John Orsino

John Joseph Orsino (born April 22, 1938 in Teaneck, New Jersey) is a former Major League Baseball catcher. He was signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent before the 1957 season, and played for the San Francisco Giants (1961-1962), Baltimore Orioles (1963-1965), and Washington Senators (1966-1967).

Orsino made his major league debut on July 14, 1961 against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Candlestick Park. He was the starting catcher and went 0-for-3 with 3 putouts, 2 assists, 1 error, and 1 passed ball. The Giants lost, 6-4. The next day was a lot better...he was in the starting lineup again and went 1-for-3 with a walk, a run batted in, a run scored, and no errors in the field as the Giants crushed the Pirates 8-3.

His best season was 1963, when he had career highs in games played (116), (hits (103), at bats (379), home runs (19), runs batted in (56), runs scored (53), and on base percentage (.349). The Orioles had a good year, winning 86 games and losing 76.

One of the most famous games he was ever involved in took place at Memorial Stadium on September 12, 1964. He was the Orioles starting catcher in a rare battle of complete game one-hitters between O's left-hander Frank Bertaina and Kansas City Athletics southpaw Bob Meyer. Orsino doubled to lead off the bottom of the 8th of the 0-0 game, and teammate Bob Saverine came in to pinch run for him. Saverine advanced to third on a Bertaina sacrifice bunt, and then scored when Jackie Brandt hit a sacrifice fly.

Career totals for 332 games include 252 hits, 40 home runs, 123 runs batted in, 114 runs scored, a .249 batting average, and a slugging percentage of .420.

[edit] Trivia

Orsino grounded into a double play in his only World Series at bat. {Candlestick Park -- October 4, 1962}
hit a combined .324 (22-for-68) against All-Stars Jim Bouton, Harvey Haddix, Tommy John, Gary Peters, and Stan Williams
hit a combined .323 (10-for-31) against Hall of Famers Jim Bunning and Whitey Ford
His nickname was "Horse."