Former Wave Standout Andy Cannizaro Gets Call From Big Leagues
April 27, 2008
April 27, 2008
NEW ORLEANS, La. -
Former Tulane baseball All-American and Green Wave Hall of Fame member Andy Cannizaro has been called up the Major Leagues, the Tampa Bay Rays announced Sunday.
A native of Mandeville, La., a 1997 graduate of St. Paul’s
School and a four-year starter at shortstop for the Green Wave from
1998-2001, Cannizaro will be making his second trip to the Majors since
being drafted in the seventh round by the New York Yankees in 2001. He
is slated to suit up for today’s game between the Rays and the Boston
Red Sox at 12:40 p.m. (CDT).
“Obviously, I’m very excited,” Cannizaro said. “It’s a great
opportunity and I’m going to try and take full advantage of it. This is
another opportunity for me to put on a Major League uniform, and that’s
a very special thing.”
A key member of Tulane’s inaugural trip to the College World
Series team in 2001, Cannizaro rejoins the Big Leagues after spending a
portion of the 2006 season with the Yankees, when he hit .250 (2-for-8)
with a home run and an RBI in 13 games.
Cannizaro spent Spring Training with the Rays and was one of
the last players to be released. He was sent to Tampa Bay’s Triple-A
affiliate, the Durham Bulls, where he hit .289 with five doubles and
five RBI in 13 games.
Cannizaro began his professional career in 2001 in short-season
Staten Island, and began the 2002 season in Advanced-A Tampa. He was
bumped to Double-A Trenton in 2003 and began the 2004 season there as
well before being promoted to Triple-A after hitting .314 with 18
doubles, three homers and 44 RBI in 54 games with the Thunder.
He completed the 2004 season in Columbus, and in 2005 hit .276
with 32 doubles, a triple, three home runs and 32 RBI before receiving
the call. His batting average was a team high for players with more
than 150 at-bats, and his doubles total paced the club.
In 2006, Cannizaro led Columbus with a .361 batting average off
left-handed pitchers and paced the club with 32 doubles, which ranked
fifth in the International League. He went to Spring Training 2007 with
the Yankees, but missed nearly four months with a back injury. He
opened the year rehabbing in Trenton before moving on to Triple-A
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on June 30 and played in a combined 36 games at
second, 14 at shortstop and eight at third and hit .283 with 13 doubles
and two home runs while driving in 22 runs.
Seven years after the conclusion of his collegiate career, Cannizaro
still holds the Tulane single-season and career records for games
played (69/248), at-bats (299/1,030), hits (118/350), doubles (34/85)
and stolen bases (52/128).
A two-time, first-team All-Conference USA selection, Cannizaro
was named second-team All-American by Baseball Weekly and Collegiate
Baseball in 2001 when he hit .395 (118-for-299) with 34 doubles, three
triples, three home runs, 70 RBI and 52 stolen bases.
TULANE/MEMPHIS UPDATE: The Conference USA series finale
between Tulane and Memphis has been postponed to a 2 p.m. start due to
rain in the Memphis area. The game was originally slated for 1 p.m. as
the Green Wave are looking for their first league sweep after winning
the first two games 17-4 and 15-3.
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