The Frank Catalanotto era of NYIT baseball started with a Twitter DM. But first we have to go back to 2010. Catalanotto, who was drafted out of Smithtown High School on Long Island and played 14 years in the majors, spent the last few months of his career with his hometown New York Mets.

There, he met ESPN beat reporter Adam Rubin and followed him on Twitter. By the All-Star break, Catalanotto was out of baseball, retiring with a .291/.357/.445 slash line and $22 million in career earnings. Rubin, meanwhile, was amassing one of the largest followings in sports media with his thorough coverage of Mets minutiae.