Speaker Profile

Special Assistant, Scouting and Player Development, Tampa Bay Rays @roccodbaldelli Rocco Baldelli is a special assistant working in scouting and player development for the Tampa Bay Rays and a former Major League Baseball outfielder. A first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft, Rocco Baldelli finished third in the 2003 AL Rookie of the Year Award balloting after batting . 289 with 89 runs and 27 steals. Baldelli played for the Rays for the first five years of his career before joining the Boston Red Sox for the 2009 season. He returned to the Rays in 2010 but retired after the season to take a role in the team's front office. Baldelli's career was cut short by injuries and a rare medical condition. In 2008, he was diagnosed with mitochondrial disorder, a condition that slows muscle recovery and causes fatigue. Baldelli graduated from Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, Rhode Island. He was a three sport star, excelling at Baseball, Basketball, and Volleyball.