RIP Johnny Antonelli

As a lifelong Giants fan, I was vaguely aware of a pitcher named Johnny Antonelli.  That is a shame because Johhny Antonelli had a long, successful run pitching for both the New York and San Francisco Giants and was a major contributor to the last World Series championship the Giants won before 2010.  Johnny was a native of New York state. Unfortunately, he was not pleased with the Giants move to San Francisco and was open about his feelings for the new city.  San Francisco fans, in turn hated him, which is probably why he was not more well known to Giants fans like me. Johnny Antonelli died on February 28, 2020 at the age of 89.

Johnny Antonelli was a locally renowned lefthanded high school pitcher in the state of New York.  His father, a railroad track worker, tireless wrote to scouts and organized showcase games for his prodigy son.  Johnny impressed the scouts enough to spark a bidding war and signed with the Boston Braves for what was then a huge bonus of $52, 000 in 1948.  For comparison sake, veteran star pitcher Johnny Sain was making just $22, 000 that season.  As a "bonus baby", Antonelli had to be kept on the MLB roster for at least 2 seasons.  The Braves won the NL pennant in 1948 behind the pitching of Sain and Warren Spahn, so Johnny Antonelli was used mostly to pitch batting practices.  You may recall a saying that sprung out of the season, "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain." The veterans resented Johnny's large bonus and refused to award him any World Series shares before the commissioner intervened and awarded him several hundred dollars.

Antonelli pitched more over the next two seasons with mixed success, then spent 2 seasons in the military.  He played on military teams which served the same purpose as minor league games.  He came back in 1953 and went 12-12 with a 3.18 ERA for the Braves.  He was then traded to the Giants in a 6 player trade that involved Bobby Thompson going the other way.  Needless to say, trading away the hero of 1951 was not popular with Giants fans, but Johnny won them over with the best season of his career going 21-7 with a 2.30 ERA.  He then started and won game 2 of the 1954 World Series and Saved game 4 in relief of Hoyt Wilhelm as the Giants swept the Indians.

Although his subsequent career was a bit up and down, he went on to win 20 games with a 2.86 ERA in 1956 and won 19 games with a 3.10 ERA for the 1959 San Francisco Giants.  Despite pitching well for the San Francisco Giants, Antonelli hated the city of San Francisco, was not fond of playing in Seals Stadium and spoke out about the wind in Candlestick Park.  San Francisco fans in turn considered him a snobby New Yorker and heaped boos and scorn on him.  His ERA ballooned in 1961 and the owner of the Cleveland Indians became convinced that all Johnny needed was a change in scenery and worked out a trade that sent Harvey Kuenn to the Giants.  Alas, Johnny did not turn his career around with the Indians and he retired to his hometown in New York state.

Johnny invested the money he earned from baseball in a tire store.  He expanded the business into a chain of stores selling Firestone tires and became a successful and very wealthy businessman in his won right.  He remained in contact with Giants ownership and made regular appearances at Giants reunions and alumni events.

So, RIP Johnny Antonelli.  I believe San Francisco fans should forgive him for hating the city on the opposite coast from his home and consider him a forever Giant.  If you would like to read an excellent article about Johnny Antonelli, look up a recent one on Hardball Times.  There is also a nice career summary on the SABR website.

*********************************************************************************

Again, thanks to readers and commenters for the positive response to my posts about the COVID-19 pandemic.  We'll try to delve into some Giants and baseball history to fill the space where Game Wraps and Down on the Farm would otherwise be.  I will also try to put together some offseason summaries for the Giant and other MLB teams per a reader request.