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Card: 1955 Topps #144
Position: 2B/3B
playerbio
Player Bio:
Everybody was celebrating (after winning the 1954 World Series) and I couldn't quite understand what all of the celebration was all about. This was my first year. I thought this probably happened all the time." - Joey Amalfitano. He wouldn't make it back to the World Series as a player, and not until 1988 as a coach with the Dodgers.
John Joseph Amalfitano (born January 23, 1934 in San Pedro, CA) is a former utility infielder, manager and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played a combined ten seasons with the New York and San Francisco Giants (1954–55; 1960–61; 1963), Houston Colt .45s (1962) and Chicago Cubs (1964–67), and managed the Cubs from 1979–81.
Amalfitano was the Los Angeles Dodgers' third-base coach for sixteen years (1983–98), which included the 1988 World Series championship. He is currently a special assistant for player development for the Giants, primarily working in the club's farm system.
All together, Joe spent more than 60 years in baseball as a player, coach, manager, and front office executive - see/hear a great interview with him here.
Joey was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.
(excerpted from Baseball Almanac, BR Bullpen & Wikipedia)
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tourstops
Listen to Larry Baldassaro’s interview with Joe here – or view the Next Stop on the Baseball Italian Style Tour
Amalfitano is part of the Italian American Sports Hall of Fame Tour – Go to the Next Stop
Joe is also part of the MLB Managers Tour – Go to the Next Stop
Joe is part of the LA/Brooklyn Dodgers Player Tour – Go to the Next Stop
Joe is also part of the Chicago Cubs Players Tour – Go To the Next Stop
Joey is part of the NY/SF Giants Players Tour – Go To the Next Stop
See all Joe’s baseball cards here
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Visit a random Italian American MLB player:
Why didn’t Joey play from 1956-59?
As a “Bonus Baby”, it was required that he stay with the major league team (NY Giants) – where he rode the bench. Once it was no longer required, he was sent to the Minor Leagues for seasoning. He returned in 1960 to the Giants, which had moved to San Francisco by then.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonus_rule for more on “Bonus Babies”.