Andrew Lee Cannizaro (born December 19, 1978) is an American former Major League Baseball infielder who played for the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays between 2006 and 2008, and a former head baseball coach for the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Andy Cannizaro
Cannizaro with the Columbus Clippers in 2009
Shortstop
Born: (1978-12-19) December 19, 1978 (age 45)
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 5, 2006, for the New York Yankees
Last MLB appearance
May 3, 2008, for the Tampa Bay Rays
MLB statistics
Batting average.222
Home runs1
Runs batted in1
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Andy Cannizaro
Biographical details
BornMandeville, Louisiana
Alma materSt. Paul's (Covington, LA)
Tulane University
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2008Louisiana Knights
2009–2014New York Yankees (scout)
2014–2016LSU (asst.)
2017–2018Mississippi State
2019–2022Holy Cross HS (LA)
Head coaching record
Overall40–30 (.571)

Playing career

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Cannizaro played college baseball for the Tulane Green Wave. While at Tulane, he was named to the All-Tournament Team at the 1999 Conference USA baseball tournament, which Tulane won.[1] After the 1999 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[2][3] He was a two time all-American at Tulane, and a four-year starter. After four seasons in college, he was drafted by the Yankees in the seventh round of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft after two seasons at Tulane University.[4]

He was called up by the Yankees on September 5, 2006, as a September call-up after spending six seasons in the Yankee farm system with the Staten Island Yankees, Tampa Yankees, Trenton Thunder, and Columbus Clippers.[5][6]

Cannizaro played in his first major league game on September 5, 2006,[4] playing at shortstop for two innings, without an at-bat, against the Kansas City Royals.[7] Cannizaro singled in the first at-bat of his career on September 8, 2006, against Brian Burres of the Baltimore Orioles, and later scored. He hit his first major league home run on September 25, 2006, off Jon Switzer in a 16–1 win against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.[8] Cannizaro signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays during the 2007-2008 offseason. He made his Rays debut on May 3, 2008. On August 4, 2008, Cannizaro was traded to the Cleveland Indians and assigned to Triple-A Buffalo.[4][9] On August 13, 2009, just one year after being traded to the Cleveland Indians Cannizaro was traded to the Chicago White Sox. In October 2009 Cannizaro was granted free agency.[4]

Coaching career

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In 2014, Cannizaro was named hitting coach and recruiting coordinator at LSU.[10]

On November 5, 2016, Mississippi State University Athletic Director John Cohen, who had recently stepped down as head baseball coach, announced Cannizaro as his successor.

On February 19, 2018, Cannizaro resigned as the head coach of Mississippi State University's baseball team after it was discovered that he had an extramarital affair with a Mississippi State football staff assistant.[11] At the time he was married with two children, and his wife was reportedly pregnant with a third child.[12] His resignation was accepted immediately by Athletic Director John Cohen. His resignation came three games into the Diamond Dawgs’ season.

On February 22, 2019, Holy Cross High School of New Orleans announced that Cannizaro would become the school's head baseball coach starting June 1, replacing Trey Guillot.[13]

Family

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Cannizaro has two younger brothers. Lee Cannizaro attended the University of Southern Mississippi where he played college baseball. His youngest brother, Garrett Cannizaro, 27, attended Tulane University where he played baseball.

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Mississippi State Bulldogs (Southeastern Conference) (2017–2018)
2017 Mississippi State 40–27 17–13 3rd (West) NCAA Super Regional
2018 Mississippi State 0–3* 0–0*
Mississippi State: 40–30 (.571) 17–13 (.567)
Total: 40–30 (.571)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ "2012 Conference USA Baseball Media Guide" (PDF). p. 93. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 12, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
  2. ^ "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  3. ^ "1999 Cotuit Kettleers". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d "Andy Cannizaro". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
  5. ^ Kepner, Tyler (September 6, 2006). "No Setbacks for Rivera; No Concerns for Torre". The New York Times. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
  6. ^ "Andy Cannizaro (Minors)". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
  7. ^ "Kansas City Royals 5, New York Yankees 0". Retrosheet. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
  8. ^ "Three-run blasts in first by Abreu, Matsui stake Yanks in rout". ESPN. Associated Press. September 25, 2006. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
  9. ^ Hoynes, Paul (September 7, 2008). "Indians Insider: Reyes, Donnelly will see steady action with beleagured [sic] pitching staff". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
  10. ^ "Andy Cannizaro". lsusports.net. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  11. ^ "Report: Andy Cannizaro had affair with Mississippi State employee before resigning". The Advocate. February 22, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  12. ^ "Report: Andy Cannizaro had affair with Mississippi State employee before resigning".
  13. ^ Derry, Jim (February 22, 2019). "Andy Cannizaro named baseball coach at Holy Cross effective June 1". NOLA.com. Archived from the original on March 1, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
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