Gino Cimoli

Gino Nicholas Cimoli (December 18, 1929 – February 12, 2011) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Braves, Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, and Los Angeles Angels from 1956 through 1965. He was an MLB All-Star in 1957, and a member of the 1960 World Series champions. He was the first major league baseball player to take an at bat in a West Coast game.

Professional baseball career He signed as an amateur free agent with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949. He had a six year minor-league career in the Dodgers' farm system, from 1949 to 1955, playing the majority of his games at the Triple-A level. His batting average was .300 or better in three of four years of Triple-A ball from 1952-1955.

He would make his Major League Baseball debut with the Dodgers on April 19, 1956, but played sparingly that year.

On April 15, 1958, Cimoli became the first Major League batter to step into the batter's box on the West Coast when the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants played their first game of the season at Seals Stadium in San Francisco. Dodger manager Walter Alston knew the significance of the event and that Cimoli had grown up in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood, not far from the stadium, and chose Cimoli to be the first player to bat in major league baseball's inaugural West Coast game. In 1959, he hit .297 for the Cardinals, with 61 runs scored and 72 RBIs. He was primarily the Pirates' fourth outfielder in 1960, batting .267 in 101 games, sometimes platooning in center field with Bill Virdon (he played 58 games in center field that year), while also playing some in both left field (27 games) and right field (17 games). After left fielder Bob Skinner injured his thumb in Game 1 of the World Series, Cimoli started Games 2–6 in left field. Cimoli returned to the bench in Game 7 when Skinner returned. Released by the Orioles before the 1965 season, Cimoli signed with the California Angels on April 10, 1965.

Cimoli's baseball card in 1958 (No. 286, Topps) in which the background was painted out, shows him swinging a bat, without the bat — which was also painted out. (Source: Baseball Hall of Shame 4, Nash & Zullo)

Later life After retiring from baseball, Cimoli worked as a delivery driver for United Parcel Service where, in 1990, the company honored Cimoli for completing 21 years of service without a traffic accident. Cimoli, then 60 years old and still working for the company, was now referred to as "The Lou Gehrig of UPS."