Fun facts about Ralph Gagliano:
-After graduating from Christian Brothers High in his hometown of Memphis, TN, Ralph was signed by the Indians in 1964.
-His brother Phil Gagliano was a utility player for the Cardinals, Red Sox, and Reds from 1963-1974.
-He struggled in his first pro season, hitting .226 at single-A Dubuque.
-Ralph became a true "cup-of-coffee" player, appearing in just one game with the Indians in September 1965 as a pinch runner. That was the sum total of his major league career: one game, no at-bats, no defensive plays.
-Ralph's minor league stat line is odd; he played for single-A Reno in 1966, hitting .243, then didn't reappear until 1970. In his second go-round at Reno, he hit .275. The following year, he was at AA Jacksonville, a club that was not affiliated with any big league organization. He batted .182 in 29 games, and apparently called it a career.
-If anyone has more information about Ralph, feel free to chip in, comments-wise.
Fun facts about Jim Rittwage:
-Jim was a hometown Cleveland boy, and the Tribe signed him at age 19 during the 1964 season.
-After his first pro season, he was claimed on waivers by the Athletics. A year later, Cleveland reacquired him in a four-player deal; one of the players sent to Kansas City was future star Joe Rudi.
-He had a gradual progression through the minors, with his best effort coming in 1968: 5-9 with a 2.33 ERA as a swingman at AA Waterbury.
-In his seventh pro season, Rittwage was called to Cleveland. The 25-year-old pitched in eight games with a 4.15 ERA, as his control abandoned him (21 walks and 16 strikeouts in 26 innings).
-Earned his lone major league win on September 19, 1970, allowing two runs on six hits in a complete-game victory over the Orioles. He outdueled 23-game-winner Dave McNally in that contest, and struck out Brooks Robinson with the bases loaded to end the game!
-He did not allow a home run in his brief MLB career.
-Continued to tour AAA from 1971-1974 (Wichita, Portland, Oklahoma City, Tulsa), but struggled in all four seasons before hanging up his spikes at age 29.
-Again, that's all she wrote. I usually like to have ten tidbits per player, but both of these guys had pretty brief careers!
The Indians probably lost confidence in Ralph when they saw him in that ridiculous looking hat
ReplyDeleteOne other thing about Rittwage. His B-R line shows one game at 3B. He was shifted there for 3 batters in the 4th inning against Baltimore September 25.
ReplyDeleteTricky move by Alvin Dark, but it didn't work. Reliever Rick Austin gave up a 2-run double to Boog Powell to make it 5-0. Rittwage came back in the 5th and went another 3 innings.
Anon - I really wonder what's with the hat. Maybe it was a minor league uniform that Topps airbrushed.
ReplyDeletesjhax - Wow, good catch!
It was only the lack of a better name that kept Ralph from being Moonlight Graham.
ReplyDeleteRalph hereby proves that, contrary to popular belief, the '86 Mets did NOT invent the rally cap!
ReplyDeleteKevin - nice blog, very nicely done on a subject close to my heart (I collected in the 70s)
Ralph Gagliano served 3 years in Vietnam after his cup of coffee...good reason why he never returned to the bigs.
ReplyDelete