Ron Villone, Jr.

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameRonald Thomas "Ron"•Villone, Jr.
Used nameRon•Villone, Jr.
Born16 January 1970 in Englewood, New Jersey (USA)
Measurements190 cm / 104 kg
AffiliationsUMass Minutemen, Amherst (USA)
NOC United States

Biography

Ron Villone, Jr. was a relief pitcher who played for the USA at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Villone had played in college at U Mass, where he was on the football team, being named All-Yankee Conference tight end as a senior. Villone was chosen by the Seattle Mariners as the 14th overall pick, in the first round, of the 1992 MLB Draft. He played two seasons of minor league ball in the Mariners’ organization and then made his Major League début in April 1995.

Villone played in the Major Leagues from 1995-2009, and it was a whirlwind career. He played for 12 teams, twice with the Mariners and Houston Astros, so was traded 13 times in his career. His 12 franchises played for is the second most in Major League history, after Octavio Dotel, who played for 13 teams from 1999-2013. Three other players also played for 12 teams in the bigs. In order, Villone played for the Seattle Mariners (1995), San Diego Padres (1995-96), Milwaukee Brewers (1996-97), Cleveland Indians (1998), Cincinnati Reds (1999-2000), Colorado Rockies (2001), Houston Astros (2001), Pittsburgh Pirates (2002), Houston Astros (2003), Seattle Mariners (2004-05), Florida Marlins (2005), New York Yankees (2006-07), St. Louis Cardinals (2008), and Washington Nationals (2009)

Villone finished with a career record of 61 wins and 65 losses, and a career ERA of 4.73. He later became a pitching coach in the minor leagues.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1992 Summer Olympics Baseball (Baseball/Softball) USA Ron Villone, Jr.
Baseball, Men (Olympic) United States 4