Chad Mottola

Charles Edward "Chad" Mottola (born October 15, 1971) is an American professional baseball player and coach for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Mottola played in MLB for five years as an outfielder. Considered a journeyman, Mottola played professionally from 1992 through 2007, appearing in 59 MLB games and 1,801 minor league games. He was the hitting coach for the Toronto Blue Jays during the 2013 season, although his contract was not renewed for 2014.

Mottola is an alumnus of the University of Central Florida (UCF), where he played college baseball for the UCF Knights baseball team. A highly regarded prospect, Mottola was selected by the Cincinnati Reds with the fifth overall selection of the 1992 MLB draft (one spot ahead of Derek Jeter).

Mottola played in minor league baseball for different organizations, receiving major league playing time with the Cincinnati Reds in 1996, the Toronto Blue Jays in 2000 and 2006, the Florida Marlins in 2001 and the Baltimore Orioles in 2004. As he received less playing time in 2007, he began to mentor younger teammates, which helped him transition into a coaching career.

Mottola attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, graduating in 1989. After leading all Broward County high school players in batting average (.573), home runs (14) and runs batted in (RBIs) (48) as a senior, Mottola was named to Florida's Class 3A All-State first team. Out of high school, the Baltimore Orioles selected Mottola in the tenth round of the 1989 Major League Baseball draft, with the 243rd overall selection. Mottola did not sign with the Orioles, opting to pursue a college baseball career.

Mottola then enrolled at the University of Central Florida (UCF), which he chose to attend over the University of New Orleans, as it was closer to his home. At UCF, he played for the UCF Knights baseball team in NCAA Division I. As a freshman, he hit .321 in 57 games, but did not hit a home run. He gained 30 pounds (14 kg) for his sophomore season. As a sophomore, Mottola was named the American South Conference's Player of the Week on April 3, 1991, after batting .542 with one home run and eight RBIs in six games. During the season, he batted .343 with nine home runs and 54 RBIs. After the 1991 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

In his junior season, he batted .345 with 14 home runs, tying the UCF single-season record. Professional scouts considered him a first round prospect, due to his intelligence, size, ability to hit for power, his strong throwing arm, running speed, instincts and polish.

The Cincinnati Reds drafted Mottola in the first round of the 1992 Major League Baseball draft with the fifth overall selection, one selection ahead of Derek Jeter. He signed with the Reds the day of the draft, receiving a signing bonus of $400,000, as he attended the United States national baseball team tryouts for the 1992 Summer Olympics, and did not want to have his contract status on his mind during the tryouts. He was the first UCF athlete to be selected in the first round of an MLB draft.

In his first professional season, Mottola led the Billings Mustangs to the Pioneer League championship, batting .286 with 12 home runs and 37 runs batted in (RBIs). Baseball America rated Mottola as the 71st best prospect in baseball before the 1993 season. Playing a full season for the first time in 1993, he batted .280 for the Winston-Salem Spirits with 21 home runs and led the Class-A Advanced Carolina League with 91 RBIs. He was named a Carolina League All-Star outfielder after the 1993 season. Prior to the 1994 season, Baseball America rated Mottola as the 43rd best prospect in baseball.