3 things to know about new Red Sox pitcher Chris Mazza
The Red Sox claimed the right-hander off waivers Friday.
The Red Sox claimed right-handed pitcher Chris Mazza off waivers from the New York Mets on Friday to complete their current 40-man roster.
Mazza, 30, made his major league debut with the Mets in 2019, posting a 5.51 ERA in 16.1 innings of relief. He didn’t surrender a hit or a run in his final three outings, and he didn’t give up a home run in any of his nine appearances.
The #RedSox today claimed RHP Chris Mazza off waivers from the New York Mets. Boston’s 40-man roster is now at 40.
— Red Sox (@RedSox) December 20, 2019
He was originally a 27th-round pick of the Minnesota Twins, in 2011, and he’s made several stops since. Mazza is 26-26 with a 3.21 ERA and six saves in his minor league career.
Here are three things to know about him:
He’s related to Joe DiMaggio.
Baseball is in Mazza’s blood, as his grandmother is a cousin of all-time great Joe DiMaggio. That makes him DiMaggio’s third cousin, and he met the former Yankee at a family reunion before DiMaggio died.
Mazza grew up a Yankees fan and Derek Jeter devotee, and his little cousin, Dom Mazza, was drafted by the San Francisco Giants.
“I found out when I was like 7 years old,” Mazza told Metro Sports Report in 2014. “Me and my older brother were watching TV and they were doing a special on Joe, and my brother looks at me and goes, ‘You know that’s our cousin, don’t you?” I go, What?!’”
The Metro Sports Report article clarifies that Mazza doesn’t claim to be related to Marilyn Monroe, because Monroe and DiMaggio divorced before Mazza was born.
He’s played for a wide variety of teams.
Mazza has bounced around quite a bit and suited up for some teams not too many baseball fans in the northeast have heard of.
Those teams include the Jupiter Hammerheads, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, New Orleans Baby Cakes, and Binghamton Rumble Ponies.
He found his way onto the Syracuse Mets roster, and on June 29, 2019, he made his long-awaited MLB debut.
New York Mets pitcher Chris Mazza making his MLB debut tonight! #NAIAMade 27th round draft pick out of Menlo (2008-2011) HE WAS PITCHING IN INDY BALL LAST SEASON! 29 year old rookie! Never stop grinding #NAIABaseball pic.twitter.com/m1dYlTg1tt
— NAIA Ball (@NAIABall) June 29, 2019
He’s had an arduous journey to the majors.
Mazza has had injury problems over the years, including in 2014, when he played the final two months of the season with a broken right wrist.
During the offseason, he reportedly couldn’t do a push-up or anything else that caused his wrist to bend back. He could, however, throw a baseball, so he kept playing.
“I finally went a got my wrist looked at and got an MRI and the doctor said I had a broken scaphoid nonunion in my right hand,” Mazza told Marlins Minors. “He told me he doesn’t know how I was even able to throw a baseball. I just said I’ve always had a high pain tolerance, which in this case isn’t always a good thing.
He reportedly had surgery in November of 2014. They had to put a screw in his scaphoid bone to fuse the bones back together. That put him in a cast for six months, but he eventually worked his way back to the sport.
Years later, after a long and eventful journey, he’s made his way onto the Red Sox roster.
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