#522 Joe Amalfitano
Here is the second Joe Amalfitano card that I sent to him at the end of October. The first one can be seen by scrolling down a couple of posts.
Joe had a very long coaching career, but his managerial career was very short. After retiring from baseball in 1967, Joe went directly into coaching with the team he retired from- the Cubs. He coached with them, then the Giants, and then the Padres before heading back to Chicago in 1978. He coached there until the Cubs manager, Herman Franks, resigned towards the end of 1979. Joe was named the interim manager and he led the Cubs to a 2-5 record to finish up the season.
The following season, Preston Gomez was brought in to manage the Cubs and Joe stayed on as one of his coaches. After a 38-52 start to the season, Preston was canned and Joe took over, again. The Cubs finished 26-46 with Joe at the helm and they brought him back the following year to see what he could do in a full season.
Well, Joe's full season happened to be the strike-shorted 1981 campaign and it wasn't a good one. The Cubs came in last in the first half with a 15-37 record and they came in fifth in the second half with a 23-28 record. Joe was fired after the season was over.
Joe returned to coaching afterwards and after a year with the Reds, he began a sixteen year stint with the Dodgers as Tommy Lasorda's third base coach. According to Wikipedia, Joe still works in baseball as he helps out the Giants minor leaguers on baseball fundamentals.
For his short managerial career, Joe amassed a record of 66-116.
Unfortunately, this is the final '81 Donruss card that I have for right now.
'81 Donruss Tracker: 82/100
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