Greg Montalbano
From SoSH
| Born: | August 24, 1977 |
| Birthplace: | Worcester, MA |
| Height: | 6'2" |
| Weight: | 190 lbs |
| Bats: | Left |
| Throws: | Left |
| Drafted: | 1999 Amateur Draft Boston Red Sox |
| College: | Northeastern |
| High School: | St. John's (MA) |
| Teams: | none |
A testicular cancer survivor, Gregory Joseph Montalbano was a one-time Red Sox prospect who was never called up to the majors.
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Overall Career
An excellent pitcher in college, Montalbano graduated as NU's career strikeout leader. A true fighter, Montalbano battled with testicular cancer throughout his college career. He spent spent his first year at NU undergoing two major surgeries and six weeks of chemotherapy and has had nine cancer-related surgeries since 1996.
Greg Montalbano was drafted by the Red Sox in the 5th round of the 1999 amateur draft. He began his career in rookie ball at the start of the 2000 season and went 0-2 with a 3.75 ERA in four starts. Eventually he was promoted to the Lowell Spinners where he started two games. During the 2001 season, Montalbano went 9-3 with Sarasota of the Florida State League and was named the 2001 Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He also made ten starts in AA Trenton that year, going 3-3.
Montalbano was slated to open the 2002 season at Triple-A Pawtucket, but developed a shoulder injury (frayed labrum) during spring training, which eventually required surgery and sidelined him the entire year. He spent the 2003 baseball season between the GCL Red Sox and Portland, putting up stats of 0-0 3.09 ERA and 2-1 9.39 ERA, respectively. He started the 2004 season with the rookie ball GCL Red Sox and went 0-2 with a 4.85 ERA and later that year played for the 2004 Portland Sea Dogs, putting up similar numbers.
Greg Montalbano was released by the Red Sox in March 2005 and spent the 2005 and 2006 seasons with the Worcester Tornadoes of the CanAm League.
Moment in the Sun
- Elected to the Northeastern University Hall of Fame in 2005
Trivia
- Majored in Civil Engineering
- Tossed 25.1 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run in 2006
- Sister, Kristen, works for the Jimmy Fund as its Web site designer
Quote
"I never took the attitude that the world was against me or anything. I figured that I was sick and I needed to get better. Once I got that through my mind, I concentrated on making myself better and hoped to get back into baseball eventually."
