Johnny Antonelli
The $52,000 bonus baby who nearly broke baseball's bank in 1948 became everything the Boston Braves hoped for — just not in their uniform. Antonelli's astronomical signing bonus forced MLB to create new rules about amateur signings, but after struggling early in Boston, he blossomed into an ace after arriving in New York via the Willie Mays trade.
His 1954 season stands as one of the great overlooked pitching performances in Giants history. That 2.30 ERA was 70% better than league average, anchoring New York's World Series championship run. The southpaw's 21-7 record and All-Star selection that year validated the franchise's faith in trading away a future Hall of Famer.
Five All-Star selections and a career 120 ERA+ tell the story of sustained excellence across 14 seasons. Antonelli proved that sometimes the most expensive gambles pay off — eventually.
Career · Hitting
12 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | BSN | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1949 | BSN | 22 | 25 | 0 | 0 | .120 | — | — |
| 1950 | BSN | 20 | 16 | 0 | 1 | .125 | — | — |
| 1953 | ML1 | 31 | 62 | 0 | 4 | .177 | — | — |
| 1954 | NY1 | 39 | 98 | 2 | 9 | .163 | .421 | — |
| 1955 | NY1 | 38 | 82 | 4 | 15 | .207 | .596 | — |
| 1956 | NY1 | 49 | 89 | 3 | 4 | .157 | .468 | — |
| 1957 | NY1 | 47 | 72 | 3 | 8 | .153 | .540 | — |
| 1958 | SF | 47 | 84 | 1 | 7 | .226 | .554 | — |
| 1959 | SF | 43 | 101 | 2 | 10 | .158 | .412 | — |
| 1960 | SF | 42 | 34 | 0 | 1 | .235 | .572 | — |
| 1961 | CLE | 21 | 16 | 0 | 0 | .250 | .625 | — |
| Career | 403 | 679 | 15 | 59 | .178 | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
12 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | BSN | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 2.25 | 183 | 0 | 1.250 |
| 1949 | BSN | 22 | 96.0 | 3 | 7 | 3.56 | 116 | 48 | 1.469 |
| 1950 | BSN | 20 | 57.7 | 2 | 3 | 5.93 | 74 | 33 | 1.786 |
| 1953 | ML1 | 31 | 175.3 | 12 | 12 | 3.18 | 130 | 131 | 1.357 |
| 1954 | NY1 | 39 | 258.7 | 21 | 7 | 2.30 | 170 | 152 | 1.171 |
| 1955 | NY1 | 38 | 235.3 | 14 | 16 | 3.33 | 120 | 143 | 1.224 |
| 1956 | NY1 | 41 | 258.3 | 20 | 13 | 2.86 | 139 | 145 | 1.161 |
| 1957 | NY1 | 40 | 212.3 | 12 | 18 | 3.77 | 102 | 114 | 1.389 |
| 1958 | SF | 41 | 241.7 | 16 | 13 | 3.28 | 118 | 143 | 1.254 |
| 1959 | SF | 40 | 282.0 | 19 | 10 | 3.10 | 126 | 165 | 1.145 |
| 1960 | SF | 41 | 112.3 | 6 | 7 | 3.77 | 101 | 57 | 1.362 |
| 1961 | CLE | 20 | 58.7 | 1 | 4 | 6.75 | 60 | 31 | 1.790 |
| Career | 377 | 1992.3 | 126 | 110 | — | — | 1162 | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.