Ronald Andrew Necciai EH-chai (born June 18, 1932), is a former

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 ...

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

who played with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

in the 1952 season. He batted and threw right-handed. Necciai is best remembered for the unique feat of

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Television in the Republic of Ireland, Irish television legal drama television series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017, based on ''The Good Wife'' by Robert King (writer), Robert and Michelle King. Prod ...

27 batters in a nine-inning game, which he accomplished while playing with the Class-D

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden ...

team, the Bristol Twins, on May 13, 1952. He is the only pitcher ever to do so in a nine-inning, professional-league game.

Minor League career

Necciai pitched two seasons of Class-D baseball before being drafted in the Pirates' farm system in 1952 at age 19. He was assigned to pitch for the Bristol Twins, the Pirates' Appalachian League team. On May 13, pitching despite painful

stomach ulcer The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the upper gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The Ancient Greek name for the stomach is ''gaster'' which is used as ''gastric'' in medical terms re ...

s, Necciai struck out 27 batters while throwing a 7–0

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

against the Welch Miners. Four of the Welch hitters did reach base, via a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an "inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults over ...

, an

error An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...

, a

hit batsman In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provide ...

and a

passed ball In baseball, a catcher is charged with a passed ball when he fails to hold or control a legally pitched ball that, with ordinary effort, should have been maintained under his control, and, as a result of this loss of control, the batter or a run ...

charged to Twins'

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

Harry Dunlop on a swinging third strike. This resulted in a four-strikeout ninth inning. Only two batters put the ball in play: Robert Ganung grounded out to first base in the fourth inning, while Frank Whitehead got on base on an error in the ninth. In his next start, Necciai threw a 24-strikeout two-hitter. In that season he struck out 109 hitters in 43 innings with Bristol, and a

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

-high 172 in 126 innings at Burlington before quickly climbing the ranks of the organization and eventually getting called up to the Major Leagues amid heavy publicity in August 1952.

Major League career

At 20 years old, Necciai posted a 1–6 record with 31 strikeouts and a 7.08

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 54

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

from August 10 to September 28, 1952, the single season comprising his entire Major League Baseball career.

Later years

Necciai served a brief stint in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in 1953 before being released on a medical discharge. He returned to baseball thereafter, but was plagued by injuries resulting from his long-standing battle with stomach ulcers and further debilitation from a torn

rotator cuff The rotator cuff (SITS muscles) is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles a ...

. He spent the years between 1953 and 1955 in various lower levels of professional baseball, but was ultimately unable to overcome injuries. He later began a successful career in the sporting goods industry.

References

;In-line citations ;Further reading * Dennis Snelling: ''A Glimpse of Fame'', McFarland & Company, Jefferson, North Carolina, 1993, pages 135–149 *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Necciai, Ron 1932 births Living people Bristol Twins players Burlington-Graham Pirates players Hollywood Stars players Major League Baseball pitchers New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players People from Monongahela, Pennsylvania Baseball players from Washington County, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Pirates players Salisbury Pirates players Shelby Farmers players Waco Pirates players United States Army soldiers 20th-century American sportsmen

Minor League career

Major League career

Later years

See also

References

External links