John Costa Rizzo (July 30, 1912 – December 4, 1977) was an American

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 ...

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 1938 to 1942. Rizzo set the Pittsburgh Pirates record for most home runs in a season, with 23 in his rookie year of 1938. , Rizzo still holds the Pirates record for most

RBIs A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

in a game, with nine. In 1938, Rizzo's rookie season with the Pirates, he ended the season with a .301 batting average and 111 runs batted in. His 167 hits including 31 doubles, nine triples and 23 home runs.Johnny Rizzo

Baseball-Reference.com Baseball-Reference is a website providing baseball statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history. The site is often used by major media organizations and baseball broadcasters as a source for statistics. It offers a variety of advan ...

. Accessed November 17, 2008. Rizzo set a Pirate record for home runs that lasted until

Ralph Kiner Ralph McPherran Kiner (October 27, 1922 – February 6, 2014) was an American Major League Baseball player and broadcaster. An outfielder, Kiner played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Indians from 1946 through 1955. Foll ...

tied Rizzo with 23 in 1946 and took sole possession with 51 in the 1947 season. No other rookie would break a team single-season home run record until

Pete Alonso Peter Morgan Alonso (born December 7, 1994), nicknamed "Polar Bear" and "Big Meat Pete"," is an American professional baseball first baseman for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut during the 2019 season and br ...

of the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

did so in 2019. Rizzo held the Pirate rookie record with Kiner until

Jason Bay Jason Raymond Bay (born September 20, 1978) is a Canadian-American former professional baseball left fielder. Bay played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and Seattle Marin ...

hit 26 in his first season in 2004. The

Rookie of the Year Award A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

had not yet been established, but Rizzo finished sixth in the balloting for

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 ...

Most Valuable Player in his inaugural season, an award won by

Ernie Lombardi Ernesto Natali Lombardi (April 6, 1908 – September 26, 1977), was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher for the Brooklyn Robins, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Braves, and New York Giants during ...

the Cincinnati Reds. Rizzo was third in the National League in runs batted in, fifth in home runs, sixth in runs scored (with 97) and ninth in hits. Rizzo's batting went into a slump in the 1939 season, which he finished with a .261 average, six home runs and 55 RBI. That season's bright spot was in the second game of a doubleheader against the

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 ...

on May 30, 1939, when he hit nine RBI in a game with two home runs, leading the Pirates to a 14–8 win to salvage a split of the twin bill. Rizzo went five-for-six in the game, helping to singlehandedly erase a seven-run Cardinals lead. The nine RBI by Rizzo set a Pirates single game team record that has not been broken since then. Rizzo continued his slump into the 1940 season, hitting for a .261 average in nine games with the Pirates. He was traded by the Pirates to the Cincinnati Reds on May 8, 1940, in exchange for outfielder

Vince DiMaggio Vincent Paul DiMaggio (September 6, 1912 – October 3, 1986) was an American Major League Baseball center fielder. During a 10-year baseball career, he played for the Boston Bees (1937–1938), Cincinnati Reds (1939–1940), Pittsburgh Pirates ( ...

. Rizzo perked up with the Reds, hitting for a .282 average and four home runs in 31 games with the team. In turn, the Reds traded Rizzo to the Philadelphia Phillies on June 15, 1940, in exchange for outfielder

Morrie Arnovich Morris Arnovich (November 16, 1910 – July 20, 1959) nicknamed "Snooker", was an American baseball player. Arnovich played in Major League Baseball between 1936 and 1946 and played in the World Series winning team in 1940 as a part of the Cinci ...

. Rizzo continued his improvement, hitting .292 with 20 home runs in 103 games over the remainder of the season with the Phillies. Between the three teams, Rizzo finished the 1940 season with a .283 batting average, 24 home runs and 72 RBI. Rizzo finished in third place in the National League for home runs that season. He received three points in voting for the NL's Most Valuable Player that season, enough to tie him for 29th place in the balloting. Rizzo played the entire 1941 season for the Phillies, finishing with a .217 average and four home runs in 99 games. After the season, he was purchased by the Brooklyn Dodgers on December 10, 1941, from Philadelphia. He played 78 games for the Dodgers in the 1942 season, finishing with a .230 batting average and four home runs in 99 games. He played the final game of his Major League career that year on September 25. In 557 games over five seasons, Rizzo posted a .270

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(497-for-1842) with 268 runs, 61 home runs, 289

and 200 bases on balls. Defensively, he recorded a .961 fielding percentage playing at all three outfield positions and several games at third base. Rizzo enlisted as a Seaman in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in December 1942, days before a ban placed by President Roosevelt on such enlistments.Staff
Briefs
''

Time (magazine) ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

'', December 14, 1942. Accessed November 17, 2008.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rizzo, Johnny 1912 births 1977 deaths Major League Baseball outfielders Brooklyn Dodgers players Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsburgh Pirates players Cincinnati Reds players Baseball players from Texas People from Houston United States Navy sailors Minor league baseball managers Galveston Buccaneers players Corpus Christi Seahawks players LaFeria Nighthawks players Muskogee Chiefs players Hutchinson Wheat Shockers players Bartlesville Broncos players Elmira Red Wings players Houston Buffaloes players Columbus Red Birds players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Sacramento Solons players Chattanooga Lookouts players Lakeland Pilots players