New Jersey Born Italian / American Mets Minor Leaguer: Anthony Seratelli (2014)

Anthony Russell Seratelli was born on February 27th 1983 in Woodbridge New Jersey. While in the 6th grade his family moved to Old Bridge, New Jersey. His parents soon divorced, as he & his sister remained in Jersey with their father.

While in high school he was under five foot & was cut from the baseball team. He was a good bowler & bowled two perfect games on the school team. He made the baseball team as a junior but a leg injury shut him down.
The five foot eleven, right hand hitter attended Seton Hall University, where he became the captain of the team.  

He was not drafted & opted to play Independent League ball at Indiana. He eventually signed with the Kansas City Royals playing at ball with their organization through 2009.

In 2010-2011 he played at AA North West Arkansas, batting a best .282. He made the All Star team, stole 35 bases & was named the farm systems best runner. That year he suffered a family tragedy as his father was killed in an auto accident, his sister was in the car as well & survived. Seratelli has devoted his career to his dad.

In 2012 he was promoted to AAA Omaha where he hit .299 with 17 HRs & 66 RBIs, all career bests while playing in 115 games. His numbers fell off in 2013, 11 HRs & a .273 average not getting resigned by the Royals.

In 2014 he was offered a minor league deal with the Mets at age 31. He was invited to Spring Training & worked hard to fulfill his dream, even though he had slim chances to make the team. At spring training he hit just .213 & was sent to play at AAA Las Vegas. There he hit .279 with 5 HRs 10 doubles & 40 RBIs.

Seratelli has played all infield positions, as well as some outfield.In his nine year minor league career he batted .276 with 830 hits 72 HRs 124 doubles 42 triples 422 RBIs & a .373 on base %.

In December 2014, Seratelli signed on to play in Japan with the Saitama Seibu Lions.