Jump to: player bio | view more cards | tour stops | view random player

craig minetto, 1981 topps #316, A's

Player: Minetto, Craig

Card: 1981 Topps #316

Position: LHP

<- Previous | Home | Next ->

playerbio

Craig Stephen Minetto (born April 25, 1954 in Stockton, CA) is a former professional baseball player who pitched in parts of four seasons in Major League Baseball from 1978 until 1981 for the Oakland Athletics.

Originally drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1972, and again in the secondary phase in 1973, Minetto did not sign. Instead, he attended San Joaquin Delta College for two years. He was then signed as an amateur free agent by the Montreal Expos in 1974, but he pitched one season in their farm system with the Kinston Expos before being released.

Unable to find a job in American baseball, Minetto signed with the Fortitudo Baseball Bologna, a professional team based in Bologna, Italy and sponsored by Grappa del Cannonier. In 1975, Craig Minetto hit .258/.310/.303 in 21 games for Grappa del Cannonier - Bologna and went 16-4 with one save and a 0.92 ERA. He allowed 95 hits in 174 1/3 IP with 83 walks and 252 strikeouts. He fell one strikeout shy of Giacomo Bertoni's Italian league record. He pitched there for a season, and later returned to the United States, where he was signed to a minor league contract by the Athletics before the 1977 season.

Craig went on to pitch in 55 games for Oakland over four seasons, then was traded to the Baltimore Orioles organization, pitching with their affiliate Rochester Red Wings from 1982 to 1983. In December 1983, he was traded to the Houston Astros for Bobby Sprowl and concluded his career at AAA Tucson Toros in the 1984 season.

In between, he played winter ball with the Tiburones de La Guaira club of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League during the 1978–1979 season. After retiring, Craig took horticulture classes at Delta College and owned and operated Alpine Nursery in Stockton until it closed in 2012.

(excerpted from Baseball Almanac, BR Bullpen & Wikipedia)

morecards

1980 Topps #494

tourstops


Craig is also part of the Athletics Player Tour – Go To the Next Stop


See all Craig’s baseball cards at TCDB


<- Previous | Home | Next ->


randomplayer

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *