Al Ferrara
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Al Ferrara | ||
|---|---|---|
| Outfielder | ||
| Born: December 22, 1939 | ||
| Batted: Right | Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | ||
| July 30, 1963 for the Los Angeles Dodgers |
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| Final game | ||
| September 1, 1971 for the Cincinnati Reds |
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| Career statistics | ||
| Batting average | .259 | |
| Home runs | 51 | |
| Runs batted in | 198 | |
| Teams | ||
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| Career highlights and awards | ||
| *Participated in the 1966 World Series | ||
Alfred John "The Bull" Ferrara Jr. (born December 22, 1939 in Brooklyn, New York was a was a Major League Baseball player from 1963 to 1971.
[edit] Biographical information
Al Ferrara was an outfielder who once played piano at Carnegie Hall. He was a Los Angeles Dodger in the days of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and Tommy Davis. He appeared in a number of television shows and movies, sometimes along with teammate Jim Lefebvre.
A Brooklyn boy, he attended high school with Joe Torre and Joe Pepitone. He was signed by the Dodgers in 1959 when they were in Los Angeles. He came up for the first time in 1963 at age 21, and was the roommate of veteran Johnny Podres. He did not play in the 1963 World Series. He came up again in 1965 for 41 games. He did not play in the 1965 World Series.
In 1966, he had one of his best two years. He played in over 100 games, hitting .270, and appeared as a pinch-hitter in the fourth game of the 1966 World Series, hitting a single. His last year with the Dodgers was in 1968, when he played in two games with them.
He was picked by the San Diego Padres in the 1969 expansion draft, and became one of the original Padres in 1969. He hit .260 with 14 home runs in 1969, and followed that up with his other best year: a .277 average and 13 home runs in 1970.
Ferrara had an interesting game with the Padres on April 22, 1970. Batting clean-up and facing Tom Seaver and the New York Mets, he hit a home run to lead off the second inning, to tie the game at one. Behind 2-1, Ferrara struck out to end the sixth inning, which was Seaver's tenth strike-out. Seaver proceeded to strike out the side in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings (with Ferrara also being his last victim), to set a record ten consecutive strike-outs (and tie a record at the time, with 19 K's for the game).[1]
The following year, in 1971, he closed out his career with San Diego and Cincinnati playing just 49 games, almost exclusively as a pinch hitter.
