Johnny Antonelli lost more than he won versus the Cardinals, and Stan Musial and Ken Boyer often hit well against him, but when he was at his peak he was hard to beat.
A left-handed pitcher, he had a 126-110 record in 12 major-league seasons with the Braves, Giants and Indians.
His most prominent year was 1954 when he was 21-7 for the World Series champion Giants and led the National League in ERA (2.30) and shutouts (six).
His 20th win in 1954 came against the Cardinals and made him the first Giants left-hander to achieve the feat since Carl Hubbell and Cliff Melton each did it in 1937.
The Natural
Antonelli’s father was born in Italy and immigrated to Rochester, N.Y., where he worked for the railroad.
In the book, “We Played the Game,” Antonelli said he played organized baseball for the first time in high school. “It came pretty easy to me,” Antonelli said. “I started out playing first, but my coach, Charlie O’Brien, noticed that when I threw the ball it had a little tail to it, so he tried me out as a pitcher.”
As he prepared to graduate from high school in 1948, Antonelli said an exhibition game against a local semipro team was arranged for him so he could pitch before big-league scouts. The game was played at the ballpark used by the Cardinals’ farm club in Rochester.
In “We Played the Game,” Antonelli said the Red Sox made the highest offer, but he signed with the Braves for a $52,000 bonus. The Braves’ manager, Billy Southworth, had led the Cardinals to three consecutive pennants (1942-44) and two World Series titles.
“I let my father make the decision,” said Antonelli. “My father and I were fans of the Rochester Red Wings and my father was surely influenced to sign with the Braves because Billy Southworth had once coached at Rochester.”
Antonelli said it also helped that the Braves were owned by an Italian-American, Lou Perini.
Mixing pitches
Antonelli, who never played in the minor leagues, was 18 when he made his debut with the Braves on July 4, 1948. He spent two years (1951-52) in the Army and was traded to the Giants in 1954 in a deal involving slugger Bobby Thomson.
Giants pitching coach Freddie Fitzsimmons helped Antonelli develop an off-speed pitch to go with his fastball and curve. Antonelli described it as a “little snap screwball.”
In “We Played the Game,” Antonelli said, “It was meant to keep batters off stride. It was the pitch that made me successful.”
Changing speeds effectively, Antonelli’s pitching, along with Willie Mays’ hitting and fielding, helped the Giants replace the Dodgers as the best team in the National League in 1954.
On Aug. 30, 1954, Antonelli pitched a four-hitter in a 4-1 Giants victory over the Cardinals at St. Louis. The win gave Antonelli a season record of 20-3. All four Cardinals hits were singles.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch described Antonelli as “tremendous” and reported he used a curve, a “clever changeup” and an “overpowering fastball.”
“I’ve never seen him so fast,” Musial said. “He almost shaved me with one inside.” Boxscore
In a nifty bit of foreshadowing, the Post-Dispatch concluded, “It’s difficult to figure them beating Antonelli in a close one.”
Two weeks later, on Sept. 13, 1954, Antonelli pitched a five-hit shutout and outdueled rookie Gordon Jones in the Giants’ 1-0 triumph over the Cardinals in New York. Again, all of the St. Louis hits were singles. Antonelli allowed no hits after the fourth inning. Boxscore
Cardinals challenge
Antonelli was the starter for the Giants in the first game the Cardinals played in San Francisco in 1958. Boxscore
He also allowed two of the five home runs Musial hit in a doubleheader against the Giants on May 2, 1954 at St. Louis. Boxscore
Musial hit .302 with 11 home runs in his career against Antonelli. No other batter hit more home runs versus Antonelli.
The first home run allowed by Antonelli in the big leagues was to Musial on May 24, 1949, at St. Louis. Boxscore
Musial’s Cardinals teammate, Boyer, batted .330 with five home runs versus Antonelli. Two of Boyer’s home runs came in a game on June 27, 1956, a 6-0 Cardinals victory at the Polo Grounds. Boxscore
For his career against the Cardinals, Antonelli was 17-18 with five shutouts and a 3.53 ERA.
In his book, “Stan Musial: The Man’s Own Story,” Musial said, “Antonelli was a good pitcher with great control for several years. In his peak, he came up with a terrific change of pace that made him outstanding. A little later, he lost that change, the pitch that went away from a right-handed hitter, and he never got it back. Losing that pitch cost him something in the way of effectiveness.”
After the 1959 season, the Cardinals offered to trade second baseman Don Blasingame and pitcher Larry Jackson to the Giants for Antonelli and shortstop Daryl Spencer, but the Giants wouldn’t part with Antonelli, a 19-game winner in 1959. With Antonelli unavailable, the deal was restructured and Blasingame was sent to the Giants for Spencer and outfielder Leon Wagner.
Almost every time I’d see Antonelli’s name in print, it seemed to be prefaced by “Stylish southpaw.”
Fitting description indeed.
In his prime he was tough against St. Louis. With the Giants he went 16-11 against us. I really enjoyed Stan Musial’s take on Antonelli. You lose count how many times the pitch that makes or breaks a pitchers career is a change up or some pitch that changes speeds. Too bad Johnny was misquoted regarding some remarks he made during the 1959 season. And the fact that even the fans turned against him was uncalled for. Seals Stadium was by no means a place to play baseball. Still, Johnny pitched well there. In fact, he was the only Giant pitcher to finish above. 500 in both the two years that they played there.
Thanks for the insights. By all accounts, he was a good person as well as a good pitcher. He also was a successful business owner of tire stores in the state of New York.