John Boccabella

John Dominic Boccabella

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 200 lb.
• School Santa Clara University
• High School Marin Catholic High School
• Debut September 2, 1963
• Final Game September 19, 1974
• Born June 29, 1941 in San Francisco, CA USA

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Biographical Information

"But [Claude] Mouton [PA announcer] saved his very best intro for one of the original Expos, John Boccabella. Marshalling a level of enthusiasm you might use on a Hall of Famer, Mouton's greeting for the light-hitting, part-time catcher remains one of the most indelible memories for any old-time Expos fan. 'Le receveur, the catcher, numero neuf, number nine... JOHHHNNNN BOCK-[extremely long pause]-a-BELLLLLL-a!!!'" - Jonah Keri, from 2014's Up, Up & Away

John Boccabella played twelve years in the majors, getting over 210 at-bats only once, close to the end of his career, when he was the starting catcher for the Montreal Expos in 1973.

Growing up in San Anselmo, CA, north of San Francisco, he was the California high school baseball player of the year in 1959, then was a teammate of Ernie Fazio, Bob Garibaldi and Tim Cullen at Santa Clara as the team reached the 1962 College World Series. John was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Cubs in 1963 and, by early September of the same year, made his major league debut after a huge first pro year with the Pocatello Chiefs of the Pioneer League, where he hit .365 with 18 doubles, 10 triples and 30 homers in 84 games. He hit his first big league homer off Ernie Broglio of the St. Louis Cardinals on September 12th. In 1964, he hit 23 homers and drove in 78 runs for the AAA Salt Lake City Bees, but his batting average fell to .226. Touted as a potential successor to Ernie Banks, John was a backup outfielder, first baseman and sometimes catcher for the Cubs in the late 1960s, before being selected in the expansion draft by the Montreal Expos on October 14, 1968.

Claude Mouton, the public address announcer at Montreal's Jarry Park loved to play with Boccabella's name. He would intone in his French accent "Jean BOCK-(pause)-a-BELLLLLL-a" much to the delight of the Expos faithful. Manager Gene Mauch gradually turned him into a full-time catcher; Boccabella played in a career-high 118 games in 1973, batting .233 with 7 home runs and 46 RBI. On July 6, 1973, he became the second of only three catchers ever to homer twice in one inning (through June 2007), going deep against the Houston Astros' Jim Ray and Jim Crawford, the latter a grand slam, in the 6th inning at Jarry Park. The others were Andy Seminick in 1949 and Bengie Molina in 2007. With Barry Foote ready to take the reins, and a kid named Gary Carter now in their system, the Expos dealt John to the San Francisco Giants on the eve of the 1974 season. He played 29 games and was through. Overall, Boccabella hit .219 in parts of 12 seasons.

Related Sites

• John Boccabella at the SABR Bio Project