Sal Fasano

Sal Fasano
Atlanta Braves – No. 25
Catcher
Bats: Right Throws: Right
debut
April 3, 1996, for the Kansas City Royals
Career statistics (through 2007)
Batting average	.219
Home runs	47
Runs batted in	134
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
Kansas City Royals (1996-1999) Oakland Athletics (2000-2001) Kansas City Royals (2001) Colorado Rockies (2001) Anaheim Angels (2002) Baltimore Orioles (2005) Philadelphia Phillies (2006) New York Yankees (2006) Toronto Blue Jays (2007)

Salvatore Frank Fasano (Template:PronEng; born August 10, 1971 in Chicago, Illinois) is a Major League Baseball catcher who is currently in the Atlanta Braves organization. Fasano stands at 6'2" tall and weighs 245 pounds. He bats and throws right-handed. He is known to many for his famous Fu Manchu moustache.

Jeff Pearlman of ESPN.com said of Fasano: "When I think of Sal Fasano, however, I think of greatness. Not of Willie Mays or Ted Williams greatness, but of a uniquely excellent human being who, were class and decency the most valued standards of a career, would be the easiest Hall of Fame inductee of all time."

Minor league tenure

Fasano was recruited heavily by the University of Hawaii, but ended up playing for the University of Evansville and was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 37th round of the 1993 Amateur Draft. During his tenure in the minor leagues, he became a highly regarded catcher. Fasano made the Midwest League All-Star team in 1994, and the Pacific Coast League All-Star team in 1999, the same year he set a league record for being hit by a pitch 26 times. Also in 1994, he was named the Midwest League's Most Valuable Player.

Kansas City Royals

After three seasons in the minor leagues, the catcher made his major league debut on April 3, 1996 for the Royals. He spent the next three seasons splitting catching duties with starter Mike Macfarlane and rising prospect Mike Sweeney. In 1998, he established career highs in at bats (216) and RBI (31). He also ranked second in the American League in HBPs with 16.

Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics purchased Fasano's contract from the Royals in March of 2000 and handed the portly catcher the team's back up duties behind starter Ramon Hernandez. Fasano helped the A's capture the A.L. West division crown that season, and made his, to date, only post season appearance as a defensive replacement. The Royals repurchased his contract the following off-season.

Colorado Rockies

Fasano's hitting woes continued back in Kansas City, and the Royals swapped back-up catchers with the Colorado Rockies in June 2001, with Brent Mayne heading to the Royals. After an uneventful half season in another reserve role, Fasano and the Rockies cut ties later that autumn.

Baltimore Orioles

After one at bat with the Anaheim Angels in 2002, Fasano in 2004, his first season back in the majors achieved career highs in home runs (11) and runs scored (25) as a member of the Baltimore Orioles.

Philadelphia Phillies

Fasano began 2006 for the Philadelphia Phillies as a backup to Mike Lieberthal. His distinctive Fu Manchu mustache earned him the cult admiration of Phillies fans, who began a Phan Phavorites fan club called Sal's Pals. Fasano showed his gratitude by buying the group tickets and pizza. Fasano began to see more playing time as Lieberthal got injured, eventually taking over the starting role. His light hitting though cost him his job as rookie backstop Chris Coste emerged in Lieberthal's absence. When Lieberthal returned, there was no spot for Fasano. He was designated for assignment and acquired by the New York Yankees in exchange for minor league infielder Hector Made.

New York Yankees

One of Fasano's first acts as a Yankee was to trim his facial hair, a requirement set forth by owner George Steinbrenner. He spent the late summer and September as a back-up to Jorge Posada and did not appear in the Yankees four game loss to the Detroit Tigers in the Division Series. On August 19, 2006, Fasano made his first career pinch-running appearance, taking the place of fellow catcher Jorge Posada during a 13-5 win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Toronto Blue Jays

Fasano agreed to a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays in January 2007, and was invited to major league spring training. On April 26, the Blue Jays purchased Fasano's contract from Syracuse of the International League (AAA) in order to fill a void left by an injury to Gregg Zaun. During this time, he shared catching responsibilities with Jason Phillips. His first at bat as a Blue Jay came against the Texas Rangers on April 28. Following the return of Zaun, the Blue Jays designated Fasano for assignment on June 13 and sent him outright to Syracuse on June 16.

At Syracuse, he hit .413 and earned a surprise callup to the Blue Jays. He had a .178 average with 1 home run and 4 RBI in 16 games during his brief stint as a replacement for the injured Zaun. He finished the season as a member of the Blue Jays 40-man roster and the back-up to Gregg Zaun and Curtis Thigpen.

On March 25, 2008, the Blue Jays released him.

Atlanta Braves

On April 4, 2008, Fasano signed with the Atlanta Braves and was assigned to their Triple-A affiliate, the Richmond Braves.

Career statistics

• Career statistics from MLB  · ESPN  · Baseball Reference  · Fangraphs  · Baseball Reference (Minors)  · Retrosheet

Personal

Fasano is the son of Vincent and Nella Fasano, Italian immigrants who settled in the Chicago area. He is married to the former Kerri Kubinski, who was a volleyball player at Evansville. In the off-season, Fasano helps out at his father-in-law's excavating company, from which has grown a great appreciation for not only ancient civilizations, but pre-historic life as well. In a pre-game interview before an away game against the Atlanta Braves in 2007, Fasano expressed interest in going back to school to study paleontology after he retires. Fasano is a born-again Christian; he was introduced to spirituality by Kansas City teammate Keith Lockhart and credits religion with curttailing his desire to drink. Sal and Kerri have two children and are expecting a third in September. Tests have shown that two of the four chambers in the baby's heart are not developing properly; the child will undergo surgery with a 95% success rate upon birth.

External links

• Player Statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
• ESPN Player Profile
• Minor League Splits and Situational Stats
• Phillies fan site The 700 Level's Sal Fasano archives
• Sal's Big Fat Blog
• Sal Fasano more than a human spare part
• Throwback Backstop: The story of how Sal Fasano became Philly's latest fan favorite
• Ballplayer has baby's heart on his mind