Project Baseball 1976: 1976 Topps #427

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Kurt Bevacqua was a utilityman and pinch hitter for six teams from 1971-1985. Bevacqua was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 1967 and played in the Reds’ system from 1967-1971. On May 8, 1971 Kurt was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Buddy Bradford. Bevacqua finished the 1971 season with the Indians and batted .204 in 137 at bats.

Kurt batted .313 for AAA Portland in 145 games. He was recalled in September of 1972 and batted .114 in 35 at bats. After the 1972 season Bevacqua was traded to the Kansas City Royals for Mike Hedlund.

Bevacqua batted .257 in 276 at bats in 1973. After the 1973 season he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates with Ed Kirkpatrick and a minor leaguer for Nelson Briles and Fernando Gonzalez. Kurt batted .114 in 35 at bats (sound familiar?) with the Pirates before being traded back to the Royals for a minor leaguer and cash. Bevacqua batted .211 in 90 at bats for the Royals to finish the 1974 season.

During spring training in 1975 Bevacqua was purchased by the Milwaukee Brewers. Kurt got some playing time with the Brewers and batted .229 in 258 at bats. He had one big highlight during the 1975 season, but that will be addressed when his other 1976 Topps card comes up. Bevacqua played for AAA Spokane for most of the 1976 season and batted .337. He went 1 for 7 with the Brewers at the end of the ’76 season.

After the 1976 season Kurt was sold to the Seattle Mariners. He was cut during spring training in 1977 and he signed with the Texas Rangers. Kurt played in 94 games for AAA Tucson and batted .352. He came back to the majors in late July and batted .333 in 96 at bats. Kurt batted .222 in 248 at bats for the Rangers in 1978. After the 1978 season he was traded with Bill Fahey and Mike Hargrove to the San Diego Padres for Oscar Gamble, Dave Roberts and $300,000.

In 1979 Bevacqua got the most playing time of his career. He started 53 games at third base and played in a total of 114 games, batting .253 in 297 at bats. Kurt was batting .268 in 71 at bats for the Padres in 1980 when he was traded to the Pirates on August 8. Bevacqua batted .163 in 43 at bats for the Pirates at the end of the 1980 season.

Kurt split time between the minors and the Pirates in 1981. He batted .259 in 27 at bats for the Pirates and was released after the 1981 season. Bevacqua was resigned by the Padres before the 1982 season.

In 1983 Kurt batted .244 in 156 at bats. He batted .200 in 80 at bats in 1984. Bevacqua was 0 for 2 as a pinch hitter in the 1984 NLCS. He homered in game 2 of the World Series to help the Padres to their only win in the series. Kurt batted .412 in 17 at bats in the Series.

Bevacqua batted .239 in 138 at bats in 1985. He retired after the 1985 season. Life and Times of A Big League Utility Player – February 1985 Baseball Digest. He Has Hung Around the Major Leagues Since 1971, Exceling as a Kind of Zany Pinch-Hitter's Pinch-Hitter – March 27, 1985 Los Angeles Times.

Bevacqua is now the president of the Celebrity Players Tour (celebrity golf) and also owns Major League Protection Systems, which sells various aftermarket car parts to dealers. He met his current wife during a golf tournament in 1998 and they now have four children. Here is a “where are they now” article from 2002.
Kurt had a feud with Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda in the early 1980s. This site has the story plus a wav file of Tommy saying what he thought of the whole thing (some naughty language here).