Joe Pignatano
Joseph Benjamin Pignatano (August 4, 1929 – May 23, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and coach. As a catcher, Pignatano played in Major League Baseball during all or part of six seasons (1957–1962) for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers (1957–1960), Kansas City Athletics (1961), San Francisco Giants (1962), and New York Mets (1962). After his playing career, he was a coach for the Mets, Washington Senators, and Atlanta Braves.
| Joe Pignatano | |
|---|---|
Pignatano as the Mets' bullpen coach, 1969 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: August 4, 1929 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | |
| Died: May 23, 2022 (aged 92) Naples, Florida, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 28, 1957, for the Brooklyn Dodgers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 30, 1962, for the New York Mets | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .234 |
| Home runs | 16 |
| Runs batted in | 62 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Pignatano was a Brooklyn native. He signed with his hometown Dodgers in 1948, and spent almost seven full seasons, interrupted by two years of military service, in their farm system before three brief auditions with the 1957 big-league team. He was a member of the 1959 World Series-champion Dodgers as a player and the 1969 World Series-champion Mets as a coach.