Page 54 - 1975 BoSox

ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR players ever to play for the Boston Red Sox, Rico Petrocelli will always be remem-
bered for his familiar “Fenway Stroke” that sent many an opposing hurler’s o erings into the net atop the left eld wall. Although he was not physically impos- ing at 6-feet and 175 pounds, he hit 210 home runs, including a league record for shortstops, 40 in 1969 (topped by Alex Rodriguez’s 57 in 2002), and his 773 RBIs place him in the Red Sox top 10 in both catego- ries. A two-time All-Star shortstop and veteran of two World Series with the Red Sox, Petrocelli agreed to move to third base in 1971 to make room for future Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio. His 1976 season was his nal one, after 1,553 regular-season and 17 post- season games in his 13-year career. He set team eld- ing records for a season at both positions:.981 at shortstop (superseded by Alex Gonzalez’s .985 in 2006 and Stephen Drew’s .984 in 2013), and .976 at third base (exceeded by Mike Lowell’s .987 in 2006).
Americo Peter Petrocelli was born on June 27, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York, the youngest of the seven chil- dren born to Attilio and Louise Petrocelli. His father and cousins ran a shop specializing in sharpening tools used in New York’s Garment District. Petrocelli de- veloped his love for baseball at an early age, when there were three major-league teams in New York. As a youngster he was an avid Yankees fan, with his father taking him to both Yankee Stadium to see Mickey Mantle and the Bronx Bombers and to
Ebbets Field to see the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Petrocelli started playing basketball at the age of 6, but didn’t play organized baseball until he was 12. By the time he started high school, he was pro cient at both sports, and became an all-scholastic in both basketball and baseball at Sheepshead Bay High. When his family realized that Rico might have a chance
at a professional career, he was allowed to concentrate on his athletic career full-time instead of getting a job to help support the family. His four older brothers all worked to bring in extra money, allowing him to pursue his dreams of becoming a pro baseball player.
A pitcher and a power-hitting out elder in high school, Petrocelli was considered a top prospect and a dozen scouts followed his progress during his senior year. But while pitching in the city championship on an extremely cold day in 1961, he felt something snap in his right elbow. e scouts quickly disappeared until only four (Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston) remained. e Red Sox were the rst team to invite Petrocelli to a workout after the injury, a gesture that made a favorable impression. He and his family made the trip to Boston, and after a successful workout, Red Sox scout Bots Nekola (who had signed Carl Yastrzemski three years earlier) signed Petrocelli.
Petrocelli started his professional career in 1962 with Winston-Salem in the Class B Carolina League, batting .277 with 17 home runs and 80 RBIs, but struggling in the eld at his new shortstop position, committing a league-high 48 errors. He was promoted to Reading in the Eastern League in 1963 and batted only .239 but hit19 homers and drove in 78 runs. e Red Sox called up Petrocelli after reading’s season, and the 20-year-old made his major-league debut on September 21 in the rst game of a doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park. In a
portent of things to come, Petrocelli drove a Lee Stange o ering o the left- eld wall for a double in his rst at-bat. e hit earned a standing ovation from the 6,469 in attendance, and became one of his favorite memories.
By 1964 Petrocelli had been designated as one of the club’s top prospects and was sent to the Red Sox’ Triple-A a liate in
Rico Petrocelli
by Ron Marshall
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