Ex-Major League Baseball Player Tops Child Support “Most Wanted” List

Danny Tartabull was a 1991 Major League Baseball All-Star, but LA County officials say he struck out when it came to child support

By Dan Stamm • •

A former Major League Baseball player is the “most wanted” deadbeat dad in Los Angeles County.

Danny Tartabull, who played for the Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees before brief stints in Oakland, Chicago and Philadelphia, tops Los Angeles County’s “Most Wanted List” of non-custodial parents who owe thousands in back child support.

Tartabull, who also became a household name beyond baseball after appearing in a couple of "Seinfeld" episodes, owes more than $276,000 in back child support for his two sons, according to the Los Angeles Count Child Support Services Department.

Tartabull, a native of Puerto Rico who is now 50, pleaded no contest for failing to support his sons in 2011. When he failed to comply with the terms of his probation, Tartabull was ordered to serve a 180-day jail sentence, according to the county agency.

An arrest warrant for failure to appear was issued and ever since, the former All-Star has been on the run, according to authorities.

Tartabull played in just three games for the Phillies (making just 11 plate appearances with zero hits) before getting injured -- but that was after he signed a $2-million contract with the team. The deal is wildly regarded as one of the worst in Phillies history but made up only a small fraction of the nearly $33 million Tartabull earned over his 14 Major League seasons.

NBC10 attempted to reach a representative for Tartabull but a spokesperson for the booking company Athlete Promotions, which lists him for potential appearances on their website, said the company does not have any contact with Tartabull and that he hasn’t been booked for anything in some time.

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The sons to which Tartabull owes child support are Zach, a former high school football star who now models, and high school football standout Quintin, according to various published reports.

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