Joe Vitelli

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Antonio Joseph Vitelli (April 12, 1908 - February 7, 1967) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1944 and 1945. The 6'1", 195 lb. right-hander was a native of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania.

Vitelli is one of many ballplayers who only appeared in the major leagues during World War II. He made his major league debut at age 36 on May 30, 1944 in a doubleheader against the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. He made four relief appearances for Pittsburgh that year and finished all four games. In a total of seven innings pitched he gave up six runs, but only two of them were earned runs. His ERA was 2.57.

The next season, as a 37-year-old, he appeared in one game, not as a pitcher, and scored a run against the Dodgers at Forbes Field. It was the one year anniversary of his MLB debut, and was the last game of his big league career.

Vitelli died at the age of 58 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

[edit] External links

• Baseball Reference
• Retrosheet