Pete Falcone
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Peter Frank "Pete" Falcone (born October 1, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York), is a left-handed former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1975-84.
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[edit] Baseball career
[edit] High school and college
He attended Lafayette High School and Kingsborough Community College, both in Brooklyn, New York.
[edit] Minor Leagues
He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 13th round of the 1972 draft, and then by the San Francisco Giants in the 1st round (3rd overall) of the 1973 draft.
In 1973, in his first minor league season, he was 8-1 for Great Falls with a 1.50 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 72 innings. In his minor league career he was 22-14, with a 2.89 ERA, and an average of 11 strikeouts per 9 innings.
[edit] Major leagues
[edit] San Francisco Giants (1975)
He went 12-11 his rookie season with the Giants (1975), but lost to teammate John Montefusco in Rookie Pitcher of the Year voting.
In December 1975 he was traded by the Giants to the Cardinals for Ken Reitz.
[edit] St. Louis Cardinals (1976-78)
Falcone repeated as a 12-game winner in 1976. He kept batters to a .196 Batting Average with Runners in Scoring Position.
In December 1978 he was traded by the Cardinals to the Mets for Kim Seaman and Tom Grieve.
[edit] New York Mets (1979-82)
On May 1, 1980, Falcone tied a Major League record by striking out the first six batters of the game, versus the Philadelphia Phillies. The Mets lost 2-1, as Falcone pitched 7 innings with 8 strikeouts.
Falcone was especially good at not allowing hits when runners were in scoring position, keeping batters in such such circumstances to a .210 batting average in 1979, a .220 batting average in 1981, and a .211 batting average in 1982.
[edit] Atlanta Braves (1983-84)
In December 1982 he signed a two-year, $650,000 contract as a free agent with the Braves.[1]
He kept batters to a .235 Batting Average with Runners in Scoring Position in 1983, and a .228 batting average in 1984.
In September 1984 Falcone, then 30 years old, said he planned to retire after the season. “I’m just tired of baseball,” Falcone said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal. “I’m tired of the life style, and I can’t see any reason to go on doing it. The game is a game, and a certain part of it is enjoyable, but everything else, forget it.” John Mullen, the Braves’ general manager, expressed surprise at Falcone’s statement. “I hate to see a guy that young with that kind of arm retire,” Mullen said.[2]
[edit] Career stats
In his career in 325 games Falcone was 70-90 with 865 strikeouts and a 4.07 ERA. In his career, Falcone kept batters to a .234 Batting Average with Runners in Scoring Position.[3]
He was in the top 10 in the NL four times in wild pitches: 1975 9-10th; 1979 10-4th; 1980 9-6th; and 1982 10-8th.
[edit] Senior Professional Baseball Association
In 1989, he played for the Orlando Juice of the Senior Professional Baseball Association, and posted a 10-3 record.[4]
[edit] External links
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