Vinny Rottino

Vincent Antonio Rottino was born in Racine, Wisconsin and attended St. Catherine’s High School, graduating in 1998. Rottino committed to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and played there for four years, earning Division III All-American status his senior season, as well as setting UW-L season records for with 80 hits, 53 runs, 19 doubles, and 15 home runs. He batted .410 and slugged .759. He wasn’t selected in the 2002 MLB Amateur Draft but was signed as a free agent by the Brewers in February 2003.

Although signed as a catcher, Rottino played six positions as a rookie. He reached the majors after four years in the minors where he batted a combined .306 (504-for 1,647), including a monster 2004 season at Single-A Beloit with a slash line of .304/.352/.482 along with 17 homers and 124 RBIs.

The right-handed hitting Rottino made his big-league debut with Milwaukee as a September call-up in 2006 but only got 14 at-bats. Rottino saw limited big-league action the next two seasons, appearing in only nine games total. While playing in the minors in 2009, the Brewers traded Rottino to the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitcher Claudio Vargas at the trade deadline.

Rottino bounced around in the Dodgers and Marlins organizations in 2009-2010 before returning to the bigs for the Marlins in 2011. He was released after playing in eight games and signed with the New York Mets as a free agent. In 2012, Rottino was waived after getting a career-high 33 at-bats and two homers with the Mets. The Cleveland Indians picked him up and he batted 28 more times for Cleveland before being released after the season.

Rottino spent a year in Japan and another season in Korea before returning to the United States in 2015. He spent a year in the minors for the Marlins and the following season in the White Sox organization before calling it quits in September 2016.

Rottino is currently a Brewers TV analyst.

• He was the starting catcher for Team Italy in the 2009 World Baseball Classic