Former MLB Pitcher Jeff D’Amico Gets a New Start Thanks to SPC

7/14/2026

One fact was missing from the back of Pinellas County phenom Jeff D’Amico’s rookie baseball card when he became a first-round pick for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1993.

SPC Alum and former slugger Jeff D’Amico

In addition to his extraordinary pitching prowess at Northeast High School, and the perfect game he tossed with scouts watching in his senior-season opener for the Vikings, D’Amico was such a math whiz that he also had his choice of attending such prestigious institutions as Georgia Tech and Stanford University. Significantly, that would one day become a bridge between baseball and a new profession made possible by St. Petersburg College.

“I was always a good student, especially in math, science and technology subjects,” he said. “But baseball was my dream, and when I was called up, I was actually the youngest guy in the majors for a while, and there was a lot of hype about me being one of the top prospects in the big leagues.”

D’Amico towered over hitters with his 6-foot-7, 250-pound frame. He wound up playing for eight seasons for four teams — with the Brewers, Mets, Pirates and Indians — posting his best season in 2000 with a 12-7 record and 2.66 ERA. But the game also threw him a series of nasty curveballs.

He was plagued by elbow, shoulder and arm injuries, forcing him to miss the entire 1998 campaign with Milwaukee. By 2004, his passion for baseball had waned. That, coupled with a desire to spend more time with his growing family, led him to retire and seek a new start. His natural smarts with numbers led to a brief career as a financial planner, allowing him to be home and involved with his three young children’s lives.

But after some seven years, life took another turn — first with a divorce and then a desire to find a new occupational challenge. By 2021, he faced the reality that there was only one way to enhance his prospects for another career. The one-time hurler, who faced off against many of the best hitters in baseball for a decade, went back to school.

He knew all about SPC as a Pinellas native who had attended the Canterbury School in St. Petersburg — or at least he assumed he did.

“I thought I was very familiar with the school, but I was wrong,” he said. “I grew up being aware of the school when it was a junior college, but let me say that I was completely blown away by St. Petersburg College when I enrolled in 2021. I’m very grateful to St. Pete College for making this opportunity possible. What I’m doing would not be an option without a degree.

“The resources, the assistance and the facilities are tremendous. The people are there to help you. And there’s so much flexibility, which really benefits people like me making a pivot for career advancement – taking hybrid classes, online classes or weekend courses. They do all they can to make everything available to their students.”

After earning his Associate in Arts, D’Amico received his Bachelor of Applied Science in Technology Development and Management in 2024. And in 2025, he went to work for a Tampa compliance firm, where he now does IT security auditing. “I still have so much to learn, working with many different clients, but I really enjoy it,” he said.

D’Amico’s final MLB stat line says he made 131 career starts. But he has now become an SPC alumnus making a new start. Armed with his degree, the old MLB pitcher is back — and it’s a whole new ballgame.

Armed with his degree, the old MLB pitcher is back — and it’s a whole new ballgame.