Doug Cinnella: Baseball’s Ultimate Teacher By Matthew Orso

How do you describe an Ultimate teacher? Is it someone who brings out the best in their students or is it a person who go above and beyond the call of duty to see someone succeed? This may be hard to believe, but there is a man out there who has all of these characteristics and more. His name is Doug Cinnella and he is Baseball’s Ultimate Teacher. Born on February 2nd 1964, Doug Cinnella knew that baseball would become his life. At a young age Doug was always playing catch and working up his arm so that one day, he could achieve his dream. Doug’s dream was to play professional baseball just like his favorite ballplayer Reggie Jackson. Doug would make his dreams come true and play professional baseball. You knew Doug was a special pitcher because he threw back to back no hitters in college for the Seton Hall Pirates. He was drafted in the third round of the 1986 MLB draft by the Baltimore Orioles. Doug showed flashes of brilliance in his first few seasons in “A” ball, posting an ERA of under 3.60. He pitched for the Orioles and Expos in those years. After a short two year stint with the Expos, Cinnella would sign with the Mets and report to Double-A. That is where his career became so much better. In 1990, Doug pitched the season of his life in the minors. His 2.27 ERA was one of the best in the league and he pitched late into games. That helped the Mets see what a help he could be down in the minor leagues. Cinnella would continue his minor league career until 1993 when he got a call from the New York Mets. They had invited him to Spring training to pitch. Doug would face some of the toughest hitters in the game such as Sammy Sosa, Daryl Strawberry, and Jim Thome. He even faced Manny Ramirez and showed no sign of backing down. Despite going to Spring Training with the Yankees in 1995, Doug calls this the highlight of his career. After a career that spanned more than 1000 innings and an ERA of under 3.20, Doug decided to walk away from baseball. Doug never left the game though because he has done something that would make the Babe jealous. Doug Cinnella is the owner of Professional Baseball Instruction in Upper Saddle River, NJ. It is a place designed to help young athletes of any age reach the best of their abilities. With a crew of former and current Major and minor league players, Doug has inspired many people throughout the baseball world. He says it was “common sense” to do something like this to help people. Doug throughout his life has worked hard and put others ahead of himself. Baseball has always been his life and helping others was something Doug loved to do. When thinking about it in that way, you probably already know that Doug Cinnella is “Baseball’s Ultimate Teacher!”