Willie Collazo

{{short description|Puerto Rican baseball pitcher}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox baseball biography

|image=Coach Willie Collazo visits the Mound 001(001) (33594963064) (cropped).jpg

|caption=Collazo with the Lansing Lugnuts in 2017

|name=Willie Collazo

|team=

|position=Pitcher / Coach

|bats=Left

|throws=Left

|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1979|11|7}}

|birth_place=Carolina, Puerto Rico

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=September 5

|debutyear=2007

|debutteam=New York Mets

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=September 29

|finalyear=2007

|finalteam=New York Mets

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Win–loss record

|stat1value=0-0

|stat2label=Earned run average

|stat2value=6.35

|stat3label=Strikeouts

|stat3value=0

|teams=

}}

William Collazo {{small|[koy-yah'-zo]}} (born November 7, 1979) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball pitcher. During the 2007 season, he appeared in six games for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). Since 2016, Collazo has worked as a minor league pitching coach in the Toronto Blue Jays organization.

Collazo graduated from Florida International University, where he went 13–1 as a senior and helped his team to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship tournament. He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 10th round of the 2001 Major League Baseball draft. Collazo played for the Braves, Los Angeles Angels, and New York Mets organizations. He was called up to the Mets on September 1, {{mlby|2007}}, and made his major league debut on September 5, 2007, against the Cincinnati Reds. He became a free agent at the end of the {{Baseball year|2008}} season and signed a minor league contract with the Florida Marlins.[http://www.asgbaseball.com/2008_1207.htm Collazo to Fish]

He last played in the Toronto Blue Jays organization from 2010 to 2012. Collazo was the pitching coach for the Short Season-A Vancouver Canadians in 2016. On January 19, 2017, he was promoted to be the pitching coach for the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts.{{cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-213889388|title=Martín to head 2017 Lugnuts coaching staff|last=Goldberg-Strassler|first=Jesse|work=Minor League Baseball|date=January 19, 2017|access-date=January 19, 2017}}

In July 2019, Collazo was named the pitching coach at FIU.

He was let go by FIU after the 2022 season.{{cite news |title=FIU's Rich Witten completes baseball staff with two key hires |url=https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/college/conference-usa/florida-international-university/article263788898.html |access-date=5 October 2022 |work=Miami Herald |date=July 25, 2022}}

See also

References

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