John Orsino

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=John Orsino

|position=Catcher

|image=John Orsino 1961.jpg

|caption=

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|birth_date={{Birth date|1938|4|22}}

|birth_place=Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S.

|death_date={{Death date and age|2016|11|1|1938|4|22}}

|death_place=Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, U.S.

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=July 14

|debutyear=1961

|debutteam=San Francisco Giants

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=September 10

|finalyear=1967

|finalteam=Washington Senators

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Batting average

|stat1value=.249

|stat2label=Home runs

|stat2value=40

|stat3label=Runs batted in

|stat3value=123

|teams=

San Francisco Giants (1961–1962)
Baltimore Orioles (1963–1965)
Washington Senators (1966–1967)

}}

John Joseph Orsino (April 22, 1938 – November 1, 2016) was an American Major League Baseball catcher. He was signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent before the 1957 season, and played for the San Francisco Giants (1961–1962), Baltimore Orioles (1963–1965), and Washington Senators (1966–1967).

Early life

Orsino was born on April 22, 1938, in Teaneck, New Jersey, Orsino grew up in nearby Fort Lee, where he attended Fort Lee High School.Skelton, David E. [https://bill37mccurdy.com/2017/09/13/john-orsino-a-profile-by-david-e-skelton/ "John Orsino: A Profile"], The Pecan Park Eagle, September 13, 2017. Accessed September 15, 2018. "John Joseph Orsino was born on April 22, 1938, the only child of John and Helen (Higgins) Orsino, in Teaneck, a crowded township 20 miles north of Newark in Bergen County, New Jersey.... Orsino attended Fort Lee (New Jersey) High School.... He retired after the season and returned to his Fort Lee, New Jersey, home."{{Cite web |title=John Orsino Stats, Height, Weight, Research & History {{!}} Baseball Almanac |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=orsinjo01#:~:text=John%20Orsino,%20the%20Major%20League,with%20the%20San%20Francisco%20Giants. |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=www.baseball-almanac.com |language=en-us}}

Playing career

Orsino made his major league debut on July 14, 1961, against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Candlestick Park. He was the starting catcher and went 0-for-3 with 3 putouts, 2 assists, an error, and a passed ball. The Giants lost, 6–4. The next day was a lot better; he was in the starting lineup again and went 1-for-3 with a walk, a run batted in, a run scored, and no errors in the field as the Giants crushed the Pirates 8–3. His first major league hit was against Harvey Haddix.{{Cite web |date=2017-09-13 |title=John Orsino: A Profile by David E. Skelton |url=https://bill37mccurdy.com/2017/09/13/john-orsino-a-profile-by-david-e-skelton/ |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=The Pecan Park Eagle |language=en}}

He was acquired along with Stu Miller and Mike McCormick by the Orioles from the Giants for Jack Fisher, Billy Hoeft and Jimmie Coker on December 15, 1962.[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=S0tAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BQEGAAAAIBAJ&pg=4801%2C5737217 "Giants, Orioles Exchange Hurlers in Six-Man Deal," United Press International (UPI), Saturday, December 15, 1962.] Retrieved March 1, 2023. His best season was 1963, when he had career highs in games played (116), hits (103), at bats (379), home runs (19), runs batted in (56), runs scored (53), and on-base percentage (.349).{{Cite web |title=John Orsino Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/orsinjo01.shtml |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}} The Orioles had a good year, winning 86 games and losing 76.{{Cite web |title=1963 Baltimore Orioles Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BAL/1963.shtml |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

At Memorial Stadium on September 12, 1964, Orsino was the Orioles starting catcher in a rare battle of complete game one-hitters, between Baltimore's Frank Bertaina and Bob Meyer of the Kansas City Athletics. Orsino doubled to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning of the scoreless game, and teammate Bob Saverine came in to pinch run for him. Saverine advanced to third on a Bertaina sacrifice bunt, and then scored when Jackie Brandt hit a sacrifice fly.{{Cite web |date=1964-09-12 |title=Orioles southpaw Frank Bertaina records his first major league victory when he tosses a one-hitter to beat the A's and the Orioles set the record by only having 19 official at bats |url=https://thisdayinbaseball.com/orioles-southpaw-frank-bertaina-records-his-first-major-league-victory-when-he-tosses-a-one-hitter-to-beat-the-as-at-memorial-stadium-1-0-the-losing-pitcher-bob-meyer-who-yields-the-games-lone-ru/ |access-date=2024-10-19 |language=en-US}}

In October 1965, the Orioles traded him to the Senators for Woodie Held.{{Cite news |title=Digest: Ex-Orioles catcher John Orsino dead at 78 |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2016/11/05/digest-ex-orioles-catcher-john-orsino-dead-at-78/}}

Career totals for 332 games include 252 hits, 40 home runs, 123 runs batted in, 114 runs scored, a .249 batting average, and a slugging percentage of .420.

Post-retirement

Orsino was the baseball coach at Fairleigh Dickinson University from 1970 to 1976 and again in 1980.[http://www.fduknights.com/news/2016/11/7/former-knights-baseball-coach-john-orsino-passes-away.aspx "Former Knights Baseball Coach John Orsino Passes Away," Fairleigh Dickinson University Athletics, Monday, November 7, 2016.] He went on to coach Florida Atlantic University's men's golf team in 2004-2006.{{Cite news |date=November 5, 2016 |title=John Orsino, major-league baseball player, dies at 78 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/john-orsino-major-league-baseball-player-dies-at-78/2016/11/05/1a00b396-a3a1-11e6-a44d-cc2898cfab06_story.html |newspaper=Washington Post}} He had two children from his first marriage, Jeryl, a fitness professional, and John (Jay) Orsino, a golf pro, and three grandchildren. Charlie, Wyatt and Oliver Orsino.{{Cite web |last= |date=2016-11-04 |title=John Orsino Obituary - Death Notice and Service Information |url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/john-orsino-obituary?pid=182342699 |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=Legacy.com |language=en}}

John Orsino died on November 1, 2016, in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, at age 78.{{Cite web |title=John Orsino Obituary (1938 - 2016) - Sunny Isles Beach, FL - South Jersey Times |url=https://obits.nj.com/us/obituaries/southjerseytimes/name/john-orsino-obituary?pid=182342699 |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=Legacy.com}}

Highlights

Hit a combined .324 (22-for-68) against All-Star pitchers Jim Bouton, Harvey Haddix, Tommy John, Gary Peters and Stan Williams{{Cite web |title=John Orsino: Stats Against All Pitchers |url=https://stathead.com/baseball/versus-finder.cgi?&player_id1=orsino001joh&utm_medium=sr_xsite&utm_source=br&utm_campaign=2023_01_player_innernav_stathead&__hstc=107817757.2f3f33a24b44870ec4a577029c49e44b.1707436800172.1707436800173.1707436800174.1&__hssc=107817757.1.1707436800175&__hsfp=1753629408 |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=Stathead.com |language=en}}
Hit a combined .323 (10-for-31) against Hall of Fame pitchers Jim Bunning and Whitey Ford