Joe Pignatano, ex-Brooklyn Dodger and Original Met, dies at 92
Joe Pignatano of the New York Mets on July 14,1962 at the Polo Grounds. Credit: AP/Harry Harris
SAN FRANCISCO — Joe Pignatano, who played for the original 1962 Mets and was the last living coach from the 1969 Miracle Mets, died from dementia in Naples, Florida, on Monday, the team announced. He was 92.
A native of Brooklyn, Pignatano paused his professional baseball career to serve in the military for two years during the Korean War but reached the majors as a 27-year-old catcher with the Dodgers in 1957, their last season in his home borough.
In addition to playing alongside the franchise’s greats from that era — including Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax, Roy Campanella, Don Drysdale, Gil Hodges, Pee Wee Reese and Duke Snider — he was briefly Campanella’s backup and was behind the plate for the final outs of the Dodgers’ final game at Ebbets Field.
Pignatano spent parts of six seasons in the majors altogether, playing in 307 games with the Dodgers, then-Kansas City Athletics, Giants and Mets. He hit .232 in 27 games for the Mets in their inaugural season.
When Hodges returned to New York as the Mets’ manager ahead of the 1968 season, he brought Pignatano with him as the bullpen coach. In his 14 seasons in that role, Pignatano was known to maintain a vegetable garden — specifically tomatoes — in the Shea Stadium bullpen.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
