George Genovese (February 22, 1922 – November 15, 2015) was a
Washington Senators baseball player who played for the team in 1950. He also played in the minor leagues for 15 seasons and managed at that level for over a decade. He was born in
Staten Island, New York
Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...
, United States.
Playing career
Genovese began his major league career on April 29, 1950, appearing as a pinch hitter for pitcher
Ray Scarborough
Rae Wilson Scarborough (July 23, 1917 – July 1, 1982) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Washington Senators (1942–1943 and 1946–1950), Chicago White Sox (1950), Boston Red Sox (1951–52), New York Yankees ( ...
. He would walk against
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
' pitcher
Allie Reynolds
Allie Pierce Reynolds (February 10, 1917 – December 26, 1994) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Reynolds pitched 13 years for the Cleveland Indians (1942–1946) and New York Yankees (1947–1954). Reynolds was nicknam ...
in his first career plate appearance. In his next game, May 5, Genovese pinch hit for pitcher
Mickey Harris
Maurice Charles "Mickey" Harris (January 30, 1917 – April 15, 1971) was an American professional baseball player. He was a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators (1901–60), Washing ...
and grounded out. He pinch ran for catcher
Al Evans
Alfred Hubert Evans (September 28, 1916 – April 6, 1979) was an American Major League Baseball catcher and a Minor League manager. Listed at tall and , Evans batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Kenly, North Carolina.
Basically a co ...
in his third and final game (May 6), scoring a run when
Eddie Yost
Edward Frederick Joseph Yost (October 13, 1926 – October 16, 2012) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played most of his Major League Baseball career as a third baseman for the Washington Senators, then played two ...
doubled him home two batters later.
He played considerably longer in the minor leagues, beginning his career in 1940 and ending it in 1957, at the age of 35. He did not play from 1943 to 1945, as minor league baseball was interrupted due to World War II, a war in which he served. A shortstop in the minors, Genovese played in at least 1,387 games, collecting at least 1,162 hits (of which at least 241 were for extra bases). His minor league record is incomplete, though it is known he spent the final three seasons of his playing career with the
Mexico City Tigers of the
Mexican League
The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country.
The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...
. His brothers,
Frank
Frank or Franks may refer to:
People
* Frank (given name)
* Frank (surname)
* Franks (surname)
* Franks, a medieval Germanic people
* Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang
Curr ...
and Tony Genovese, also played in the minor leagues.
Professional career
Genovese managed the
Batavia Clippers (1952),
St. Jean Canadians (1953),
Hutchinson Elks (1954),
Salinas Packers
Salinas may refer to:
People
*Salinas (surname)
Places
Americas
Latin America
* Salinas (ancient lake), in the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
* Salinas, Minas Gerais, a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil
* Playa Grande, Costa Ri ...
(1954),
Tigres del México (1955–1958),
Artesia Giants (1960) and
El Paso Sun Kings
EL, El or el may refer to:
Religion
* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
People
* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...
(1961–1963). He led the Tigres to a league championship victory in 1955. In 1957 he led them to the league finals, which they lost. In 1962 and 1963 he led the Sun Kings to the
Texas League
The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...
playoffs, which they lost in the first round.
He was later a
scout for the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...
,
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 ...
,
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park.
The franc ...
and
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 ...
.
Covering
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
for the Giants from 1964 through 1995, he played a major role in the signing of about 40 players who eventually made the major leagues, including
Jim Barr
James Leland Barr (born February 10, 1948) is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for the San Francisco Giants (1971–1978, 1982–1983) and California Angels (1979–1980).
...
,
Bobby Bonds,
Jack Clark,
Chili Davis
Charles Theodore "Chili" Davis (born January 17, 1960) is a Jamaican-American former professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder and designated hitter from to for the San Francisco Giants (1981–1987), California Angels (1988–199 ...
,
Rob Deer
Robert George Deer (born September 29, 1960) is an American former professional baseball outfielder.
Early life
Deer attended Canyon High School in Anaheim and Fresno City College. During his tenure with the Milwaukee Brewers, he worked for his ...
,
George Foster,
Eric King,
Dave Kingman
David Arthur Kingman (born December 21, 1948), nicknamed "Kong," "King Kong," and "Sky King", is a former Major League Baseball left fielder, first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter who was a three-time MLB All-Star with 442 career hom ...
,
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, ...
,
Gary Matthews
Gary Nathaniel Matthews Sr. (born July 5, 1950), nicknamed Sarge, is an American former professional baseball left fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through for the San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phill ...
,
Randy Moffitt
Randall James "Randy" Moffitt (born October 13, 1948) is an American athlete. He was a baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays. Born in Long Beach, California, he is the younger brother of tennis star B ...
,
Matt Nokes,
Matt Williams. He also signed future CBS Sportscaster Rich Perez in 86.
George's brother, Frank "Chick" Genovese, was also a successful scout, having signed
Juan Marichal
Juan Antonio Marichal Sánchez (born October 20, 1937), nicknamed "the Dominican Dandy", is a Dominican former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three teams from 1960 to 1975, almost entirely the San Francisco Giant ...
and the three Alou brothers;
Matty,
Felipe, and
Jesús.
Legacy
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) annually conducts the George Genovese Lifetime Achievement Awards.
Genovese was inducted into the
Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame
The Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame mission is "to recognize those individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to Staten Island sports history, and by virtue of their accomplishments, service, or force of character, have enriched tha ...
in 2005.
See also
*
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Genovese, George
2015 deaths
1922 births
Washington Senators (1901–1960) players
Mexican League baseball managers
Minor league baseball managers
Major League Baseball scouts
San Francisco Giants scouts
Miami Marlins scouts
Los Angeles Dodgers scouts
St. Louis Cardinals scouts
Sportspeople from Staten Island
Baseball players from New York City