Frank Joseph LaCorte ( ; born October 13, 1951) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

player who pitched 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) from 1975–1984 for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

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 ...

, and

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. A

right-hander 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 ...

, he stood tall and weighed .

Early career

LaCorte attended

Gilroy High School Gilroy High School is a co-educational public school located in Gilroy, California, that serves the city of Gilroy. A part of the Gilroy Unified School District, is one of two public comprehensive high schools in the city and has an approximate ...

then

Gavilan College Gavilan College is a public community college in Santa Clara County, California. History The college was established in 1919 as the San Benito County Junior College. It operated as such until 1963, when a new community college district was draw ...

and was signed by the Braves as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 1972. He broke into the Majors late in his third professional season, and would play all or part of ten years in the MLB. Initially a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

, LaCorte hurled for the perennially struggling late-1970s Braves for the first 44

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although except ...

of his MLB career. He won only four of 28 decisions (.143) and compiled a poor 6.23

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 179

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

during his tenure with the Braves.

Effective member of Astros' bullpen

On May 25, 1979, he was traded to Houston (for pitcher

Bo McLaughlin Michael Duane "Bo" McLaughlin (born October 23, 1953) is a former baseball relief pitcher Major League Baseball relief pitcher from 1976 to 1982 for the Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves, and Oakland Athletics. McLaughlin is best known for being h ...

) and eventually established himself with the Astros as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

. LaCorte was a member of the

National League West Division The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a re ...

champion Astros. Along with

Joe Sambito Joseph Charles Sambito (born June 28, 1952) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Houston Astros (1976–1982, 1984), New York Mets (1985) and Boston Red Sox (1986–1987). He batted and threw left-handed. Early life H ...

and Dave Smith, he was an integral part of the club's successful bullpen. His statistics from the 1980 season were his career best in wins (8), ERA (2.82), games pitched (55),

games finished In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game. Mariano Rivera is th ...

(44), and saves (11). He appeared in two games in relief in the

1980 National League Championship Series The 1980 National League Championship Series was played between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Houston Astros from October 7 to 12. It was the 12th NLCS. Philadelphia won the series three games to two to advance to the World Series. It was t ...

, and was the

winner Winner(s) or The Winner(s) may refer to: * Champion, the victor in a game or contest *The successful social class in winner and loser culture Film * ''The Winner'' (1926 film), an American silent film starring Billy Sullivan * ''The Winner'' ...

in Game 2's 7–4 Houston win. However, in the deciding fifth game, LaCorte gave up doubles to

Del Unser Delbert Bernard Unser (born December 9, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder and utility player from to , most prominently with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he was a ...

and

Garry Maddox Garry Lee Maddox (born September 1, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and business entrepreneur. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from to . Maddox began his career with the San Francisco Giants but, ...

in the tenth inning, as the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

broke a 7–7 deadlock to win their first

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

title in 30 years. During a May 26, 1982, game against 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 ...

, LaCorte walked a batter with the

bases loaded B backdoor breaking ball :A breaking pitch, usually a slider, curveball, or cut fastball that, due to its lateral motion, passes through a small part of the strike zone on the outside edge of the plate after seeming as if it would miss the p ...

. He was so angry that he burned his uniform when he returned to the clubhouse. During his Major League career, LaCorte appeared in 253 total games — only 32 as a starting pitcher — and allowed 457

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and 258 bases on balls in 490 innings pitched. He notched 372

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s and 26 saves to go along with his 23 Major-League wins. He retired from professional baseball after the season.

Post-baseball career

Upon his retirement, LaCorte moved back to

Gilroy, California Gilroy is a city in Northern California's Santa Clara County, south of Morgan Hill and north of San Benito County. Gilroy is the southernmost city in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a population of 56,766 as of the 2019 U.S. Census Projection ...

, where he was raised, and purchased a tow truck business named Marx Towing. His wife is a former beauty pageant queen. They have been married for more than 40 years and have two grown children. On December 3, 1985, LaCorte was driving in Gilroy and hit Anne Swift (age 88) and Alice Denhard (age 68) with his car while they were crossing the street in a crosswalk. Anne Swift died on January 15, 1986. LaCorte pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter, and was sentenced to a $1,700 fine, 200 hours of community service, and 3 years probation.''Names in the News, Los Angeles Times, December 20, 1985''
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacorte, Frank 1951 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from California California Angels players Charleston Charlies players Edmonton Trappers players Gavilan Rams baseball players Greenwood Braves players Houston Astros players Major League Baseball pitchers People from Gilroy, California Richmond Braves players Savannah Braves players Gilroy High School alumni Gavilan College alumni