John Francis D'Acquisto (born December 24, 1951) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who played ten seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). 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. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

in the first round of the 1970 MLB Draft out of St. Augustine High School in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

, starting the second game of a doubleheader. D'Acquisto allowed two runs in 4.2 innings and did not get the 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

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

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

(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 four seasons with the Giants, D'Acquisto compiled a record of 18–27 with a 4.68 ERA in 83 appearances (64 starts).

St. Louis Cardinals

D'Acquisto 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

for

Willie Crawford Willie Murphy Crawford (September 7, 1946 – August 27, 2004) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in the major leagues with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1964–1975), St. Louis Cardinals (1976), Houston Astros (1977) and Oak ...

John Curtis John Ream Curtis (born May 10, 1960) is an American politician serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from Utah. A member of the Republican Party, Curtis served from 2017 to 2025 as the U.S. representative for Utah's 3rd congre ...

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

San Diego Padres

D'Acquisto was traded, along with Pat Scanlon, from the

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

to the

for

Butch Metzger Clarence Edward Metzger (born May 23, 1952) is an American professional baseball scout and former pitcher who played five seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Initially drafted by the San Francisco Giants, he played two-and-a-half seasons wit ...

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 four seasons with the Padres, D'Acquisto went 16–21 with a 4.24 ERA in 152 games (26 starts).

Montreal Expos

On August 11, 1980, D'Acquisto was traded to the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

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, p ...

). 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 Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

. 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 or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

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

Atlanta Braves

After his release, D'Acquisto signed with the

and was sent to

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

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 (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

under

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989) 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 Yankees. First known ...

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

D'Acquisto 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

and sent to

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

of the American Association. D'Acquisto retired after arm surgery in 1983. In 1989, D'Acquisto pitched for the Bradenton Explorers and St. Lucie Legends of the

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 finished 5–4 with four 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, which was served concurrently with the term handed down in 1996.

References

External links

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 expatriate baseball players in Mexico American people convicted of money laundering 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 Potros de Tijuana 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