Rocco Baldelli
FameRank: 5

"Rocco Dan Baldelli" is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and designated hitter. Because of his excellent size and speed, and in reference to his hometown, he was nicknamed "The Woonsocket Rocket" early in his professional career. After a promising beginning to his baseball career with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, a mysterious metabolic/muscular disorder would lead to numerous injuries and force Baldelli to retire as a player at age 29. After working for several years in the Tampa Bay Rays organization as a scout and minor league instructor, he was named the team's first base coach in December 2014.

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I stayed later than the guys who were playing. It was miserable. I didn't even feel like I was part of the team.

215

People were pretty pumped up. They know what they're talking about. I think they're following what's going on a little bit more. There's a lot more positive attitude where there wasn't one before. It was just more of an obligatory thing that people were going to. This didn't seem like one of those things.

201

In the past, we really haven't thought about it. From the first day of spring training, you knew you were going to have a tough time winning a lot of games.

186

Obviously he's not a normal guy; he's done some pretty incredible things -- not just in baseball. But he gives off the impression that he's personable and that he's just a regular guy walking around.

131

I liked everything [Sternberg] said. He obviously has some good ideas. He obviously surrounds himself with some real bright people. He doesn't think that he's going to do it all himself. I think it's the right approach.

130

It gives the younger guys, who are going to be here a while, some hope for the future that you're going to take the field and be a winning team.

126

Sometimes when you showed up for spring training, you felt like you were in a hole before the season started. We needed this.

107

Some of the things going on here kind of get you going and excited for the season. Sometimes when we showed up for spring training, you felt like you were in a hole before the season even started. With these guys coming in, there will be some kind of climb in payroll. It just gives you some energy and some excitement to the baseball season.

100

It was just tennis balls from 30 feet. A tennis ball [weighs] about an ounce, so it was really easy.

97