Tartabull attended Miami Carol City Senior High School in Miami Gardens, Florida where he played baseball and basketball. As a senior, he was an all-state second baseman. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the third round of the 1980 June Amateur Draft. Tartabull played for the Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies. Originally a shortstop, Tartabull broke into the majors for good in 1986 with the Mariners, who moved him to right field after briefly experimenting with him at second base. He responded by hitting.270 with 25 home runs and 96 runs batted in, but his rookie season was overshadowed by those of Wally Joyner and José Canseco. The Mariners traded him to Kansas City for prospects Scott Bankhead, Mike Kingery, and Steve Shields before the start of the 1987 season, where Tartabull avoided the sophomore jinx, improving to.309/34/101. Although sometimes slowed by injuries, Tartabull had five productive seasons with Kansas City, culminating with an All-Star selection in 1991. Tartabull became a free agent after the 1991 season and signed a deal with the Yankees worth more than $5 million a year, but he never again matched his production in Kansas City. In July 1995 the Yankees traded Tartabull for Rubén Sierra and Jason Beverlin. Following his trade out of New York, Tartabull expressed his disdain for Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, saying that getting out of New York was like having been "released from jail". The Athletics traded him to the White Sox the following winter for Andrew Lorraine and minor leaguer Charles Poe. He had 101 RBI but scored 58 runs, fewer runs than all but one player in history with at least 100 RBI. Tartabull wound down his 14-year career with the Phillies in 1997, appearing in just three games. Tartabull retired following the 1997 season with a career batting average of.273, 262 home runs, and 925 runs batted in.
Personal life
A warrant was issued for Tartabull's arrest on May 12, 2012 after he failed to appear for a 180-day jail sentence, and is on the Most Wanted List for Los Angeles CountyChild Services Department. He has been named the top deadbeat dad in Los Angeles after allegedly failing to pay more than $275,000 in child support for his two sons. Tartabull was arrested July 24, 2017 on suspicion of unpaid child support after he called police to report his car was broken into.
Other media
During the 1994-95 MLB strike, Tartabull and a handful of other striking players appeared as themselves in the November 27, 1994 episode of Married With Children Tartabull made a cameo appearance on TV sitcom Seinfeld as himself in the episodes "The Chaperone" and "The Pledge Drive".
