Arteaga Named Assistant Head Baseball Coach
June 26, 2008
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – –
University of Miami head baseball coach Jim Morris has announced the promotion of pitching coach J.D. Arteaga to assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator. Arteaga will continue to oversee the Hurricane pitching staff.
“I am very excited to promote J.D. to assistant head coach,” Morris said. “He’s been such a great part of the Miami baseball program first as the winningest pitcher in school history and second as an assistant coach over the last six years. He’s been a great asset to our pitchers as well as an insightful mind when it comes to our game preparation. With him taking over our recruiting efforts, I know there will not be any drop-off. It means a lot that he will be the top assistant on our staff.”
As an assistant coach the last six years, Arteaga managed the UM pitching staff, assisted in recruiting and handled the scheduling of games.
“This is a great opportunity for me at my alma mater, and I want to thank Coach Morris for it,” Arteaga said. “The University of Miami has always been a special place to me. I’ve enjoyed so many good times here as a player and a coach. I’ve had the chance to play with and coach some of the best student-athletes in the country. I am ready to give everything I have in helping keep Miami as one of the top college baseball programs in the country.”
Arteaga has tutored three of Miami’s four pitchers drafted in the first round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft since 1987, including Carlos Gutierrez in 2008, Chris Perez in 2006 and Cesar Carrillo in 2005. Gutierrez was the 27th overall pick in this year’s draft by the Minnesota Twins after earning second team All-ACC honors. Perez, who came to Miami as a starting prospect, was aided by Arteaga in his transition to becoming one of the country’s top closers. Carrillo started his career 24-0 as a Hurricane.
Arteaga’s 2008 staff boasted National Freshman Pitcher of the Year and Roger Clemens Award finalist Chris Hernandez, who finished 11-0 with a 2.72 ERA while opponents hit just .223 against him. All three starters in 2008, Hernandez, sophomore lefty Eric Erickson and senior right-hander Enrique Garcia combined to go 27-4 while the entire pitching staff combined for the fewest walks (187) in school history and eighth-most strikeouts (554). The 18 saves tied for eighth-most in program history. His 2006 staff, composed almost entirely of first-time starters, recorded five shutouts, the most by a UM staff since the 1998 season. UM also recorded Miami’s first postseason shutout on the road since 1976 with a 7-0 win against Ole Miss in the 2006 Oxford Super Regional.
Four pitchers from Arteaga’s 2005 pitching staff signed pro contracts following the season, including the school’s first pitcher drafted in the first round since the 1991 season, Carrillo. Arteaga also played a major role in Carrillo’s career development and run at the NCAA record books. Carrillo, who was the 18th overall pick in the 2005 draft, ended with a career record of 25-3, was an All-American and a finalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and the Roger Clemens Award as college baseball’s best pitcher in 2005.
The 2004 Miami pitching staff produced the best team ERA in (3.73) since the 2000 season (3.72).
Morris named Arteaga the Hurricanes’ next pitching coach on March 4, 2003, nine games deep into the season. Arteaga’s style and approach to pitching was vital in J.D. Cockroft’s development into the ace on Miami’s 2003 club. Cockroft, a crafty left-hander, went 11-3 with a 2.72 ERA in a team-high 119 innings, including three complete games and one shutout.
Arteaga played for the Hurricanes from 1994-1997, helping UM reach the College World Series four straight seasons. He left Miami as the program’s all-time wins leader with 43 and the all-time starts leader with 72. Arteaga ranks second for innings pitched in a career with 458.1. He is also fifth on the all-time strikeouts chart with 343 career Ks.
Miami retired Arteaga’s No. 33 on Feb. 5, 2003, prior to the season opener with Florida International. A 26th round draft choice by the New York Mets, Arteaga spent five seasons in the Mets’ and Houston Astros’ organizations. He had signed on with the Texas Rangers’ organization in the spring of 2003, prior to accepting his post with the Hurricanes. He spent his last professional season with the Astros’ Triple-A franchise New Orleans Zephyrs, compiling a 9-10 record with a 4.29 ERA in 15 starts and 42 appearances.
The left-hander came to the Hurricanes out of Westminster Christian in Miami. He won a career best 12 (12-1) games as a junior in 1996 and came back to go 11-4 as a senior. Arteaga threw three complete games at UM and struck out career-high 11 batters on two different occasions (FSU, 4/16/95 and George Washington, 2/16/96). He posted an 11-3 record as a sophomore in 1995 and a 9-1 mark as a freshman.
Arteaga earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Miami in 2002. He is married to the former Ysha Schettini and the couple has two children, a son, A.J. and a daughter, Ariana.
