Baseball Player Johnny Antonelli Born: Rochester N. Y. on April 12 1930 Boston Braves Pitcher Left-handed 6-ft, 1-inch; weight 180 Won 3 and lost 7 in 1949. Nine major League scouts once came to see Johnny Antonelli pitch a high school game. He obliged by hurling a no-hitter and striking out 17 batters. In high school he pitched 3 no-hitters and 5 1-hitters, striking out 231 batters in 103 innings, giving up only 36 hits. Antonelli was one of the first 'bonus babies' when he was signed by the Boston Braves in 1948 for $65,000. He pitched mostly in relief before entering the U.S. Military - 1951-52. In his last season with the Milwaukee Braves, Antonelli was moved into the starting rotation and went 12-12 with an ERA of 3.18. He was traded to the New York Giants in 1954 for Giants' hero Bobby Thompson and helped them win the pennant with his 21-7 mark and led the NL in pct .750, ERA 2.30 and shutouts with 6. In 1954, Johnny Antonelli was 21-7 for the World Champion New York Giants. He led the led the league in winning pct (.750), in ERA with 2.30 and in shutouts (6). Antonelli gave up only 209 hits in 258 innings, started 37 games and completed 18. In one stretch in 1954, this All-Star pitcher went 16-2. He also led the National League with a .219 opponents batting average. He was a World Series hero in 1954 against the powerful Cleveland Indians by winning one complete game and saving another - he pitched 11 innings and gave up only one run. In that series, Antonelli started Game 1. He hurled a complete game, allowed 8-hits, struck out 9 as the Giants won 3-1. With only two days rest, he came on in relief in Game 4; faced only 5 batters, got 3 on strike outs and 2 on pop ups to end the game, enabling the Giants to sweep the four game World Series. In 1956, he won 20 games, lost 13, ERA 2.86 while pitching in 282 innings. 1959, Antonelli went 19-10 with a 3.10 ERA. Johnny Antonelli's career record: 126-110, 3.34 ERA, 1992 innings, and 26 shutouts. baseballhistorian.com |