Bobby Del Greco

Robert George Del Greco

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10½", Weight 190 lb.

• Debut April 16, 1952
• Final Game May 8, 1965
• Born April 7, 1933 in Pittsburgh, PA USA
• Died October 13, 2019 in Baldwin Township, PA USA

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Biographical Information

Bobby Del Greco, who played nine seasons in the majors as a defensive whiz, was a baby-faced regular at age 19 with the talent-starved Pittsburgh Pirates in 1952, a team which lost 112 games. Del Greco hit only .217 that year but then the team as a whole hit only .231.

According to The Pittsburgh Pirates Encyclopedia, Branch Rickey had held a large-scale try-out and invited 30 players to try to make the team. Del Greco, who had hit over .300 in the low minors, impressed the most, reminding Rickey of Terry Moore. Del Greco was one of several teenagers that ended up making the 1952 team. After his subpar initial season, he was dispatched to the minors and didn't don another major league uniform again until 1956 when he began a journeyman's existence, playing for six teams in his nine-year major league career (including twice with the Philadelphia Phillies). The Kansas City Athletics gave him a lot of at-bats in 1961-1963 and he responded by having one of his best years with the bat in 1962 when he posted an on-base percentage of .370.

He was part of the New York Yankees teams that went to the World Series in 1957 and 1958. However, he played a total of 13 games for those two teams, and never played in the postseason. Del Greco spent the last three years of his professional career in a mostly futile attempt to make it back to the majors. He made a brief appearance for the Phillies in 1965 and finally retired from baseball the following year at age 33.

His son Robert Del Greco has been a prominent Pittsburgh attorney.

Related Sites

• Bobby Del Greco at the SABR Bio Project