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Chris Sinacori enters his second season as the Demon Deacons pitching coach.
In 2005, Sinacori helped guide and mentor a pitching staff that was beset with injuries upon arrival. Despite not having their top two starters for most of the season, the Deacs' pitching staff improved mightily from 2004. Sinacori led a staff that posted a lower ERA, batting average against, registered more strikeouts, saves and most importantly, recorded 11 more wins.
Sinacori came to Wake Forest from Arizona State where he served as pitching coach for three years.
During the 1998 season, the ASU pitching staff posted a 41-23 record and came within one game of recording their sixth NCAA College World Series Championship. Ten future professional pitchers highlighted Sinacori's first college pitching staff, including a pair of first-round draft picks. Sinacori also helped bring in two top 10 recruiting classes and another class that was rated top five.
In 2003, the Arizona State pitching staff became a benchmark for success on the mound. Helping guide the Devils to a 54-14 record, the pitching staff led the Pac-10 with a 3.32 ERA and ranked eighth in the NCAA. The 3.32 team ERA marked the first time since 1990 that an ASU pitching staff finished a season with an ERA lower than 4.00 and is the best dating back to 1979. Since the NCAA adopted the designated hitter and aluminum bats in 1974, the 3.32 ERA was the third lowest in school history. The Devils also led the Pac-10 with 530 strikeouts, adding to the 1998 strikeout crown Sinacori helped attain.
In addition, the 2003 pitching staff combined for 10 shutouts to mark the most by a Sun Devil squad since recording 11 in 1976. Six pitchers from Sinacori's 2003 staff were selected in the 2003 MLB Amateur Draft and three more signed free agent contracts. Beau Vaughan, a true project that Sinacori helped develop in his only year as a Sun Devil, was selected in the 3rd round by the Boston Red Sox.
In 2004, the Sun Devils went 41-18 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive year and eighth time in the past nine seasons. Arizona State finished third in the Pac-10 in ERA (4.71), third in opponents batting average (.267) and first in saves (20). Sinacori was instrumental in the rise of Jason Urquidez, who went 12-3 in 2004 with a 3.41 ERA. Urquidez was chosen in the 11th round by the Cincinnati Reds.
Prior to his second stint at ASU, Sinacori was a pitching coach in the Chicago White Sox minor league system for four years. In that time, he mentored eight current big league pitchers and six first-round draft picks. He was also in charge of the rehabilitation programs throughout the organization for all pitchers. His 2001 (3.35 ERA) and 2002 (3.62 ERA) pitching staffs both finished second in the Arizona League.
Sinacori also worked on special assignment for the White Sox in the Dominican Republic in 2001. He helped scout prospects for the Chicago farm system. The following year, Sinacori was invited to spend some time in the big leagues with White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper.
Prior to his coaching work with the Sun Devils in 1998, Sinacori spent seven years as a professional player with four different organizations (Los Angeles, Toronto, Florida and Arizona). He was the 15th selection of the Dodgers in the 1991 MLB Amateur Draft. Sinacori learned from some outstanding instructors, as seven of his former pitching coaches are now MLB pitching coaches. Sinacori played two years for Tennessee and one year for FIU.
Sinacori was a two-time USA Today All-American at MacArthur H.S. in Levittown, N.Y., and earned the New York Diamond Award as the top prep player in the state of New York. He was also a member of the 1988 USA Baseball Junior Olympic team that won the gold medal in Australia. Sinacori graduated with a degree in liberal arts and sciences from the University of Tennessee.
