Ron Villone

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Ronald Thomas Villone, Jr. (born January 16, 1970) is a retired Major League right-handed relief pitcher.

Villone played for 12 teams during his career, including 3rd all time with pitcher Mike Morgan and outfielder Matt Stairs, while outfielder Matt Stairs and outfielder Edwin Jackson, and only behind Octavio Dotel and Edwin Jackson.

Personal life

Villone and his partner, Brooke, live in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, and they are married. Megan Thomas III (born March 26, 1996), Ronald Thomas III (born September 14, 1997), and Sofia Francesca (born June 9, 2010). Brooke is the co-star of the VH1 reality show "Baseball Wives," which premiered in 2011.

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College career

Villone grew up in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and was born in Englewood, New Jersey. He played baseball and football at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was a two-sport athlete who played baseball and football. When he played football, Villone was a close fit, and he had a blast doing it. He was named as a first team All-Yankee Conference tight end in 1990.

The pitcher's natural strength was on the pitcher's mound. Villone was the recipient of the Atlantic 10 Left Handed Pitcher of the Year award in 1991. He pitched for Team USA in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympics, but he was also a third-team All American Selection after losing 89 in just 5913 innings.

Professional career

In the first round (14th overall) of the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft, Villone was drafted by the Seattle Mariners. Villone negotiated for the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League prior to signing with Seattle. He made an impressive debut on his debut, rising to 18 on his first outing, and he fanned 14.

The Mariners named him to Riverside in 1993, the first-Affiliation affiliate at the time; it was the Advanced-A affiliate. He had good numbers, going 7–4 with a 4.21 ERA in 16 starts. He pitched 831 batters, allowing 74 runs, walking 62, and striking out 82. These numbers were so good that he was given a promotion to their AA affiliate, Jacksonville. In 11 starts, he went 3-4 for a 4.38 earned run average in Jacksonville. Villone took in 49 hits, 41 walks, and 66 strikeouts in 632/3 innings. In Jacksonville, his walks per nine improved, as well as his walks and hits allowed per innings pitched. His strikeouts per nine innings pitched have risen to 9.33, with more than one strike out per inning.

Ron stayed in Jacksonville for the 1994 season, going 6–7 with a 3.86 earned run average. He pitched 7913 innings, allowing just 56 runs, 19 walks, and 43 strikeouts in 41 games (only five of them were games); only five of them were startled; Despite the fact that he was not the full time closer, Villone made eight saves in the 1994 season.

Seattle promoted him, effective at the start of the 1995 season, to Tacoma, their AAA affiliate (still their affiliate today). He had a superb start to the 1995 season, going 1–0 with a 0.61 earned run average. Villone saved 13 games and struck out 43 batters in 22 appearances as the full-time closer.

On April 28, 1995, Villone was recalled from AAA. He made his Major League debut against the Detroit Tigers on April 28, 1995, on a scoreless ninth inning. Travis Fryman of the Tigers was thrown out for his first career strikeouts during his inning.

In 19 games for the Mariners, he had an 0–2 record with a 7.91 earned run average. He walked 23 batters but came out 26 out of 26. He was a victim of the long ball, allowing six home runs.

Woody Woodward, the Mariners' General Manager at the time, sold Villone and Marc Newfield to San Diego in exchange for Greg Keagle and Andy Benes. Villone was with the Padres for the remainder of the season, going 2–1 for a 4.21 earned run average. Villone had 24 hits and 11 walks while striking out 37 runs in 2523 innings.

He joined San Diego's AAA affiliate, Las Vegas, in 1996. Villone demonstrated that he could be dominant, so San Diego called him up. He was just as good as the Padres, going 1–1 in 21 games with a 2.95 earned run average. He pitched 1813 innings, with 17 hits, 7 walks, and 19 strikeouts.

Gerald Parent and Greg Vaughn delivered Villone, Bryce Florie, and Marc Newfield to the Milwaukee Brewers on July 31, 1996. Despite the trade, Villone had success in Milwaukee, pitching 2423 innings (23 games), giving 14 hits, 18 walks, and 9 earned runs (3.28 earned runs average).

Ron Villone remained in the majors for the entire 1997 season. He played for the Brewers in another season, going 1–0 with a 3.42 earned run average. His workload increased as he pitched in 50 games (5223 innings), giving up 54 hits and 36 walks. Villone had less than one strikeout per inning pitched for the second year in a row.

(In 1997, he fanned 40 in 522⁄3 innings)

When Milwaukee traded him, Ben McDonald, and Mike Fetters to Cleveland, he was forced to pack his bags once more. Jeff Juden and Marquis Grissom went to Milwaukee as part of the arrangement. This was his third year in a row, but it was the first year in which he wasn't dealt midway through the year.

Ron had a rough year in 1998, particularly considering that he spent time with Buffalo (Cleveland's AAA affiliate) and the major-league club. He had a great time in Buffalo, going 2–2 with a 2.01 earned run average in 23 appearances. He gave up 20 hits and walked 11. In 2213 innings, he gave up 20 hits and walked 11. He seemed to have more power because he struck out 28 batters out. He was unfortunate that he could not keep control in Cleveland as he walked 22 innings (25 outings). He also gave up 30 hits and had an earned run average of 6.00.

He was released by the Indians on April 2, 1999.

The Cincinnati Reds re-signed him three days later, and the Cincinnati Reds were back in action as a starting pitcher/long reliever. He won nine games, lost seven, and had an earned run average of 4.23 during the 1999 season. He played in 29 games (22 starts) and pitched 1422.3 innings. One hundred fourteen batters reached base via the bat, while 73 were able to get a few batters to the base on balls. Despite the fact that the strikeouts per nine innings dropped (4.91), the artist was still efficient.

He was not as efficient in 2000, but he set a new low on 10th of this decade (10–10). He walked more batters (78), struck out less (77), had more hits (154), and had a higher earned run average (5.43) than the 1999 season.

Jeff Taglienti and Justin Carter were sent to the Colorado Rockies on November 8, 2000. He went 1–3 with a 6.36 earned run average as a spot starter and long reliever. He pitched 462 runs, 29 walks, and struck out 48 in 22 games (6 starts).

Villone was traded on June 27, 2001 for the fifth time. On this occasion, he was traded to the Houston Astros for Jay Powell. He continued to fail, going 5–7 with a 5.56 earned run average. He continued to be a spot starter/long reliever on the Astros' pitching staff. He took up 77 hits in 68 innings but shortened his walk total to 24. He also struck out 65 batters. On November 5, 2001, Villone was granted a free agency.

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed him to a one-year deal on February 16, 2002. He went 4–6 with a 5.81 earned run average with the Pirates. He lasted 93 games (seven starts), allowed 95 runs, 34 walks, and had 55 strikeouts. On October 29, 2002, Villone was granted a free agency.

He has signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks five months later. He was escorted by the Tucson, AAA affiliate. Ron had a 1.55 percent earned run average when he arrived in Tucson. However, they did not expect him to pitch exclusively out of the bullpen. He allowed 20 hits and 12 walks in 2513 innings, while still only achieving 22 strikeouts. Despite his modest success, he was announced on May 15, 2003.

On May 19, 2003, he returned to the Astros on a one-year contract. He was assigned to AAA New Orleans. In 5 starts (2913 innings), he earned him a trip to the big leagues, where he went 6–6 with a 4.13 earned run average. All 19 outings with the Astros were started, amassing 10623 innings. He had 91 hits and 48 walks, as well as 91 strikeouts.

Villone decided to try the free agent market once more on November 2, 2003. He was signed by the Mariners to a one-year deal. Villone had a good season with them, going 8–6 for a 4.08 earned run average. Villone was used as a long-serve/spot starter job, something he was used to from his days with Houston, Colorado, and Pittsburgh. Villone gave up 102 hits and 64 walks in 117 innings while striking out 86 runs. His deal came to an end early in the season, and he's now declared free agency for the first time. On December 19, 2004, the Mariners announced him to another one-year contract. Ron went 2–3 with a 2.45 earned run average in the 2005 season. He pitched 4013 innings, allowing 33 runs, 23 walks, and 41 strikeouts. He was primarily used as a lefty specialist.

In exchange for Yorman Bazardo and Mike Flannery, the Mariners sent Villone to the Florida Marlins on July 31, 2005. Villone, a Marlin, played in 27 games (232-3 innings), the majority as a lefty specialist. He had 24 hits, 12 walks, and 29 strikeouts. With the Marlins, Villone failed in Florida, posting a 6.85 earned run average.

He was drafted to a minor league contract with the New York Yankees on February 13, 2007. During spring training, Ron was given the opportunity to make a spot in the Yankee bullpen, but Sean Henn was knocked out for the last position. Nevertheless, he was called back in mid-May.

In February 2008, Villone was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals to a minor league deal and was invited to spring training. Villone made the Opening Day roster after being drafted out of camp.

Villone signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets on February 27, 2009, and was invited to spring training. He did not make the squad and was released on March 27.

He then signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals on April 10 and was assigned to Triple-A Syracuse. Villone's deal was acquired from Syracuse on May 7. With 63, Led the team made its first appearances in 2009. On March 15, 2010, the Washington Nationals released him with a torn quadriceps that he never recovered from.

For example, Villone led the way in the eighth inning with a single run lead but gave up a walk to what would be the tying run in a July 23, 2010 game with the Durham Bulls. He threw to first base 12 times to keep the runner alive, without even throwing to home plate, enraging the crowd who booed Villone vociferously. The batter bunted the ball back to Villone as Villone finally threw to home plate but was unable to make the play. Villone walked the next batter and struck the following batter with a two-strike pitch to tie the game. He was called back from the game right away. He was reinstated less than a month after averaging of 6.59 during his time in Triple A. Villone re-signed with the Nationals on March 10, 2011.

Villone was cut from the Nationals before the regular season began, and the Somerset Patriots of the independent Atlantic League followed him.

Villone played in three postseason games and did not give rise to an earned run.

Coaching career

In 2012, he became the pitching coach for the Peoria Chiefs, the Chicago Cubs' Single-A affiliate. Villone was named as the pitching coach for the Kane County Cougars, the Cubs' new Single-A affiliate, in December 2012. He was promoted to pitching coach for the Daytona Cubs of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League in December 2013, where he stayed for several seasons. Villone, the Triple-A Iowa Cubs' pitching coach, as of 2021.

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