 and would finally be traded to the Houston Astros at the end of spring training in 1989 (for career minor league outfielder Roman Cedeno). However, Lombardozzi was never able to either supplant Bill Doran at second or stay with the big club and spent 1989 and 1990 shuttling between Houston and the minors. After playing his last game in Houston on 11 April 1990 he would be released by the Astros on May 28. After being signed by the Detroit Tigers
on June 9, Lombardozzi would spend the rest of the season back at Toledo (now the Tiger's AAA club) before being released at the end of the season and calling it a career at age 30.
and focused on his family. He ran a small business, coached youth baseball, and spent time with his two children. After being away from the game for 18 years, Lombardozzi was hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates in December 2009 to be their minor league fielding coordinator, taking the place of Carlos Garcia, who was hired as the Pirates' first base/infield coach.
Lombardozzi's son Steve Jr.
, is also a MLB second baseman. His daughter graduated from James Madison University in 2008.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player who was a second baseman
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
for the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
and Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
for six Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
seasons. Lombardozzi, perhaps best known for his defense, provided key hits in the 1987 postseason when the Twins won the World Series. He is currently the minor league fielding coordinator for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
.
Early life
Lombardozzi was born in Malden, MassachusettsMalden, Massachusetts
Malden is a suburban city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 59,450 at the 2010 census. In 2009 Malden was ranked as the "Best Place to Raise Your Kids" in Massachusetts by Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine.-History:...
. He received an athletic scholarship
Athletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
to attend the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where he played for coach Jay Bergman's
Jay Bergman
Jay Bergman is a former American college baseball coach. During his coaching career he served as the head coach of Seminole Community College, University of Florida and the University of Central Florida...
Florida Gators baseball
Florida Gators baseball
The Florida Gators baseball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of baseball. The Florida Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association , and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference . They play their home games in Alfred A...
team in 1980 and 1981. In 1981, he received first team All-Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(SEC) and SEC All-Tournament honors.
Playing career
The Minnesota Twins selected Lombardozzi in the ninth round of the 1981 MLB Draft after which he was assigned to the Elizabethton TwinsElizabethton Twins
The Elizabethton Twins are a minor league baseball team in Elizabethton, Tennessee, USA. They are a Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League, and have been a farm team of the Minnesota Twins since 1974. The Twins play home games at Joe O'Brien Field...
in the rookie-level Appalachian League
Appalachian League
The Appalachian League is a Rookie-class minor league that began play in 1937 with one year of inactivity in 1956. From 1937 to 1962, it was a Class D League. Teams are located in the Appalachian regions of Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia and Tennessee...
where he hit .321 with 6 home runs and 38 RBI in 65 games. The following years, he would make steady progress through the Twins' organization spending 1982 at class-A Visalia
Visalia Oaks
The Visalia Rawhide are a minor league baseball team in Visalia, California, U.S. They are a Class A - Advanced team of the Arizona Diamondbacks operating in the California League and have recently agreed to renew their affiliation through 2012....
, 1983 at AA Orlando, and 1984 at AAA Toledo. After returning to Toledo in 1985, he would make his major league debut with the Twins on July 12 and would split the rest of the season between the majors and AAA.
Lombardozzi would go north with the Twins following spring training in 1986 and would be the starting second baseman for the team for the next three seasons. In 1987, Lombardozzi would be on the team when they won the World Series
1987 World Series
The 1987 World Series pitted the Minnesota Twins versus the St. Louis Cardinals.Minnesota was victorious in a World Series that was the first in which the home team won every game...
against the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
. He led all hitters in that World Series with a .412 batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
. He also held the record for the longest last name of any player to hit a postseason home run, hitting a Game 1, two-run homerun off Cardinal Bob Forsch
Bob Forsch
Robert Herbert Forsch was an American right-handed starting pitcher who spent most of his sixteen years in Major League Baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals before finishing his playing career with the Houston Astros...
, until it was broken by Doug Mientkiewicz
Doug Mientkiewicz
Douglas Andrew Mientkiewicz is a first baseman who last appeared in the majors in with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He bats left-handed and throws right-handed...
of the Minnesota Twins in 2002. Lombardozzi would also knock in the winning run in Game 6 as his RBI single broke up a 5th Inning 5-5 tie that would eventually lead to an 11-6 Twins' victory.
Despite his World Series heroics and gold glove-caliber fielding (his .991 fielding percentage was tops among American League second basemen in 1986), Lombardozzi was never able to hit above .238 for the Twins (after hitting .275 in the minors and .370 during his 1985 major league debut season) and would hit only .209 with 3 home runs and 27 RBI in 1989. Following both the 1987 and 1988 seasons, the Twins, looking to add some more offense at the position, would trade first for Cardinal Tommy Herr and then New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
second baseman Wally Backman
Wally Backman
Walter Wayne Backman is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. He is best known for his time with the New York Mets from - and was a member of their 1986 World Series-winning team...
. Being the odd man out, Lombardozzi would split time at second in 1988 and would finally be traded to the Houston Astros at the end of spring training in 1989 (for career minor league outfielder Roman Cedeno). However, Lombardozzi was never able to either supplant Bill Doran at second or stay with the big club and spent 1989 and 1990 shuttling between Houston and the minors. After playing his last game in Houston on 11 April 1990 he would be released by the Astros on May 28. After being signed by the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
on June 9, Lombardozzi would spend the rest of the season back at Toledo (now the Tiger's AAA club) before being released at the end of the season and calling it a career at age 30.
Retirement
After his playing days ended, Lombardozzi moved to his home in Columbia, MarylandColumbia, Maryland
Columbia is a planned community that consists of ten self-contained villages, located in Howard County, Maryland, United States. It began with the idea that a city could enhance its residents' quality of life. Creator and developer James W. Rouse saw the new community in terms of human values, not...
and focused on his family. He ran a small business, coached youth baseball, and spent time with his two children. After being away from the game for 18 years, Lombardozzi was hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates in December 2009 to be their minor league fielding coordinator, taking the place of Carlos Garcia, who was hired as the Pirates' first base/infield coach.
Lombardozzi's son Steve Jr.
Steve Lombardozzi, Jr.
Stephen Lombardozzi is a Major League Baseball second baseman for the Washington Nationals.-Professional career:Lombardozzi played for Atholton High School and was named a preseason third-team Rawlings' high school All-American in 2005. Lombardozzi was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the...
, is also a MLB second baseman. His daughter graduated from James Madison University in 2008.
See also
- List of Florida Gators baseball players
- List of second-generation Major League Baseball players