Johnny Antonelli was the first person born in the 1930s to make his MLB debut.
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21 Facts About Johnny Antonelli
2.
Johnny Antonelli led the NL in shutouts again in 1959 and set a career-high with 282 innings pitched, but fans started booing him after he complained about the wind conditions at Seals Stadium.
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3.
Johnny Antonelli was slated to be one of the original New York Mets in 1962, but he retired instead, opting to return to Rochester and focus on his Firestone business, which he would run for 40 years.
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4.
Johnny Antonelli attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Rochester, where he excelled at baseball, basketball, and football.
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5.
Johnny Antonelli signed with the Braves on June 29,1948, for $52,000, the largest signing bonus in baseball history at the time.
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6.
Johnny Antonelli appeared in only four games, all relief assignments in low-leverage situations.
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7.
Johnny Antonelli worked in 22 games, notching his first three career complete games and his first shutout.
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8.
In February 1954, Johnny Antonelli was dealt to the New York Giants as a major piece in a six-player trade for veteran outfielder Bobby Thomson, one of the most popular Giants since his "Shot Heard 'Round the World" pennant-winning home run of 1951.
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9.
Hirsch wrote that Johnny Antonelli was "[t]he Giants' best pitcher that year, " and Johnny Antonelli won The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Award, as well as finishing third in NL Most Valuable Player voting.
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10.
Pitching coach Freddie Fitzsimmons went to the mound to inform Johnny Antonelli he had been removed, and the irate Giants hurler refused to turn the ball over to Fitzsimmons.
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11.
Pitching for a sixth-place team in 1956, Johnny Antonelli only managed to win nine games through August 7, against 12 losses.
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12.
Johnny Antonelli finished 14th in NL MVP voting, and Giant fans from Section Five of the Polo Grounds made him a three-foot tall trophy for being the team MVP; years later, the trophy was one of the few mementos from his career Antonelli displayed at his house.
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13.
Late in 1957, Bill Rigney held him out of the rotation for a few days to ensure that Johnny Antonelli could start the Giants' final game at the Polo Grounds before moving to San Francisco.
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14.
Johnny Antonelli walked 47 hitters, but ten of those were intentional.
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15.
Johnny Antonelli said he was "tired of traveling" and wanted to be home with his family.
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16.
Johnny Antonelli relied on a fastball and curveball when he was pitching, but he threw some off-speed pitches occasionally.
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17.
Johnny Antonelli credited the Polo Grounds for some of his success upon coming to New York.
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18.
Johnny Antonelli's stores sponsored "Captain Friendly, " a program in which store managers would drive around Rochester looking for people with car trouble, then help them free of charge.
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19.
Johnny Antonelli ran the businesses until 1994, retiring over frustrations with Bridgestone, which had purchased Firestone in the meantime.
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21.
Johnny Antonelli died of cancer on February 28,2020, at the age of 89.
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