The Joe Verbanic Experience

Joe Verbanic played with Hall-of-Famers for much of his abbreviated career. Whether it was growing up playing against and with Dick Allen, first in the sandlots of western Pennsylvania and then in Philadelphia, or with Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford in New York, there always seemed to be greatness around Verbanic.

Fate, a bad shoulder and poor timing robbed him of his chance to reach the soaring heights for which he seemed destined as a young pitcher. His career was cut short by injury, never allowing him to fulfill the promise he showed as swingman for the Phillies and Yankees in the late 1960s.

Verbanic, 82, posted a 3.26 ERA in 92 games [17 starts] for Philly and New York between 1966 and 1970, winning 12 and saving six others. He was 4-3 with a 2.80 ERA in 28 games [six starts] for the Yankees in 1968 and followed that up with a 3.40 ERA in 40 games [11 starts] in 1968. The numbers were particularly impressive considering how mediocre the Bombers were in what is generally regarded as the “The Horace Clarke Era”.

But the right-hander missed all of the 1969 season with shoulder issues and when he came back, he just wasn’t as effective. Ultimately, the Yankees lost faith in Verbanic, and, after pitching two pedestrian seasons in the minor leagues, the Pennsylvania native called it a career.

“My arm just fell off,” said Verbanic, who lives in Oregon. “They say it was a rotator cuff. I went to Johns Hopkins and spent a lot of time at the Mayo Clinic, where they diagnosed me. Today, they’d fix you right up. But at that time, they wanted to cut you open and you’d have five problems then instead of just one.”

Verbanic served as a minor league pitching coach for a few seasons after retiring as a player before walking away from the game to build a successful career in the fire sprinkler business. While he thrived in his new venture, there is no telling where he could have ended up, especially when looking at his successes as a youngster in Pennsylvania and early in his minor league career.

SHUNNING THE MILLS AND THE MINES FOR BASEBALL

Verbanic grew up in an area of Pennsylvania [outside of and around Pittsburgh] that, at the time, was still dominated by steel mills and coal mines. His father wanted him to take the route that many locals took – which was a dangerous, limited path in terms of longevity, health and advancement – but Verbanic saw something more for himself. He was athletic in a part of the country that was producing many great athletes, whether it was Dick Allen or Joe Namath or later, Tony Dorsett.

“I went to school just outside of Aliquippa at Hopewell [High] and I played against Joe Namath in high school,” Verbanic said. “Tony Dorsett went to Hopewell and I played with his brother Melvin. [Future Major Leaguer and fellow Yankee] Doc Medich was a ninth grader [at Hopewell] when I was a senior.

“That was an area, though, where what were the options? It was basically what all the small towns were, coal mine towns or steel mill towns. I was fortunate to be a pretty good ball player. What it took to be a big-league player at that time was that you had to be consistent and for someone to take a look at you because you were the best in your town.”

Verbanic’s path to the pros, however, didn’t begin on the mound. He was a well-regarded infielder who starred at third base and shortstop en route to being the named Hopewell’s MVP as a senior. High school ball was only part of his schedule, though. Verbanic played in one of the highly competitive steel mill leagues and in American Legion ball, making baseball a seven-day affair each week.

“I thought I was a pretty good infielder and the steel mill league was a great league,” Verbanic said. “You had a lot of guys who came back after playing a few years in the minor leagues. I had a good arm and in my senior year in high school the coach said you have a good arm, why don’t you pitch?

“My brother [Dick] and I would play catch for hours throwing overhand curves. I was the last of nine kids and he was the closest to me [seven years older]. He’d hit fly balls in the fields and I’d throw them back 300 feet to him without even thinking about it. It made my arm strong but people don’t do that now.”

That arm strength, combined with his senior season at Hopewell, put Verbanic on the radar of several local scouts, including those from Pittsburgh. The Pirates invited 40 or so players, including Verbanic, to Forbes Field for a tryout but initially things didn’t go so well.

“They were all the best players in the area,” he said. “When I went to hit, I couldn’t get the ball out of the cage. And they put me at third to field grounders and looking across the Major League diamond was a lot different than it is in high school.

“But I pitched and the bullpen catcher for the Pirates came in wanted to catch me and wanted me to throw the curve again. I don’t want to blow smoke up my own ass but I had a pretty good one [curve]. I had a curve that was as good as maybe 70 percent of the guys throwing today. They were looking for an outfielder and a pitcher and they offered me $250 a month and a $500 signing bonus. I said no – that I wanted to pitch legion ball that summer.”

The legion season ended with the summer and the scouts returned, including reps from the White Sox, Phillies and Orioles. Several showed up at the Verbanic house and negotiations began.

“The scouts were there and it was ‘Mrs. Verbanic, your coffee is the greatest’,” Verbanic said. “The Phillies called while they were there and said they’d give me $400 a month so I took it. I went out and told them I was going to sign with the Phils and all of a sudden my mom’s coffee wasn’t so good.”

Joe Bird, who played minor league ball between 1923 and 1944 but never made it higher than Double-A, was the Phillies scout who signed Verbanic in September of 1961. He also managed in the minors for the Dodgers, A’s and Senators before serving as a scout for the Phillies, Senators and Astros from 1958-62. He arranged for Verbanic to work with a catcher on the steel mill league fields on which he had cut his teeth in preparation for what was to come.

PRO BALL HERE I COME

Donning a professional uniform wasn’t exactly what Verbanic envisioned as Spring Training arrived in 1962. He was assigned to Miami of the Florida State League, which was Class D at the time. Joining him on the roster was Ferguson Jenkins but Verbanic and the future Hall-of-Famer would have decidedly different seasons.

The 19-year-old Jenkins went 7-2 with a 0.97 ERA in 11 games [eight starts], throwing 65 innings. Verbanic pitched 24 innings over 11 relief appearances and posted a 4.13 ERA.

“Miami was the shits,” Verbanic said. “I was on the inactive list for 2/3 of the season because we didn’t have enough money. If they sign five guys for $30,000, who is going to pitch? I threw batting practice. [Future Major Leaguer] Jackie Brown was there so when you sign for $2,000, you’re going to be in the stands.

“The next year you figure that everyone is going to get the axe but I had a good spring so I went to Miami again. Fergie was still there. They said I wasn’t going to start but in my first 17 innings I didn’t give up a run. So, I was on my way.”

“Lucchesi was the manager and he says during a team meeting some people in this crowd think they are big leaguers. They get a cup of coffee and then they don’t show up. I went to San Diego and then got my ass handed to me the first month.”

Verbanic went 5-5 with a 2.60 ERA in 83 innings over 45 games [one start], earning a promotion to Eugene of the Class-A Northwest League in 1964, where he went 6-3 and finished fifth in the league in ERA [2.59] and sixth in appearances [45]. The Tri-City Herald [Washington] named him one of league’s premier relievers in the Aug. 12 edition. The Centralia Daily Chronicle talked about ‘The Pitcher That Sparked Eugene’ earlier that week saying that Verbanic “pitched in the obscure statistical wilderness of baseball” but that the “Northwest League managers wished that he was as obscure as his stats’.

There was nothing obscure, however, about what Verbanic did in 1965. He got bumped up to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League and established himself as one of the best pitchers not only in the league but in all of the minors. The Travelers had a staff that featured Jenkins, Grant Jackson and Rick Wise but it was Verbanic who led the team with a 1.88 ERA [fourth best on the circuit] in 67 innings across 42 games.

Jenkins, Jackson and Verbanic then teamed up following the season to play for the Caguas Criollos of the Puerto Rican Winter League. The team featured a host of Phillies and was managed by Arkansas skipper Frank Lucchesi. Verbanic was one of the league’s best relievers and spent much of the fall and winter being recognized for his efforts on the wire services and in The Sporting News.

Additionally, Philadelphia infielder Cookie Rojas was managing the Arecibo Wolves and took note of what Verbanic was doing, providing hope that Verbanic would be on the Opening Day roster in 1966.

“We got to play against guys like [Roberto] Clemente and [Orlando] Cepeda,” Verbanic said. “Cookie told [Philadelphia manager] Gene Mauch that he had to come look at this guy. So, I got an invite to spring training. I had a really good spring and they told me we were going to open in St. Louis.

“But when I went back to the hotel [one day], Rojas was standing outside and said to me that he couldn’t believe what happened to me. I didn’t know what he was talking about but he told me they signed Roger Craig [who had been released by the Reds]. Mauch said he was sending me out because he wanted to go with experienced people. I was twice as good as Roger Craig. I said he’s 36 – he’s ancient – but Mauch told me to go back down and make him bring me back.”

Wise was also sent down after the Phillies purchased 37-year-old Steve Ridzik from the Senators. While Wise and Verbanic were assigned to San Diego of the PCL, they didn’t head out west at first. The pair, steamed after being demoted, went out and rented a boat.

“Ricky called me and we said screw it and we rented a boat,” Verbanic said. “We went fishing and reported a couple of days later. Lucchesi was the manager and he says during a team meeting some people in this crowd think they are big leaguers. They get a cup of coffee and then they don’t show up. I went to San Diego and then got my ass handed to me the first month.”

Ridzik [two appearances] was ineffective and sent to San Diego by the second week of May, ultimately pitching his final professional game that August. Craig was equally ineffective in 14 outings and was released in July, never to pitch in a Major League game again.

Wise was eventually called up the first week of June but the Phils had different plans for Verbanic.

“Lucchesi was such a phony,” Verbanic said. “When you were going good, he’d put his arm around you and it would be hey buddy. So, he came up to me and said how about we start you?”

Verbanic took to his new role, going 5-1 in his first six starts. He ultimately appeared in 22 games [nine starts] for San Diego, going 8-1 with a 2.67 ERA. He was called up in late July when Craig was released.

“I found out later that they were showboating me so they could trade me to the Giants,” Verbanic said of starting. “I didn’t know that at the time and when I started rattling off wins, the trade was off.”

WELCOME TO THE SHOW KID

Verbanic made his Major League debut on July 20 against Houston at The Astrodome, replacing Bob Buhl with one out in the third inning. He had runners on second and third and the Phils up, 3-1.

“I came in to face Ronnie Brand,” Verbanic said. “He was two-feet tall and he hits one to the warning track and I thought, ‘Holy fuck this is the big leagues’.”

An intentional walk to Chuck Harrison followed before Verbanic struck Ron Taylor out to end the threat. Verbanic picked up his first win 11 days later in his hometown, getting out of a ninth-inning jam before the Phils won it in 10. He came on to replace Darold Knowles and intentionally walked Willie Stargell and Jose Pagan to load the bases with one before inducing a 3-2 fielder’s choice from Donn Clendenon. He then fanned Jerry May to end the threat before nearly two dozen family, friends and former high school teammates.

Verbanic appeared in 17 games and went 1-1 with a 5.14 ERA in 14 innings before heading back to Caguas for the winter.

“There were a lot of Philly guys and we had a lot of Mets there,” Verbanic said. “Caguas was owned by an eye doctor and he told me he wanted me back. I had gotten married and we went to Caguas and we were living in a really nice area.

“Gene Mauch came down from Philly to watch us pitch. He watches us pitch then goes back to San Juan and all of a sudden I’m told I have to go to the doctor’s office to take a phone call from Gene Mauch. No manager just calls you to say how are you doing. He called me and told me they just traded me to the Yankees for Pedro Ramos.”

Ramos appeared in six games for the Phillies before getting released on June 5, 1967. Verbanic, however, would embark on two very strong seasons for the Yankees in what was one of the franchise’s few down periods to that point in their history. He pitched briefly in Triple-A Syracuse to start the year before joining the big club, making his first career start against a strong Detroit team at Yankee Stadium on June 3. He allowed a run on six hits over 6 2/3 innings to pick up the win. He followed that up by throwing a complete-game shutout five days later against the Senators. He also went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs against Washington.

“I started more in the big leagues than I did in the minors,” Verbanic said. “They knew I could start. We played a lot of doubleheaders and I was in there for the second game to save the rotation. They’d pull me out of the pen and I ended up with two shutouts. If that were today, I never would have had a shutout. They would have jerked my ass out of there after the fifth or the sixth inning.”

Verbanic threw seven shutout innings on June 27 against Kansas City to improve to 3-1. He finished with 28 appearances [six starts], going 4-3 with a 2.80 ERA. It proved to be the experience of a lifetime for a kid who grew up as a fan of the Yankees. Verbanic was now also sharing a clubhouse with stars such as Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford, players he idolized as a youngster.

“Mickey Mantle was a really good guy,” Verbanic said. “He was a hillbilly. I called him Slick. That was when Mantle had moved to first base and he was still learning it. That meant you had to cover first. I’d say get your ass over there and he’d say you cover it.

“You didn’t put them on a pedestal, though. They put their pants on the same way you do and you become friends. You got the same language – baseball. I knew Mick well. He would never sign his own autograph. The clubhouse guy Pete Sheehy would sign his autograph and he could sign Mickey’s autograph as good as the Mick did.”

Verbanic spent his only full season in the Major Leagues with the Yanks in ’68, enjoying success as a swingman. He was 6-7 with a 3.15 ERA in 40 games [11 starts], tossing two more complete games along the way. But the party would end quickly.

THE INJURY AND THE END

The players, led by firebrand union leader Marvin Miller, boycotted the beginning of Spring Training in 1969, with many players staying away from camp until the end of February. Verbanic was among them and by the time he arrived on March 1, he was eager to make up for lost time. Instead, he suffered what would essentially be a career-ending injury.

“I started throwing and I threw too hard too fast,” he said. “It was very simple. If I had to do it all over again, I would have spent the winter in Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic. They play baseball year-round and they have no arm problems. But we had to get a job.”

Verbanic had torn his rotator cuff and would miss the entire 1969 season, appearing in four Instructional League games that fall. He tried every avenue in search of a solution, including his time at Johns Hopkins and the Mayo Clinic, to no avail.

“I went to Miami to see a doctor who worked with jai alai players,” Verbanic said. “They had that overhand motion. His theory was that he could shave off the top of the bone in your shoulder so if the muscle doesn’t rub, you can throw, which makes sense because inflammation is caused by friction.

“The problem is that at that time they had to cut you open and lay open the deltoid. I also went to Clemente’s voodoo doctor in Puerto Rico. He had blue lights and magnets but that didn’t work. I tried cortisone, too. Back then everyone was shot full of cortisone. If they had today’s knowledge, you’d be right back. At that time, though, they weren’t paying you enough money so it doesn’t warrant having you stick around. Today, you’re making a few million bucks so they take care of you.”

Verbanic was able to appear in seven games for the Yankees in 1970, posting a 4.60 ERA in 15 2/3 innings. He tossed another 75 innings that season in Syracuse but it wasn’t the same. He made five more appearances for Syracuse in 1971 before the Yanks cut him loose.

The Phillies presented the 29-year-old Verbanic with an opportunity in 1972 signing him strictly as a reliever and sending him to Eugene of the PCL. He pitched well enough [3.49 ERA in 67 IP] but that season proved to be the end of his playing days.

“I had a decent year but I knew I wasn’t going anywhere,” he said. “I was better at times but I was juiced up on aspirin and cortisone. I was better but I wasn’t good enough. If I pitched one night, I’d have trouble combing my hair the next day. Every now and then I’d get it back when I went down to Tucson or Albuquerque where it was hot. I’d go down there and it would loosen up.

“The manager [Andy Seminik] was a good D-Ball manager but a shitty Triple-A manager. I’d say to him just tell me where I stand and he’d hem and haw and lie to you. I said just tell me if you’re going to use me for mop-up duty and that’s how it turned out.  I knew I could still get people out and I knew they were stroking me. Good managers will tell you how they are going to use you. I knew exactly what I was going to be used for in New York; [manager] Ralph Houk was the best. That’s the way you treat adults.”

Verbanic intended to pitch in Mexico in 1973 but following the death of his father that spring, he decided against leaving his family after the Mexican club didn’t meet his salary demands. He served as a pitching coach in Eugene for the next two years before leaving baseball and diving into the world of sprinklers.

While Verbanic couldn’t stay healthy to stick with the Yankees during their success in the mid-70s, he remains part of Yankee lore in that Hall-of-Famer CC Sabathia and he shared the same number – 52. So, when the Bombers retire that number as expected, a little piece of Verbanic will still be in the Bronx.