Joe Persichina

Joseph Heinrich Persichina

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 190 lb.
• School Arizona State University
• High School Palos Verdes Peninsula High School

• Born December 14, 1984 in Torrance, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Joe Persichina has played in the minors and Italy.

Persichina comes from an athletic family. His aunt Claudia Schneider was a 1976 Olympian for the US Women's Rowing team while uncle George Lockwood was in the 1971-1972 World Rowing Games. Joe hit .371 as a high school junior and .341 as a senior. As a college freshman, he batted .320/.412/.400 as the main first baseman for Arizona State. That summer, he hit .278 for the Alaska Goldpanners. He struggled as a sophomore, batting just .214/.300/.339 as a utility infielder. He was 0 for 4 with a run and a RBI in the 2005 College World Series, starting one game, pinch-hitting once and pinch-running for Andrew Romine once in ASU's five games. In summer ball, he put up a .242/.301/.326 line as a utility man for the Harwich Mariners.

Joe rebounded as a junior, to .283/.407/.304 in a part-time role. He was one of ASU's most-used bench players as a senior and hit .254/.365/.296. He was 0 for 4 with a walk and a run in the 2007 College World Series, playing as a pinch-hitter in all three of the Sun Devils' contests; among those he batted for were Kiel Roling and Romine.

Undrafted, he was signed by Chicago White Sox scout Alan Regier. He made his pro debut as a utility player for the 2007 Great Falls White Sox, producing at a .281/.376/.363 clip and scoring 35 times in 46 games. He played every infield position and both corner outfield slots in a busy 2008 which saw him appear for the Kannapolis Intimidators (.214/.263/.262 in 41 G), Winston-Salem Warthogs (.275/.349/.359 in 52 G) and Birmingham Barons (6 for 21, 2 2B). He stole 12 bases in 18 tries in 100 games while hitting only one home run. Persichina ended his White Sox system career in 2009 with the Intimidators (.287/.333/.391 in 26 G) and the Winston-Salem Dash (.230/.276/.293 in 58 G).

In 2010, Persichina was a starting middle infielder for the Sussex Skyhawks and batted .259/.324/.352 in the independent Canadian-American Association. He then moved to the Italian Baseball League in 2011, hitting .293/.355/.485 for Godo while manning center field primarily. He moved to Rimini in 2012 and improved to .335/.401/.437 with 32 RBI and 29 runs. He was among the IBL leaders in RBI (tied for 6th with Luis Maza, Daniel Bittar, Max De Biase and Claudio Liverziani), hits (56, tied for 5th with Juan Carlos Infante), doubles (14, tied for 5th), steals (11, tied for 5th with Paolino Ambrosino), times caught stealing (7, tied for the most with Andrea De Santis) and average (7th, between Alessandro Vaglio and Danilo Sánchez). In the 2012 Italian Series, he hit .231/.286/.269 with 5 RBI in six games as Rimini fell to T&A San Marino. He tied Max De Biase for the Rimini RBI lead.

Sources

• 2009 White Sox Media Guide
• ASU
• Cape Cod League
• Italian Baseball Federation