Joe Sambito
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Joseph Charles (Joe) Sambito (born June 28, 1952 in Brooklyn, New York) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Houston Astros (1976-1982, 1984), New York Mets (1985) and Boston Red Sox (1986-1987). He batted and threw left-handed.
Sambito has been one of the most dominating closers in Houston Astros history. A fastball and slider specialist, Sambito was a starter in the minors, as he led the Southern League in strikeouts at Triple-A Columbus in 1975. A year later he was promoted to the Astros, where he immediately moved into a relief role.
From 1978 through 1981, Sambito led Houston in saves, with a career-high 22 saves and a 1.78 ERA in 1979 – a season in which he posted a string of over 40-2/3 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run and also made the National League All-Star team. He started 1982 with four saves and a 0.71 ERA in nine appearances, but saw his career ruined by an injury when was discovered that bone chips had damaged the ligaments of his pitching elbow. He missed the rest of the season and all of 1983 recuperating from Tommy John surgery. The next two years, he failed in comeback attempts with Houston and the New York Mets.
Sambito made the Boston Red Sox roster in the 1986 spring training, as he helped the Red Sox to reach the World Series after going 2-0 with 12 saves. He retired in 1987 after posting a 2-6 record with 6.93 ERA.
In an eleven-season career, Sambito posted a 37-38 record with a 3.03 ERA and 84 saves in 461 games.
Following his retirement, Sambito became a players counselor and representative. Some of his clients include Andy Pettitte, Ryan Klesko, Jeff D'Amico and Morgan Ensberg.
