Frank Cacciatore
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 25, 1953 Tampa, Florida |
| Alma mater | Plant High School (1971) Seminole Jr. College (1973) Florida Southern College (1976) University of South Florida (1978) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1978-1982 | Florida Southern College (assistant) |
| 1983-1986 | Palm Beach JC |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 166-70-1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| NCAA Division II College World Series (1975) | |
| Awards | |
| Florida Southern College Hall of Fame (2006) Florida Diamond Club Junior College Coach of the Year (1984) | |
Frank I. Cacciatore (born April 25, 1953 in Tampa, Florida) was a minor league baseball coach and manager for more than 30 years and a former college baseball player and coach.
Early life
[edit]At 15, Cacciatore was a starting pitcher for a West Tampa Little League team that reached the 1968 Little League national tournament. His father, who coached the senior boys team, helped found the West Tampa Little League in 1962.[1] Cacciatore played football, basketball and baseball at Plant High School in Tampa, teaming up with former University of Florida wide receiver Lee McGriff.[2]
College career
[edit]In 1975, Cacciatore played right field for Florida Southern College, helping lead the Moccasins (36-10) to the 1975 NCAA Division II national title. He was named a second-team All-American that year and MVP of the Division II World Series.[3] As a junior in 1974, he played for the U.S. National Team at the World tournament after helping the Mocs to 23-15 record.[4] Prior to Florida Southern, Cacciatore played at Seminole Junior College from 1972 to 1973.
Minor leagues
[edit]In 1975, Cacciatore went undrafted out of college and signed a free agent contract with the Detroit Tigers. He initially played for the Class A Lakeland Tigers and hit .223 in 72 games. He moved up to the Class AA Montgomery Rebels in 1976 and appeared in nine games, batting .200 before being released.
College coaching career
[edit]After his minor league playing career ended, Cacciatore coached baseball at the college level, first as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Florida Southern, from 1978 to 1982. In 1983, he succeeded Dusty Rhodes (baseball coach) as the head coach at Palm Beach Junior College, where he led a Pacers squad that included future Major League Baseball all-star Dante Bichette, to a state championship in 1984 and consecutive conference titles in 1983, 1984 and 1985. At PBJC, Cacciatore compiled an overall record of 166-70-1 from 1983-1986.
In 1986, he managed the Hyannis Mets, a collegiate summer baseball team in the Cape Cod Baseball League.[5]
Professional coaching career
[edit]
Cacciatore's first minor league managerial job came in 1988, when he was a last-minute replacement as manager of the Auburn Astros of the short-season Class A New York–Penn League. (Jim Coveney had been named manager of the Auburn Astros for 1988 but replaced Gary Tuck as manager of the Asheville Tourists in mid-season, before he had managed a single game for Auburn.[6]) In Auburn, Cacciatore was the first professional manager of future Major League Baseball stars Luis Gonzalez and Kenny Lofton, both of whom were selected by the Houston Astros in the 1988 draft and assigned to Auburn to begin their professional baseball careers.[7]
After spending a year coaching at Triple-A Tuscon, he spent the 1990 and 1991 seasons as the skipper of the Asheville Tourists. He served as a coach of Double-A Shreveport when the Captains won the 1995 Eastern League title and was a coach with the Brevard County Manatees when they claimed a share of the Advanced-A Florida State League crown in 2001.[8] By 2012, Cacciatore had managed seven different teams at the short-season Class A, full-season Class A, and Double-A levels of Minor League Baseball. Cacciatore has coached in the Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants, Florida Marlins, Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals, and New York Mets systems. He also served as the hitting coach for the Reading Fightin Phils.[9]
Retirement
[edit]After retiring from Minor League coaching in 2019, Cacciatore has served as a pitching coach for the Alpharetta Aviators, a collegiate summer team in the non-profit, wooden-bat Sunbelt Baseball League.[10]
Minor League managerial record
[edit]Cacciatore managed the following minor league teams:[11]
| Year | Team | League | Record | Finish | Organization | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Auburn Astros | New York–Penn League | 42-33 | 5th | Houston Astros | |
| 1990 | Asheville Tourists | South Atlantic League | 66-77 | 9th | Houston Astros | |
| 1991 | Asheville Tourists | South Atlantic League | 55-83 | 14th | Houston Astros | |
| 1996 | Shreveport Captains | Texas League | 73-66 | 3rd | San Francisco Giants | |
| 1997 | San Jose Giants | California League | 60-80 | 10th | San Francisco Giants | |
| 1999 | Portland Sea Dogs | Eastern League | 65-77 | 9th (t) | Florida Marlins | |
| 2006 | Hagerstown Suns | South Atlantic League | 58-82 | 14th | New York Mets | |
| 2007 | St. Lucie Mets | Florida State League | 68-71 | 8th | New York Mets | Lost in 1st round |
References
[edit]- ^ Melone, Mary Jo. "Baseball Was My Life: The Stories of West Tampa". digitalcommons.usf.edu. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ Johnston, Joey. "Hillsborough vs. Plant: Through the Years". www.tampabay.com. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ "Hall of Fame". Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ "Baseball Archives" (PDF). Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ Finn, Frank (September 12, 1985). "Mets hire new coach". Barnstable Patriot. Barnstable, MA. p. 10.
- ^ "Astros report". Houston Chronicle. 26 May 1988. p. 15. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
- ^ "1988 Auburn Astros Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ^ "Frank Cacciatore took coaching from college to minors". Greatest21days.com. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ "Minor League Baseball". Archived from the original on 2009-04-15. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
- ^ "Alpharetta Aviators". sunbeltbaseball.pointstreaksites.com. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ "Frank Cacciatore Baseball Statistics". www.thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
External links
[edit]