Gennaro Joseph "Jerry" Casale (September 27, 1933 – February 9, 2019) was a starting pitcherinMajor League Baseball who played for three teams between 1958 and 1962. Listed at 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), 200 lb., he batted and threw right-handed.
Casale was originally signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent before the 1952 season, receiving a signing bonus of $30,000. He was one of nine spring training recruits of the San Jose Red Sox who had received signing bonuses, which earned the team the nickname "Gold Sox". Of those nine players, only Casale, Marty Keough, and Jerry Zimmerman made it to the major leagues.[1]
Casale in the minor leagues once hit a 560-foot home run while with the San Francisco Seals.[2]
Casale reached the majors in 1958 (he spent two years in the military). He was with the Red Sox for three years. In his first game as a starter he pitched against the Washington Senators and the Red Sox won 7–3. Casale struck out eight and also hit a three-run home run.[3]
In a five-season career, Casale posted a 17–24 record with 207 strikeouts in 3701⁄3 innings. He also helped himself with the bat, hitting .216 (25-for-116) with four home runs and 15 runs batted in.
After baseball Casale went into the restaurant business. He opened a restaurant in Manhattan called Murray's with former New York Mets players Art Shamsky and Ron Darling, and later opened an Italian restaurant called Pino's on 34th Street in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan.[6]
^Kelley, Brent.Baseball's Biggest Blunder: The Bonus Rule of 1953–1957. Scarecrow Press, 1997, page 15
^Jacobs and McGuire. San Francisco Seals. Arcadia, 2005, page 8
^Fehler, Gene. When Baseball Was Still King: Major League Players Remember the 1950s. McFarland, 2012, page 96
^Sargent, Jim. The Tigers and Yankees in ’61: A Pennant Race for the Ages, the Babe’s Record Broken and Stormin’ Norman’s Greatest Season. McFarland, 2016, page 105
^Buckley, Steve. Boston Red Sox: Where Have You Gone? 2005, page 138
^Buckley, Steve. Boston Red Sox: Where Have You Gone? 2005, page 139
^Wright, E. Assata (October 10, 2010). "A MLB player in winter". The Union City Reporter. pp. 5, 19.
Baseball
