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Mike Ferraro

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Mike Ferraro
Third baseman
Born: (1944-08-18)August 18, 1944
Kingston, New York, U.S.
Died: July 20, 2024(2024-07-20) (aged 79)
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 6, 1966, for the New York Yankees
Last MLB appearance
October 4, 1972, for the Milwaukee Brewers
MLB statistics
Batting average.232
Home runs2
Runs batted in30
Teams
As player

As coach

As manager

Career highlights and awards

Michael Dennis Ferraro (August 18, 1944 – July 20, 2024) was an American Major League Baseball third baseman. He played for the New York Yankees (1966; 1968) and the Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers (1969; 1972). Ferraro threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg).

Early life and amateur career

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Ferraro attended Kingston High School in Kingston, New York, where he played baseball, basketball, and football. As a senior in high school, he led all of Dutchess, Ulster, Sullivan, and Orange Counties with a .585 batting average on the baseball field and with 21.5 points per game on the basketball court.[1]

Professional playing career

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Ferraro was originally signed as an amateur free agent by the Yankees, where he would have two stints in the Majors with New York. He was left unprotected in the 1968 expansion draft, and he was selected by the Seattle Pilots,[2] but after only five games and four at-bats, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles, where he spent two years in the minors.[3] However, in October 1971, Ferraro was traded back to the Brewers (the Pilots moved to Milwaukee after only one season in Seattle), where he would play his only season as a regular player. He played in 124 games during the 1972 season, batting .255 with two home runs and 29 RBI.[3] He was dealt by the Brewers to the Minnesota Twins for Ken Reynolds on March 28, 1973,[4] but was promptly released. He tried one last comeback with the Yankees in 1974, but he never made it back to the Majors.[3]

Managerial career

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After his playing career ended, Ferraro turned to managing in the Yankee farm system in 1974, and he was highly successful in his five-year career (through 1978), winning pennants at Class A, Double-A and Triple-A levels. In 1979, he became the Yankees' third-base coach. Ferraro was involved in a controversial play during Game 2 of the 1980 American League Championship Series. Willie Randolph was on second base in the top of the eighth with two outs and the Yankees down by a run. Bob Watson hit a ball to the left field corner of Royals Stadium. The ball bounced right to Willie Wilson, but Wilson was not known for having a great arm, and Ferraro waved Randolph home. Wilson overthrew U L Washington, the cut-off man, but George Brett was in position behind him to catch the ball, then throw to Darrell Porter, who tagged out Randolph in a slide. TV cameras captured a furious George Steinbrenner fuming immediately after the play. The Yankees lost the game 3–2, then lost the series in three games.[5] After the game, Steinbrenner publicly criticized Ferraro for the call.[6] Steinbrenner wanted Ferraro fired immediately, but manager Dick Howser stuck up for him and refused to do so. Tommy John said that, "By refusing to fire Ferraro, Howser sealed his fate as Yankee manager."[5]

Though Howser did not return to the Yankees in 1981, Ferraro remained with the team as a coach through the 1982 season. He coached for the Yankees again in 1987–88 and 1990–91.

Ferraro got his first managerial job with the Cleveland Indians to replace Dave Garcia after the 1982 season,[7] but after a 40–60 start in 1983, he was fired.[8] Ferraro coached with the Kansas City Royals from 1984 to 1986, working again with Howser, and when Howser stepped down to undergo treatment for a brain tumor in July 1986, Ferraro, a survivor of kidney cancer,[9] finished the season before being released by the Royals.[10] His Major League managerial record was 76–98 over parts of two seasons. He also worked as the third base coach of the Baltimore Orioles in 1993.

Managerial record

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Team Year Regular season Postseason
Games Won Lost Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
CLE 1983 100 40 60 .400 fired – – – –
CLE total 100 40 60 .400 0 0 –
KC 1986 74 36 38 .486 3rd in AL West – – – –
KC total 74 36 38 .486 0 0 –
Total 174 76 98 .437 0 0 –

Death

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Ferraro died in Las Vegas on July 20, 2024, at the age of 79.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics / Mike Ferraro". Kingston City School District. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  2. ^ "1968 MLB Expansion Drafts". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Mike Ferraro Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  4. ^ "Baseball Transactions". The New York Times. March 29, 1973. p. 67. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  5. ^ a b John, Tommy; Valenti, Dan (1991). TJ: My Twenty-Six Years in Baseball. New York: Bantam Books. pp. 207–08. ISBN 0-553-07184-X.
  6. ^ Anderson, Dave (October 10, 1980). "Steinbrenner Criticizes His Third-Base Coach". The New York Times. p. S28. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  7. ^ "Ferraro Is Named Manager of Indians". The New York Times. UPI. November 5, 1982. p. A22. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  8. ^ "Ferraro Dismissed As Indian Manager". The New York Times. Associated Press. August 1, 1982. p. C5. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  9. ^ Anderson, Dave (March 8, 1983). "Sports of The Times; Mike Ferraro's Trauma". The New York Times. p. B7. ISSN 0362-4331.
  10. ^ "Ferraro Is Dismissed". The New York Times. October 10, 1986. p. D21. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  11. ^ "Michael D. Ferraro". Daily Freeman. Kingston, New York. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
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Preceded by New York Yankees third-base coach
1979–1980
1987 		Succeeded by
Preceded by New York Yankees first-base coach
1981–1982
1988
1990–1991 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Kansas City Royals third-base coach
1984–1986 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Baltimore Orioles third-base coach
1993 		Succeeded by
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