Arm trouble hindered Margoneri’s promising pro career
Smithton native Joe Margoneri was like a comet bursting on the Major League Baseball scene and then fading because of arm trouble.
The fireballing lefty honed his baseball skills on the sandlots in Western Pennsylvania.
无毛视频淲e didn无毛视频檛 have baseball at South Huntington Township High School,无毛视频� Margoneri recalled. 无毛视频淚 played sandlot baseball when I was like 16 or 17 years old with older players. We had town and patch teams like Hermanie and Madison, just small coal-mining towns. When I was older, like 18 or 19, I worked for Walter King, who owned coal mines and coke ovens in Scottdale. I drive a truck from the coke ovens and he ran a team and I played for his team.无毛视频�
Margoneri was discovered by the New York Giants and King played a big part in his signing.
无毛视频淧laying for King, it was semi-pro baseball,无毛视频� Margoneri said. 无毛视频淚 got about five or ten bucks here and there. King called a scout for the New York Giants named Nick Shinkoff. I pitched a game on a Friday night and had a good evening and King came to me and said, 无毛视频楥ome over here, a scout wants to see you pitch.无毛视频� I went up on Saturday morning and just threw on the side with a catcher. Shinkoff brought me back home and I signed a contract that day. I sat down with my mom and dad and he gave me two brand-new baseballs and I signed a Class D contract for $200 a month.无毛视频�
At age 20, he led the Wisconsin State League in wins (23) & strike outs (288) at Oshkosh. The 288 strikeouts set a new Wisconsin State League record.
无毛视频淭he first year I set the strikeout record,无毛视频� Margoneri stated. 无毛视频淭he fastball was my bread and butter pitch. They didn无毛视频檛 have a radar gun, but I guess I was throwing in the mid 90无毛视频檚. I had a lot of strikeouts, I threw mostly fastballs and tried to work on a curve and a change up.无毛视频�
After posting a record of 23-4 at Oshkosh, Margoneri jumped to Class B Sunbury in the Interstate League. In 30 games, 28 starts, he went 18-8 and recorded 212 strikeouts.
无毛视频淚 led the league in strikeouts at Sunbury and then the Army got a hold of me,无毛视频� Margoneri said.
Margoneri was drafted into the Army during the Korean War.
He spent the next two seasons (1952-53) stationed at Brooke Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.
无毛视频淚 was fortunate, I stayed state-side. I played baseball down in San Antonio, Texas. It was what they called special service. They had football players, basketball players 无毛视频� all types of athletes down there in one section,无毛视频� he said.
His teammates included some big leaguers.
无毛视频淒on Newcombe and Bobby Brown were down there,无毛视频� Margoneri said. 无毛视频淲e played semi pro teams and the air bases down there around San Antonio. We were really good. Playing in the service kept me sharp.无毛视频�
Margoneri returned to the Giants minor league system after his two years in the service and pitched Double-A Nashville and Triple-A Minneapolis. He was 14-10 for the Nashville Volunteers and 1-0 for the Minneapolis Millers. Margoneri led the Southern Association with 184 strikeouts.
Margoneri pitched for the Navegantes del Magallanes club of the Venezuelan Winter League, and was responsible for the only defeat suffered by the Puerto Rican Cangrejeros de Santurce champion team, 7-2, in the closing game of the 1955 Caribbean Series. Notably, Margoneri hurled a complete game against a powerful lineup that included future Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays, as well as Harry Chiti, Buster Clarkson, George Crowe, Luis Olmo and Don Zimmer.
During this period, the Giants signed him to a four-year contract.
Margoneri was on the Giants radar when he came to spring training in 1955.
In the March 7, 1955 issue of the Long Island Star-Journal, Giants manager Leo Durocher raved about Margoneri无毛视频檚 potential: 无毛视频淚 like everything about the kid. I like his attitude 无毛视频� his poise 无毛视频� his motion 无毛视频� and, above all, his fastball. He无毛视频檚 firin无毛视频� harder than the others because he无毛视频檚 ready. He pitched in one of those winter leagues.无毛视频�
In 1955, Margoneri pitched for the Giants top farm club at Class AAA Minneapolis. He helped lead the team to the 1955 Junior World Series Championship, defeating the Rochester Red Wings of the International League in the best of a seven-game series.
The non-stop pitching was starting to take a toll on Margoneri. He started to develop arm trouble.
无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 when my arm trouble started,无毛视频� Margoneri said. 无毛视频淚 was throwing 150 pitches per game and became a bit wild.无毛视频�
Margoneri was 26 years old when he entered the majors in 1956 with the Giants and was on the team for two years.
His most productive season came in 1956 when he had a 6-6 record with a 3.93 earned run average in a pitching rotation that included Johnny Antonelli (20-13), Rub茅n G贸mez (7-17), Al Worthington (7-14) and Jim Hearn (5-11). The next year he worked almost exclusively as a left-handed specialist out of the bullpen.
无毛视频淲hen I was pitching in 1956 my arm was hurting,无毛视频� Magoneri explained. 无毛视频淚n 1957 it got worse and they sent me to New York, but they couldn无毛视频檛 do anything. I was so wild my early years that I would walk 12, and have 14 strikeouts and two hits. I just blew my arm out.无毛视频�
Margoneri pitched for Triple-A Phoenix in 1958, Double-A San Antonio, Triple-A Toronto and Triple-A Toronto in 1959. He pitched 10 games with Monterey in the Mexican League and two games with Double-A Indianapolis in 1960. Margoneri retired from baseball at the age of 30 after the 1960 season.
In a two-season major league career, Margoneri posted a 7-7 record with a 4.29 ERA in 36 pitching appearances, including 15 starts and three complete games. He gave up 60 earned runs on 132 hits and 70 walks while striking out 67 in 126 innings of work. In nine minor league campaigns, Margoneri compiled a record of 88-52.
After baseball, Margoneri worked from 1962 through 1991 in the corrugated paper business as a supervisor for the International Paper Company and the St. Regis Paper Company in Pittsburgh.
Margoneri, 86, lives in West Newton with his wife of 62 years, Helen. They have five daughters and 13 grandchildren.
无毛视频淚 happy with my career and we had a pretty good life,无毛视频� Margoneri said. 无毛视频淚t was tough on my wife back in those days moving around. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn无毛视频檛 hurt my arm. I see this Tommy John surgery and that无毛视频檚 where mine started in the elbow. Who knows, they might have fixed me and I may have been able to throw 100 miles per hour.无毛视频�
George Von Benko无毛视频檚 无毛视频淢emory Lane无毛视频� column appears in the Monday editions of the 无毛视频-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.