Joseph Louis Tuminelli (March 27, 1920 – April 30, 1980) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

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. Listed at and , he batted and threw right-handed.

Biography

During nine seasons after World War II, Tuminelli enjoyed a solid baseball career while playing for ten teams in seven minor league circuits and three different countries. Although he never appeared in a

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) game, he teamed up with several future big leaguers through the length of his career. A triple crown and

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

winner, he also had productive seasons in Canadian baseball and the Panamanian Winter League. Born in New York City, he was originally signed by the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

. He debuted in 1946 with the Nashua Dodgers of the

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

, and was dealt to the Portland Gulls during the midseason. He finished with a combined

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .335 (10th of the league) and a .517 of

slugging Slugging, also known as casual carpooling and flexible carpooling, is the practice of forming ad hoc, informal carpools for purposes of commuting, essentially a variation of hitchhiking. A driver picks up these non-paying passengers (known as " ...

in 51 games. He opened with Portland in 1947, when the team was renamed the Pilots, and posted a batting line ( BA/ OBP/ SLG) of .335/.378/.517 overall, while collecting a better

OPS OPS may refer to: Organizations * Obscene Publications Squad, a former unit of the Metropolitan Police in London, England * Oceanic Preservation Society * Office of Public Safety, a former US government agency * Orchestre philharmonique de Strasb ...

(.895) than league Most Valuable Player

Roy Campanella Roy Campanella (November 19, 1921 – June 26, 1993), nicknamed "Campy", was an American professional baseball player, primarily as a catcher. The Philadelphia native played in the Negro leagues and Mexican League for nine years before entering ...

(.870). Then, in 1947 he hit .309 for the Pilots. In 1948 Tuminelli moved to the Drummondville Cubs of the

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, a professional circuit based in

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. A struggling ballclub, the Cubs finished last in the five-team league with a 39-58 record, 21½ games out of first place. Notably, Tuminelli finished playing all 97 games for Drummondville, hitting a .302 average and 10

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, while leading the team in

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(117) and

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(73). Drummondville improved in 1949, after signing a group of core players that led the team to a championship. Among the newcomers were

Danny Gardella Daniel Lewis Gardella (February 26, 1920 – March 6, 2005) was an American professional baseball player who played most of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career as a left fielder with the New York Giants from to . Born in New York City, he ba ...

Max Lanier Hubert Max Lanier (August 18, 1915 – January 30, 2007) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He spent most of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the St. Louis Cardinals, but also played for the New York Giants and St. Louis ...

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Tex Shirley Alvis Newman "Tex" Shirley (April 25, 1918 – November 7, 1993) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1941 to 1946 for the Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major ...

, Roberto Vargas, Roy Zimmerman and Víctor Pellot, who would later gain notoriety in the major leagues as Vic Power. Although Tuminelli continued to improve his numbers, batting .327 with eight home runs and 52 RBI, while leading the team once more in games (96), runs (73) and hits (125). Tuminelli split 1950 with the

Tampa Smokers The Tampa Smokers was a name used between 1919 and 1954 by a series of minor league baseball, minor league baseball teams based in Tampa, Florida. The nickname was a nod to the History of Ybor City, local cigar industry, which was the most impor ...

and Fort Lauderdale Braves of the

Florida International League The Florida International League was a lower- to mid-level circuit in American and Cuban minor league baseball that existed from 1946 through July 27, 1954. It was designated Class C level league for its first three seasons, then upgraded to Clas ...

, batting a combined .294/.358/.421 and 10 home runs. In addition, his .943

fielding average In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, di ...

at third base was the best of any

position player In baseball, a position player is a player who on defense plays as an infielder, outfielder, or catcher. A pitcher is generally not considered a position player. A designated hitter, who bats but does not play any defensive position, is also not ...

to play at least 100 games. He returned to FIL Fort Lauderdale in 1951 and ended the year with the St. Hyacinthe Saints of the Quebec Provincial League, hitting .263 and .286, respectively, while batting eight homers at both stops. He then found herself on the move again, this time with the

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team who play in the Eastern League, and are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at FNB Field on Cit ...

of the

Interstate League The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952. Early leagues Earlier versions of the Interstate League, with years active: *1896–1901: an unclassified ...

, batting for them .241 in 85 games during the 1952 season. His most productive season came in 1953, while playing in the

Wisconsin State League The Wisconsin State League was a class D level baseball league that began in 1905, changing its name to the Wisconsin–Illinois League in 1908 and operating through 1914. The league re–organized under that name in 1926. Another Wisconsin Stat ...

for the Fond du Lac Panthers. Tuminelli won the Triple Crown honors that season, after batting a .390 average with 28 home runs and 148 RBI in 118 games appearances, leading the league also in runs (123),

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hit (baseball), hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single (baseball), single, 2 for a double (baseball), double, 3 for a triple (baseball), triple and 4 ...

(291) and slugging (.667), while ending second in OBP (.513) and posting a 3.63

walk-to-strikeout ratio In baseball statistics Baseball statistics include a variety of metrics used to evaluate player and team performance in the sport of baseball. Because the flow of a baseball game has natural breaks to it, and player activity is characteristica ...

(87-to-24). He played his last season in 1954, appearing in just seven games for the Erie Senators of the Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League (PONY League). Over his nine-season minor league career, he posted a batting average of .306 (809-for-2641) in 709 games played. In between two tours in America and Canada, Tuminelli played in the Panamanian League during the winter. On the side, he also pitched and managed eventually. He joined the

Carta Vieja Yankees The Carta Vieja Yankees (), also known as the Licoreros de Carta Vieja (English: ''Carta Vieja Distillers''), were a professional baseball team active in the Panamanian Professional Baseball League in the late 1940s and 1950s. The team's name orig ...

league's champions of the 1949–1950 season, then finished as the Most Valuable Player in the 1950 Caribbean Series, after leading the tournament with two home runs and seven RBI to give Panama its only title in Series history. He also helped Carta Vieja clinch the 1951–1952 title, though he batted a low .208 average in the 1952 Caribbean Series. Then, he went 2-for-8 and stole two bases for the Panamanian club in the 1953 Series. In the 1954 edition, Tuminelli batted .391 and scored four runs, while driving in three more and stealing a base, tying with Sam Chapman and Angel Scull of the Cuban team for the second-best average behind Puerto Rico's outfielder

Jim Rivera Manuel Joseph "Jungle Jim" Rivera (July 22, 1921 – November 13, 2017) was an American professional baseball outfielder. In 1944, he was found guilty of attempted rape and sentenced to life in prison. He played baseball on the prison baseball ...

(.450). He returned in the 1956 tournament as a replacement player, batting 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI. Tuminelli collected a batting average of .289 (24-for-83) in four Series appearances, which includes two doubles, two homers, nine runs, 11 RBI and five stolen bases. As expected, Tuminelli was one of the most popular players in Panamanian baseball history. He made friends everywhere he went and remains beloved by fans even now. ''He was an honorary Panamanian'', explained former major league first baseman Dave Roberts in his book ''A Baseball Odyssey''. Tuminelli married in 1951 with Acela HerreraHernandez, Lou (2011). ''The Rise of the Latin American Baseball Leagues, 1947–1961''. Macfarland & Company. and raised a family of children. He later was a long time resident of

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, where he died in 1980 in at the age of 60.

Sources

*Araujo Bojórquez, Alfonso (2002). ''Series del Caribe: narraciones y estadisticas, 1949–2001''. Colegio de Bachilleres del Estado de Sinaloa. *Figueredo, Jorge S. (2011). ''Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, 1878–1961''. Macfarland & Company. *Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles (1993). ''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball''. Baseball America. *Nuñez, José Antero (1994). ''Serie del Caribe de la Habana a Puerto la Cruz''. JAN Editor.

External links

Baseball Reference – Joe Tuminelli Page 1Baseball Reference – Joe Tuminelli Page 2

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuminelli, Joe 1920 births 1980 deaths Drummondville Cubs players Erie Senators players Fond du Lac Panthers players Fort Lauderdale Braves players Harrisburg Senators players Nashua Dodgers players Portland (NEL) baseball players St. Hyacinthe Saints players Tampa Smokers players American people of Italian descent Baseball players from Miami Baseball players from New York City Baseball third basemen American expatriate baseball players in Panama American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Nicaragua Carta Vieja Yankees players