Pitcher for 1969 “Miracle Mets” World Series Team Dies
A member of the New York Mets’ first World Series-winning team has died. Pitcher Jack DiLauro, whose career in Major League Baseball lasted only two seasons, was 81 years old when he passed away on Dec. 7, according to the Free Press Standard of Carrollton, Ohio. More news: Baseball Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson Dies at 65 DiLauro made his major league debut on May 15, 1969, with the Mets. To that point in their nine-year history, the franchise had yet to record a winning season, let alone reach the World Series. DiLauro would go on to appear in 23 games during the regular season, starting four, and going 1-4 with a 2.40 earned-run average.
DiLauro did not pitch in the World Series, in which the Mets upset the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles in five games. After his only season in New York, DiLauro was selected by the Houston Astros in the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 1, 1969. DiLauro would make 42 appearances out of the Astros’ bullpen in the 1970 season, going 1-3 with a 4.28 ERA. He also recorded three saves for Houston, which went 79-83, good for fourth place in the National League West.
More news: Former Major League Pitcher, 35, Reportedly Dies in Car Accident Signed as an amateur free agent in 1963 by the Detroit Tigers, DiLauro reportedly chose baseball over an offer to play professional football out of the University of Akron (Ohio). His professional baseball career took him to eight different cities over the next seven seasons before he finally broke through with the Mets. After finishing out the 1970 season with Houston, DiLauro pitched professionally for two more years. He split the 1971 season between the San Diego Padres’ and Houston Astros’ Triple-A affiliates, going 2-11 with a 5.31 ERA.
