The Arizona Diamondbacks announced that Jason Conti, who was a part of the franchise’s first draft class in 1996, has died at the age of 50.
Former Pittsburgh Pirates infielder and Conti’s college teammate, Kevin Kramer, wrote on Instagram last week that Conti suffered a “severe brain injury” and was on life support.
Conti was a 32nd-round pick by the D-backs out of Pittsburgh and the 25th player to join Arizona’s organization, well before the 1998 debut season in MLB.
Of the 62 draft picks the Diamondbacks made in 1996, only 11 players eventually appeared in MLB.
He made his MLB debut with Arizona in 2000, appearing in 47 games with 99 plate appearances as a rookie that year, batting .231 with 15 RBIs.
Conti appeared in five more games on the 2001 version of the Diamondbacks that eventually won the World Series, the Valley’s only pro sports championship. But Conti and Nick Bierbrodt, Arizona’s first-ever draft pick in that inaugural 1996 class, were traded for pitcher Albie Lopez and catcher Mike DiFelice during the 2001 team’s run.
Conti saw his most extensive action in 2002 with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He played in 78 games for Tampa Bay, hitting .257 and recording 21 RBIs and 57 hits.
His career looped through Milwaukee (30 games in 2003) and Texas (22 games in 2004) before he was out of the majors.
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