Dave Giusti

David John Giusti Jr. (November 27, 1939 – January 11, 2026) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1962 to 1977 for the Houston Colt .45's / Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, and Chicago Cubs. Giusti played for Pirates teams that won five National League Eastern Division titles in six years between and and won the World Series in .

Giusti's trademark pitch was the palmball, which he learned in college and mastered in the major leagues.

Career Giusti attended Syracuse University, where he played college baseball and college basketball for the Syracuse Orangemen. Giusti pitched in the 1961 College World Series as a starting pitcher. He signed out of college as a free agent with the Houston Colt .45s (later the Houston Astros), with whome he played from 1962 through 1968. The Cardinals left him unprotected in the expansion draft, and the San Diego Padres selected him in the third round. Two months later, the Padres traded Giusti back to the Cardinals for Danny Breeden, Ron Davis, Ed Spiezio, and Philip Knuckles. He competed for the fifth starter's role in spring training but lost out to Mike Torrez.

After the 1969 season, the Cardinals traded Giusti to the Pittsburgh Pirates with Dave Ricketts for Carl Taylor and Frank Vanzin. With the Pirates, he was converted into a relief pitcher by manager Danny Murtaugh, and Giusti soon became their closer. Giusti recorded 26 saves his first season in Pittsburgh, finishing fourth in the National League Cy Young voting and sixth in the NL MVP balloting.

In 1971, Giusti led the National League with 30 saves and appeared in three games for Pittsburgh in the 1971 World Series, earning a save in Game Four. Giusti won The Sporting News Reliever of the Year Award that year. Giusti was selected for the National League's All-Star Team in 1973. He pitched a one-two-three seventh inning as the National League won the game 7–1. From 1970 to 1975, Giusti led all Major League baseball pitchers in saves with 127. In August, the Athletics sold Giusti's contract to the Chicago Cubs with whom Giusti finished the season, and after being released by the Cubs in November, Giusti retired from baseball.

Honors Giusti was selected as an inaugural member of the Syracuse Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. He was elected to the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame in 1989, and the Pittsburgh chapter of the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 1987.