1976 Topps #524 - Pete Falcone

• Pete Falcone pitched in the majors from 1975-1984. Falcone was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 1973 (he was the fourth overall player chosen that year). Pete pitched in the minors in 1973 and 1974 and then made the Giants club in 1975. He went 12-11 with a 4.17 ERA in 32 starts in 1975 as he formed a great rookie tandem with John Montefusco.
• After the 1975 season the Giants traded Falcone to the St. Louis Cardinals for Ken Reitz. Pete went 12-16 with a 3.36 ERA in 1976. He missed five weeks of the 1977 season with an injury and ended up going 4-8 with a 5.44 ERA in 27 games (22 starts). In 1978 Pete pitched very sporadically from mid-June through the end of the season and he ended up with a record of 2-7 with a 5.76 ERA in 17 games (14 starts). 
• Falcone was traded to the New York  Mets after the 1978 season for Tom Grieve and Kim Seaman. It was something of a homecoming for Pete since he was born and raised in Brooklyn. Pete went into the Mets' starting rotation and went 6-14 with a 4.16 ERA in 31 starts. In 1980 Falcone was 7-10 with a 4.52 ERA in 37 games (23 starts). On May 1, 1980 Pete tied a record by striking out the first six batters in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies.
• In 1981 Pete was  mostly a reliever before the strike and made eight starts after the strike. All together Falcone was 5-3 with a 2.55 ERA in 35 games (9 starts). Pete went 8-10 with a 3.84 ERA in 40 games (23 starts) for the Mets in 1982. After the 1982 season Falcone became a free agent and signed a 2-year $650,000 contract with the Atlanta Braves.
• Falcone was 9-4 with a 3.63 ERA in 33 games (15 starts) in 1983. In 1984 Pete was 5-7 with a 4.13 ERA in 35 games (16 starts). In September of 1984 Pete said that he would retire after the season because he was tired of baseball. He was 30 years old when he called it quits.
• In 1989 Falcone attempted a comeback with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He pitched in the  minors in AA and AAA but didn't do well enough to be called up to the majors. He also pitched in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in Florida in 1989 and 1990. 
• In 1994 Pete manged the Alexandria Aces of the independent Texas-Louisiana League and the team won a division championship. 
• Liked to face: Rowland Office (.000 in 12 AB); Rafael Landestoy (.059 in 17 AB); Ollie Brown (.067 in 15 AB)
• Hated to face: Jim Wohlford (.533 in 15 AB); Tony Pena (.462 in 26 AB); Pete Rose (.415 in 65 AB)