Leo Righetti

Leo Charles Righetti

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 165 lb.
• High School Bellarmine College Preparatory

• Born March 4, 1925 in San Francisco, CA USA
• Died February 19, 1998 in San Jose, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Leo Righetti was a minor leaguer for 12 years, 8 of them in either the AAA or Open classification. His son Dave Righetti became a major leaguer while son Steven Righetti played in the minors.

Leo debuted in 1944 with the Binghamton Triplets, hitting .232/~.311/.325 in 67 games and fielding .887 at shortstop. He also was briefly with the Newark Bears, hitting .143 in four contests. He did not play in 1945. In 1946, Leo only managed a .166/~.224/.182 batting line in 57 games for Binghamton, the lowest average that year by any Eastern League player with 100 at-bats, let alone 200 plate appearances. He fielded only .855 in 30 games at third base amd .915 in 10 at second.

Righetti made strides in 1947, hitting .251 with a career-high 10 HR and 81 RBI for the Victoria Athletics. In 1948, he batted .162 for Binghamton and .237 for the Augusta Tigers. Back with Augusta in 1949, the infielder hit .225 with 4 HR and 46 RBI. He did not play in 1950.

Righetti moved to the Pacific Coast League in 1951 with the Sacramento Solons. He backed up Ken Keltner at third base, Joe Gordon at second base and Lenny Ratto at shortstop. He hit just .202/~.308/.267 and did not steal a base in 122 games. In 1952, he was with the Toledo Mud Hens and Charleston Senators, hitting a combined .199/~.256/.272 in 113 games. He had the lowest average of any American Association player with 100 AB or 100 games. He fielded .973 at second base, close to the league lead.

In 1953, Leo was on the San Francisco Seals and produced at a .258/~.325/.318 clip while fielding .961 at short. With San Francisco in 1954, Righetti hit .255/.321/.323. In 1955, he played for both the Seals and Seattle Rainiers, batting .264/.319/.341.

With the 1956 Rainiers, Righetti hit .280/.334/.320 with 61 runs and fielding .951, almost leading PCL shortstops. He finished his career in 1957, split between Seattle and Sacramento. He hit .264/.319/.341 that season and fielded .965 at short.

Sources: 1945, 1947, 1953, 1954 and 1958 Baseball Guides, Stephen Davis's 1951-1957 PCL seasons for Diamond Mind Baseball, Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database