Raffo to the Rescue: Phillies' Rookie Reliever Has a Moment in the Sun

The 1969 Phillies were a bad team. They lost 99 games while burdened with a superstar first-baseman who wanted to be traded, an anemic offense, a weak pitching staff, and a manager who would be fired in August.  Dick Allen was the super-star, of course, and his efforts to convince the team to trade him included writing messages to the fans in the dirt around first base. Allen was still a great player, however, hitting .288 with 32 homeruns. Manager Bob Skinner tried, but could not manage Allen or get good performances from other players for the most part, and was replaced by third base coach George Myatt on August 6. Despite all this turmoil and losing, this hapless group managed to engineer a nine-game winning streak in late June and early July.

Win number nine of that streak was a career highlight for the Phillies 27-year-old rookie right-hander Al Raffo. Raffo, who was signed by then Phillies scout Paul Owens out of a Los Angeles, California winter league for $1,500, toiled seven years in the Phillies farm system, making stops at Class D Miami, Class C Bakersfield, Class A Magic Valley and Eugene, Class AA Chattanooga, Macon, and Reading, and Class AAA San Diego and Eugene, before finally being called up to the Phillies on April 26, 1969. He replaced an injured Chris Short on the Phillies roster. The 6'5" Raffo featured a fastball that moved "like a slider" and a slow breaking ball that he admitted "was often a hanging curve." Raffo made his major league debut on April 29, allowing four hits and one run in three innings of work in a game the Phillies lost 10-0. 

Raffo pitched well in his role as middle reliever and had made seventeen appearances with an 0-2 record and a 2.82 ERA through June. On July 2, the Phillies were riding an eight-game road winning streak, the longest such streak in Phillies history. The Phils were in Pittsburgh to face the Pirates. Rookie Billy Champion started for the Phillies and did not make it out of the bottom of the first. He allowed three walks, two hits, and two runs, and left with the bases loaded and two outs. Raffo came on in relief and ended the inning by getting Freddy Patek to ground into a force out. 

In the top of the second, the Phillies rallied to take the lead off their former teammate, Jim Bunning.  Raffo was right in the middle of the rally. Rick Joseph led off with a double and Larry Hisle followed with a triple. Catcher Mike Ryan walked, and Ron Stone doubled, scoring Hisle and sending Ryan to third. Terry Harmon struck out, but Raffo, who had been a slugging third baseman in high school, scorched a line drive off the glove of first-baseman Willie Stargell and down the right field line. Ryan scored easily and Stone just beat Stargell's throw to the plate. Alas, catcher Manny Sanguillan recovered to throw Raffo out trying to move up to second. The Phillies now led, 4-2.

Raffo worked out of a second and third one out jam in the second inning and then set the Pirates down quietly in the next two innings. In the fifth, he allowed an unearned run, when catcher Ryan made an errant throw in an attempt to pick off Richie Hebner. Meanwhile, Raffo helped the Phillies extend their lead in the sixth, laying down a suicide squeeze bunt to score Ryan from third. Raffo tired in the seventh, allowing his first earned run of the game on a Sanguillan double and Carl Taylor single. John Boozer replaced Raffo on the mound and the Phillies eventually won the game 14-4, scoring seven runs in their last two at bats. 

Raffo's pitching line for the game: 6 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. The victory would prove to be Raffo's only major league win. His second inning single would prove to be his only major league hit. His three RBIs would prove to be his only major league RBIs. Raffo appeared in a total of 45 games for the Phillies that year. He was very effective, until he experienced a "dead arm" in August and his ERA ballooned from 2.61 to 4.11. He finished the season 1-3 with one save.

Raffo did not make the Phillies team out of spring training in 1970. He pitched two more years in the Phillies minor league system before retiring from baseball at age 30. Raffo got a degree in Spanish and began a career as a teacher and baseball coach in Tennessee. Teams he coached won multiple district championships. Raffo was named district coach of the year 10 times and regional coach of the year five times. Raffo's son, Greg, played three years in the Detroit Tigers minor league system.  In 2001, the Marion High School baseball field was renamed Raffo Field. 

You can read a full biography of Al Raffo written by Brian Englehardt here.

H/T to @PhilliesBell for reminding me the Raffo played for the Phillies.