‘ In The University of Tampa’s rich baseball history, seven Major Leaguers have been produced.‘ One of those lucky few to reach the grand stage was pitcher Sam Militello.
Before reaching ‘The Show,’ Militello pitched three years with the Spartans.‘ The Jefferson High School product culminated his collegiate career with a record-setting 1990 season, winning 15 games with a 1.75 ERA and 182 strikeouts, all school records.‘ He was named NCAA Division II Player of the Year, nominated for the prestigious Golden Spikes Award and later inducted into the UT Athletic Hall of Fame.
‘I had a great time here at UT,’ Militello said of his pitching days.‘ ‘I made a lot of friends that I was able to keep in touch with.‘ There was a lot of success here in my hometown, in front of my family and friends.‘ It was really great.’
He then became one of the New York Yankees’ top pitching prospects.‘ He was drafted in the sixth round in 1990 and made a big early impression, going 35-11 with a scant 2.07 ERA from 1990-93 in the minor leagues.‘ He won minor league Pitcher of the Year awards in each of his first two full seasons.
‘I was just able to throw strikes,’ Militello said.‘ ‘I had very good control.‘ I didn’t have the 95 mile-per-hour fastball that a lot of teams look for, but I did have the ability to change speeds and throw strikes.‘ The bottom line was that I was able to win.’
In the big leagues with the Yankees, Militello started with a bang, pitching seven shutout innings against the rival Boston Red Sox on Aug. 9, 1992. ‘ He only allowed one hit, striking out five.
‘[My debut] was a really nice feeling,’ Militello said.‘ ‘It was a packed house.‘ It was a Sunday afternoon game, the big rivalry.‘ It was my first time in a Major League stadium.‘ So it was really special to be able to do that well in front of the home crowd.’
Then the injury bug hit ‘- and hit hard.
‘I ended up hurting my arm in ’93,’ Militello said.‘ ‘I was 23 years old at the time.‘ I ended up having surgery the following year, ended up trying to rehab it for about three or four years, but it just never came back.‘ It cost me my velocity, my control.‘ My arm was just never the same.’
In 1992 and 1993 at the big league level, he went 4-4 with a 3.89 ERA in just 12 appearances.‘ Despite multiple rehab attempts with the Yankees and the Florida Marlins, Sam Militello never played Major League Baseball again.
He retired in 1996, but wanted to remain involved with the game he loved.‘ This is when he discovered coaching.
He took a job as a minor league coach with the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1997.‘ Two years later, he joined the Cleveland Indians as a pitching coach with their Rookie and Class A teams.
‘I was a big student of the game,’ Militello said.‘ ‘Once I retired I wanted to stay in the game, stay on the field, which the Devil Rays allowed me to do right away.’
In 2001, the opportunity arose for Militello to rejoin The University of Tampa on new head coach Joe Urso’s staff.
‘I was actually supposed to get the job before [Urso] got here,’ Militello said.‘ ‘When I heard [the previous coach left], I was thinking I would probably end up going back to Cleveland.‘ But coach Urso called me right away and told me he wanted me to stay.‘ We go back to playing against each other in Little League, so our friendship is really, really long.’
He has now been on the Spartans’ staff for nine seasons.‘ His main job, he says, is working with the pitchers.
‘I’m trying to develop these guys into not only pitchers, but winners,’ Militello said.‘ ‘We have had some success doing that.
‘I went to school here, so it’s really satisfying to have success here and teach these young men how to be men, and how to succeed on and off the field.’
Despite the premature end of his playing career, Militello is content with the way his baseball life has turned out.
‘I couldn’t have drawn it up any better,’ Militello said.‘ ‘People talk about bigger jobs, bigger schools, but I’m happy right here with my family, my friends and the Spartan family.’