The Braves hired Sal Fasano in the offseason to fill the role of catching coach, a new position on the team. Fasano has long been a respected defensive catcher, especially for working with young pitchers as a player and as a coach.
Here are three things to know about Fasano:
Playing career: Fasano, 46, played parts of 11 seasons in the major leagues, with the Royals, Athletics, Rockies, Angels, Orioles, Phillies, Yankees, Blue Jays and Indians. He made his major league debut April 3, 1996 with the Royals, who drafted him in the 37th round in 1993 out of the University of Evansville. He played in 766 games in the minors and 427 in the majors. One minor league stop was for the Triple-A Richmond Braves in 2008. He played in 26 games for the team that became the Gwinnett Braves after that season.
Previous jobs: This is Fasano's first major league coaching job, but he spent several years as a minor league coach and manager in the Blue Jays organization, including when the Braves' senior vice president and general manager was Alex Anthopoulos.
Something you didn't know about him: Fasano is an accomplished self-taught calligraphist. His lineup cards when he was a minor league manager are works of art. They sometimes took 35-40 minutes to complete, he once said. Also, search Google for "Sal Fasano mustache" and see what you get.
