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Hempstead, NY – Hofstra University Head Baseball Coach Frank Catalanotto was inducted into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame this past Sunday in a ceremony in Troy, New York.The induction honors those who have contributed to the game of baseball in New York State.

The 17-member Class of 2025 features Catalanotto, New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman, former major league players Gary Carter, Joe Panik, Jim Kaat, and Brian McGann, high school coaches Mike Turo (James Monroe HS), Chris Dedrick (Columbia HS), Brother Robert Kent (St. Francis Prep) and Scott Steltz (Chatham HS), as well as umpire Kevin Barrett, book editor, author, college coach, broadcaster, and onetime professional baseball player Rick Wolff, Strat-O-Matic founder Hal Richman, sportswriter Jack O’Connell, Kansas City Royals Scout Tom McNamara, former New York Mets Photographer Marc Levine, and former St. Peter’s Academy standout Brian Cogan.

Catalanotto, who enjoyed a 14-year Major League Baseball career, was named the 15th head baseball coach at Hofstra University, on July 7, 2021, and he led the team to its first-ever CAA championship and NCAA Regional appearance in his first season (2022).

Over his four seasons at Hofstra, Coach Catalanotto has seen his players earn 16 All-CAA accolades and 12 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors. He has also had one player – Dylan Palmer – selected in the MLB Draft and two – Kevin Bruggeman and Alex McCoy sign MLB free agent contracts.   

Catalanotto played with the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, and New York Mets during his professional career and spent two years (2019, 2020) as the head coach of the New York Tech baseball program. He led the Bears to their first-ever Division II College World Series appearance in his first season, winning a program record 37 games.

Catalanotto appeared in 1,265 major league games. He posted a .291 career average, a .357 career on-base percentage, and compiled 1,113 hits. In addition to his major league career, Catalanotto played for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009.

Catalanotto starred at Smithtown East High School on Long Island and signed a letter of intent to attend Seton Hall University. However, after being selected by the Tigers in the 10th round of the 1992 MLB Draft, he opted to forgo college and sign a professional contract.

After retiring in 2010 following a stint with the Mets, Catalanotto remained active in the game, serving as lead hitting instructor at Baseball Heaven in Yaphank. He also coached with Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic in 2013 and 2017. A 2011 inductee into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame, Catalanotto is also a founding member of the Italian American Baseball Foundation, an organization dedicated to the future of Italian American baseball in the United States and Italy.

The New York State Baseball Hall of Fame was founded in 2010 by Rene M. LeRoux in tribute to his friend and World Series Champion, Johny Podres, a Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher and upstate New York native. What began as the Upstate New York Baseball Hall of Fame expanded in 2012 to recognize contributions from across the entire state. In July 2023, the Hall officially opened its museum in Gloversville, New York, across from historic Parkhurst Field.  

 

    

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