Ralph Citarella

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Ralph Citarella
Pitcher
Born: (1958-02-07) February 7, 1958 (age 67)
East Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
debut
September 13, 1983, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last appearance
July 10, 1987, for the Chicago White Sox
Career statistics
Win–loss record0–1
Earned run average4.06
Strikeouts28
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Ralph Alexander Citarella (born February 7, 1958) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. The right-hander was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1st round (12th pick) of the 1979 amateur draft (secondary phase), and he played for the Cardinals (1983–1984) and Chicago White Sox (1987).[1]

On September 13, 1983, Citarella made his major league debut in relief at Three Rivers Stadium.[2] He struck out the first batter he faced, catcher Tony Peña, in the 7th inning. In 1.2 innings that night he gave up one hit (a double to Johnny Ray) and one earned run, and the Cards lost, 6–0.

Citarella was successful in his two short stints with St. Louis, posting ERAs of 1.64 and 3.63, but didn't fare as well with the White Sox in 1987.[1] In five appearances, he gave up nine earned runs in eleven innings, including four home runs.[1] He retired in 1988 after pitching for multiple minor league teams at the AAA, AA, and A levels between 1985 and 1988.[1]

In 3 seasons he appeared in a total of 21 games and had a 0–1 record, 2 starts, 0 complete games, and 6 games finished.[1] In 44.1 innings pitched he gave up 20 earned runs for an ERA of 4.06, and had a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2 to 1 (28 strikeouts and 14 walks).[1]

Citarella made his first MLB start on June 23, 1984, a nationally televised NBC Game of the Week at Wrigley Field versus the Chicago Cubs.[3][4] He pitched 5.1 innings and hit an RBI single that sparked a six-run second inning for the Cardinals.[5] The Cardinals held a 9-3 lead when Citarella left the game in the sixth inning with two runners on base. That meant Citarella would have earned his first major-league win, even though both of those Cub base runners scored, if the Cardinals had maintained the lead.[6] The high-scoring extra-inning affair came to be known as the "Sandberg Game" in recognition of Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg, who homered to tie the game in the ninth inning and again in the tenth against Bruce Sutter.

In 2006, Ralph Citarella became the Athletic Relations Liaison for the Habana Joe Trading Company for its Dock to Dine men's clothing line.[7] From 2012 to 2013, Citarella served as the pitching coach for the New Jersey-based Newark Bears of the independent Can-Am League.[8][9][10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Ralph Citarella Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  2. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Box Score: September 13, 1983". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  3. ^ MLB Vault (July 29, 2025). 'The Ryne Sandberg Game' | 6/23/1984 (Cubs huge comeback vs. STL, Ryno hits TWO game-tying HRs!). Retrieved July 29, 2025 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ "Ralph Citarella 1984 Pitching Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  5. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs Box Score: June 23, 1984". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  6. ^ "Win (W) | Glossary". MLB.com. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  7. ^ Habana Co. Ralph Citarella Named Athletic Relations Liaison Archived 2007-09-27 at archive.today
  8. ^ "Newark Bears Sign Two New Coaches- Ralph Citarella and Ken 'Obie' Oberkfell - River View Observer". January 25, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  9. ^ Kohan, Rafi (September 25, 2012). "Three Days in the Bullpen". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  10. ^ PASSED BALL SHOW #58 12/13/2012 Part 2, retrieved July 29, 2025
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