I've been working on revising the book for the upcoming 5th edition (which will be out on Opening Day). Thought I'd share a few of these EveryCubEver entries with you while I worked...
~Alec Distaso 1948--2009 (Cubs
1969)
In 1967, the Chicago Cubs had the first pick in the amateur draft. Most of the
teams in the league agreed the top two picks were outfielder Ken Singleton and
catcher Carlton Fisk. The Cubs disagreed with most teams. They chose a pitcher
instead; an 18-year-old high schooler from California. His name was Al Distaso.
The Cubs considered him the second coming of Don Drysdale. He didn’t have
Drysdale’s size or fastball, but he did resemble him physically. And at first,
he showed some promise. In his first two minor league seasons he struck out 225
in just over 300 innings. But he also hurt his elbow, and by the time spring
training rolled around in 1969, he wasn’t the same pitcher. Leo Durocher took a
chance he could rediscover the magic and named him the 10th man on the pitching
staff going into the season. Al debuted on April 20th against the Expos and
pitched two scoreless innings. He came in again on April 22nd, but this time he
wasn’t facing the Expos. He was facing the fearsome Pittsburgh Pirates. Richie
Hebner, Matty Alou, Roberto Clemente, and Willie Stargell all got hits against
Al in what turned out to be his final major league appearance. He was sent down
to the minors after that and never returned. But Al found a higher calling
after leaving baseball for good in 1971. He became a police officer; a
decorated homicide detective in the roughest neighborhood of Los Angeles. Al
retired from the force in 1994, and the other guys in his unit made sure that everyone got a copy of his Topps 1969 Cubs Rookie card. Al passed away in 2009.
