ATLANTA — During Game 2 of the World Series (which has not gone all that well for the Braves) one of the team's coaches caught a little bit of attention.
Sal Fasano is Atlanta's catching coach, and he sports a remarkably eye-catching mustache.
More than that, though, Fasano is also known for his reputation as being one of the nicest guys in Major League Baseball. He's been on the Braves coaching staff since 2018, and is widely considered a valuable and admired part of the clubhouse.
Before becoming a coach with a Major League organization, Fasano spent a considerable amount of time paying his dues on the minor league coaching circuit, starting in 2009 with the Lansing Lugnuts and joining the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and Mobile BayBears along the way.
His playing career was the classic one of a journeyman backup catcher. He managed to stay in the bigs for parts of 11 seasons, playing 427 games and appearing at the plate 1,245 times.
His best season was probably 2005, in Baltimore - that year he hit .250 with a .475 slugging percentage, knocking 11 home runs.
His career numbers do not stand out, but - as is frequently the case with backup catchers - his professionalism and reliability behind the plate kept earning him jobs.
He played for nine teams in all - the Kansas City Royals, Oakland A's, Colorado Rockies, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, Anaheim Angels, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays.
The Braves also actually signed him in 2008, and he wound up playing a bit for their Triple-A team at the time, what was then the Richmond Braves.
Fasano is the kind of baseball lifer you have to root for, and his trip to the World Series is one of the underrated wrinkles of this Braves run.