John Joseph Amalfitano (born January 23, 1934) is a former utility

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played a combined ten seasons with the New York and San Francisco Giants (1954–55; 1960–61; 1963),

Houston Colt .45s 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 s ...

(1962) and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

(1964–67), and managed the Cubs from

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

– 81. Amalfitano was the Los Angeles Dodgers' third-base coach for sixteen years (

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

– 98), which included the

1988 World Series The 1988 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1988 season. The 85th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Oakland Athletics and the Na ...

championship. After serving as a special assistant for player development for the Giants, primarily working in the club's

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

, the team announced in January 2021 that Amalfitano would retire just shy of his 87th birthday on January 23 after 30 years and five different terms.

Playing career

A native of San Pedro, California, Amalfitano attended Saint Anthony High School in Long Beach,

Loyola University of Los Angeles Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit and Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near P ...

, and the University of Southern California. Because he signed a " bonus contract" when he became a professional player in , Amalfitano spent the first two years of his pro career sitting on the bench of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

under the terms of the rule then in force. But after four years in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

, he returned to the National League in and played through the middle of for the Giants,

and

. Amalfitano, a right-handed hitter and thrower, stood tall and weighed . In 642 MLB

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

, he batted .244 in 1,715

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s with 418

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and nine home runs.

Managerial/coaching career

After playing his final game on June 27, 1967, Amalfitano became a coach for the Cubs, serving under his first-ever manager, Leo Durocher. He moved back to the Giants as a coach in , then to the San Diego Padres from – 77, before rejoining the Cubs as a member of Herman Franks' staff in – 79. Amalfitano served as Chicago's interim manager after Franks' resignation in September 1979, compiling a record of 2–5 to finish the season. That autumn, the Cubs appointed Preston Gómez manager, with Amalfitano retained as a coach. But when Chicago started the campaign poorly under Gómez, winning only 38 of its first 90 games, he was fired July 25 and Amalfitano was named his permanent successor. The Cubs won only 26 games, losing 46, to remain in the basement of the

National League East Division The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. The division was created when the National Leag ...

, but Amalfitano was allowed to return for . During that strike-shortened, split-season campaign, his team won a total of 38 games, losing 65, finishing last and next-to-last with the worst overall record in the division. At season's end, he was fired during a general housecleaning of the Chicago front office. Amalfitano's career record as a manager, over all or parts of three seasons with the Cubs, was 66–116 (.363). He remained active in baseball, returning to coaching with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

() and then spending 16 seasons as the third base coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1983–98). He then was a consultant with the Dodgers' baseball operations department and worked with

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

s in his original organization, the Giants, before assuming his current position with them. His primary role has been to instruct the Giants' minor leaguers on baseball fundamentals, especially

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.Kaplan, Thomas. "Coach Devotes Himself to Game's Most Selfless Play", ''The New York Times'', Sunday, August 29, 2010.
/ref>

References

External links

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Amalfitano, Joey 1934 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American people of Italian descent Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from California Chicago Cubs coaches Chicago Cubs managers Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds coaches Dallas Eagles players Houston Colt .45s players Johnstown Johnnies players Los Angeles Dodgers coaches Loyola Marymount Lions baseball players Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball third base coaches Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players New York Giants (NL) players People from San Pedro, Los Angeles Phoenix Giants players San Diego Padres coaches San Francisco Giants coaches San Francisco Giants players Tacoma Cubs players Tacoma Giants players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players