Joe Pignatano

Joseph Benjamin Pignatano (born August 4, 1929), nicknamed "Piggy", is a retired American professional baseball player and coach. The former catcher appeared in 307 games played in the Major Leagues during all or part of six seasons (1957–62) for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers (1957–60), Kansas City Athletics (1961), San Francisco Giants (1962) and New York Mets (1962). He threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighed 180 pounds (82 kg). He is a native and lifelong resident of Brooklyn, New York. He signed with his hometown Dodgers in 1948, and spent almost seven full seasons (interrupted by two years of military service) in their farm system before three brief auditions with the 1957 big-league team.

Playing career

On Tuesday, September 24, 1957, Pignatano was behind the plate during the final five innings of the Brooklyn Dodgers' last home game, played at Ebbets Field against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He relieved starting catcher (and future Baseball Hall of Famer) Roy Campanella in the top of the fifth inning with the Dodgers leading 2–0 and helped guide pitcher Danny McDevitt to a complete game shutout victory.^[1] The Dodgers played their final three games in 1957 on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies, then moved to Los Angeles during the off-season.

In January 1958, Campanella was tragically paralyzed in a car accident, and John Roseboro succeeded him as the Dodgers' starting catcher. Pignatano was Roseboro's backup in both 1958–59 and the third-string Dodger receiver in 1960. He hit a career-high nine home runs in 1958 and played a key role in the Dodgers' late-season 1959 pennant drive, which ended in a flat-footed tie between the Dodgers and Milwaukee Braves. In the flag-clinching Game 2 of the National League playoff series, Pignatano entered the contest as a pinch runner for Norm Larker in the ninth inning, then took over as catcher in the tenth, replacing Roseboro. In the 12th, with two out and Gil Hodges on base, Pignatano singled off Bob Rush to keep the inning alive and send Hodges to second. The next hitter, Carl Furillo, delivered the game- and pennant-winning run on an infield hit and an error by Braves' shortstop Félix Mantilla.^[2] Pignatano then appeared in one inning as a defensive replacement (in Game 5) of the 1959 World Series^[3] and earned a world championship ring when the Dodgers prevailed over the Chicago White Sox in six games.

Pignatano was a semi-regular for the 1961 Athletics, splitting the catching duties with Haywood Sullivan, but offensive struggles limited his MLB playing time. He hit above .240 only once (with the 1961 A's) and batted .234 lifetime with 161 hits, 25 doubles, four triples and 16 home runs. His career OPS was .683. In his last MLB at bat, for the 1962 Mets on September 30, he bounced into a 4–3–6 triple play.^[4]^[5]

As a coach

After his 15-year professional playing career ended in 1964, Pignatano was a coach for the Washington Senators (1965–67), New York Mets (1968–81) and Atlanta Braves (1982–84), working under Hodges from 1965–71 and earning a second World Series ring with the 1969 "Miracle Mets." During his years as the Mets' bullpen coach, Pignatano cultivated a vegetable garden in the bullpen.^[6] He's also related to two other former Met players, pitchers Pete Falcone and John Franco, a cousin.

References

↑ Retrosheet: 1957-9-24 box score
↑ Retrosheet: 1959-9-29 box score
↑ Retrosheet: 1959-10-6 box score
↑ Nash, Bruce (1989). Baseball Hall of Shame. Allan Zullo. Simon and Schuster. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-671-68766-3.
↑ Retrosheet: 1962-9-30 box score
↑ Shamsky, Art; Zeman, Barry; Costas, Bob; Namath, Joe; Seaver, Tom; Bradley, Bill (2006). The Magnificent Seasons. Macmillan. p. 118. ISBN 0-312-33253-X. Retrieved 2011-10-31.

External links

Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics

Preceded by Danny O'Connell	Washington Senators first base coach 1965–1967	Succeeded by Nellie Fox
Preceded by Sheriff Robinson	New York Mets bullpen coach 1968–1981	Succeeded by n/a
Preceded by John Sullivan	Atlanta Braves bullpen coach 1982–1984	Succeeded by Brian Snitker

Los Angeles Dodgers 1959 World Series Champions

2 Don Demeter 4 Duke Snider 5 Norm Larker 6 Carl Furillo 8 Ron Fairly 9 Wally Moon 14 Gil Hodges 16 Danny McDevitt 19 Jim Gilliam 20 Rip Repulski 22 Johnny Podres 23 Don Zimmer 29 Chuck Essegian 30 Maury Wills 32 Sandy Koufax 35 Johnny Klippstein 38 Roger Craig 40 Stan Williams 41 Clem Labine 43 Charlie Neal 44 Johnny Roseboro 45 Chuck Churn 51 Larry Sherry (World Series MVP) 53 Don Drysdale 58 Joe Pignatano

Manager 24 Walter Alston Coaches 1 Pee Wee Reese 7 Chuck Dressen 31 Greg Mulleavy 33 Joe Becker

Regular season

New York Mets 1969 World Series Champions

1 Bobby Pfeil 3 Bud Harrelson 4 Ron Swoboda 5 Ed Charles 6 Al Weis 7 Ed Kranepool 9 J. C. Martin 10 Duffy Dyer 11 Wayne Garrett 12 Ken Boswell 15 Jerry Grote 17 Rod Gaspar 20 Tommie Agee 21 Cleon Jones 22 Donn Clendenon (World Series MVP) 24 Art Shamsky 27 Don Cardwell 30 Nolan Ryan 31 Jack DiLauro 34 Cal Koonce 36 Jerry Koosman 39 Gary Gentry 41 Tom Seaver 42 Ron Taylor 43 Jim McAndrew 45 Tug McGraw

Manager 14 Gil Hodges Coaches 8 Yogi Berra 52 Joe Pignatano 54 Rube Walker 53 Eddie Yost

Regular season National League Championship Series

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