P.J. Pilittere

Peter John Pilittere

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 215 lb.
• School California State University, Fullerton
• High School Bishop Amat High School

• Born November 23, 1981 in Galesburg, IL USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

P.J. Pilittere spent three seasons in AAA then became a coach.

College

Piliterre hit .154 as a college freshman in 2001, then improved to .269 as a sophomore. His junior year, he batted .380 with 32 runs and 31 RBI in 49 games. He was second in the Big West Conference in batting average, behind Ryan Harvey, yet failed to make All-Conference. He was 6 for 12 with a double, triple and homer in the 2003 College World Series, winning All-Tournament honors at DH. In 2004, he hit .351 with 18 doubles, 54 runs and 49 RBI in 69 games, splitting catcher and first base with Kurt Suzuki. He then pitched in during Cal State Fullerton's title run in the 2004 College World Series.

Minor League Player

P.J. was taken by the New York Yankees in the 13th round of the 2004 amateur draft. He hit .215/.252/.264 that summer for the Staten Island Yankees and had 11 passed balls in 31 games. He did better with the same club in 2005, batting .250/.320/.381. His 47 assists led New York-Penn League backstops. The next year, he hit .302/.355/.416 for the Tampa Yankees and made only one error at catcher, fielding .998. He led Florida State League catchers in fielding percentage. Had he qualified, he would have been 5th in the FSL in batting average, between Robinzon Diaz and Cody Ehlers.

Pilittere's batting line for the 2007 Trenton Thunder was .261/.318/.336 and he led Eastern League catchers in fielding percentage (.995), putouts (780) and assists (60). In 2008, he was back with Trenton, hitting .277/.317/.346 with a career-high 46 runs and 48 RBI. He only struck out once per 11.38 AB, the best rate in the EL. P.J. split 2009 between Trenton (.198/.260/.229 in 27 G) and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (.244/.272/.349 in 28 G). He was a bench player for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2010 (Jesus Montero did the bulk of the catching) but did well when called on, hitting .357/.419/.482 in 62 plate appearances. In a similar role in 2011, he fared less well, batting .209/.292/.239 in 75 plate appearances to end his playing career.

Overall, Pilittere had hit .264/.317/.348 in 470 minor league games, with 178 runs, 183 RBI, 16 home runs and 104 walks. He only struck out 173 times in 1,605 at-bats. He fielded .995 in 404 games at catcher, with 47 passed balls and an opponent steal percentage around 77. He also played 23 games at 1B as a pro, fielding .987.

Coaching

Pilittere went into coaching with his alma mater, California State University, Fullerton, in 2011. He then went back to the pro ranks, coaching for the GCL Yankees in 2012. Pilittere was the hitting coach for the Charleston RiverDogs in 2013, Tampa Yankees in 2014, Trenton Thunder in 2015-2016, and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in 2017. After the 2014 season he worked as the hitting coach for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League. In 2018 he was promoted to assistant hitting coach of the major league New York Yankees under new manager Aaron Boone and stayed until the end of the 2021 season.

Pilittere moved to the Colorado Rockies in 2022 as an assistant hitting coach where he remained through the 2024 season.

Sources

• 2013 Yankees Media Guide
• 2004-2010 Baseball Almanacs
• Cal State Fullerton