Robert George Del Greco (April 7, 1933 – October 13, 2019) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for six teams during the 1950s and 1960s, including the Pittsburgh Pirates (1952 and 1956),

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

(1956), Chicago Cubs (1957),

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

(1957–58), Philadelphia Phillies (1960–61, 1965), and

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...

(1961–63). He threw and batted

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

; Del Greco stood tall and weighed , during his playing days. Del Greco grew up in Pittsburgh's Hill District and was signed by the hometown Pirates. They traded him to the Cardinals on May 17, 1956, in a deal that brought center fielder

Bill Virdon William Charles Virdon (June 9, 1931 – November 23, 2021) was an American professional baseball outfielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). Virdon played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates from 195 ...

to Pittsburgh. After spending most of 1957 with the seventh-place Cubs and in Triple-A, Del Greco was acquired by the pennant-winning Yankees, on September 10. He was a light-hitting, speedy, and defensively-sound player. The Yankees used him to fill in for

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Commerce Comet" and "the Mick", was an American professional baseball player. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

in the late innings, but Del Greco did not appear in the

1957 World Series The 1957 World Series featured the defending champion New York Yankees of the American League playing against the Milwaukee Braves of the National League. After finishing just one game behind the N.L. Champion Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956, the Brave ...

, won by the Milwaukee Braves in seven games. He was the regular center fielder for the A's from July 1961 through 1963, hitting a composite .233 in 327 games played. After a minor-league stint in 1964, Del Greco played his last MLB game for the Phillies, in May 1965 and retired from baseball after the 1966 campaign. In nine major league seasons Del Greco played in 731 games, with 1,982 at bats, 271 runs, 454 hits, 95 doubles, 11 triples, 42 home runs, 169 RBI, 16 stolen bases, 271 walks, a .229 batting average, a .330 on-base percentage, a .352 slugging percentage, 697 total bases, and 29 sacrifice hits. Del Greco died October 13, 2019. On October 29, 2022, Del Greco was posthumously inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Del Greco, Bobby 1933 births 2019 deaths Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players from Pittsburgh Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chicago Cubs players Kansas City Athletics players Hollywood Stars players Hutchinson Elks players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball center fielders Montreal Royals players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players New York Yankees players Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsburgh Pirates players Richmond Virginians (minor league) players St. Louis Cardinals players Salisbury Pirates players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Williamsport Grays players