Former MLB pitcher Thomas Urbani, a loving husband and father, avid fisherman, and baseball man through and through, died Wednesday morning at the age of 54.
His grieving family, who elected to keep his cause of death private, plans to hold a memorial service at some point in the near future.
A former standout at Harbor High, Cabrillo College and Long Beach State University, Urbani was drafted a total of four times before signing with the St. Louis Cardinals after they made him their 13th round selection in 1990.
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound left-handed pitcher made his MLB debut with the Cardinals, coached by Joe Torre, on April 21, 1993. His teammates included a pair of future National Baseball Hall of Famers in shortstop Ozzie Smith and closer Lee Smith.
“It was fascinating,” said Urbani, in an interview with Gold Country Media in 2003. “It was just the little things that I remember, that meant the most.
“You go out to BP (batting practice) and hang out and there’s people taking photographs of you warming up and people setting stuff up for baseball cards and reporters from St. Louis. I was hanging out with guys that were bigger than life at one point for me.”
Professional baseball was Urbani’s dream from Day 1. He wrote down that goal as a student at DeLaveaga Elementary, when he and classmates were asked what they wanted to be when they got older.
“His passion was 100 percent baseball,” said Matt McCullough, Urbani’s half brother.
Urbani made his final MLB appearance with the Detroit Tigers in ’96.
In his four-year MLB career, he posted a 10-17 record with a 4.98 ERA and 1.54 WHIP. He started 36 of the 81 games he played in and struck out 149 batters in 260 1/3 innings.
He ended his professional career with Rimini BBC of the Italian Baseball League as an Italian-American player in ’99. He returned to Santa Cruz County where he coached at Scotts Valley and Harbor highs, before relocating to the Folsom area.
“He loved fishing in the Sierras, with his dad and with his kids,” McCullough said. “He loved being in the mountains.”
Former Soquel ace Pat Fetty said he and Urbani had an unspoken rivalry in high school — they were drafted 12 picks apart in 1986 — but the two became close friends once they teamed up at Cabrillo under head coach Andy Messersmith, a former MLB pitcher.
Such good friends that they went into business together. Urbani created a device to help baseball players learn the correct motion to throw a curveball. It involved a rubber ball with a hole drilled through it. The ball was attached to the end of a fishing rod.
“Tom had a wicked bender,” Fetty said. “Anyway, I tested it and it was pretty similar.”
They created a sales video, which featured Urbani forgetting his lines and Fetty shaky on the camera.
“We would’ve been laughed off Shark Tank,” Fetty said. “We lost money on that, but it was fun to try and attempt it. It led to another bond and many private jokes. I still have a box of them in my garage.”
Urbani also served as mortgage broker after his baseball career, but remained active coaching baseball, giving individual and group lessons. He was also an active member of his church.
“His ability to connect with kids and get their own skills to shine was through the roof,” McCullough said.
The first two times Urbani was drafted he was selected as a position player. He was a standout first baseman with a big bat. He, and players like teammate Jason Giambi, helped LBSU reach the College World Series in 1989.
As a National League pitcher, Urbani was given a chance to hit. In ’95, he batted .316 (6 for 19) with a home run and three walks.
“He was always saying ‘I should’ve been a hitter,’ ” said Harbor’s baseball coach Joseph Allegri, who had Urbani serve on his coaching staff from 2015-17.
“He was one of the fiercest two-way players I’ve ever seen and one of the greatest human beings I’ve crossed paths with,” said Matthew King, who coached Urbani at Cabrillo in 1988. “He was a kind and fun and friendly as anyone I’ve ever known… but on game day… the gamer showed up and he was ALL BUSINESS.”
Teammates and students alike enjoyed Urbani’s personality, demeanor, knowledge and passion.
“The kids loved Tom,” said Louie Walters, the Falcons’ athletics director. “He was a happy guy and the kids gravitated to him because of who he was. He was a total asset for our baseball program. He spent a lot of hours at Scotts Valley High.”
Allegri said Urbani always shared stories of his playing days and was big on teaching the kids an off-speed pitch to complement their fastball, particularly the change-up. He also loved talking about food, particularly barbecue or anything Italian.
“He loved to eat,” Allegri said.
Urbani inspired Pirates hitters to go up the middle or do anything to rattle opposing pitchers with a saucy prize. Literally.
“If they went up the middle and did something to make the pitcher look funny, he’d promise to bring them a jar of ‘Urbani’s Ragu’ spaghetti sauce,” Allegri said.
Urbani leaves behind a wife, Lisa Urbani-Palacios, three children, Cody, Vanessa and Gabe, and a granddaughter, Briella.
