April 1945 and Pieretti is in the headline’s “Midget Marino Pieretti Big Talk of Big Leagues.” Statements like, “Some of our most astute observers of the baseball scene are convinced that they watched the beginning of stardom for a Washington pitcher here in Yankee Stadium.”
Pieretti stood 5-07 and weighed just over 150 pounds. But what he lacked in size the feisty Marino made up in spirit.
Marino won 26 games for Portland in the Pacific Coast League in 1944 and was signed by Washington for $7,500. One paper adding that they must have run out of pitchers in Cuba. For Washington in 1945 the young Mr. Pieretti was a wonder, winning 14 games while racking up a total of 233 innings pitched. Always proud of his athletic skills, he batted a respectable .222. Pieretti can often be seen before a game running the bases and practicing sliding. He takes great delight in his sliding. But this leads to a dirty uniform.
Pieretti a Fashion Icon – Not! With the Portland Beavers Marino finished up games was said to look like”a hod carrier after an honest day’s toil, than a ball player. Along about the third inning of every game his shirt tail always managed to sneak out, and as a general rule stayed out. Being a superstitious guy, Pieretti wasn’t doing any arguing with a lowly shirt tail during a contest. Pieretti had problems with his pants legs too. The left leg, the one he raises high on every pitch, is always coming loose and dropping down, often times to ankle depth. He would then half-heatedly roll it back in place once or twice and then give up in disgust. Another problem is his dirty torn sweat shirts
March 1946, Pieretti is in the news once again, Pieretti faced a possible fine for reporting late for camp. He asked for and was given permission to report on 23 February, but nothing was heard from him until he arrived on 3 March.
. Move the clock forward 10 years. It is March 1956 and Marino Pieretti has a new tag line next to his name, “Wartime Pitcher.” The little Italian, born right-hander, now 34, remembers that freshman season clearly, but he also recalls the following year when he sat on the bench because the Senators didn’t think he was anything more than a wartime pitcher. “Why didn’t they start me” They thought I was a wartime pitcher, a stop-gap until the big boys came back from service. And when the big fellows did come home, nobody bothered to see it I could beat more than 4-Fs.
Pieretti went from the Senators to the White Sox, who also used him sparingly, and then to Cleveland. From the Indians he went back to where he started, the Pacific Coast League.
Phillies Skipper Mayo Smith decided to take a chance on the young pitcher. “He’s better now than he was in 1945. He’s got a slider and a sinker and keeps the ball low. He’s got a good chance of sticking.”
Pieretti won’t make it with the Phillies. He was 7-9 for Los Angeles in 1956 and played two more years in the minors before retiring in 1958.
He got his nickname “Chick” when a doctor had to remove a chicken bone from his throat. He worked during the off season killing steers in a San Francisco slaughterhouse. He passed away June 30, 1981. at age 60 in San Francisco, CA.
Did you Know? In September 1946 Pieretti and Alex Carrasquel traded blows over a pet bat. Pieretti had a thing for bats; one publication stated he used them to slaughter cattle.
His combined Major/Minor League record
Won Lost ERA IP
Major League 30 38 4.53 673.2
Minor League 129 119 3.39 2,065.2
