Julio Giacomo Bonetti (July 14, 1911 – June 17, 1952) was a right-handed
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("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 attempts to e ...
in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...
for the
St. Louis Browns and
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...
. He is one of only seven Italian-born Major League Baseball players in history.
Bonetti made his major league debut with the Browns on April 22, 1937. He became a versatile pitcher for the lowly Browns that season, pitching in 12 games out of the bullpen (notching one save) and starting 16 others, seven of which he completed. He managed just a 4–11 record and a 5.84
ERA
An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth.
Com ...
, but his ERA was actually better than the last-place team's average of 6.00.
Nevertheless, in 1938 Bonetti pitched exclusively in relief, going 2–3 with a 6.35 ERA in 17 games. His contract was purchased by the Cubs in February 1939, and after some time in the minors, Bonetti worked his way onto the Cubs roster in April 1940. Unfortunately, his Cub debut, which came three years to the day after his major league debut, was disastrous. Bonetti allowed three runs on three hits and four walks in just 1 innings for an ERA of 20.25.
He never pitched in the major leagues again.
Bonetti died June 17, 1952, in
Belmont, California
Belmont is a city in San Mateo County in the U.S. state of California. It is in the San Francisco Bay Area, on the San Francisco Peninsula about halfway between San Francisco and San Jose. Known for its wooded hills, views of the San Francis ...
, after suffering a heart attack.
References
External links
1911 births
1952 deaths
Chicago Cubs players
Des Moines Demons players
Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Major League Baseball players from Italy
Mission Reds players
San Antonio Missions players
St. Louis Browns players
Sportspeople from Genoa
Rock Island Islanders players
Toledo Mud Hens players
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