Craig Stephen Minetto (born April 25, 1954) is an American former

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. Minetto pitched in parts of four seasons 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), ...

from 1978 until 1981 for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

Career

Originally drafted by the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

in 1972, and again in the secondary phase in 1973, Minetto did not sign. Instead, he attended

San Joaquin Delta College San Joaquin Delta College (Delta College) is a public community college in Stockton, California. It was founded in 1935 as Stockton Junior College. The college serves a district area that includes all of San Joaquin County and parts of Alameda, ...

for two years. He was then signed as an amateur free agent by the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

in 1974, but he pitched one season in their farm system before being released. Unable to find a job in American baseball, Minetto signed with the

Fortitudo Baseball Bologna Fortitudo Baseball 1953, commonly referred to as Fortitudo Bologna, also known as UnipolSai Bologna for sponsorship reasons, is a baseball club based in Bologna that competes in Serie A1 (baseball), Serie A1, Italy's professional baseball league. ...

, a professional team based in

Bologna, Italy Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

and sponsored by Grappa del Cannonier. He pitched there for a season, and later returned to the United States, where he was signed to a minor league contract by the Athletics before the 1977 season. Minetto went on to pitch in 55 games for Oakland over four seasons, then was traded to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

organization, pitching with their affiliate

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

from 1982 to 1983. In December 1983, he was traded to the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

for

Bobby Sprowl Robert John Sprowl (born April 14, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player who was a pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1981. He played for the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros. Amateur career Sprowl attended Georg ...

and concluded his career at AAA

Tucson Toros The Tucson Toros were a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. The original Toros were a Triple-A minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League from 1969 to 1997, where they won the PCL Championship in ...

in the 1984 season. In between, Minetto played winter ball with the

Tiburones de La Guaira The Tiburones de La Guaira ( en, La Guaira Sharks) are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in the city of La Guaira, they play their home games in Estadio Fórum La Guaira and have won seven national champions ...

club of the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

during the 1978–1979 season.

Sources

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Retrosheet
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Venezuelan Winter League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minetto, Craig 1954 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American people of Italian descent Baseball players from Stockton, California Chattanooga Lookouts players Delta College Mustangs baseball players Fortitudo Baseball Bologna players Gulf Coast Expos players Kinston Expos players Major League Baseball pitchers Modesto A's players Oakland Athletics players Ogden A's players Rochester Red Wings players San Jose Missions players Tacoma Tigers players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tucson Toros players Vancouver Canadians players American expatriate baseball players in Italy