John Lewis Pacella (born September 15, 1956) is an American 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), ...

pitcher. He became known for his unusual delivery that sometimes caused him to lose his cap after a pitch.

Background

Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Pacella moved to

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in . After going 21-4 in three seasons at

Connetquot High School Connetquot High School (CHS) is a Public school (government funded), public High school (North America), high school serving students from the communities of Bohemia, New York, Bohemia, Oakdale, New York, Oakdale and Ronkonkoma, New York, Ronkonkom ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, he was drafted by 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 ...

in the fourth round of the 1974 Major League Baseball Draft. He was 32-35 with a 3.78

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

over four seasons in their

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 ...

when he was called to the majors in .

Major League career

He made his major league debut out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

on his 21st birthday against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. After retiring the side in the seventh inning, Pacella walked the first batter of the eighth,

Ted Sizemore Ted Crawford Sizemore (born April 15, 1945) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. He was named the National League's Rookie of the Year in . Early life Sizemore was born in Gadsden, Alabama, but moved to Detroit, at the age of two y ...

. A botched

pick off In baseball, a pickoff is an act by a pitcher or catcher, throwing a live ball to a fielder so that the fielder can tag out a baserunner who is either leading off or about to begin stealing the next base. A pickoff attempt occurs when this throw ...

attempt allowed Sizemore to move to second, from where he stole third. An

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

by Mets

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

Doug Flynn Robert Douglas Flynn, Jr. (born April 18, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1975 to 1985 as an infielder for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Montreal Expos a ...

allowed

Ron Reed Ronald Lee Reed (born November 2, 1942) is a former two-sport star who spent two seasons as a power forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) before spending nearly two decades as a Major League Baseball pitcher. Early life and educa ...

to reach first.

Larry Bowa Lawrence Robert Bowa (born December 6, 1945) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB), who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets. Bowa went on to ma ...

then drove Sizemore in with a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, while Reed advanced to third and later scored on

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third stri ...

by Pacella, who escaped without allowing an

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

. He made two more appearances that season, each time pitching one perfect inning. After spending all of in the minors, he returned to the Mets in as a September call-up. After pitching well in his first two appearances, he failed to make it out of the first inning in his third. For the season, he went 0-2 with a 4.41 ERA in four games. His only full season in the majors was . After starting the season in the bullpen, he was moved into the

starting rotation R rabbit ears :Indicates a participant in the game who hears things perhaps too well for their own good. A player who becomes nervous or chokes when opposing players or fans yell at or razz them is said to have rabbit ears. Also, an umpire ...

in June. He earned his first major league win against

Steve Carlton Steven Norman Carlton (born December 22, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher for six different teams from 1965 to 1988, most notably as a member of the Philadelphi ...

and the Phillies on June 27, and improved to 3-0 with a 3.43 ERA on July 17 when he and

Jeff Reardon Jeffrey James Reardon (born October 1, 1955) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1979–1994 with the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta B ...

combined to shut 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 ...

out. Unfortunately, things went south from there as Pacella lost his next four decisions and finished the season at 3-4 with a 5.14 ERA. After the season, he and

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. ...

José Moreno were traded to 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 ...

for

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...

winner Randy Jones. The following spring, the Padres dealt Pacella and

Jerry Mumphrey Jerry Wayne Mumphrey (born September 9, 1952) is an American retired professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals (1974–79), San Diego Padres (1980), New York Yankees (1981–83), Houston Astro ...

to the

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 ...

for

Ruppert Jones Ruppert Sanderson Jones (born March 12, 1955) is a former Major League Baseball center fielder. He was the first player selected in the 1976 Major League Baseball expansion draft by the Seattle Mariners. Kansas City Royals Jones was born in Dall ...

Joe Lefebvre Joseph Henry Lefebvre ( ; born February 22, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played all or parts of six seasons in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees (1980), San Diego Padres (1981–83) and Phila ...

Tim Lollar William Timothy Lollar (born March 17, 1956) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He was born in Missouri to Homer and Betty Jean (nee McHenry) Lollar. Tim was a graduate of Farmington High School in Farmington, Missouri, and Mineral Area Co ...

and

Chris Welsh Christopher Charles Welsh (born April 14, 1955) is an American sportscaster and former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the San Diego Padres, Montreal Expos, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, and Cinci ...

. After spending the season in Triple A, Pacella won a job in the Yankees' bullpen out of

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. He made three appearances, getting hit hard in each, before being reassigned to Triple A Columbus. Shortly after his arrival in Columbus, he was dealt along with

Larry Milbourne Lawrence William Milbourne (born February 14, 1951) is an American former professional baseball utility infielder whose career spanned 15 seasons, 11 of which were spent in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Houston Astros (1974–76), Seattl ...

and

Pete Filson William Peter Filson (born September 28, 1958) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He played during seven seasons at the major league level for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, and Kansas City Royals. Playing car ...

from the Yankees to the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

for

Butch Wynegar Harold Delano "Butch" Wynegar Jr. (born March 14, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player and the current hitting coach for the Bradenton Marauders Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played in Major League ...

and Roger Erickson on May 12, 1982. He reported directly to the Twins, and remained with the club for the rest of the season despite a high 7.32 ERA. On November 1, he was traded to the Texas Rangers for Len Whitehouse. He failed to make the club out of spring training, and was released just as the season was set to begin. During the season, he signed a minor league deal with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. He earned a September call-up to the big league club in September , but was released at the end of the season. Shortly afterwards, he signed with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. He appeared briefly with the Tigers in the middle of the season. During the season, his contract was sold to the

Yokohama Bay Stars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current ...

of the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

Post-playing career

Today, Pacella is a pitching instructor at Big League Baseball School in Ohio.

References

External links

John Pacella
at Ultimate Mets Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Pacella, John 1956 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from New York (state) New York Mets players New York Yankees players Minnesota Twins players Baltimore Orioles players Detroit Tigers players Sportspeople from Brooklyn Baseball players from New York City Nashville Sounds players Marion Mets players Tidewater Tides players Lynchburg Mets players Columbus Clippers players Jackson Mets players Charlotte O's players Wausau Mets players Rochester Red Wings players Toledo Mud Hens players Denver Zephyrs players