Carmen Ronald Fanzone (born
August 30, 1943 in
Detroit,
Michigan
) is a former
utility who played between and in
Major League Baseball.
Listed at 6' 0", 200 lb., he batted and threw
right-handed.
Fanzone was a versatile and effective utility man who was able to
play all four
infield positions,
left field and
right
field, playing mainly as a
third
baseman. He was signed by the
Boston
Red Sox in the 1964 draft, spending seven years at different
minor league levels before
joining the big team in 1970. As a
rookie, he
hit .200 (3-for-15) in 10 games. Then, he was dealt by Boston to
the
Chicago Cubs before the 1971 season
in the same transaction that brought
Phil
Gagliano to the Red Sox. His most productive season came with
the 1972 Cubs, when he posted career-numbers in
games (86),
home runs
(8),
RBI (42) and
runs (26). Carmen is known for catching the
last out in Milt Pappas no-hitter on September 2, 1972 when Gary
Jestadt of the Padres popped out to him. He appeared in 227 games
with Chicago, mostly in
pinch-hit
duties, and did not return to the majors after the 1974 season. He
also is one of three players in Cubs history to hit a home run in
consecutive pinch-hit
at-bats. The others are
Dale Long and
Darrin Jackson.
In a five-season-career, Fanzone was a .224 hitter (132-for-588)
with 20 home runs and 94 RBI in 237 games, including 27 doubles and
three
stolen bases. After that, he
played with the
Hawaii Islanders
1975
Pacific Coast League
champion team.
Fanzone is an accomplished horn player.
He once played
"The Star-Spangled Banner"
prior to a game at Wrigley
Field
. Following his playing retirement, Fanzone
started a
jazz music career as a
flugelhorn player.
Fanzone and his wife
Sue Raney, a four-time Grammy Award nominee as a jazz vocalist, reside in Sherman
Oaks
.
In the television program
Transformers Animated, the captain of
the Detroit Police Department was named Carmine Fanzone as a
tribute.
See also
Sources
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