Al Ferrara | |
---|---|
Outfielder | |
Born: Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | December 22, 1939|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
July 30, 1963, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 1, 1971, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .259 |
Home runs | 51 |
Runs batted in | 198 |
Teams | |
Alfred John Ferrara Jr. (born December 22,1939),nicknamed "The Bull",is a retired Major League Baseball player who played from 1963 to 1971.
Alfred Ferrara Jr. was born on December 22,1939,in Brooklyn,New York to Al Ferrara Sr. and his wife Adele. Al Sr. was a New York City fireman for 20 years who later was an air conditioning technician for Chase Bank before working the gate at Jackie Gleason’s Inverrary Country Club in Florida in his retirement. Adele Ferrara,a homemaker,died when Al Jr. was 17,leaving her mother,Assunta Paulucci,in charge of Al and his twin siblings Frank and Theodora,who were 12 at the time. [1] As a youth he was also an accomplished piano player. “I never wanted to play the piano,I wanted to play baseball,”Ferrara said. “But a first-generation Italian woman like my grandmother didn’t know anything about baseball,so I had to play the piano,starting at age eight. I learned the classics. Mr. Morvillo insisted that I read music and play the pieces as they were written by Beethoven and Bach. I got pretty good and I learned to use piano to do what I wanted to do. I had a deal with my grandmother that after playing for an hour she would give me a quarter to go to the Bat Away at Coney Island. In those days you could hit about 25 balls for a quarter. After a while I got a reputation as a pretty good hitter and men would come around when I was hitting and put more quarters in the machine so I could hit for maybe a half-hour. Finally,I got my grandmother to agree that if I were to become Mr. Morvillo’s number one student I could give up piano and play baseball. He would have showcase recitals at Carnegie Hall,and the number one student would play last. When I was 16,I went on last as the number one student,kissed my grandmother,and never touched the piano again.” [1] Ferrara attended Lafayette High School (New York City) where he was a high school classmate of Bob Aspromonte and played sandlot baseball with Joe Torre and Joe Pepitone. The summer of 1957 was a turning point for Ferrara. He did well enough for the amateur traveling team Dodger Rookies that Dodgers' scout Buck Lai,who was also the athletic director at Long Island University,arranged for Ferrara to get a baseball scholarship to LIU. After a successful season there,he signed a $9,000 bonus contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1958. [1]
He made his major league debut at age 23 on July 23,1963,in a 5-1 Dodgers' loss to the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium. His first hit was in his third game,off Dick Ellsworth. His first homer the next day,off Bob Buhl,was one of three hit by the Dodgers in the fifth inning of a 5-4 loss to the Cubs.
He did not play in the 1963 World Series. He came up again in 1965 for 41 games but again saw no action in the 1965 World Series.
In 1966,he had one of his best seasons. He played in 63 games with 129 plate appearances,hitting .270,and playing in the 1966 World Series,in which he had one hit in one at bat,a pinch-hit single in the ninth inning of Game 4 off of Dave McNally.
In 1967 he had his most productive season to-date. In 384 plate appearances,he hit 16 home runs (a career high) with 50 runs batted in and a .277 average. [2] He was voted Dodger of the Year. “I was young,fun and wacky,and I had L.A. in my hands,”he said. Ferrara appeared on episodes of Gilligan’s Island and Batman through connections with fans in show business and through former teammate Lee Walls,who had become a talent agent. “That all came from being a player. I wasn’t willing to put in the effort to pursue a real acting career.” [1]
He played in only two games in 1968. In the Dodgers' second game of the season,he was chasing down a line drive to the outfield by the Mets' Tommie Agee when he caught a spike in a sprinkler and broke his ankle,ending his season and his Dodgers' career. [1]
He was picked by the San Diego Padres in the 1969 expansion draft,becoming one of the original Padres in 1969. In 1969,he hit .260 with 14 home runs and 56 RBIs,and followed that up with another good season in 1970,hitting .277 with 13 home runs and 51 RBIs.
In 1971,after playing 17 games with the Padres,he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds,appearing in 32 games almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter. His final major league game was on September 1,1971. [2]
In 1974 Ferrara appeared as a contestant on Match Game '74 ,listing his profession as a "freelance piano buyer." Ferrara played to a zero-zero tie against defending champion Marlena Crews;Crews won the game 1–0 in a tiebreaker match.
After leaving baseball,he spent four years as a greeter at the Martoni Marquis on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles before going into sales for various home-improvement companies,eventually starting his own company,Major League Construction. That work lasted 30 years;Ferrara sold his business and retired in 2005 at age 65. Then,the recession of 2008 occurred and Ferrara lost about a quarter of his retirement savings. “Going back into sales or getting a job would have been rough at my age,so I decided to go back home . . . and called the Dodgers.”
The Dodgers put Ferrara to work in their community relations department in July 2009. He visits elementary schools and reads Dr. Seuss books to the kids;he cautions teens about the evils of alcohol,tobacco and drugs;and he entertains guests at some Dodger home games. He lives with his companion of over 35 years,Kay Donno. [1]
Ferrara was previously married twice,once at age 20 and again at age 30. He has a son,Al Ferrara III of West Islip,New York,a daughter-in-law Maureen,and two grandchildren,Alfred IV and Samantha. [1]
Matthew Wade Stairs is a Canadian former professional baseball outfielder,first baseman,and designated hitter,who holds the record for most pinch-hit home runs in Major League Baseball (MLB) history with 23. His pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning of Game 4 in the 2008 National League Championship Series off the Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Jonathan Broxton was called "one of the most memorable home runs in Phillies history".
Frank Oliver Howard,nicknamed "Hondo","the Washington Monument" and "the Capital Punisher",was an American professional baseball player,coach,and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his career for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Senators/Texas Rangers franchises. One of the most physically intimidating players in the sport,Howard was 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) tall and weighed between 275 and 295 pounds,according to former Senators/Rangers trainer Bill Zeigler.
David Ray Roberts,nicknamed "Doc",is a Japanese-American professional baseball manager and former outfielder who is the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for five MLB teams over a ten-year career and then coached for the San Diego Padres before being named Dodgers manager in 2016. Although he played for the Boston Red Sox for only part of one season,his most notable achievement as a player was a key stolen base in the 2004 American League Championship Series that extended the Red Sox's postseason,which culminated in a championship in the 2004 World Series. Roberts batted and threw left-handed.
Willie Murphy Crawford 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 Oakland Athletics (1977). Crawford was born in Los Angeles,California. He batted and threw left-handed,and was the father of UCLA football player Willie Crawford who graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1988.
Christopher Karlton Gwynn is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. He is the younger brother of Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn and the uncle of former Major League Baseball outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr.
Gerald Wayne Grote is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1963 through 1981,most prominently as a member of the New York Mets where he was a two-time All-Star player and was a member of the team that became known as the Miracle Mets for their upset victory over the powerful Baltimore Orioles in the 1969 World Series. Grote was considered to be one of the best defensive catchers of his era.
William Shawn Wooten is the assistant major league hitting coach for the Los Angeles Angels. He is a former professional baseball player. He played all or parts of five seasons in Major League Baseball with the Anaheim Angels (2000–03),Philadelphia Phillies (2004),and Boston Red Sox (2005). He bats and throws right-handed.
Alonza Benjamin Bumbry is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder who played for the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres from 1972 through 1985. Bumbry was the 1973 American League Rookie of the Year,and went on to be an All-Star and World Series champion. He is an inductee of the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame and the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. Prior to his major league career,Bumbry served in the US Army during the Vietnam War and was awarded a Bronze Star.
Mark Patrick Sweeney is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who played for several teams from 1995 to 2008. He is best known for his skill as a pinch hitter,where he ranks second in career pinch hits with 175 and first in career pinch hit runs batted in with 102.
Andre Everett Ethier is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2006 to 2017 and is second all-time in post-season appearances as a Dodger with 51.
Herman Thomas Davis Jr. was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder and third baseman from 1959 to 1976 for ten different teams,most prominently for the Los Angeles Dodgers where he was a two-time National League batting champion and was a member of the 1963 World Series winning team.
Kurt Anthony Bevacqua is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder from 1971 to 1985. Bevacqua is notable for his performance during the 1984 World Series when he hit two home runs 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.
Charles Abraham Essegian is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He appeared in 404 games in Major League Baseball (MLB) over six seasons (1958–1963) for the Philadelphia Phillies,St. Louis Cardinals,Los Angeles Dodgers,Baltimore Orioles,Kansas City Athletics and Cleveland Indians. During the 1959 World Series,Essegian,then with the Dodgers,set a Series record with two pinch-hit home runs against the Chicago White Sox. The mark would be matched by Bernie Carbo of the Boston Red Sox,who a hit pair of pinch-hit homers against the Cincinnati Reds in the 1975 Series.
Adrián González Savín,also known by his nicknames "A-Gon" and "Titán",is a Mexican-American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers,San Diego Padres,Boston Red Sox,Los Angeles Dodgers,and New York Mets.
Kenneth Lee McMullen is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. Born in Oxnard,California,he batted and threw right-handed,stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighed 190 pounds (86 kg).
The 1973 Cincinnati Reds season consisted of the Reds winning the National League West with a Major League-best record of 99–63,3+1⁄2 games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers,before losing the NLCS to the New York Mets in five games. The Reds were managed by Sparky Anderson,and played their home games at Riverfront Stadium.
Andrew James Ellis,is an American former professional baseball catcher who is currently a Special Assistant to the General Manager in the front office of the San Diego Padres. Ellis played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers,Philadelphia Phillies,Miami Marlins,and the Padres,before retiring,following the 2018 season.
Yasmani Grandal is a Cuban-born American professional baseball catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres,Los Angeles Dodgers,Milwaukee Brewers,and Chicago White Sox. Grandal is a two-time MLB All-Star.
Manuel Margot Gomez is a Dominican professional baseball center fielder for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays. He made his MLB debut with the Padres in 2016.
Matthew Albert Batten is an American professional baseball infielder for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022.