Cirillo was born in Pasadena, California, to Howard Cirillo and Carol Grant. He has one step-brother, Adam Grant, who played baseball at UCSB. Cirillo attended Providence High School where he excelled in both baseball and basketball. Then, he enrolled at the University of Southern California after receiving little attention from colleges in his high school years. As a Trojan, he started out as a pitcher; however, he was moved to third base later in his college career. He was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity there and graduated with a degree in Communications.
Professional career
Cirillo was drafted in the 11th Round by the Milwaukee Brewers. With the Brewers, Cirillo collected a.300 batting average or better for three seasons, including a career-high.326 in. The same year, he added 198 hits with 15 home runs and 88 RBI. His most productive season came in 2000 with the Colorado Rockies, when he posted career-highs in RBI, runs, and doubles ; finished with 195 hits; and matched his personal-best.326 average. On December 16, 2001, the Rockies traded Cirillo to the Seattle Mariners for Denny Stark, Brian Fuentes, and José Paniagua. Posting the lowest BABIP since his rookie season, he was ineffective with the bat but provided strong defensive contributions while in Seattle, ranked by UZR as the second best third baseman in the American League in 2002. In 2003, he continued to provide above average defense but again posted the lowest BABIP of his career. Cirillo was traded to the San Diego Padres before the season but was inactive most of the year with a wrist injury. He made history by becoming Randy Johnson's 4,000th strikeout victim on June 29, 2004. Rejoining the Milwaukee Brewers in, Cirillo saw a resurgence in his stroke while continuing his solid defense posting wOBA's of.355 in and.344 in. Cirillo signed a one-year contract with the Minnesota Twins in December. He did not finish the season with the Twins and was claimed off waivers by the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 3,. Cirillo stated that he would most certainly retire at the end of the 2007 season. He made the first pitching appearance of his career on August 20, 2007, against Milwaukee. He pitched one inning and gave up two walks and no runs while striking outone player, former Diamondback Craig Counsell. "He's way nastier than I thought he would be," said Bill Hall, who worked one of the walks. "I was shocked when I got up there. He's got a knuckleball, a slider, he was throwing some changeups. Those pitches make 84, 83 look pretty hard. I heard he was a better pitcher in college than he was a hitter." Before the 2007 NLDS, Cirillo held one of baseball's most unwanted records. He had played in 1,617 regular season games but never in the postseason. When his team made the playoffs, the title was passed to Damion Easley of the New York Mets who finished the 2008 season having played 1,706 straight games without a playoff berth.
Post-playing days
On April 2, 2008, it was announced that Cirillo would join FSN Wisconsin as an analyst for Milwaukee Brewers broadcasts. His first appearance was on April 18, 2008. He worked as a pre/post-game show for two years in 2008 and 2011. Cirillo has worked as a part-time scout with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Cirillo was hired by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2012 as a scout. Cirillo is a partner in Pacific Baseball Ventures, LLC, which owns the Walla Walla Sweets and the Yakima Valley Pippins. Both teams play in the West Coast League, a summer collegiate wood-bat league located in Walla Walla, Washington. Cirillo is also an assistant baseball coach for the Bellevue High School baseball team, where he coaches his sons Cole, Carson, and Connor.
Personal life
Cirillo has three sons with his ex-wife Nancy: Cole, Carson, and Connor. The Cirillo family lived in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, during Jeff's time on the Milwaukee Brewers. His son, Cole, played football and basketball, as well as participating in track and field events, at Bellevue High School before graduating in 2016. He now attends the University of Southern California. Carson, a 2018 graduate, played varsity baseball and golf at Bellevue High School, now attending the University of Puget Sound, and Connor, who played basketball and baseball, graduated in 2019 with the intention of attending the University of Southern California as well. Cirillo currently resides in Medina, Washington, and continues to work as an MLB scout with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He hosts a golf tournament in Milwaukee every year and is heavily involved in coaching youth sports and various charities around the United States. In 2013, he jumped out of an airplane for the Milwaukee Air and Water Show to recognize Veterans of Armed Forces.
