Mo Mozzali
Maurice Joseph "Mo" Mozzali (December 12, 1922 — March 2, 1987)[1] was an American professional baseball outfielder, scout and coach. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Mozzali threw and batted left-handed, stood 5 feet, 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighed 158 pounds (72 kg).
Mozzali played all but one full season of his 12-year (1946–48; 1950–58) career in the St. Louis Cardinals' organization. The year he did not, 1947, was spent in the New York Giants organization with the Minneapolis Millers. Although he never reached Major League Baseball as a player, he was a fixture at the Triple-A level as a member of the Columbus Red Birds and the Omaha Cardinals of the American Association.[2]
Mozzali also spent time in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. A huge favorite of local fans, he was a member of the Cervecería and Leones clubs in three seasons spanning 1951–1955, before joining the Industriales de Valencia in the 1956–1957 campaign. During those four seasons, he posted a .315 batting average with 86 runs and 74 run batted in in 156 games, clubbing 185 hits, 38 doubles, five triples, three home runs, and 10 stolen bases.[3] He also played with Caracas in the 1952 Caribbean Series, batting .240 (6-for-25) with five runs and two RBIs.[4]
After spending one season as the playing manager of the Albany Cardinals of the Georgia–Florida League, Mozalli retired from the field. He batted .298 with 80 home runs in 1,463 minor league games.[2]
Mozzali then became a scout for the Cardinals, serving from 1959 through 1976. He spent the 1977 and 1978 seasons as a member of the big-league Cardinals' coaching staff, during the managerial tenures of Vern Rapp and Ken Boyer. He then resumed his former job as a Redbird scout.
Mozzali died in Lakeland, Florida, at the age of 64.
See also
References
- ↑ Retrosheet profile
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Gutiérrez, Daniel; Alvarez, Efraim; Gutiérrez (h), Daniel (2006). La Enciclopedia del Béisbol en Venezuela. LVBP, Caracas. ISBN 980-6996-02-X
- ↑ Nuñez, José Antero (1994). Serie del Caribe de la Habana a Puerto la Cruz. JAN Editor. ISBN 980-07-2389-7
External links
- 1922 births
- 1987 deaths
- Albany Cardinals players
- Baseball players from Kentucky
- Caribbean Series players
- Cervecería Caracas players
- Columbus Red Birds players
- Industriales de Valencia players
- Jacksonville Tars players
- Leones del Caracas players
- Major League Baseball coaches
- Major League Baseball hitting coaches
- Manchester Giants players
- Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players
- Minor league baseball players
- Omaha Cardinals players
- Rochester Red Wings players
- St. Louis Cardinals coaches
- St. Louis Cardinals scouts
- Sportspeople from Louisville, Kentucky
