Mario Peter Picone (July 5, 1926 – October 23, 2013), nicknamed "Babe", was an Italian American

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), 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, ...

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 ...

who played for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

and the

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

in part of three seasons spanning 1947–1954. Listed at , , Picone batted and threw right handed. He was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. In a 13-game career, Picone posted a 0–2 record and a 6.30

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

in 13 pitching appearances, including three starts, allowing 28 earned runs on 43

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and 25 walks, while

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11 in 40

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

of work. Two of his starting assignments accounted for the two losses on his MLB résumé. On September 27, 1952, he opened for the Giants and lasted eight innings against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

, allowing six runs (five earned), in a 7–3 defeat at the

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 to 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built for the ...

. Then, on June 13, 1954, in his first appearance for Cincinnati, he faced his hometown

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 ...

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and lasted only 4 innings, giving up five earned runs, including

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

Duke Snider Edwin Donald "Duke" Snider (September 19, 1926 – February 27, 2011), nicknamed "the Duke of Flatbush", was an American professional baseball player. Primarily a center fielder, he spent most of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career playing f ...

and

Jim Gilliam James William "Junior" Gilliam (October 17, 1928 – October 8, 1978) was an American second baseman, third baseman, and coach in Negro league and Major League Baseball who spent his entire major league career with the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Do ...

. Brooklyn eventually won, 14–2. He also spent 13 seasons in the

Minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

, playing from 1944 through 1956 for 11 different clubs. His most productive season came in 1952, when he combined a record of 21–8 with a 2.94 for Sioux City and Minneapolis. Besides, he won 19 games in 1945 and amassed four seasons with at least 14 wins. Overall, in the minors, he went 129–98 with a 3.95 ERA in 186 pitching appearances (82 starts) over 1975.0 innings. Picone died on October 23, 2013, in Brooklyn at the age of 87. His death was reported six months later.

References

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Picone, Mario 1926 births 2013 deaths Bristol Twins players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cincinnati Redlegs players Jacksonville Tars players Jersey City Giants players Major League Baseball pitchers Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players New York Giants (baseball) players Richmond Colts players Richmond Virginians (minor league) players Rochester Red Wings players Sioux City Soos players Baseball players from Brooklyn Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Trenton Giants players 20th-century American sportsmen