Tony Tarasco

Tarasco was born at Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center in Greenwich Village and, until he was 6 or 7 years old, lived in Washington Heights and the Bronx.[1][2] His father, Jack, worked a summer job as a vendor at Yankee Stadium.[2] At 13 years old, after moving to Santa Monica, California, Tarasco joined the Santa Monica Graveyard Crips, a set of the Crips street gang. At 16 years old, with the encouragement of fellow Crips members, he left the gang to focus on playing high school baseball.[2]

Tarasco was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 15th round of the 1988 Major League Baseball draft out of Santa Monica High School.[2]

Tarasco was involved in a controversial play in the 1996 American League Championship Series while playing right field for the Baltimore Orioles. While fielding a fly ball hit by New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, 12-year-old fan Jeffrey Maier reached over the fence and caught the ball. The umpires called a home run, although the correct call was fan interference. The play was the turning point in the series, which the Yankees won.

Tarasco spent the remainder of his career as a part time player, often shuttling between the major and minor leagues. Tarasco and Jeter were teammates for a short time during the 1999 season.[3]

In June 2002, Tarasco's New York Mets teammate Mark Corey suffered a seizure after the two players smoked marijuana outside of Shea Stadium.[4] Under Major League Baseball drug policy at the time, because both players were first-time offenders, they were not subject to discipline from the league.[5]

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Retrosheet
• Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)