Julio Giacomo Bonetti (July 14, 1911 – June 17, 1952) was a right-handed

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 ...

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), ...

for the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

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 ...

. He is one of only seven Italian-born Major League Baseball players in history. Bonetti made his major league debut with the Browns on April 22, 1937. He became a versatile pitcher for the lowly Browns that season, pitching in 12 games out of the bullpen (notching one save) and starting 16 others, seven of which he completed. He managed just a 4–11 record and a 5.84

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

, but his ERA was actually better than the last-place team's average of 6.00. Nevertheless, in 1938 Bonetti pitched exclusively in relief, going 2–3 with a 6.35 ERA in 17 games. His contract was purchased by the Cubs in February 1939, and after some time in the minors, Bonetti worked his way onto the Cubs roster in April 1940. Unfortunately, his Cub debut, which came three years to the day after his major league debut, was disastrous. Bonetti allowed three runs on three hits and four walks in just 1 innings for an ERA of 20.25. He never pitched in the major leagues again. Bonetti died June 17, 1952, in

Belmont, California Belmont is a city in San Mateo County in the U.S. state of California. It is in the San Francisco Bay Area, on the San Francisco Peninsula about halfway between San Francisco and San Jose. Known for its wooded hills, views of the San Francisco ...

, after suffering a heart attack.

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1911 births 1952 deaths Chicago Cubs players Des Moines Demons players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Italy Mission Reds players San Antonio Missions players St. Louis Browns players Sportspeople from Genoa Rock Island Islanders players Toledo Mud Hens players {{baseball-pitcher-stub