Baseball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- traffo@athletics.msstate.edu
Tommy Raffo, who earned All-America status in both athletics and academics during his stellar four-year career at Mississippi State, is in his 15th season on the Bulldog coaching staff and his 19th season of affiliation with Bulldog Baseball. The former All-Southeastern Conference first baseman coaches the Bulldog outfielders and serves as Mississippi State’s hitting coach. Under Raffo’s direction, Bulldog hitters have hit .300 or better in 10 of the last 12 years, including a school-record .335 in 1999.
A native of Orange Park, Fla., Raffo was a four-year letter-winner playing for Ron Polk at Mississippi State University from 1987-90, earning All-America and All-Southeastern Conference honors after his junior and senior seasons.
In 1989 Raffo helped lead the Bulldogs to a school-record 54 wins and a conference championship after posting an MSU-record 102 hits, driving in 80 runs and ranking first in the SEC with 22 home runs. One year later as a senior co-captain, he hit .358 with 13 home runs and 69 RBI as Mississippi State advanced to the 1990 NCAA College World Series.
Raffo finished his MSU playing career ranked in the top 10 of nearly every offensive category in the Mississippi State and SEC record books. Raffo’s .366 career batting average still stands as the sixth-best career mark in school history while his 278 career hits rates a No. 5 ranking among MSU’s career leaders. During his four-year collegiate career he hit 45 home runs and collected 207 RBI, ranking seventh and fourth in those respective MSU career categories.
Raffo’s success at Mississippi State carried over into the classroom, earning GTE-CoSIDA Academic All-America team honors twice during his career. He was also a three-time selection to the Academic All-SEC team.
After graduating from MSU in 1990 with a degree in general business, Raffo was selected by the Miami Miracle in the eighth round of the 1990 Major League draft and continued his baseball career on the professional level. His four-year career included seasons with Miami, in the Cincinnati Reds organization (1991-92) and with the St. Paul Saints of the Northern League (1993).
The Bulldog assistant is long on NCAA postseason tournament experience. Raffo competed in NCAA regional tournaments all four years during his MSU career while 11 of the 14 Mississippi State teams that he has coached have continued their seasons in regional tournament play. That postseason experience also includes four trips to Omaha for the NCAA College World Series, first as a player in 1990, later as an assistant coach in both 1997 and 1998, MSU’s first back-to-back trips to college baseball’s "final eight", and State’s advancement to Rosenblatt Stadium in 2007.
As Bulldog hitting coach, Raffo helped develop the offensive talents of the likes of MSU alums Thomas Berkery and MSU career hits record-holder Jeffrey Rea, who in 2006 finished 1-2 in batting average in the Southeastern Conference, and the runner up for the 2007 batting title, Brandon Turner.
Raffo was a four-year standout as a first baseman and pitcher for coaches Bob West and Damon Olinto at Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, Fla., the same prep program that produced the likes of former MSU head coach Pat McMahon, former Bulldog assistant and player Charlie Anderson, former players Drew Williams, Brian Terry, Travis Chapman and Jonathan Papelbon and current Bulldog Jeff Flagg.
During his prep career, he hit 20 home runs with 132 RBI, and posted a 21-4 record with a 1.71 ERA on the mound. He was named the Jacksonville Journal City Player of the Year in both 1985 and 1986 and was selected Most Valuable Player of the Florida High School All-Star Game in 1986.
In 2007 Raffo was selected as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes SEC Coach of the Year. He is a frequent speaker at baseball clinics and meetings of civic organizations. Most recently Raffo was a featured speaker at the American Baseball Coaches Association national convention in Philadelphia, Pa.
Raffo, 40, is married to the former Paula Hawkins of Calhoun City, Miss., and they are the parents of two daughters, Claudia Elizabeth, 11, and Anna Winifred, 9 and a son, Thomas Hanniford, born in July 2007.
Playing Career- Four-year letterman (1987-90) for Mississippi State
- Two-time, All-America and All-SEC first baseman
- Ranks among MSU's top 10 in several offensive categories
- Two-time GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America selection
- Also played four seasons in the minor leagues, including two years in the Cincinnati Reds organization
Coaching Career
- 1994-97: Volunteer Assistant Coach: Mississippi State
- 1998-present: Assistant Coach, Mississippi State University
