Retirement Planners Spotlight: Mike Costanzo

While only playing in 11 games during the team's inaugural 2012 season, Mike Costanzo quickly won the hearts of Pensacola Blue Wahoos fans.
Among long-time fans, his name still resonates.
Costanzo, who will forever be etched in Blue Wahoos history as the franchise's first player to make his major league debut - a breakthrough that occurred on May 13, 2012 with the Cincinnati Reds - is now owner of the Mike Costanzo Agency as a Farmers Insurance company in his hometown of Springfield, Pa.
Costanzo, 35, also created the Costanzo Baseball Experience, a youth baseball training venture in Wayne, Pa., where Costanzo provided personalized training.
He's been an insurance agent for the past four years, following his last season in 2014 with the Louisville Bats, the Cincinnati Reds' Triple-A affiliate.
Costanzo was 28 in his first stint in Pensacola, the oldest among the Blue Wahoos' first-ever opening day roster. His background as a former second-round pick (2005) by the Philadelphia Phillies, his boyhood favorite team, then eight-year journey in the minors with seven different teams, heightened his fan appeal.
Blue Wahoos fans shared his joy a month into the first season when Costanzo attained a long-sought goal in making his major league debut. In those first 11 games in 2012, Costanzo had 10 hits in 30 at-bats (.333 average) along with three homers and 13 RBI.
The Reds called up him from Triple-A Louisville, following an injury to then-veteran infielder Scott Rolen, enabling Costanzo to make Blue Wahoos history as the first MLB player.
Costanzo played in 17 games for the Reds in a three-week period. He had one hit in 18 MLB at-bats, two RBI.
 In 2013, he returned to Pensacola in circuitous path that took him from the Reds, back to Louisville, to the Syracuse Chiefs, then affiliate of the Washington Nationals, who signed him as a free agent in December 2012. The Reds re-signed him in July 2013, after being released by the Nationals organization.
He then played 42 games for the Blue Wahoos in the final two months that season. He batted .261 with four homers and 23 RBI. Off the field, Costanzo was always willing to stop for autographs or participate in team community service events.
After being on and off the injured list with the Louisville Bats in 2014, Costanzo played his final affiliated game that season. He then returned home to Springfield, Pa., located outside of Philadelphia, to begin his business career with the Farmers Insurance agency.