Tony Tarasco

Tony Tarasco
Tarasco at spring training in March 2015
Outfielder / First base coach
Born: (1970-12-09) December 9, 1970 New York City, New York
Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 30, 1993, for the Atlanta Braves
Last MLB appearance
September 1, 2002, for the New York Mets
MLB statistics
Batting average	.240
Home runs	34
Runs batted in	118
Teams
As player Atlanta Braves (1993–1994) Montreal Expos (1995) Baltimore Orioles (1996–1997) Cincinnati Reds (1998) New York Yankees (1999) Hanshin Tigers (2000) New York Mets (2002) As coach Washington Nationals (2013–2015)

Anthony Giacinto Tarasco (born December 9, 1970) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder for the Atlanta Braves, Montreal Expos, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, and New York Yankees between 1993 and 1999 and for the New York Mets in 2002. He also played with the Hanshin Tigers in the Japanese Central League in 2000.^[1]

Tarasco was involved in a controversial play in the 1996 American League Championship Series while playing right field for the Baltimore Orioles. While fielding a fly ball hit by New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, 12-year-old fan Jeffrey Maier reached over the fence and caught the ball. The umpires called a home run, although the correct call was fan interference. The play was the turning point in the series, which the Yankees won.

Tarasco spent the remainder of his career as a part time player, often shuttling between the major and minor leagues. Ironically, Tarasco and Jeter were briefly teammates for a short time during the 1999 season.^[1]

For a time, Tarasco was the minor league coordinator for the Washington Nationals.^[2] On November 14, 2012, the Nationals announced on that Tarasco would join their coaching staff in the 2013 season to coach first base and outfield. Tarasco served as first base coach for the Nationals through the 2015 season. On October 5, 2015, the entire Nationals coaching staff, including Tarasco, were fired after a disappointing 2015 season.^[3]

Facts

• Tarasco is a cousin of MLB shortstop Jimmy Rollins.^[1]
• He has a cameo appearance in the 1991 film Talent for the Game in a Kansas City Royals uniform.^[2]

Sources

External links

• Career statistics and player information from ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Retrosheet, or Baseball Reference (Minor and Japanese Leagues), or Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)