Ralph Alexander Citarella (born February 7, 1958) 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), ...

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 ...

. The right-hander was drafted by 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 ...

in the 1st round (12th pick) of the 1979 amateur draft (Secondary Phase), and he played for the Cardinals (1983–1984) and

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 ...

(1987). On September 13, 1983, Citarella made his

major league debut 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), ...

in relief at

Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Buil ...

. He

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denote ...

the first batter he faced,

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

Tony Peña Antonio Francisco Peña Padilla (; born June 4, 1957) is a Dominican former professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Pirates, Cardinals, Red Sox, Indians, White Sox, and Astros. ...

, in the 7th inning. In 1.2 innings that night he gave up one

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

to Johnny Ray) and one

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 erro ...

, and the Cards lost, 6–0. Citarella was successful in his two short stints with St. Louis, posting

ERAs Eras is a humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Albert Boton and Albert Hollenstein and was released by the International Typeface Corporation (ITC) in 1976. Eras is licensed by the Linotype type foundry. A distinct and curious feature of E ...

of 1.64 and 3.63, but didn't fare as well with the White Sox in 1987. In five appearances, he gave up nine earned runs in eleven innings, including four home runs. He retired in 1988 due to being bounced around in the minors. In three seasons he appeared in a total of 21 games and had a 0–1 record, 2 starts, 0 complete games, and 6

games finished In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game. Mariano Rivera is th ...

. In 44.1 innings pitched he gave up 20 earned runs for an ERA of 4.06, and had a strikeout-to-

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

ratio of 2-to-1. (28 strikeouts and 14 walks) Citarella made his first ever MLB start on June 23rd 1984, a nationally televised NBC Game of the Week at Wrigley Field versus the Chicago Cubs. The high- scoring extra inning affair came to be known as "The Sandberg Game,' who homered twice to tie the game late against Bruce Sutter. In 2006, Ralph Citarella became the Athletic Relations Liaison for the Habana Joe Trading Company, for its Dock to Dine Men's clothing line.Habana Co. Ralph Citarella Named Athletic Relations Liaison
From 2012 to 2013, Citarella served as the pitching coach for the

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

based

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

of the independent

Can-Am League The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional, independent baseball league with teams in the Northeast United States and Eastern Canada, founded in 2005 as a reorganization ...

References

Baker, Chris (July 12, 1984). "Sandberg takes Cubs with him on a ride to the top". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (Los Angeles Times). p. 5B.

External links

, o
Retrosheet
or
Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Citarella, Ralph 1958 births Living people Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players from New Jersey Chicago White Sox players Eastern Florida State College people El Paso Diablos players Florida Southern Moccasins baseball players Fresno Suns players Gastonia Cardinals players Hawaii Islanders players Johnson City Cardinals players Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball pitchers Minor league baseball coaches Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Sportspeople from East Orange, New Jersey Portland Beavers players Springfield Redbirds players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Tacoma Tigers players Tigres de Aragua players