Brian Esposito
| Brian Esposito | |
|---|---|
 Esposito with the Iowa Cubs in 2012 | |
| San Diego Padres – No. 82 | |
| Coach / Catcher | |
| Born: February 24, 1979 Staten Island, New York, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 2, 2007, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 30, 2010, for the Houston Astros | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .000 |
| Home runs | 0 |
| Runs batted in | 0 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| |
Brian James Esposito (born February 24, 1979) is an American former professional baseball catcher and current coach who serves as the bench coach for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He appeared in three games in MLB with the St. Louis Cardinals (2007) and Houston Astros (2010).
Playing career
[edit]Amateur
[edit]Esposito played college baseball for the University of Connecticut, and in 1999 he played collegiate summer baseball with the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[1] He was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 5th round of the 2000 MLB Draft.
Professional
[edit]Esposito was recalled from the Memphis Redbirds on May 30, 2007, when the Cardinals' starting catcher, Yadier Molina, was placed on the disabled list with a fractured wrist. Esposito made his major league debut June 2 against the Houston Astros as a late-inning defensive replacement for Gary Bennett. He did not have a plate appearance. He returned to Memphis on June 5 after the Cardinals acquired veteran catcher Kelly Stinnett from the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2008, he played for the Double-A Tulsa Drillers in the Colorado Rockies organization and became a free agent at the end of the season.
Esposito signed a minor league contract with the Astros on January 14, 2009, and was invited to spring training.
Esposito would join Houston roster in 2010 when they expanded their roster in September. He would get two plate appearances on September 18, 2010 against the Cincinnati Reds when he was a late inning replacement for Jason Castro. He was also called up June 24, 2011, but sent back down June 29 without an appearance. On October 10, he elected free agency.
On December 23, 2011, Esposito signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds with an invitation to spring training.
On May 20, 2012 he was signed to a minor league deal by the Chicago Cubs and sent down to their Triple-A affiliate, the Iowa Cubs.[2]
In March 2013, Esposito signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a player-coach.[3]
Coaching career
[edit]Pittsburgh Pirates
[edit]Starting in 2018, Esposito was the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates' Triple-A affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians of the International League.[4] In his first year, he led the 2018 Indians to a 73–67 win–loss record, bringing his career managerial mark to 306–262 (.539) over five years.[5]
Esposito spent 2017 as pilot of the Pirates' Low–A farm team, the West Virginia Black Bears.[6] He previously managed the Pirates Single–A affiliate, the West Virginia Power of the South Atlantic League.[7] In 2014, he served as the last manager in the franchise history of the Jamestown Jammers.
At the end of the 2021 baseball season, his contract was not renewed by the Pirates organization.[8] In seven seasons as a minor league manager with the Pirates, he posted a 433-401 record.[8]
San Diego Padres
[edit]In December 2021 it was announced that Esposito had joined the San Diego Padres organization.[9]
On December 6, 2024, the Padres announced Esposito as their new bench coach.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ "1999 Orleans Cardinals". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
- ^ http://www.kffl.com/gnews.php?id=788329-cubs-brian-esposito-signed[permanent dead link]
- ^ Williams, Tim (March 15, 2013). "Prospect Notebook: A Look at Nick Kingham's Constantly Increasing Velocity".
- ^ Reiter, Cheyne (January 16, 2018). "Brian Esposito Appointed as Tribe Manager for 2018". milb.com. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
- ^ Reiter, Cheyne (18 January 2019), "Brian Esposito Returns as Tribe Manager for 2019." MilB.com
- ^ "The Official Site of Minor League Baseball".
- ^ Biertempfel, Rob (January 15, 2015). "Pirates Notebook: Assignments Finalized".
- ^ a b "Sources: Brian Esposito out as manager at Class AAA Indianapolis". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
- ^ "Bucs announce changes to coaching staff". MLB.com. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ "Brian Esposito named bench coach as Padres finalize staff". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
9. mlb.com (December 16, 2021) "Changes to Coaching Staff" https://www.mlb.com/news/pirates-announce-changes-to-coaching-staff
External links
[edit]- Career statistics from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- 1979 births
- Living people
- Augusta GreenJackets players
- UConn Huskies baseball players
- Corpus Christi Hooks players
- Frisco RoughRiders players
- Houston Astros players
- Indianapolis Indians managers
- Iowa Cubs players
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- Major League Baseball catchers
- Memphis Redbirds players
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- Oklahoma RedHawks players
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- Baseball players from Staten Island
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- Tulsa Drillers players