Scott Savastano

Scott Savastano
Seattle Mariners — No. --
Utility player
Born: June 12, 1986 (1986-06-12) (age 25)
Plymouth, Massachusetts
Bats: Right Throws: Right

Scott Allen Savastano (born June 12, 1986 in Plymouth, Massachusetts) is an American professional baseball player in the Seattle Mariners minor league organization. Since 2008, Savastano has played with the Arizona League Mariners (2008), the Everett AquaSox (2008), the Tacoma Rainiers (2008), the Clinton LumberKings (2009), the High Desert Mavericks (2010), and the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (2010). Over his professional career, Savastano has played right field, left field, first base, second base, third base, shortstop, catcher, and designated hitter. Savastano was selected to play in the 2009 Midwest League All-Star Game. He bats and throws right-handed. He stands at 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and weighs 190 pounds (86 kg). Savastano played four sports at his high school, Plymouth North High School. He excelled in baseball, earning three all-star selections and two most valuable player honors. At Franklin Pierce University, he earned multiple accolades. He was drafted three times over his high school and college career, signing his third time in 2008 with the Seattle Mariners.

Contents

Amateur career

In 555, Savastano graduated from Plymouth North High School in Plymouth, Massachusetts.[1] He was inducted into the Plymouth/Plymouth-Carver Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010.[1] During his high school career, Savastano played four sports: baseball, soccer, football, and ice hockey.[1] On the school's football team, he played wide receiver and cornerback, and was a Atlantic Coast League all-star during his senior season.[1] In ice hockey, Savastano was a defenceman, making the all-star game three times.[1]

As a member of Plymouth North's baseball team, GateHouse Media described him as "one of the best baseball players ever to play the game in the town of Plymouth".[1] In his sophomore season, the league switched to from aluminum baseball bats to wooden, a difficult transition for some.[1] However, Savastano excelled, batting .340.[1] As a junior, Savastano batted .623, a single-season school record.[1] His .596 batting average during his senior season gave him the school's all-time record in that statistic.[1] For three years, Savastano was a league all-star, and for two years he was the league's most valuable player.[1] After his senior season, he was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 33rd round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign.[1][2]

After high school, Savastano enrolled at Franklin Pierce University. As a member of the school's baseball team, he played in three Division II College World Series.[1] Savastano stated the reason he picked Franklin Pierce was because the team used wooden bats.[3] After his sophomore season at Franklin Pierce, he was drafted by the Cleveland Indians during the 28th of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign.[4] He thought that being injured in 2007 hurt his draft stock.[5] After his sophomore season, Savastano played with the Pittsfield Dukes, a collegiate summer league team.[6] Savastano was a first-team All-American selection after his junior season.[7] He was also selected to the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings second-team, and the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association third-team.[7]

During the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft, Savastano was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 28th.[8] Savastano was disappointed he did not go earlier saying, "I had heard anywhere from the fourth round to the 10th round, but you just never really know".[5] Before the draft that year, the Boston Red Sox offer Savastano US$25,000 to sign as a non-drafted free agent, but he declined, opting for the draft instead.[5]

Professional career

After signing with the Seattle Mariners in 2008, Savastano was assigned to the rookie-level Arizona League Mariners. In 26 games, he batted .298 with four doubles, three triples, one home run, and 15 runs batted in (RBIs). Savastano received a late-season promotion to the Class-A Short Season Everett AquaSox, getting no hits in three at-bats. On August 30, the was called-up to the Triple-A level.[9] With the Tacoma Rainiers, he got two hits four at-bats. On defense between the three teams, Savastano played right field, left field, third base, second base, and shortstop. Savastano spent the entire 2009 season with the Class-A Clinton LumberKings of the Midwest League. He was selected to play in the 2009 Midwest League All-Star Game on June 23, at Ashford University Field.[10] He described his selection as a "huge honor".[11] At the all-stat break, Savastano was batting .318, good enough for tenth in the league.[10] On the season, he batted .300 with 15 doubles, five triples, six home runs, 15 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases in 112 games played. In the field, he played catcher, right field, left field, first base, second base, third base, and shortstop.

At the start of the 2010 season, Savastano was assigned to play with the Class-A Advanced High Desert Mavericks of the California League.[12] With the Mavericks that season, he batted .318 with six doubles, two home runs, and 13 RBIs in 25 games played. On May 17, Savastano was promoted to the Double-A West Tenn Diamond Jaxx.[13] He was named the Savastano was named the Southern League Hitter of the Week on September 9.[14] As a member of the Diamond Jaxx that season, he batted .287 with 13 doubles, one triple, six home runs, and 30 RBIs in 68 games played.

Philanthropy

Savastano runs a youth baseball program called the JunglePlex Gorilla Baseball and Softball program.[7] He serves as an umpire in the league.[7] He explained why he runs the league: "When I was a kid we never had these kind of programs. You just went out to your baseball season, and however you did was however you did".[7]

See also

References

General references
  1. "Scott Savastano Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=savast001sco. Retrieved 28 September 2010. 
Inline citations
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Scott Savastano’s living the dream". GateHouse News Service. Wicked Local Plymouth. 15 May 2010. http://www.wickedlocal.com/plymouth/features/x289818556/Scott-Savastano-s-living-the-dream. Retrieved 27 September 2010. 
  2. ^ "33rd Round of the 2005 MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?year_ID=2005&draft_round=33&draft_type=junreg&query_type=year_round. Retrieved 27 September 2010. 
  3. ^ Harber, Paul (4 May 2006). "Savastano's game under the microscope". Globe Newspaper Company. The New York Times Company. http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/baseball/articles/2006/05/04/savastanos_game_under_the_microscope/. Retrieved 27 September 2010. 
  4. ^ "28th Round of the 2007 MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?year_ID=2007&draft_round=28&draft_type=junreg&query_type=year_round. Retrieved 27 September 2010. 
  5. ^ a b c Johnson, John R.. "Savastano picked again". Patriot Ledger. CBS Interactive. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_8043/is_20080607/ai_n47829171/. Retrieved 27 September 2010. 
  6. ^ "Savastano Signs on as New Dukes Shortstop". iBerkshires.com. Boxcar Media, LLC. 28 June 2007. http://www.iberkshires.com/story/23743/. Retrieved 27 September 2010. 
  7. ^ a b c d e Wood, Ryan (18 October 2008). "Haskell, Savastano team to work with ball players". GateHouse News Service. Wicked Local Plymouth. http://www.wickedlocal.com/plymouth/sports/high_school/x1196569998/Haskell-Savastano-team-to-work-with-ball-players. Retrieved 27 September 2010. 
  8. ^ "28th Round of the 2008 MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?year_ID=2008&draft_round=28&draft_type=junreg&query_type=year_round. Retrieved 27 September 2010. 
  9. ^ Wood, Ryan (20 August 2008). "Savastano moves to Triple A". GateHouse News Service. Wicked Local Plymouth. http://www.wickedlocal.com/plymouth/news/x392056293/Savastano-moves-to-Triple-A. Retrieved 27 September 2010. 
  10. ^ a b "Scott Savastano Named To Midwest League All-Star Game". Franklin Pierce Athletics Department. Franklin Pierce University. 9 June 2009. http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/sports/bsb/2008-09/news/060909BBSavastano. Retrieved 27 September 2010. 
  11. ^ "Today's Interview: Scott Savastano (Vol. 2)". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. http://lumberkings.mlblogs.com/Scott%20Savastano%20Interview%206.8.09.mp3. Retrieved 28 September 2010. 
  12. ^ "Scott Savastano to Open 2010 Season With High Desert Mavericks". Franklin Pierce Athletics Department. Franklin Pierce University. 7 April 2010. http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/sports/bsb/2009-10/releases/040710BBSavastano. Retrieved 28 September 2010. 
  13. ^ "Quiroz to Tacoma, Savastano and Oliveros to Jaxx". OurSportsCentral.com. OurSports Central. 17 May 2010. http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=4011812. Retrieved 28 September 2010. 
  14. ^ "Scott Savastano Stats, Bio, Photos, Highlights". MiLB.com. Minor League Baseball. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=1B&sid=t104&t=p_pbp&pid=489293. Retrieved 28 September 2010. 

External links