- Joey Amalfitano
Infobox MLB retired
bgcolor2=#181818
bgcolor1=#F9461C
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
name=Joey Amalfitano
position=Second Baseman
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1934|1|23
deathdate=
debutdate=May 3
debutyear=1954
debutteam=New York Giants
finaldate=June 27
finalyear=1967
finalteam=Chicago Cubs
stat1label=AVG
stat1value=.244
stat2label=Hits
stat2value=418
stat3label=Runs
stat3value=248
teams=As Player
*New York/San Francisco Giants (by|1954-by|1955, by|1960-by|1961, by|1963)
*Houston Colt .45's (by|1962)
*Chicago Cubs (by|1964-by|1967)As Manager
*Chicago Cubs (by|1979-by|1981)
highlights=John Joseph Amalfitano (born
January 23 ,1934 inSan Pedro, California ) is a special advisor for player development in thefarm system of theSan Francisco Giants of AmericanMajor League Baseball and a former utilityinfielder , manager and longtime coach at the Major League level.Amalfitano attended Loyola University of Los Angeles and the
University of Southern California . Because he signed a "bonus contract" when he became a professional player in by|1954, Amalfitano spent the first two years of his pro career sitting on the bench of the New York Giants under the terms of the rule then in force. But after four years in the minor leagues, he returned to theNational League in by|1960 and played through the middle of by|1967 for the Giants, Houston Colt .45s andChicago Cubs . Amalfitano, aright-handed hitter and thrower, batted .244 in 1,715at bat s with ninehome runs .After playing his final game on
June 27 , 1967, Amalfitano became a coach for the Cubs, serving under his first-ever manager,Leo Durocher . He moved back to the Giants as a coach in by|1972, then to theSan Diego Padres from by|1976-by|1977 before rejoining the Cubs as a member ofHerman Franks ' staff in by|1978 and by|1979.Amalfitano served as Chicago's
interim manager after Franks' resignation in September 1979, compiling a record of 2-5 to finish the season. That autumn, the Cubs appointedPreston Gómez manager, with Amalfitano retained as a coach. But when Chicago started the by|1980 campaign poorly under Gómez, winning only 38 of 90 games, he was fired in July and Amalfitano was named his permanent successor. The Cubs won only 26 games, losing 46, to remain in the basement of theNational League East Division , but Amalfitano was allowed to return for by|1981. During that strike-shortened, split-season campaign, his team won a total of 38 games, losing 65, finishing last and next-to-last with the worst overall record in the division. At season's end, he was fired during a general housecleaning of the Chicago front office. Amalfitano's career record as a manager, over all or parts of three seasons with the Cubs, was 66-116 (.363).However, he remained active in baseball, returning to coaching with the
Cincinnati Reds (by|1982) and then spending 16 seasons as the third base coach for theLos Angeles Dodgers (by|1983-by|1998). He then worked with minor leagueinfielder s in his original organization, the Giants, before assuming his current position with them.ources
* [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/A/Pamalj101.htm Retrosheet]
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