Frank LaCorte

Frank Joseph LaCorte (/ləˈkɔːrti/ la-KOR-tee; born October 13, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1975–1984 for the Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, and California Angels. A right-hander, he stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 180 pounds (82 kg).

Basics

• Positions
  • Pitcher
• Major League Debut
  • September 8, 1974
  • Entered the game for the Atlanta Braves in the 4th inning against the visiting Houston Astros at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. He pitched 4.1 innings in relief of Phil Niekro, allowing 1 hit, 1 walk, and 2 earned runs. He also struck out 5 of the 15 batters he faced. However, he did take the loss.¹
• Last MLB Appearance
  • September 24, 1984
  • He entered the sixth inning with 2 runners on. Both scored. He pitched 2.2 innings in relief, allowing 3 hits, two of which were home runs (one to Darryl Motley and the other to Pat Sheridan). He allowed 3 earned runs, gave up 1 walk over the course of facing 11 batters.²

Ejections

1. June 24, 1983
   • Umpire: Charlie Williams
   • Opponent: Los Angeles Dodgers
   • Steve Sax was the batter before Landreaux, and hit a home run. Frank LaCorte took exception threw two pitches inside to Ken Landreaux and hit him with the third on the right hip; Landreaux glared at LaCorte then threw his bat down and charged the mound; both benches emptied quickly; LaCorte threw down his glove and ran towards Landreaux; when LaCorte tried to punch Landreaux, he hit his catcher Luis Pujols; HP umpire Charlie Williams grabbed LaCorte, pushed him to the ground and sat on him; LaCorte suffered a bruised left shoulder as a result of being wrestled to the ground by Williams; Landreaux left with a splint on his right ring finger; both players ejected by Williams. Vern Ruhle replaced LaCorte.³

Teams Played for

• Greenwood Braves – Western Carolinas League – (A)
• Savannah Braves – Southern League (AA)
• Richmond Braves – International League (AAA)
• Atlanta Braves – National League
• Charleston Charlies – International League (AAA)
• Houston Astros – National League
• Edmonton Trappers – Pacific Coast League (AAA)
• California Angels – American League⁴

Career Stat Line

• ERA: 5.01
• WHIP: 1.46
• Wins: 23
• Losses: 44
• Games: 253
• Starts: 32
• Saves: 26
• Innings pitched 490
• Hits: 457
• Strike Outs 372

Transfers

• September 5, 1972
  • Signed by Atlanta Braves as Amateur Free Agent
• May 25, 1979
  • Traded by Atlanta Braves to Houston Astros
  • Braves received Bo McLaughlin
• November 7, 1983
  • Granted Free Agency by Atlanta Braves
• December 8, 1983
  • Signed to 3 year contract by California Angels
• March 21, 1986
  • Released by California Angels⁵

Injured List

• July 25 – September 1, 1983
  • Injured – cause officially unknown per the baseball cube. Would assume it was from the home plate umpire’s actions of wrestling him to the ground and sitting on him in June 1983.
• June 13 – September 1, 1984
  • Right shoulder inflammation.
• April 1 – October 8, 1985
  • Calcium deposit in right shoulder.⁶

1. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1975/B09080ATL1975.htm ↩︎
2. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1984/B09242KCA1984.htm ↩︎
3. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1983/B06240LAN1983.htm ↩︎
4. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=lacort001fra#all_standard_roster ↩︎
5. https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/14021/tranx/ ↩︎
6. https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/14021/tranx/ ↩︎