Bob DiPietro’s major-league career was a true cup of coffee – 12 plate appearances in four games at the tail end of the 1951 season, one hit, one walk and a .091 batting average. In three games as an outfielder, he had four putouts, one error, and one assist – but what an assist it was! He threw out Mickey Mantle at home plate at Yankee Stadium.
I was able to interview DiPietro in late 2008 and write his biography for the
SABR Baseball Biography Project. It is my first biography for the project, and hopefully it is the start of things to come. To read the complete biography of the "Rigatoni Rifle",
click here.
