Jarrod Saltalamacchia

Jarrod Scott Saltalamacchia (born May 2, 1985) is an American former professional baseball catcher.

Saltalamacchia was born on May 2, 1985, in West Palm Beach, Florida.

He attended Royal Palm Beach High School, where he caught for his friend and future Major League Baseball (MLB) teammate Kason Gabbard.

In 2000, Saltalamacchia and Gabbard helped take Royal Palm Beach to a state championship title.

His father wanted Saltalamacchia to play gridiron football, but he was singularly focused on baseball.

By his junior year, he was drawing interest from MLB scouts.

His performance on the institution's baseball team drew the attention of scouts, and the Braves selected him in the first round of the 2003 MLB Draft.

The Atlanta Braves selected Saltalamacchia in the supplemental first round, 36th overall, of the 2003 MLB Draft.

On June 3, 2003, he agreed to a contract with the team for a signing bonus of $950,000, and he spent his first season of professional baseball with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League (GCL) Braves.

At the time, he had committed to play college baseball for the Florida State Seminoles, but college coach Mike Martin told him, "If you go first round, take your money and go."

In 46 games, Saltalamacchia batted .239 with two home runs and 14 runs batted in (RBIs) in 134 at-bats.

After helping take the team to a GCL championship title, Saltalamacchia was promoted to the Class A Rome Braves for the 2004 season.

In 91 games there, Saltalamacchia batted .272, recording 10 home runs and 51 RBIs in 323 at-bats.

2005 proved to be a breakout year for Saltalamacchia, who was named the Myrtle Beach Pelicans' Most Valuable Player, as well as the top prospect in the Class A-Advanced Carolina League, by batting .314, hitting 19 home runs, and setting a club single-season record with 81 RBIs.

After the conclusion of the regular Minor League Baseball season, Saltalamacchia was one of two Pelicans selected to play for the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League, alongside outfielder Josh Burrus.

In an additional 21 fall league games, Saltalamacchia batted .288, adding one home run and eight RBIs to his season totals.

Entering the 2006 season as one of Atlanta's top prospects, Saltalamacchia was assigned to the Double-A Mississippi Braves.

He had what Braves manager Bobby Cox referred to as "an off year" in Mississippi: despite flashes of strong batting in July and August, his overall average for the year was only .230, with nine home runs and 39 RBIs.

Saltalamacchia also made another Arizona Fall League appearance in 2006, going 13-for-23 in six games with the Peoria Javelinas.

Between 2007 and 2018, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, Miami Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, and Toronto Blue Jays.

Raised in West Palm Beach, Florida, Saltalamacchia attended Royal Palm Beach High School.

He spent four years in the Braves' farm system, but in 2007, injuries to both of Atlanta's regular catchers forced them to call him up to the major leagues.

Saltalamacchia was prevented from becoming a regular catcher for the Braves by the presence of Brian McCann, and so he became the centerpiece of a trading deadline deal with the Rangers in 2007.

He stayed in Mississippi to begin the 2007 season, with the anticipation that he would be promoted to the Triple-A Richmond Braves at some point in the year.

With both starting catcher Brian McCann and backup Brayan Peña injured during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Saltalamacchia was called up to Atlanta on May 2, 2007, his 22nd birthday.

He made his MLB debut that same night, getting on base twice with a walk and a hit by pitch.

Four days later, Saltalamacchia recorded both his first major league hit and RBI in a 6–4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The latter hit, which came off of a pitch from Saltalamacchia's childhood friend Chad Billingsley, helped bring home Andruw Jones to give the Braves the lead.

His first home run came on May 27, with a solo shot off of the Phillies' Cole Hamels.

Exactly one month later, while filling in at first base to make room for McCann behind the plate, Saltalamacchia recorded his first multi-home run game, with third- and fifth-inning solo shots against Mike Bacsik of the Washington Nationals.

In 47 major league games with Atlanta, Saltalamacchia batted .284 with four home runs and 12 RBIs in 141 at-bats.

Shortly after becoming the team's starting catcher in 2009, a bout of thoracic outlet syndrome forced Saltalamacchia to undergo season-ending rib removal surgery, and lingering issues from the surgery caused him to suffer from the "yips" in 2010.

The Rangers traded Saltalamacchia to the Red Sox in 2010, and he continued to suffer from health issues that limited his play.

Under the mentorship of Jason Varitek, however, Saltalamacchia began to improve, and he succeeded Varitek as the team's starting catcher in 2012.

While Saltalamacchia had a breakout season in 2013, he was benched for the final stretch of the 2013 World Series after a missed play caused the Red Sox to lose Game 3.

The following year, he signed with the Marlins as a free agent, but his production declined, and he was released from the team in May 2015.

Saltalamacchia batted just .171 with the Tigers in 2016.

Most of his time with Toronto and Detroit over the next two seasons was spent with their Triple-A affiliates, where he helped mentor pitching and catching prospects like Grayson Greiner.

Saltalamacchia announced his retirement from baseball in January 2019, citing a desire to spend more time with his family.

Since then, he has served as a baseball coach for The King's Academy in Florida and has filled in as a sports analyst for the New England Sports Network.