John Francis D'Acquisto (born December 24, 1951) is a former

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), ...

player who pitched for six teams in his ten-year career that spanned from to . He is the cousin of former major league pitcher Lou Marone.

Career

San Francisco Giants

D'Acquisto was drafted by 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 ...

in the 1st round of the

1970 MLB Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1970 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Other notable Selections ''*'' Did not sign References External links Complete draft list from ''The Basebal ...

out of

St. Augustine High School The name St. Augustine High School could refer to: In the United States: * St. Augustine Academy (Lakewood, Ohio) * St. Augustine High School (Laredo, Texas) * St. Augustine High School (New Orleans), Louisiana * St. Augustine High School (San Di ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. He made his Major League debut on September 2, 1973, against 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 ...

, starting the second game of a doubleheader. He allowed 2 runs in 4.2 innings and did not get a decision. He pitched a complete game victory over the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

on September 21 for his first career win while striking out 11. Overall, he was 1–1 with a 3.58 ERA in 7 appearances (3 starts) that year. D'Acquisto was named

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 ...

(NL) Rookie Pitcher of the Year in 1974 when he went 12–14 with a 3.77 ERA for the fifth-place Giants, but he missed most of the next season after elbow surgery. He tied an NL record with three wild pitches in one inning on September 24, 1976. In 4 seasons with the Giants he was 18–27 with a 4.68 ERA in 83 appearances (64 starts).

St. Louis Cardinals

He was traded (with Mike Caldwell and Dave Rader) to 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 ...

for

Willie Crawford Willie Murphy Crawford (September 7, 1946 – August 27, 2004) was a professional baseball outfielder. He played with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1964–1975), St. Louis Cardinals (1976), Houston Astros (1977) and Oakland Athletics (1977) of Major ...

, John Curtis and Vic Harris on October 20, 1976. Due to his being on the disabled list, D'Acquisto only appeared in 3 games with the Cardinals with a 4.32 ERA.

San Diego Padres

He was traded along with Pat Scanlon from the

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

to the

for

Butch Metzger Clarence Edward Metzger (born May 23, 1952) is an American former professional baseball player and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through for the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardin ...

on May 17, 1977. In 1978 he was switched to the bullpen (4–3, 10 saves, 2.13 ERA in 45 appearances). In 1979, D'Acquisto was put back into the rotation and had 51 appearances with a 9–13 record with 134 innings pitched and struck out 97 batters. In 4 seasons with the Padres he was 16–21 with a 4.24 ERA in 152 games (26 starts).

Montreal Expos

On August 11, 1980, he was traded to 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 ...

for a player to be named later (

Randy Bass Randy William Bass (born March 13, 1954) is an American politician and former baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and served in the Oklahoma Senate. Bass made his MLB debut in 1977, a ...

). He made 11 appearances out of the bullpen with the Expos, with a 2.18 ERA.

California Angels

In 1981 D'Acquisto tested the free agent market and signed with the

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 ...

. D'Acquisto did not pitch much with the Angels (6 appearances) during the strike-ridden year and was subsequently sent to the minor leagues in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. He was brought back to the parent team in spring training and then released.

Atlanta Braves

After his release, he signed with the

and was sent to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

AAA International League in 1982. He asked for, and was granted, his release on July 27, 1982.

Oakland Athletics

He signed with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

under

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

and pitched for Oakland for the rest of the 1982 season. D'Acquisto was part of the A's in spring training the next year also but was released on the last day of spring training.

Chicago White Sox

He was picked up by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

and sent to

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. D'Acquisto retired after arm surgery in 1983. In 1989, D'Acquisto pitched for the

Bradenton Explorers The Bradenton Explorers were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in . That season, the club compiled a record of 38-34, finishing in second place in the league's Northern Division, ...

and

St. Lucie Legends The St. Lucie Legends was one of the eight original baseball franchises that played in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989.Senior Professional Baseball Association The Senior Professional Baseball Association, referred to commonly as the ''Senior League'', was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over, with a minimum age of 32 for catchers. The league began play in 1989 and had ei ...

, where he was 5–4 with 4 saves.

Post-playing career

After he retired from baseball, D'Acquisto became a registered investment advisor. In 1996, D'Acquisto was sentenced to five years and three months in prison for trying to pass off a forged $200 million certificate of deposit. D'Acquisto was also indicted in 1998 on charges of defrauding investors of approximately $7 million. As a result, D'Acquisto was sentenced the following year to an additional four years and seven months in prison after he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering.Former Padres pitcher sentenced to 55 months in fraud case
/ref>

References

External links

John D'Acquisto Biography at Baseball Biography

John D'Acquisto at SABR Baseball Biography Project

Artwork by John D'Acquisto
{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Acquisto, John 1951 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American money launderers American sportspeople convicted of crimes Baseball players from San Diego Bradenton Explorers players California Angels players Decatur Commodores players Denver Bears players Fresno Giants players Great Falls Giants players Hawaii Islanders players Major League Baseball pitchers Montreal Expos players Oakland Athletics players Phoenix Giants players Richmond Braves players Salt Lake City Gulls players San Diego Padres players San Francisco Giants players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Lucie Legends players Tacoma Tigers players