NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Old Dominion product Vinnie Pasquantino broke into Major League Baseball this past season with the Kansas City Royals. 2023 will see him taking direction from another former Monarch.
Matt Quatraro was named the new manager of the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. From 1993-1996, he suited up for Old Dominion, earning All-American honors. Following his college career, Quatraro was drafted by the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays and spent eight years in the minors before getting into coaching. He got his first big league gig with the Cleveland Indians as an assistant hitting coach in 2014 and was with the team through 2017. The following season saw him with the Rays as a third-base coach and he spent the last three years as Tampa Bay's bench coach.
Now he gets his first shot at being a Major League manager, a huge accomplishment for who Old Dominion head coach Chris Finwood calls "an ODU legend."
"He's a fantastic guy," Finwood said. "He's been our featured speaker at our first pitch dinner, just loves the place and having Matt be the manager and Vinnie be the first baseman on the same big league team... the Kansas City Royals just picked up a ton of fans in Norfolk, Virginia, I can tell you that."
Quatraro takes over for Mike Metheny who had been the Royals' skipper since the 2020 campaign. He accumulated a record of 165-219 during his three seasons. Finwood says the match of the former Monarch and Kansas City is a perfect fit.
"I think he's with the perfect organization," said Finwood. "They're rebuilding a little bit. They need a young, energetic, smart guy like him to work and coming from Tampa's system, a lot of those guys are popular right now because they've been doing a lot with a little and Kansas City I think would like to mimic some of that."
Another solid match- Quatraro and Pasquantino. The two did not know each prior to the former getting the Royals' manager job, but share the common bond of being Monarchs.
"Just having those two guys represent ODU and our baseball program makes us all just stick our chests out a little bit more," the ODU head coach smiled.
Quatraro hasn't forgotten where he's come from. He still contributes to the program, financially and otherwise, according to Finwood. It might be the occasional hello that means the most to the current head Monarch.
"He always checks in," Finwood pointed out. "Beginning of the year, 'hey Coach, just wanted to say good luck, excited about the guys.' As the year's going on, he's always keeping up with us."
Finwood added that he and ODU Director of Athletics Wood Selig have already been kicking around organizing a group to go see the Royals play when they make a trip to the region.
Quatraro will manage his first Major League Baseball game on March 30 when the Royals host the Twins in their season opener.
