Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Cold calls, road trip lead player to chance with Marlins.
Cold calls, drive around state give Lombardozzi a chance to play second
MIAMI — When Steve Lombardozzi left his Maryland home for Florida’s gulf coast in the days before major league teams opened spring training, he had no job. No contract, no paycheck, no camp to report to with report dates quickly approaching.
What Lombardozzi, 28, did have was his wife, Brooke, their rental car, a willingness to cold-call farm directors and a belief — something like blind faith — that it would all work out in the end. His promotion to the Miami Marlins, whose improbable series of infielder injuries led to Lombardozzi starting at second base Wednesday in his first major league game in almost two years, validated that belief.
“It’s definitely been a journey,” Lombardozzi said, “but it’s been fun. A lot of ups and downs, but it’s a pretty sweet feeling right now.”
The Lombardozzis flew into Tampa Bay International in February, after the Super Bowl but before the start of spring training, and for more than a week followed a daily routine as they worked their way south from the Tampa Bay area and eventually across the state to the Marlins in Jupiter.
Upon waking up, Steve would phone the major league team or teams closest to their location that day, just to let them know he was in the area if they were willing to have him in for a workout.
“It’s definitely been a journey ... A lot of ups and downs, but it’s a pretty sweet feeling right now.” Steve Lombardozzi
Lombardozzi’s summation of his sales pitch: “I just flew down to Florida, wanted to see if you guys had any openings. Can I come over, work out in front of you guys, and if you think it’ll be a good fit, I’d love to try to make something happen.”
After Steve’s calls, as they waited for the calls back that sometimes never came, they would look at a map, find a public baseball field and work out. That included a significant assist from Brooke, equipped with a glove from her youth softball days and a bat to hit grounders off a tee to Steve.
Brooke, who played Division-I soccer at South Carolina, was ready to do whatever it took. She’s been with Steve long enough — they met four years ago and married in November — to know all about the baseball grind and the drive it takes to make it.
“Since sports have always been a huge part of my life, when we met, I knew what baseball meant to him because I knew what soccer meant to me,” she said.
At each day’s end, the Lombardozzis found a hotel to stay in or friends to stay with, then woke up the next day and did it again. They made time for some beach trips, too.
Lombardozzi said he called about a half-dozen farm directors. Only half called him back. The responses should be familiar to anybody who has been on the job search.
“The answers were kind of the same. It was late, right before spring, so a lot of the spots were filled,” Lombardozzi said. “They said they would definitely consider me if something happens.
“And really, you know, at that time, late in the offseason, it’s kind of what you expect. You just hope something opens up.”
Lombardozzi’s break came via Marc DelPiano, the Marlins’ vice president of player development, who worked in the Pittsburgh Pirates front office when Lombardozzi was a part of the organization in 2015.
The Marlins were the only team to offer Lombardozzi a workout. It went well, or at least well enough for Miami to offer him a minor league contract. He signed Feb. 20 and made Triple-A New Orleans at the end of spring training.
About a month into Lombardozzi’s time with the Baby Cakes, in a span of about 72 hours, the Marlins infield suffered a litany of injuries the likes of which manager Don Mattingly had never seen before.
Miguel Rojas fractured his thumb. Then Martin Prado strained his right hamstring. Then Adeiny Hechavarria strained his left oblique. Then J.T. Riddle, Lombardozzi’s doubleplay partner in New Orleans, bruised his right index finger. That forced Dee Gordon to shortstop and Lombardozzi into the starting lineup at second.
“To have that [infield depth] go away in three days is something I know I’ve never experienced, never seen it,” Mattingly said.
Lombardozzi went 0 for 5 Wednesday, the last out preceded by a line-drive foul into the right-field corner, feet from tying the game in the ninth inning. Lombardozzi, finally back in the bigs, was so close to being the hero, but instead ended a Marlins loss.
He’ll take that over his previous two years, which included stops in the Dominican Republic and independent Atlantic League and stints with three different Triple-A teams.
All it took was a bunch of injuries and a job-hunting trip to Florida.
“We had no idea what to expect,” Brooke said. “We were ready to go and just hope for an opportunity and pray we’d get a call back. We knew it would be worth it regardless. He put himself out there and it paid off.”