Friday, September 21, 2018

Tom Satriano (#238)

Tom Satriano was the Angels’ backup catcher and 3rd baseman from 1961-69, and also played for the Red Sox from 1969-70.

He and Jim Fregosi, Dean Chance, and Ron Kline were the only members of the expansion 1961 Angels still playing into the 1970s, and Satriano played more games during that first season than any of the others.

Tom was signed out of USC by the Angels on July 22, 1961, and made his Angels’ debut the very next day. After playing in 35 games as a rookie, he spent most of 1962 and 1963 in the minors. Satriano was primarily a 3rd baseman and 2nd baseman, and didn’t start catching on a regular basis until 1964.

He played all of 1964 with the Angels, but split the ’65 season between the Angels and their triple-A team.


Satriano was back with the Angels on a full-time basis beginning in 1966. From 1966-68 (as in 1964) he came to bat more than 200 times each season. His 83 starts in 1968 were the most for his career.

In June 1969 Tom was traded to the Red Sox for catcher Joe Azcue, and backed up Russ Gibson ('69) and Jerry Moses ('70) in his final 2 seasons.

He was released in April 1971, and played for the Padres’ AAA team in Hawaii that season before retiring.