Mike Ferraro

Michael Dennis Ferraro (August 18, 1944 – July 20, 2024) was an American Major League Baseball third baseman. He played for the New York Yankees (; ) and the Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers (; ). Ferraro threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed .

Early life and amateur career Ferraro attended Kingston High School in Kingston, New York, where he played baseball, basketball and football. As a senior in high school, he led all of Dutchess, Ulster, Sullivan, and Orange Counties with a .585 batting average on the baseball field and with 21.5 points per game on the basketball court.

Professional playing career Ferraro was originally signed as an amateur free agent by the Yankees, and he would have two MLB trials with New York. He was left unprotected in the 1968 expansion draft, and he was selected by the Seattle Pilots, but after only five games and four at-bats, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles, where he spent two years in the minors.

However, in October 1971, Ferraro was traded back to the Brewers (the Pilots moved to Milwaukee after only one season in Seattle), where he would play his only season as a regular player. He played in 124 games during the 1972 season, batting .255 with two home runs and 29 RBI. but was promptly released. He tried one last comeback with the Yankees in 1974, but he never made it back to the Majors. After the game, Steinbrenner publicly criticized Ferraro for the call.

Steinbrenner wanted Ferraro fired immediately, but manager Dick Howser stuck up for his coach and refused. Tommy John would write that, "By refusing to fire Ferraro, Howser sealed his fate as Yankee manager." That winter, intermittent pain in his side caused Ferraro to undergo medical tests, and on February 9, 1983, he underwent surgery for removal of a cancerous left kidney. Ferraro, 38, was able to recover sufficiently to report to the Indians' Tucson, Arizona, spring training camp and on March 8, he helmed the team in its Cactus League opener. The 1983 Indians started slowly, then perked up in late April; by May 13 they were 17–14 and only 1½ games from the top in the AL East. But then they stumbled, losing 11 of 13, and never approached .500 again in June and July. Finally, after a 13-inning loss on July 30, Ferraro was fired. The Indians were 40–60 (.400), seventh and last in their division, and 19 games behind the Orioles when he departed.

Dick Howser, about to enter his third full season as manager of the Kansas City Royals, then hired Ferraro as his third-base coach in —enabling Ferraro win a championship ring when the 1985 Royals defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games in that year's World Series. But by mid-season 1986, Howser began to suffer from a sore neck and incidents of mental confusion; immediately after an impaired Howser managed the American League to its victory in the 1986 All-Star Game, he was hospitalized with a brain tumor. Cancer survivor Ferraro then took the Royals' reins as emergency manager. The team was already struggling at 40–48 when Howser stepped aside, and played at only a 36–38 pace under Ferraro for the rest of 1986. The Royals then dismissed Ferraro in October. His Major League managerial record was 76–98 over parts of two seasons.

Ferraro remained in baseball, returning to the Yankees' coaching staff; he also served as the third base coach of the Baltimore Orioles in .

Managerial record Team Year Regular season PostseasonGamesWonLostWin %Finish Won Lost Win % ResultCLE 100 fired – – – –CLE total 100 KC 74 3rd in AL West – – – –KC total 74 Total 174

Death Ferraro died in Las Vegas on July 20, 2024, at the age of 79.