Former Italian / American Pitcher: Tony Fiore (2000-2003)

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Anthony James Fiore was born on October 12th, 1971 in Oak Park, Illinois. The six foot four, right handed pitcher attended Triton College, getting drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 28th round of the 1992 draft.

He spent six years pitching in the minor leagues as a starter, before being converted to a reliever in 1998. In 1999 he was signed by the Minnesota Twins and saved 19 games at AAA Salt Lake. He was still granted free agency & got signed by The Tampa Rays.

He made his MLB debut the next year, appearing in 11 games that season going 1-1. In May of 2001 he was released & signed with the Tampa Rays. He had his career best year in 2002, going 10-3 with five holds & a 3.16 ERA in 48 games for the first place Twins.

Post Season: He had a rough outing in the ALDS against the Oakland Athletics, giving up three runs, on a two run triple to David Justice & a double to Mark Ellis.

Fiore only pitched in 21 games the next season & saw his ERA soar to 5.50. He ended up back in the minors & never pitched in the majors again. In a four year career he was 12-6 with 94 strike outs 76 walks & a 4.39 ERA in 87 games.  

Retirement: In 2006 he pitched for former Met; Bud Harrelson's team in the Independent League, the Long Island Ducks.

Fiore then moved on to pitch in Italy for Rimini in the Italian Baseball League. Rimini is a beach resort town located on the Adriatic Sea, in the Northern Emilia Romagna region. He pitched for Rimini in the 2007 European World Cup & in the World Baseball Classic.

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