Pete Cimino
Encyclopedia
Peter William Cimino is a retired professional baseball
player who played four seasons for the Minnesota Twins
and California Angels
of Major League Baseball
. He once scored 114 points
in a high school basketball
game and also had 20 strikeout
s in one minor league baseball
game. During his playing career, Cimino stood at 6' 2" and weighed 195 lbs.
. A star athlete at Bristol
High School, he was both a pitcher
on the baseball team and a forward on the basketball team.
Cimino might be best known for scoring 114 points in a high school basketball game on January 22, 1960. The single-game shooting outburst occurred during a 134-86 win over Palisades High School, in a Lower Bucks County League match. In the game, Cimino made 44 of 79 field goal
attempts and 26 of 29 free throw
attempts. He scored all 69 of his team's second half points. The 114-point total is still a Pennsylvania state record and is also the fourth highest in any United States boys high school game. The 44 field goals made and 79 attempts were both national single-game records at the time.
Afterwards, Cimino said, "All I wanted to do was break the league mark of 62. But the guys on the team kept getting the rebounds
and I was able to score a lot on the fast break."
. The next season, he moved up to the Class B Wilson Tobs
, of the Carolina League
. Cimino didn't have much success in 1961, going just 4-5 with a 5.61 ERA. However, he bounced back in 1962. On April 30, 1962, he tied a Carolina League record by striking out 20 batters in one game. He went 12-13 that season and lowered his ERA to 3.36, while using his "blazing fastball" to record 190 strikeouts in 190 innings.
Cimino started 1963 with the AA Charlotte Hornets
. He pitched well early in the season and then moved up again, to the AAA Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers
. In 1964, he had a mediocre year with the International League
's Atlanta Crackers
, going 3-6 with a 4.50 ERA in 120 innings. He rebounded once again the following season with the Pacific Coast League
's Denver Bears
, winning 9 of 16 decisions. He was then called up to the major league Minnesota Twins. In his major league debut on September 22, he pitched one inning without allowing a baserunner.
Cimino spent 1966 as a relief pitcher
for the Twins. He pitched 64.2 innings in 35 games and struck out 57. His 2.92 ERA was better than the league average. On December 2, he was traded, along with Jimmie Hall
and Don Mincher
, to the California Angels, for Dean Chance
and Jackie Hernández
. In 1967, he had 80 strikeouts in 88.1 innings for the Angels. He also started off 1968 with the major league club, pitching in four games, but was then sent down to the minors in midseason. Cimino never played professional baseball again after 1968.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player who played four seasons for the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
and California Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. He once scored 114 points
Point (basketball)
Points in basketball are used to keep track of the score in a game. Points can be accumulated by making field goals or free throws ....
in a high school basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
game and also had 20 strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
s in one minor league baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
game. During his playing career, Cimino stood at 6' 2" and weighed 195 lbs.
114-point game
Cimino was born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. A star athlete at Bristol
Bristol, Pennsylvania
Bristol is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, northeast of Philadelphia opposite Burlington, N.J. on the Delaware River. Bristol was first incorporated in 1720. Although its charter was revised in 1905, the original charter remains in effect, making Bristol one of the older boroughs in...
High School, he was both a pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
on the baseball team and a forward on the basketball team.
Cimino might be best known for scoring 114 points in a high school basketball game on January 22, 1960. The single-game shooting outburst occurred during a 134-86 win over Palisades High School, in a Lower Bucks County League match. In the game, Cimino made 44 of 79 field goal
Field goal (basketball)
In basketball, the term field goal refers to a basket scored on any shot or tap other than a free throw, worth two or three points depending on the distance of the attempt from the basket. "Field Goal" is the official terminology used by the National Basketball Association in their rule book,...
attempts and 26 of 29 free throw
Free throw
In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points from a restricted area on the court , and are generally awarded after a foul on the shooter by the opposing team...
attempts. He scored all 69 of his team's second half points. The 114-point total is still a Pennsylvania state record and is also the fourth highest in any United States boys high school game. The 44 field goals made and 79 attempts were both national single-game records at the time.
Afterwards, Cimino said, "All I wanted to do was break the league mark of 62. But the guys on the team kept getting the rebounds
Rebound (basketball)
A rebound in basketball is the act of successfully gaining possession of the basketball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds in basketball are a routine part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made...
and I was able to score a lot on the fast break."
Baseball career
Later in 1960, Cimino signed a professional baseball contract with the Washington Senators. He started his career that season as a pitcher for the Class D Wytheville Senators and went 6-2 with a 3.43 earned run averageEarned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
. The next season, he moved up to the Class B Wilson Tobs
Wilson Tobs
The Wilson Tobs are an amateur baseball team playing in the Coastal Plain League, an NCAA-sanctioned collegiate summer baseball league. The team plays its home games at Historic Fleming Stadium in Wilson, North Carolina. The Tobs were one of the original teams in the Coastal Plain League when the...
, of the Carolina League
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...
. Cimino didn't have much success in 1961, going just 4-5 with a 5.61 ERA. However, he bounced back in 1962. On April 30, 1962, he tied a Carolina League record by striking out 20 batters in one game. He went 12-13 that season and lowered his ERA to 3.36, while using his "blazing fastball" to record 190 strikeouts in 190 innings.
Cimino started 1963 with the AA Charlotte Hornets
Charlotte Hornets (baseball)
The Charlotte Hornets was the name of an American minor league baseball franchise based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The club was originally founded in 1901, and lasted in some form until 1973, capturing 11 league titles during its history...
. He pitched well early in the season and then moved up again, to the AAA Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers
Dallas Rangers
The Dallas Rangers were a high-level minor league baseball team located in Dallas, Texas, from 1958-64. The team was known by the Dallas Rangers name in 1958-59 and 1964 and as the Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers from 1960-63...
. In 1964, he had a mediocre year with the International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
's Atlanta Crackers
Atlanta Crackers
The Atlanta Crackers were minor league baseball teams based in Atlanta, Georgia, between 1901 and 1965. The Crackers were Atlanta's home team until the Atlanta Braves moved from Milwaukee in 1966....
, going 3-6 with a 4.50 ERA in 120 innings. He rebounded once again the following season with the Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
's Denver Bears
New Orleans Zephyrs
The New Orleans Zephyrs are a minor league baseball team based in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. The Zephyrs play in the Pacific Coast League and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. The Zephyrs play their home games at Zephyr Field....
, winning 9 of 16 decisions. He was then called up to the major league Minnesota Twins. In his major league debut on September 22, he pitched one inning without allowing a baserunner.
Cimino spent 1966 as a relief pitcher
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
for the Twins. He pitched 64.2 innings in 35 games and struck out 57. His 2.92 ERA was better than the league average. On December 2, he was traded, along with Jimmie Hall
Jimmie Hall
Jimmie Randolph Hall is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and left-handed batter who played for the Minnesota Twins , California Angels , Cleveland Indians , New York Yankees , Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves .-Minor league career:After attending Belmont High School and playing...
and Don Mincher
Don Mincher
-External links:***...
, to the California Angels, for Dean Chance
Dean Chance
Wilmer Dean Chance is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher. Over the right hander's 11-year major league career, he would play for the Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, and Detroit Tigers...
and Jackie Hernández
Jackie Hernandez
Jacinto Hernández Zulueta is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and third baseman from 1965 to 1973....
. In 1967, he had 80 strikeouts in 88.1 innings for the Angels. He also started off 1968 with the major league club, pitching in four games, but was then sent down to the minors in midseason. Cimino never played professional baseball again after 1968.