Fasano’s Fu Manchu Flashed in Tribe’s Pan During 2008 Season

By Christian Petrila

The most fascinating stat about this week’s Flash in a Pan is that over the course of his 11-year career, he only played about two and a half seasons worth of games. (Not to mention he had some of the greatest facial hair in recent history.)

This week’s flash is none other than handlebar-mustachioed Sal Fasano.

Fasano’s career with the Indians was brief. He was only with the team in 2008, and he only played sporadically after being acquired from Atlanta. However, his 15 games with Cleveland may have been his most successful stint of any throughout his career. He hit .261 with six RBI. He only walked three times and was a regular victim of the K, striking out 17 times. His final career MLB appearance would be in an Indians uniform on Sep. 14, 2008.

Sal Fasano’s career began in the 1993 amateur draft when the Kansas City Royals selected him in the 37^th round. After three seasons in the minors, Fasano made Kansas City’s opening day roster despite not even playing a single game in Triple-A. However, Fasano struggled mightily his rookie year and it led to the Royals demoting him before the end of July. That rookie campaign saw Fasano hit a mere .203 with six home runs and 19 RBI in 51 games.

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