Rocco Dan Baldelli, native son to the small town of Woonsocket, Rhode Island. A town that jokingly gave him the nickname, “The Woonsocket Rocket” because of his size and speed as a four-sport athlete. A name that Rocco says is still a joke to this day. A town that introduced him to the sport that would change his life. A sport that would give him the highest of highs – and unfortunately far too early – the lowest of lows.
In 2000, the then Tampa Bay Devil Rays, drafted Rocco with the sixth pick in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft. With an athletic scholarship on the table from Wake Forrest, Baldelli decided to begin his career as a pro ball player and signed with the Devil Rays for $2,250,000.
“If you asked me in high school when I got drafted where I’d be right now there’s no way I would have known I’d be standing here talking to you now as a coach.” Baldelli said. “Baseball is something that I’ve always loved. It’s something that I’m very thankful for. I feel like I have an emotional connection to the game.”
He quickly rose through the minors as a top prospect for the Devil Rays. By 2002, he was named Minor League Player of the Year. By Opening Day 2003, Baldelli was making his MLB debut.
The first low…
After posting back to back seasons ranking among the best in the game both at the plate and in the field, things would drastically change for Rocco.
His first major injury would have him begin the 2005 season on the disabled list for the Devil Rays. He had torn a ligament in his knee while playing baseball with his brother in the offseason. Slated to come back to the team by the All-Star Break, an elbow injury while working out forced him into Tommy John surgery. Months of rehab would follow.
The first return…
June 7, 2006 – Rocco would return.
A year and a half away from the game, Baldelli wouldn’t miss a beat. In just more than half a season, he would have his best year as a pro. Life was good, again. Rocco was playing baseball again – and despite the struggles of the Devil Rays years, he was happy.
“I was pretty pleased with the way my career was going,” Rocco said. “I felt like I was playing well.”
The spiral…
Spring Training, 2007.
Rocco would pull his hamstring and despite the lingering pain – he would play through it. He appeared in 35 games for the Devil Rays in Joe Maddon’s second year as manager. On May 17, he was finally placed on the disabled list. After extensive rehab, Baldelli would re-aggravate the hamstring during in the minors, ending his season. Constant fatigue began to set in even after the simplest work outs.
“I basically got to the point where I started to feel things that I’ve never really felt before,” Rocco said. “Things that made me very uncomfortable. My muscles were doing things that didn’t really make any sense. I was definitely scared.”
It was time for the doctors to give him answers. They would label Rocco’s condition as “metabolic and/or mitochondrial abnormalities.” After an attempt at a comeback in 2008 following some medications and further rehab, Baldelli’s days in Tampa would come to an end. He did, however, get a chance to live the dream of every pro baseball player – and play in a World Series.
“After thinking, it’s all over, and being able to come back and play in the playoffs and play in a World Series, it was very, very special to me.”
A new pair of Sox…
The Boston Red Sox gave Rocco another shot at staying in the game he loved. On January 8, 2009, he signed a one-year, $500,000 contract with incentives. Boston made the playoffs that year as the AL Wild Card. Unfortunately, a shoulder injury kept Rocco off the post-season roster. He played in just 62 regular season games that year due to two separate trips to the 15-day DL.
“It was a really good experience for me,” said Rocco of his time in Boston. “I was right at home. I was about an hour away from all my friends and family. It’s an atmosphere and an organization unlike any other.”
Another season ended. Another disappointing free agency period for Baldelli loomed.
The curtain call…
The Rays brought Rocco back in early 2010 as a special assistant. He spent time coaching in the minor league system, teaching young players baserunning and defense. Then, on July 19 that same year, Rocco was back on the field as a player, signing a minor league deal with Tampa Bay. He worked his way back through the ranks, just as he’d done a decade before.
Finally, on September 1 – he was back in a Rays uniform at Tropicana Field.
As the month went on, Rocco got more and more playing time. He showed enough, in fact, that the Rays put him on their post-season roster that year. Unfortunately, muscle cramps would end his season and the Rays would pull him from the post-season roster.
January 26, 2011 – Rocco Baldelli would officially announce his retirement as a player from the game he loved. He was just 29 years old when he hung up his cleats, ending a promising career that had many comparing him to the likes of legendary outfielder, Joe DiMaggio.
Al LaMacchia, a MLB scout for over 50 years, including time with the Devil Rays, said Rocco was “Joe’s twin.”
Rocco was always a fan favorite no matter what uniform he wore at Tropicana Field. On December 14, 2014 – newly named manager, Kevin Cash, named Baldelli to his coaching staff as the Rays first base coach, a position he still holds today.
In his down time, Baldelli is an avid horse lover and breeder.
American Pharoah. Pretty sweet. @coolmorestud #TripleCrown pic.twitter.com/aKnncDiTDp
— Rocco Baldelli (@roccodbaldelli) October 13, 2016
As for his Kentucky Derby predictions for this year?
“I think it’s a wide open field to be honest with you,” he said.
Could we see one of Rocco’s horses running for the crown one day?
“I don’t generally mess with the colts too much,” he said with a chuckle. “Probably not the Derby but you never know. Maybe a nice turf race or turf stakes race.”
Rocco Baldelli’s story goes beyond the game of baseball. It’s a story with plenty of highs. Plenty of dreams lived. Plenty of adversity overcome. He may have had his playing career but short by health issues he just couldn’t shake. Rocco Baldelli has baseball in his heart, his soul, and it’s a part of what makes him live every single day grateful for the last.
“I still love showing up to the park,” Baldelli, now 35, said about his position in the game today. “As long as I’m able to show up to the baseball field every day, be around the people who I love and be around the game – I’m happy.”
