Former Spartan Standout Mike Rabelo Named to Pittsburgh Pirates Coaching Staff
PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Tuesday that Mike Rabelo will be joining manager Derek Shelton's staff as the assistant hitting coach for the 2020 season. The announcement was made by general manager, Ben Cherington.
Rabelo, who was inducted into the University of Tampa Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018, was a three-year letterwinner for UT before being a 2001 MLB Draft pick by the Detroit Tigers. He later advanced to the majors, where he is one of seven Spartans to have played at the highest level. He played in the MLB for the Detroit Tigers and Miami Marlins.
At Tampa from 1999-2001, he was named to the all-South Region team two times. He was also a member of the 2001 NCAA South Regional all-tournament team. Being named first-team all-Sunshine State Conference in 1999 and 2000, he was on the second-team in 2001. He played in 169 career games at UT, starting 165. Hitting .322, he slugged 18 home runs with 125 RBI. He still ranks as the most difficult catcher in program history to steal against, as he gunned out nearly 40-percent of baserunners. He also threw out a UT record 50 runners.
The 39-year-old Rabelo spent the 2019 season in the Detroit organization as the manager for Double-A Erie, where he led the SeaWolves to a 77-61 overall record, including a 46-26 mark following the Eastern League All-Star break.
Rabelo has recorded a 358-274 record as a manager in six seasons at the minor league level (all in the Detroit organization), posting winning records in all but one season. During the 2017 campaign, he earned Midwest League Manager-of-the-Year honors after his West Michigan Whitecaps team posted a league-best 91 wins.
Prior to his role as a manager, Rabelo served as a coach for the GCL Tigers in 2011 and with the Connecticut Tigers of the New York-Penn League for two seasons (2012-13).
Rabelo played professionally for 10 seasons after being selected by Detroit in the fourth round of the 2001 First-Year Player Draft. He also played parts of three seasons in the big leagues as a catcher with Detroit (2006-07) and Florida (2008).