Joe Pepitone, the three-time All-Star who was a staple of the Sixties New York Yankees, has died at the age of 82.
The Yankees announced Pepitone’s death in an official statement.
“The Yankees are deeply saddened by the passing of former Yankee Joe Pepitone, whose playful and charismatic personality and contributions to the field made him a favorite of generations of Yankees fans, even through his years in the workforce of the sixties. A native New Yorker, he embraced all that was associated with being a Yankee during each of his careers, which included three All-Star appearances and three Gold Gloves, and for a long time afterward,” the claim reads.
Joe Pepitone of the New York Yankees posed for this portrait earlier than Major League Baseball’s offseason circa 1963. (Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
“You always knew when Joe walked right into the room. his immense satisfaction with being a Yankee was constantly on display. He will be missed by our entire group and we send our deepest condolences to his family, friends and all who knew him.”
As the Yankees used to say, Pepitone was a product of the Big Apple, born in Brooklyn. He debuted with the workforce 21 years earlier in 1962, batting .239 in 63 video games with spinning ribbons.
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Over the next three seasons after that, Pepitone became a household name for Yankees followers as he made three straight All-Star appearances. He additionally won Gold Gloves at first base in 1965 and 1966.
NY Yankee nice Joe Pepitone welcomes the band during a break at the annual Old Timers Day at Yankee Stadium on July 11, 1992 in New York, United States. (Steve Crandall/Getty Images)
The Yankees reached the World Series in 1963 and 1964, with Pepitone instrumental in getting the Bombers there. However, they could lose this set to the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals, respectively.
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Pepitone would play eight seasons in New York, slashing .252/.294/.423 with 166 homers and 541 RBI in 1,051 games before being traded to the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves before it was discontinued in 1973. :
Former New York Yankee Joe Pepitone attends a press conference to say Mickey Mantle has signed a contract auction to help the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund at the Yogi Berra Museum & Training Center on April 29, 2013 in Montclair, New Jersey. (Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images)
But Pepitone’s days in baseball weren’t over. He was a mainstay for the Yankees as soon as he hung up the cleats, constantly offering a charismatic presence at Yankee Stadium during Old Timers Day and various other occasions.