Tommy La Stella

Thomas Frank La Stella (born January 31, 1989) is an American professional baseball infielder for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics. La Stella was selected by the Braves in the eighth round of the 2011 MLB Draft, and he made his MLB debut with the Braves in 2014. La Stella won the 2016 World Series as a member of the Cubs, and was an All-Star in 2019 with the Angels.

Tommy La Stella
Tommy La Stella with the Los Angeles Angels
San Francisco Giants
Infielder
Born: (1989-01-31) January 31, 1989
Westwood, New Jersey
Bats: Left Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 28, 2014, for the Atlanta Braves
MLB statistics
(through 2020 season)
Batting average.274
Home runs31
Runs batted in163
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Life and career

Early life and amateur career (1989–2010)

Thomas Frank La Stella was born in Westwood, New Jersey, on January 31, 1989, to Jane and Phil La Stella. He and his two siblings grew up in nearby Closter, New Jersey. He is of Italian descent.[1][2]

La Stella attended Saint Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, New Jersey. He played baseball in high school, but quit after his junior year, citing burnout. He enrolled at St. John's University, where he played college baseball for the St. John's Red Storm for one year, before he transferred to Coastal Carolina University to play for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.[3][4] La Stella appeared in 125 games (all starts) for the Chanticleers in 2010-2011 and batted .388 with 28 home runs and 136 runs batted in (RBIs). He committed 12 errors in 509 chances for Coastal Carolina, resulting in a .976 fielding percentage. In 2010, he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Bourne Braves.[5]

Atlanta Braves (2011–2014)

The Atlanta Braves selected La Stella in the eighth round of the 2011 MLB draft. He signed with the Braves and spent the rest of the 2011 season with the Rome Braves of the Class A South Atlantic League. In 2012, he played for the Lynchburg Hillcats of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League. In 2013, he played for the Mississippi Braves of the Class AA Southern League.[6] With the Mississippi Braves, La Stella had a .343 batting average in 81 games.[7]

La Stella batting for the Atlanta Braves in 2014

The Braves invited La Stella to spring training in 2014.[8][9] He began the 2014 season with the Gwinnett Braves of the Class AAA International League, and debuted at the major league level on May 28, hitting two singles in his first game.[10] La Stella hit his first major league home run on August 8, 2014, against Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals.[11] He finished the year with a .251 batting average in 93 games.[12]

Chicago Cubs (2014–2018)

On November 16, 2014, the Braves traded La Stella, along with an international signing bonus slot, to the Chicago Cubs for Arodys Vizcaíno and three international signing bonus slots.[13][14] La Stella made the Cubs' Opening Day roster, but only played in two games before straining his right oblique on April 10, 2015. While rehabilitating at the minor league level with the Tennessee Smokies, La Stella suffered another oblique strain.[15] He came off the disabled list in August, and was sent to the Iowa Cubs of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League.[16] On August 24, he was recalled from Iowa and rejoined the major league club.[17] In limited time with Chicago, La Stella was used mainly as a pinch hitter, a role in which he excelled.[18] To increase his versatility, La Stella began playing third base during the regular season.[19] In 33 games,[20] La Stella hit .269/.324/.403,[21] and started at third base during the National League Wild Card Game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.[22]

After batting .295 for the Cubs in 2016, the Cubs optioned La Stella to Iowa on July 29, but he did not immediately report.[23] The Cubs put La Stella on the temporarily inactive list. He agreed to report to Tennessee on August 17.[24] Upon being recalled on August 31, La Stella stated that his refusal to report to the minors stemmed mainly from a lack of enjoyment for the game at the time of his demotion.[25][26] In 74 games of the 2016 season, La Stella finished by batting .270/.357/.405 with two home runs and 11 RBIs. The Cubs won the 2016 World Series. La Stella had one at bat during the 2016 postseason.[27] La Stella was on the roster for the 2016 National League Division Series, but was replaced by left-handed pitcher Rob Zastryzny for the 2016 National League Championship Series.[28] Kyle Schwarber was given the final spot on the roster for the 2016 World Series.[29]

In 2017, La Stella appeared in 73 games for the Cubs. He finished the year batting .288/.389/.472 with 22 RBIs and a career high of five home runs.

On July 20, 2018, La Stella pitched an inning and a third as a relief pitcher during a lopsided victory by the St. Louis Cardinals.[30] On August 31, his 21st pinch-hit of the season, a single in the seventh inning in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, broke the Cub record for pinch hits in a season previously shared by Thad Bosley and Dave Clark.[31] The previous evening, La Stella had tied the record with a 2 run go-ahead home run against the Atlanta Braves.[32] For the 2018 season, he batted .266/.340/.331 with one home run and 19 RBIs in 169 at bats.[33]

Los Angeles Angels (2019–2020)

On November 29, 2018, the Cubs traded La Stella to the Los Angeles Angels for future considerations.[34] With 43 games played into the Angels season, La Stella was their regular second baseman and leadoff man with a slash line of .301/.388/.611. He was among the league leaders with 11 home runs and 25 RBIs.[35] La Stella was chosen to appear in the 2019 All-Star Game, but on July 2, he fractured his tibia on a foul ball.[36] Before the injury, La Stella had been one of the Angel's most productive players. He had a .300 batting average with 16 homers and 44 RBIs in 78 games. La Stella did not return until late September, playing in two of the Angels' final three games.

Oakland Athletics (2020)

On August 28, 2020, the Angels traded La Stella to the Oakland Athletics for Franklin Barreto.[37]

In 2020 between the two teams, he batted .281/.370/.449 with 5 home runs and 25 RBIs, and was by a wide margin the toughest AL ballplayer to strike out, averaging 16.3 at bats per strikeout.[33][38] He also led all AL second basemen in errors, with four.[33]

San Francisco Giants

On February 4, 2021, La Stella officially signed with the San Francisco Giants on a three-year, $18.75MM contract.[39]

References
  1. O'Brien, David (July 7, 2014). "New Jersey native La Stella is a big story back home". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  2. O'Brien, David (May 28, 2014). "La Stella's time is here: Braves bring 2B prospect to majors". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  3. "klapisch-la-stella-cubs-enjoying-early-season-surge". Northjersey.com. November 30, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  4. Bowman, Mark (March 18, 2014). "Perseverance paying off for prospect La Stella". MLB.com. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  5. "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  6. Pelzman, J. P. (July 8, 2014). "MLB: Rapid rise for Tommy La Stella". The Record. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  7. "Could La Stella Help Braves In September? - 07/30/2013". Chattanoogan.com. July 30, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  8. "Braves announce Non-Roster Invitees". MLB.com. January 13, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  9. Bowman, Mark (February 23, 2014). "La Stella looking to show Braves he's ready". MLB.com. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  10. Petrella, Steven (May 28, 2014). "Making big league debut, La Stella notches two hits". MLB.com. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  11. Bowman, Mark (August 9, 2014). "La Stella belts first MLB homer, gets silent treatment". MLB.com. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  12. Gonzales, Mark (November 16, 2014). "Cubs acquire infielder Tommy La Stella from Atlanta". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  13. Bowman, Mark (November 16, 2014). "Braves reacquire Vizcaino, add to international budget". MLB.com. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  14. "Cubs acquire INF La Stella from Braves". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 16, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  15. Birch, Tommy (August 14, 2015). "Tommy La Stella's difficult year brings him to Iowa". Des Moines Register. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  16. Rogers, Jesse (August 11, 2015). "Cubs' David Ross acitvated; Matt Szczur, Tommy La Stella optioned to Triple-A". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  17. Garno, Greg (August 24, 2015). "Cubs place Motte, Soler on disabled list". MLB.com. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  18. Rogers, Jesse (March 5, 2016). "Tommy La Stella is the man in a pinch for Chicago Cubs". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  19. Muskat, Carrie (February 26, 2016). "La Stella adjusting to move to third base". MLB.com. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  20. Gonzales, Mark (October 6, 2015). "Cubs could opt for lineup of lefties vs. Pirates: report". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  21. Gonzales, Mark (November 10, 2015). "Cubs position-by-position analysis: Third base". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  22. Gonzales, Mark (February 22, 2016). "Tommy La Stella knows what's at stake in Cubs camp". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  23. Birch, Tommy (August 3, 2016). "Tommy La Stella given extra time to report to minors". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  24. Gonzales, Mark (August 17, 2016). "Joe Maddon: Tommy La Stella to report to Double-A Tennessee". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  25. Rogers, Jesse (August 31, 2016). "Joe Maddon on Tommy La Stella return: 'I was witnessing a team at its best'". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  26. Rogers, Jesse (August 31, 2016). "Understanding Tommy La Stella won't be easy, but moving on should be". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  27. Bastian, Jordan; Muskat, Carrie. "Chicago Cubs win 2016 World Series". MLB. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  28. Padilla, Doug (October 16, 2016). "Dodgers add Alex Wood, Enrique Hernandez to NLCS roster; Cubs add rookie lefty". ESPN. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  29. Rogers, Jesse (October 25, 2016). "Cubs place Kyle Schwarber on World Series roster". ESPN. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  30. Muskat, Carrie (July 20, 2018). "Cubs tie record using 3 position players to pitch". MLB.com. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  31. "Cabrera carries Phils past Cubs with 10th-inning homer". Reuters. August 31, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  32. Gonzales, Mark (August 30, 2018). "Tommy La Stella's 2-run pinch-hit homer gives Cubs 5-4 win over Braves". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  33. "Tommy La Stella Stats". Baseball-Reference.com.
  34. "Cubs trade fan-favorite La Stella to Angels". ESPN.com. November 29, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  35. Andracki, Tony (May 16, 2019). "Former Cub Tommy La Stella is having a special season". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  36. "Foul ball may hurt Angels infielder Tommy La Stella's All-Star spot". Los Angeles Times. July 3, 2019.
  37. "Angels deal All-Star La Stella to A's for Barreto". ESPN.com. August 29, 2020.
  38. "2020 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com.
  39. Guardado, Maria (February 4, 2021). "La Stella excited to join SF's 'unique group'". MLB.com. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
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