The backup catcher is a fickle creature. Outside of an occasional opportunity to warm up pitchers in between innings, or perhaps to enter in the late innings after their manager mercifully pinch-ran for the starting backstop, they might only be seen once a week when they draw a start. Like a backup quarterback in the NFL, they can range from promising youngsters to sage veterans but invariably fade into the background as long as the starter is healthy.<\/p>\n
Well, nearly invariably. Francisco Cervelli couldn\u2019t fade into the background if he tried.<\/p>\n
Francisco Cervelli
Born: March 6, 1986 (Valencia, Venezuela)
Yankees Tenure: 2008-14<\/p>\n
Francisco Cervelli was born in Venezuela to an Italian father and Venezuelan mother. \u201cThe economy was good in Venezuela in the \u201860s or \u201870s,\u201d Cervelli<\/a> said of his father\u2019s family\u2019s emigration. \u201cIt was really good, so they just tried to make a new life.\u201d He grew up playing middle infield and pitching, but the Yankees saw a future catcher in his build when they signed him as a 16-year-old. \u201cI love it,\u201d he would later say<\/a> of his transition to catching. \u201cI feel like I was born to do it. I just didn\u2019t know before.\u201d<\/p>\n Cervelli quickly worked his way through the Yankees\u2019 system, appearing in only 21 games at Double-A (and none at Triple-A) before briefly getting the call to the Show in 2008. That offseason, he began to make a name for himself around the game as the catcher for a surprisingly potent Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. After an upset 6-2 victory over Canada in the first round, Team Italy\u2019s skipper \u2014 no less a source than Hall of Fame backstop Mike Piazza \u2014 raved about the youngster.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s so talented back there, you can\u2019t say enough,\u201d he told the press<\/a>. \u201cHis enthusiasm from the start of the game was just sky-high. He hustled. He\u2019s got an amazing arm. I\u2019m jealous \u2014 in a good way \u2014 because I see a player with a great future ahead of him.\u201d This opportunity to face big-league competition with high stakes made an impression on Cervelli. \u201cIt helped me,\u201d Cervelli<\/a> said the following season. \u201cHow to call important games, how to concentrate hitter by hitter, pitch by pitch, everything.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2009, with veteran catchers Jorge Posada and Jos\u00e9 Molina both missing time to injury, the 23-year-old once again found himself with the Yankees for large swaths of the season. He displayed a proficient hit tool, batting .298 in 101 plate appearances, and on June 24, 2009 in Atlanta, his first career homer helped light a spark for the club, which was in a slump and had just been addressed rather pointedly by GM Brian Cashman in a closed-door meeting.<\/p>\n Cervelli displayed a knack for both the physical and mental sides of his position, earning quick acclaim for his defense. \u201cI think he receives the ball well, I think he blocks the ball well, I think he throws the ball well,\u201d his manager, Joe Girardi, said<\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s very mobile back there, so on bunts and slow-hit balls, he\u2019s able to do that. I think he works very well with the pitchers. From a technical standpoint, there\u2019s not a whole lot more to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Cervelli ended up making the Yankees\u2019 postseason roster but, with both Posada and Molina healthy, he drew no starts. Still, in a season that was characterized by the renegade exuberance of newcomers like Nick Swisher and A.J. Burnett, the passionate catcher emerged as a fixture in postgame pie celebrations and a key source of energy on the bench \u2014 also chiming in with one of the many walk-offs.<\/p>\n The following spring, Cervelli suffered a concussion. It was his second in four months and, by his own accounting, he had already taken at least 10 blows to the head over the course of his career. He was fatalistic about concerns around the repeated head trauma. \u201cI think that things are going to happen, they\u2019re going to happen, and that\u2019s it,\u201d Cervelli said<\/a>. \u201cI have to understand that and keep playing baseball. That\u2019s my opinion.\u201d As a concession to concerns around his concussion history, he began wearing the larger S100 batting helmet with a flap which would become soon standard but which earned him some David Wright-esque<\/a> chiding at the time as \u201cGazoo\u201d in reference to the Flintstones character.<\/p>\n Cervelli would stick in the bigs in 2010 and, by the end of the year, became A.J. Burnett\u2019s personal catcher, an arrangement that would continue into the postseason. The future looked bright for the talented two-way catcher, particularly after the Yankees moved Posada to DH full-time, opening a possible path to increased playing time. But, after breaking his foot in the spring, Cervelli would cede reps to the just-signed Russell Martin, who ended up an All-Star while his backup was limited to 43 games.<\/p>\n With the team seeking more depth at catcher in 2012, the Yankees traded for Chris Stewart before the season and sent the 26-year-old Cervelli down to Triple-A. Cervelli reportedly exited the meeting in which he was informed of the demotion with red and watery eyes. \u201cI don\u2019t understand their reason,\u201d Cervelli said.<\/a> \u201cI think you have to ask [GM Brian] Cashman or somebody else. Maybe they think the other guy is better than me right now.\u201d The controversial decision to sideline the popular Cervelli was not only hard on him. \u201cThis was as tough as I\u2019ve had to do,\u201d Girardi said<\/a> of breaking the news to Cervelli. He\u2019d appear in only three games with the Yankees in what amounted to a lost season, made only more difficult by the fact that the Triple-A team didn\u2019t really have a consistent home that year<\/a> due to ballpark construction in the Scranton area. Cervelli was essentially on a season-long road trip.<\/p>\n Despite this setback, the spirited Cervelli would not relent. In 2013, with Martin gone, he won the starting job and slashed an impressive .269\/.377\/.500 through the season\u2019s first month. Once again, it appeared his time had come. And, once again, injuries dashed those hopes. After that first month, he broke his hand on a foul tip behind the plate and then suffered an elbow injury during the recovery. Worse, Cervelli was caught up in the Biogenesis PED investigation that more famously ensnared Alex Rodriguez; the catcher was suspended for 50 games, officially ending his season.<\/p>\n Cervelli reported to spring training with a clean slate in 2014, firmly knowing his role as a backup to free-agent signing Brian McCann. He appeared in just 49 games but hit .301 with a 127 OPS+, easily his best showing yet among his four 100-PA seasons to date.<\/p>\n That offseason, Cervelli was traded to the Pirates for lefty reliever Justin Wilson. By the time he departed the team that had signed him as a teenager, he was the organization\u2019s longest-tenured player. In his new uniform, Cervelli finally stayed healthy long enough to realize his potential, slashing .295\/.370\/.401 in 130 games and finishing second to Buster Posey among all catchers with 5.9 fWAR with a talented Pirates squad that won 98 games and a Wild Card spot (the Bucs\u2019 most recent playoff appearance).<\/p>\n Extended<\/a> on a rare eight-figure deal by Pirates standards, Cervelli would spend parts of four more seasons in Pittsburgh, remaining largely effective while healthy. Following brief stints in Atlanta and Miami, the 34-year-old was forced to retire after his seventh concussion at the MLB level alone. Cervelli has since gone into coaching, including succeeding Piazza as Team Italy\u2019s manager<\/a> in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.<\/p>\n While Francisco Cervelli never stayed healthy long enough to become the Yankees\u2019 true starting catcher, what could have been should not take away what he provided. Cervelli was a reliable contributor on both sides of the ball whose passion for the game shone through every time he took the field, providing energy and verve to veteran squads throughout his time in New York.<\/p>\n