Joe Pignatano

Joe Pignatano
Pignatano as the Mets' bullpen coach, 1969
Catcher
Born: (1929-08-04)August 4, 1929
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died: May 23, 2022(2022-05-23) (aged 92)
Naples, Florida, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 28, 1957, for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Last MLB appearance
September 30, 1962, for the New York Mets
MLB statistics
Batting average.234
Home runs16
Runs batted in62
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Joseph Benjamin Pignatano (August 4, 1929 – May 23, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and coach. As a catcher, Pignatano played in Major League Baseball during all or part of six seasons (1957–1962) for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers (1957–1960), Kansas City Athletics (1961), San Francisco Giants (1962), and New York Mets (1962). After his playing career, he was a coach for the Mets, Washington Senators, and Atlanta Braves.

Pignatano was a Brooklyn native. He signed with his hometown Dodgers in 1948, and spent almost seven full seasons, interrupted by two years of military service, in their farm system before three brief auditions with the 1957 big-league team. He was a member of the 1959 World Series-champion Dodgers as a player and the 1969 World Series-champion Mets as a coach.