In 1974, TSN named D 'Acquisto NL Rookie Pitcher of the Year when he went 12-14 with a
3.77 ERA for the fifth-place Giants, but he missed most of the next season after
elbow surgery. Always wild, he was easier to hit afterwards, and was no longer a
good starter. He tied an NL record with three wild pitches in the seventh inning
on September 24, 1976. The San Diego native made a comeback with the Padres in 1978
by switching to the bullpen (10 saves, 2.13 ERA) but declined in subsequent years.
(SH)
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»June 4, 1970: In the June draft, the Padres select high school catcher Mike Ivie as the number-one pick and sign him in three days to a $100,000 contract. He'll play in the ML 11 years but catch only nine games in the bigs because of a phobia about throwing the ball back to the pitcher. Choosing next, the Indians take Stanford P Steve Dunning, who will debut in 10 days. Catchers Barry Foote (Expos) and Darrell Porter (Brewers) go next. The Pirates wait till the 14th round to take Dave Parker. Rich Gossage goes in the 9th round to the White Sox; Rick Reuschel to the Cubs (3); pitcher Dale Murphy to the Braves (18th). The Giants took Randy Moffitt and Chris Speier on the first round in January and repeat the good first round picks today with John D'Acquisto and Dave Kingman. The Reds take prep SS Gary Polczynski in the first round, but have better luck in the 8th (Will McEnaney), the 10th (Ray Knight) and the 19th (Pat Zachry). The Phillies, Royals, Dodgers, and Angels pick 5th, 8th, 9th and 10th on the first round and also come up with duds. Future seventeen-year major leaguer Frank White goes undrafted today.
»December 28, 1995: Former major league P John D'Acquisto is arrested on charges of trying to pass off a forged $200 million certificate of deposit as collateral on a deal at Prudential Securities Inc.
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