Sal Fasano

American baseball player & coach (born 1971)

Salvatore Frank Fasano (/f//ə/'/s//ɑː//n//oʊ/; born August 10, 1971) is an American former professional baseball catcher, who played for nine different Major League Baseball (MLB) teams over his 11 year big league career. Upon retiring as a player, he became a coach within the Toronto Blue Jays organization between 2010 and 2016. After coaching for a single season within the Los Angeles Angels minor league system, Fasano joined the major league coaching staff of the Atlanta Braves. Jeff Pearlman of ESPN. com said of Fasano: "When I think of Sal Fasano, however, I think of greatness. Not of Willie Mays or Ted Williams greatness, but of a uniquely excellent human being who, were class and decency the most valued standards of a career, would be the easiest Hall of Fame inductee of all time."

After three seasons in the minor leagues, Fasano made his Major League debut on April 3, , for the Royals. He spent the next three seasons splitting catching duties with starter Mike Macfarlane and rising prospect Mike Sweeney. In , he established career highs in at bats (216) and RBI (31). He also ranked second in the American League in HBPs with 16. In his first 4 seasons with the Royals, Fasano batted .219 with 20 home runs and 67 RBI.

The Oakland Athletics purchased Fasano's contract from the Royals in March of and handed him the team's back up duties behind starter Ramón Hernández. Fasano helped the A's capture the A. L. West division crown that season, and made his, to date, only post season appearance as a defensive replacement. While with Oakland, Fasano says, he came to realize that many players around him were taking anabolic steroids, and briefly considered following suit, but he decided against it. In 63 total games with the Athletics, Fasano hit .190 with seven home runs and 19 RBI. In 25 games for the Rockies, Fasano hit .254 with three home runs and nine RBI. Fasano was released by the Yankees organization on October 15, 2004.

Fasano began for the Philadelphia Phillies as a backup to Mike Lieberthal. His distinctive Fu Manchu mustache earned him the cult admiration of Phillies fans, who began a Phan Phavorites fan club called Sal's Pals. Fasano showed his gratitude by buying the group pizza. Fasano began to see more playing time as Lieberthal got injured, eventually taking over the starting role. His light hitting though cost him his job as rookie backstop Chris Coste emerged in Lieberthal's absence. When Lieberthal returned, there was no spot for Fasano. He was designated for assignment and acquired by the New York Yankees in exchange for minor league infielder Hector Made. In 50 games for the Phillies, Fasano hit .243 with four home runs and 10 RBI. On August 19, 2006, Fasano made his first career pinch running appearance, taking the place of fellow catcher Jorge Posada during a 13–5 win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. During that game, Fasano nearly picked off Manny Ramirez after blocking the plate and denying the Red Sox another run. In 28 games for the Yankees, Fasano batted .143 with one home run and five RBI. During this time, he shared catching responsibilities with Jason Phillips. His first at bat as a Blue Jay came against the Texas Rangers on April 28. Following the return of Zaun, the Blue Jays designated Fasano for assignment on June 13 and sent him outright to Syracuse on June 16. At Syracuse, he hit .413 and earned a surprise call up to the Blue Jays. He had a .178 average with one home run and four RBI in 16 games during his brief stint as a replacement for the injured Zaun. On November 28, 2010, Fasano accepted the position as the manager of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Double A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. In 2011, Fasano was named Double A Manager of the Year for leading the New Hampshire Fisher Cats to an Eastern League championship win. During the offseason, Fasano was given the position of Roving Catching Instructor in Player Development. Gary Allenson was named manager of the Fisher Cats. After being dismissed from the Blue Jays staff, Fasano became the manager for the Mobile BayBears for the 2017 season. The season ended with a record of 34–36 (.486). In the fall of 2017, Fasano took a job as the catching instructor for the Atlanta Braves.

Fasano is the son of Vincent and Nella Fasano, Italian immigrants who settled in the Chicago area. He graduated from Hoffman Estates High School in Illinois, and played baseball collegiately at the University of Evansville, and is married to Kerri Kubinski, who was a volleyball player at Evansville. Fasano is a born again Christian; he was introduced to spirituality by Kansas City teammate Keith Lockhart and credits religion with curtailing his desire to drink. Fasano and his wife have three children: Vincenzo, Angelo, and Santino. Santino was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and was successfully operated on.