Justin Tordi

Justin David Tordi

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 208 lb.
• School University of Florida
• High School Dr. Phillips High School

• Born April 9, 1984 in Rochester Hills, MI USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Justin Tordi made it to AA as a player then became a coach.

Amateur Career

Tordi was All-state in high school in 2002 and set his school's single-season home run record (the school had produced Johnny Damon and A.J. Pierzynski among others). He played 3B for the US junior team that summer, a teammate of Allen Craig, Ian Stewart, Delmon Young, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Lastings Milledge, Chad Billingsley and Ian Kennedy among others. He hit .298 with 23 RBI in 94 at-bats that summer. In the 2002 World Junior Championship, their biggest event, he batted .371/.361/.571 with 10 runs and 13 RBI in 8 games. He was 2 for 4 with a double, run and RBI in their Bronze Medal game win over Canada. He tied for 10th in the tournament in hits and tied for 12th in RBI, even with Craig, Adam Loewen, Joo-hwan Na, Chris Lubanski and others. The Toronto Blue Jays took him in the 46th round of the 2002 amateur draft and he did not sign.

Tordi hit .269 as a college freshman, starting at shortstop for the Florida Gators. With the Hyannis Mets in the summer Cape Cod League, he batted .184. As a sophomore, he improved to .302 and led the Southeastern Conference with 235 assists (third-best in school history to that point). He fielded .963, second-best among SEC shortstops. In a second summer for Hyannis, he hit only .160. In 2005, the junior fell to .238 at the plate but led SEC shortstops in fielding percentage (.973). He was 2 for 8 in the 2005 College World Series. He was second-team All-SEC behind Steven Tolleson. The Cincinnati Reds chose him in the 41st round of the 2005 amateur draft, one round before they took John Axford.

Professional Playing Career

For a player noted for his slick glovework at short, Tordi oddly began his pro career as a catcher. He hit .168/.267/.188 in 37 games for the 2006 Billings Mustangs (Billings had Chris Valaika at SS). Playing at a new position, he had 11 passed balls. He spent 2007 as an organizational utility man, appearing for the Mustangs (.214/.295/.329 in 19 G), Dayton Dragons (.209/.254/.269 in 24 G) and Sarasota Reds (.221/.294/.286 in 25 G). In a similar role in 2008, he played for Sarasota (.223/.309/.282 in 64 G) and the Chattanooga Lookouts (0 for 5). A backup infielder in 2009, his final playing season, he was with Sarasota (.167/.189/.211 in 67 G, 66 K, 4 BB in 219 PA) and the Carolina Mudcats (.117/.209/.150 in 26 G).

Overall, Tordi had hit poorly in the minors, batting .190/.257/.243 with 61 runs and 67 RBI in 266 games; he stole one base, hit three home runs and drew 60 walks while fanning 209 times in 791 at-bats. He pitched 2 2/3 shutout innings, all for the 2009 Mudcats, with two hits allowed, a walk and a strikeout. Defensively, he fielded .958 in 95 games at SS, .988 in 62 at C (with 18 passed balls and a 31% opponent caught stealing rate), .978 in 40 at 2B, .918 in 38 at 3B and 1.000 in 18 at 1B, appearing at every position except the outfield.

Coaching Career

Tordi began his coaching career with the 2013-2014 Charleston RiverDogs, manning first base. He moved up to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in 2015 and Trenton Thunder in 2016 as a defensive coach.

Sources

• 2003 Baseball Almanac
• UF bio