Francisco Cervelli

Francisco Cervelli (born March 6, 1986) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball catcher and former catching coach for the San Diego Padres.

The Yankees signed Cervelli as an international free agent in 2003.

Cervelli played in the Dominican Summer League in 2003.

Initially a switch hitter, the Yankees had Cervelli focus on right-handed hitting.

After struggling to adjust to professional baseball in 2004 and 2005, Cervelli batted .309 for the Staten Island Yankees of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League in 2006.

In 2007, he played for the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, where he batted .279 with an on-base percentage of .387 and two home runs.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, and Miami Marlins from 2008 through 2020.

He made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2008, and played on the 2009 World Series championship team that beat the Philadelphia Phillies.

Baseball America rated him the Yankees' 23rd-best prospect prior for the 2008 season.

On March 8, 2008, Cervelli fractured his wrist on a controversial play during a spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays, when Rays infielder Elliot Johnson collided with him at home plate in the ninth inning.

Joe Girardi, the Yankees manager said, "I think it was uncalled for, it's spring training and you are going to get people hurt and we got Cervelli hurt."

He did not return to action until June.

Following the completion of the 2008 minor league season, Cervelli was called up to the Yankees.

He made his major league debut on September 18, 2008, as a defensive replacement.

He batted 0-for-5 in his brief time in the majors.

He also played in the 2009 and 2017 World Baseball Classics for the Italian national team.

Cervelli began the 2009 season with the Trenton Thunder of the Class AA Eastern League.

After starting the 2009 season in the minors, Cervelli was called up by the Yankees on May 5, 2009, when Jorge Posada was placed on the 15-day disabled list, though he was batting only .190, with a .266 on-base percentage and .310 slugging percentage at Trenton at the time of the call-up, and had not played in Class AAA.

He made his first appearance of the season on May 7, after José Molina injured his quad.

He recorded his first major league hit, a single, on May 8, against the Baltimore Orioles, while also catching starting pitcher CC Sabathia during a complete game shutout.

Cervelli asserted himself as a reliable defensive catcher for the New York Yankees, and received praise from his teammates.

Though Cervelli was sent to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees of the Class AAA International League on July 8, 2009.

when Molina was activated off of the disabled list, Yankees' manager Joe Girardi made clear that he was impressed with Cervelli's performance.

On June 24, 2009, Cervelli hit his first major league home run against Kris Medlen of the Atlanta Braves, breaking up a no-hitter.

On September 16, Cervelli had his first walk-off hit – a single in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Cervelli was a member of the Yankees roster in the 2009 MLB postseason, as the Yankees won the 2009 World Series, but he was not on the World Series roster.

Cervelli started the 2010 season on the Yankees' 25-man roster to serve as the backup catcher to Posada, and served as the Yankees' starting catcher while Posada recovered from a foot injury.

On March 6, Cervelli was hit in the head by a pitch.

He was removed from the game with a concussion.

Shortly after, citing another concussion Cervelli suffered while playing winter ball, the Yankees suggested he begin wearing the Rawlings S-100 protective helmet, a bulkier model made to withstand 100 mph fastballs.

This briefly earned him the nickname "Gazoo", a reference to a character in The Flintstones.

In 2011, Cervelli entered spring training as the backup to Russell Martin.

Cervelli broke his foot in early March, and missed the beginning of the 2011 season.

On April 29, 2011, the New York Yankees activated Cervelli from the disabled list, and on May 8, he hit his first home run of the season, also the first grand slam of his career, in a series tiebreaker on the road against Texas.

He was acquired by the Pirates in November 2014.

The Pirates traded Cervelli to Atlanta in 2019, and he played for Miami in 2020 before announcing his retirement.

Francisco Cervelli was born in Valencia, Venezuela, to an Italian immigrant father, Emanuele Cervelli, and a Venezuelan mother, Damelis.

He also has a sister.

In Venezuela, Cervelli played shortstop, second base, and sometimes pitched.

The Yankees signed him as an international free agent with the understanding that he would try catching.