Alec Distaso

Alec John Distaso

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 200 lb.
• High School Garfield High School (East Los Angeles), Woodrow Wilson High School (Los Angeles)
• Debut April 20, 1969
• Final Game April 22, 1969
• Born December 23, 1948 in Los Angeles, CA USA
• Died July 13, 2009 in Macomb, IL USA

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Biographical Information

Alec Distaso was the #1 overall pick in the January 1967 amateur draft. He made the Chicago Cubs staff as a 20-year-old in spring training 1969 and pitched two games for them in April. His one career strikeout victim was Mack Jones.

Distaso then went down to Double-A, where he had not previously pitched (he skipped to Triple-A in late 1968). He was pitching very well but then sustained an elbow injury during a relief appearance between starts. This itself was questionable. Yet the organization had the young hurler -- who in all probability would have been a candidate for Tommy John surgery, were it available then -- back on the mound in less than two weeks. It's little surprise that after this deplorable handling, he slumped over the rest of 1969, and (except for a successful stint in Class A) suffered through a miserable 1970.

Distaso's baseball career ended following a last try in spring training 1971. He then joined the Los Angeles Police Department, rising to detective and eventually retiring in 1994. After that, he went on to a third career as a public housing administrator. Distaso became gravely ill with cancer and died in 2009 at the age of 60.

Related Sites

• Alec Distaso at the SABR BioProject