Vito John Valentinetti (September 16, 1928 – August 5, 2021) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 ...

. His nine-year career included one full season and parts of four others in

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), ...

(MLB) with 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 ...

(1954), Chicago Cubs (1956–57),

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

(1957), Detroit Tigers (1958), and Washington Senators (1958–59).

Biography

Valentinetti was born in

West New York, New Jersey West New York is a town in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, situated upon the New Jersey Palisades. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 52,912. The Census Bureau's Population Estimat ...

. A graduate of

Iona College Iona University is a private Roman Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochelle and a campus of in Bronxville, ...

, he entered pro baseball in 1950 in the White Sox system, and missed two seasons (1952–53) while serving in the military during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Valentinetti made his MLB debut with the White Sox on June 20, 1954, and that was the only game he ever pitched for the team. He surrendered six runs on four hits and two bases on balls in one inning in a 16–6 loss to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. Sent back to the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

, he was acquired by the crosstown Cubs in the 1955 Rule 5 Draft. Valentinetti spent the entire 1956 season with the Cubs, working in 42 games, 40 in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

, and posting a 6–4

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

, 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 ...

and one save. The following season, however, he began to bounce around: between 1957 and 1960, he was a member of four MLB teams, five minor league clubs and seven different organizations. Although he spent part of 1958 in the minors, he pitched in 38 MLB games that season for Detroit and Washington. He made ten starts for the Senators, and notched two complete games. After only seven games in 1959, however, Valentinetti was sent back to the minors at the May cutdown, finishing his career in Triple-A in 1960. In 108 MLB games, including 15 starts, and 257 innings pitched, Valentinetti allowed 266 hits and 122 walks, with 96 strikeouts, three complete games and three saves. Following baseball, Valentinetti worked in construction and in city and state government positions in New York. He died on August 5, 2021, six weeks before his 93rd birthday.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Valentinetti, Vito 1928 births 2021 deaths American people of Italian descent Baseball players from New Jersey Charleston Senators players Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Colorado Springs Sky Sox (WL) players Detroit Tigers players Iona Gaels baseball players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Chickasaws players Miami Marlins (IL) players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players People from West New York, New Jersey Portland Beavers players Sportspeople from Hudson County, New Jersey Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Waterloo White Hawks players Burials at Gate of Heaven Cemetery (Hawthorne, New York)