Kurt Bevacqua
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Kurt Anthony Bevacqua (; born January 23, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an
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. ...
from 1971 to 1985. Bevacqua is notable for his performance during the
1984 World Series The 1984 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1984 season. The 81st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the Nationa ...
when he hit two
home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
and had a .412 batting average as the San Diego Padres' designated hitter. He also played for the Mayaguez Indians in the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League from 1977 to 1981.


Early years

Bevacqua was originally drafted by the New York Mets in the 32nd round of the 1966 Major League Baseball Draft and the Atlanta Braves in the sixth round of the January secondary phase of the
1967 Major League Baseball Draft The 1967 Major League Baseball draft (or "first-year player draft") recruits amateur baseball players into the American Major League Baseball league. The players selected in 1967 included many talented prospects who later had careers in the profe ...
, but did not sign with either team. After leading Miami Dade College to the FJCC baseball tournament, he finally signed 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 ...
, who selected him in the twelfth round of the secondary phase of the June draft. He was immediately a
utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...
, playing each infield position and the outfield while in the Reds'
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 ...
. He was traded to the Cleveland Indians for outfielder Buddy Bradford on May 8, , and made his big league debut shortly afterwards. Though he batted just .204 his rookie season, his versatility on the field proved valuable to the Indians. He appeared in 55 games, playing second, third, shortstop and both corner outfield positions, and earned the nickname "Dirty Kurt" for routinely having the dirtiest uniform on the team. Bevacqua spent most of the season with the Portland Beavers of the
Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
, where he batted .313 with nine home runs and 72 runs batted in. He returned to the Indians that September, but batted just .114 in nineteen games. After the season, he was traded to the
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
for pitcher
Mike Hedlund Michael David Hedlund (born August 11, 1946) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for six seasons. He played for the Cleveland Indians in 1965 and 1968 and the Kansas City Royals from 1969 to 1972. Cleveland Indians Hedlund was bo ...
.


Major league career


Kansas City Royals

Bevacqua drove in a career high forty runs backing up
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at third base in . After the season, he was traded with
Ed Kirkpatrick Edgar Leon Kirkpatrick (October 8, 1944 – November 15, 2010) was an American professional baseball outfielder and catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1962 through 1977 for the Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles / California Angel ...
and minor leaguer Winston Cole to the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
for Nelson Briles and Fernando González, but after a short, turbulent stay in Pittsburgh, he rejoined the Royals midway through the season.


Milwaukee Brewers

The following Spring, Bevacqua was acquired by the
Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...
as insurance for Don Money at third base, as Money had been experiencing chronic arm problems. Though Money is a third baseman, the highlight of Bevacqua's season came while playing
second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
. During a 4-0 loss to his former team on May 11, , Bevacqua got into an altercation with George Brett at second base causing both benches to clear. His other most memorable moment with the Brewers had even less to do with baseball. He was the 1975 Joe Garagiola/ Bazooka Bubble gum blowing champion, defeating catcher Johnny Oates in the October finals. Topps baseball card #564 in the set attests to this feat. He remained with the Brewers through May of the
1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
season. After which, he was reassigned to the Spokane Indians of the
Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
, where he remained for the rest of the season.


Seattle Mariners

After Major League Baseball announced that it would be going to
expansion Expansion may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine * ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004 * ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970 * ''Expansio ...
for the season, Bevacqua openly admitted that he was looking forward to the opportunity to join an expansion club, though he was still a member of the Brewers' organization. His dream came to fruition on October 22, 1976 when he became the fourth member of the Seattle Mariners, who purchased his contract from the Brewers two weeks before the expansion draft. He arrived at camp that spring to compete for the shortstop job with Craig Reynolds, whom the club had acquired from the Pirates for relief pitcher Grant Jackson. Despite an exceptional
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 ...
in which he batted .467, Bevacqua was released. The team's explanation was that Reynolds proved himself the better fielder, and the club already had too many right-handed bats off the bench. Furious over this decision, Bevacqua toyed with the idea of playing ball in
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, but ultimately decided to sign a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers the day after the season started. Though he never played a regular season game with them, Bevacqua's 1977 Topps card (#317) shows him in a Mariners uniform.


Texas Rangers

Shortly before his release from the Mariners, Bevacqua was arrested near his New Berlin, Wisconsin home for driving without a license. He was given a $160 fine and a ten-day jail sentence, which he was allowed to serve after the season ended. After batting .352 with nine home runs and 76 RBIs for the triple A Tucson Toros in the first half of the 1977 season, Bevacqua was called up to the majors for the second half, and immediately proved himself a valuable addition to the Rangers. He batted .333 with five home runs and 28 RBIs mostly as a pinch hitter. He also disproved Seattle manager Darrell Johnson's assessment that he was a defensive liability as he committed just one error all season while playing five different positions on the field. In , he hit a career-high six home runs. After the season, he,
Bill Fahey William Roger Fahey (FAY-hee) (born June 14, 1950) is a former catcher in professional baseball who played for the Washington Senators / Texas Rangers (–, –), San Diego Padres (–) and Detroit Tigers (–). Fahey batted left-handed and th ...
and disgruntled former Rookie of the Year Mike Hargrove were traded to the San Diego Padres for Oscar Gamble and
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.


San Diego Padres

With the Padres, Bevacqua seemed to have finally found his home. Though he still did not have a regular position, he had a career high 346 plate appearances in filling in at second, third and the outfield. He was batting .268 and on his way to a similar season in when the last place Padres went into rebuilding mode, and dealt Bevacqua to the Pirates for minor league prospects Luis Salazar and Rick Lancellotti. Bevacqua's second tour of duty in Pittsburgh went no better than his first, and he was released by the club after a season and a half in which he was given just 70
at-bats 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 ...
and demoted to triple A during the season. Perhaps the most memorable moment of his second stint with the Pirates occurred in Spring training, when he incited a bench-clearing brawl 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 ...
after Tigers pitcher Howard Bailey hit the Pirates' Bill Robinson in the face with a pitch.


Feuds and brawls

He returned to the Padres in , and remained in San Diego for the rest of his career. Shortly after returning to the Padres, Bevacqua became embroiled in a verbal feud with National League West rival Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda. On June 30, Dodgers pitcher
Tom Niedenfuer Thomas Edward Niedenfuer (born August 13, 1959), is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher. Exclusively a relief pitcher, reliever during his ten-year career, he played his first six-plus seasons for the Los Angeles Dodger ...
hit Joe Lefebvre with the next pitch after giving up a home run to Broderick Perkins to lead off the ninth. Niedenfuer had imploded to blow a save the night before and allow the Padres to come back from a 4–0 deficit in the ninth. Niedenfuer was hit with a $500 fine by Major League Baseball for intentionally hitting Lefebvre. Afterwards, Bevacqua expressed the opinion to local press that "They ought to fine that fat little Italian, too. He ordered it," referring to Lasorda. To which, Lasorda responded with the following: Bevacqua had in fact been batting .231 with two
runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...
, two RBIs and two walks against the Dodgers up to that point in the season. He faced the Dodgers for two more series in September, and went one-for-fifteen. Over his career, he batted .220 with one home run and twelve RBIs against Tommy Lasorda's Dodgers. He was one-for-seven against the Dodgers with Walter Alston as manager. Though he wasn't even in the line-up for the day's game against the Atlanta Braves, he became the centerpiece of an August 11, 1984 brawl. Braves pitcher Pascual Perez hit
Alan Wiggins Alan Anthony Wiggins (February 17, 1958 – January 6, 1991) was an American professional baseball player. He was a second baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and Baltimore Orioles between 1981 and 198 ...
with the very first pitch of the game. Padres pitcher
Ed Whitson Eddie Lee Whitson (born May 19, 1955) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He batted and threw right-handed. Pittsburgh Pirates Whitson was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the sixth round of the 1974 Major League Baseball draft out o ...
responded by pitching inside to Perez when he came to bat in the second inning. Home plate umpire
Steve Rippley Thomas Steven Rippley (born May 2, 1954 in St. Petersburg, Florida) is a former professional baseball umpire. He worked in the National League from 1983 to 1999, and throughout both major leagues from 2000 to 2003. Rippley wore uniform number 2 ...
warned Whitson who threw at him again in the fourth regardless, causing both benches to clear and Whitson and Padres manager
Dick Williams Richard Hirschfeld Williams (May 7, 1929 – July 7, 2011) was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front-office consultant in Major League Baseball. Known especially as a hard-driving, sharp-tongued manager from 1967 to 1 ...
to get ejected. Eventually, Perez was hit by a pitch from
Craig Lefferts Craig Lindsay Lefferts (born September 29, 1957) is a German-American former relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Ranger ...
, causing benches to clear again. The final brawl of the evening occurred in the ninth, when Graig Nettles, who homered in his previous at-bat, was hit by
Donnie Moore Donnie Ray Moore (February 13, 1954 – July 18, 1989) was an American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for the Chicago Cubs (1975, 1977–79), St. Louis Cardinals (1980), Milwaukee Brewers (1981), Atlanta Braves (1982–8 ...
leading off the inning. In total, both managers, both replacement managers, four pitchers and five position players were ejected from the game. After the ninth inning melee, a fan at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium threw a beer at Bevacqua, causing Bevacqua to go into the stands after him. He was restrained by security guards.


1984 World Series

The rebuilding process the Padres began in 1980 culminated with a trip to the 1984 World Series. It was Bevacqua's only trip to the post-season, and though he'd batted just .200 with one home run and nine RBIs over the regular season, Dick Williams used Bevacqua as his designated hitter in three games of the World Series. With the Padres trailing the heavily favored Detroit Tigers, 3–2, in game one of the series, Bevacqua hit a double to lead off the seventh inning. However, rather than having the tying run in scoring position with the heart of the line-up coming up, Bevacqua was out trying to stretch it into a
triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a "treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * In ...
. The Tigers went on to win the game, 3–2, making something of a goat of Bevacqua. Regardless, Williams stuck with Bevacqua for game two of the series, even moving him up from ninth to sixth in the line-up. The Padres were already down, 3–1, to Dan Petry when Bevacqua led off the fourth with a base hit. After moving to third on a Garry Templeton
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, he came around to score on a ground out by Bobby Brown. The score remained 3–2 until the fifth inning, when Bevacqua hit a three-run home run to put the Padres up by the final score of 5–3. He batted a team-high .412 and hit a second home run in the fifth and final game of the series. Terry Kennedy hit the only Padres home run in the World Series other than Bevacqua's two. To this date, the Game 2 win remains the franchise's lone World Series victory.


Retirement

When the Padres released Bevacqua during Spring training , he chose to retire rather than try to catch on with another club. His performance in the 1984 World Series has provided him with an enduring celebrity status in San Diego, which he has used to benefit St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center’s Haute with Heart charity to benefit programs for adults with developmental disabilities among other charities. Bevacqua was also featured on an episode of
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's '' King of the Hill''. In the episode he was a ringer brought in to defeat Strickland Propane's softball team.


Sources


External links

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Baseball Gauge
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Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bevacqua, Kurt 1947 births Living people Asheville Tourists players Baseball players from Miami-Dade County, Florida Cleveland Indians players Florida Instructional League Reds players Indianapolis Indians players Kansas City Royals players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball third basemen Miami Dade College alumni Miami Dade Sharks baseball players Milwaukee Brewers players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Sportspeople from Miami Beach, Florida Pittsburgh Pirates players Portland Beavers players San Diego Padres players Spokane Indians players Tampa Tarpons (1957–1987) players Texas Rangers players Tigres de Aragua players Tucson Toros players Wichita Aeros players People from New Berlin, Wisconsin Sportspeople from Waukesha County, Wisconsin North Miami Senior High School alumni